Fixed Blade in California????

R

reconranger

Joined
Sep 23, 2007
Messages
822
Anybody know the penalty for carrying a fixed blade concealed?

What about transporting a fixed blade in your vehicle, or in your backpack? Not sure I have ever seen these issues spelled out anywhere in the laws I have seen (???).
 
From what I have seen, you can carry a fixed blade openly, but concealed carry is a no-no. Carrying it in a backpack should pose no problems unless you get stopped by a cop that is an a-hole. You'll have to ask someone else about vehicle carry.
 
reconranger said:
I read it (but not carefully), and didn't really find anything specific about concealed carry of fixed blade knives....
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that is because there is no specific verbage.

the law prohibits concealed carry of a dirk/dagger, which is defined as a knife readily available as a stabbing weapon.
 
MORIMOTOM said:
that is because there is no specific verbage.

the law prohibits concealed carry of a dirk/dagger, which is defined as a knife readily available as a stabbing weapon.
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"Dagger" used to mean something long and skinny, with a double edge (or, in some cases, a triple edge because the blade was basically a long three-sided pyramid). I suppose I could stab somebody with my fixed-blade CRKT Plan B, but I'd have a hard time thinking of it as a dagger. I could wear it openly if it had a decent sheath, but it doesn't (which is why it lives in a pocket instead of on the belt to begin with), so do the Californians on the forum recommend that I leave it at home during my upcoming trip to California?

The regulations seem to permit assisted openers, as long as they have a detent that makes them tend to stay closed, so my Gerber FAST Draw should be okay.
 
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OldCowHand said:
but I'd have a hard time thinking of it as a dagger.
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Unfortunately a LEO or Prosecutor would have no difficulty describing it as a dagger, especially if it was concealed


OldCowHand said:
so do the Californians on the forum recommend that I leave it at home during my upcoming trip to California?
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This one recommends not carrying a concealed fixed blade so if that means leaving it at home, yes.
 
there is nothing in the california penal code prohibiting a double, or triple, edge blade, in and of itself.
 
I'm not from california, and here in canada, knife laws are pretty relaxed. But an individual LEO might try to stop you and harrass you anywhere that you are for carrying anything that they decide is a weapon. A buddy of mine was once stopped and harrassed for about 20 minutes over an openly carried neck knife. This knife was quite clearly designed for utility purpose, and was about 2 inches long. As a weapon, his steel toed boots would have been far more dangerous.

Chances are, you won't get prosecuted anywhere for a knife in your backpack. But that doesn't mean that a LEO won't bother you. I'd also like to add my sympathies for anyone that lives somewhere that carrying your knife in your backpack would potentially be a problem.
 
If a fixed blade were inside a backpack where it was not easily accessable, that isn't going to be a problem. An alternative would be to have it unconcealed on the outside of the backpack somewhere, if it needed to be accessable.

Actually, Calif laws allows me to carry a 4" folder concealed most anywhere I go, and that is all I usually care to pack anyway. This can legally be considered a "weapon", and there isn't any fuzzy part of the law that says your "intent" has to be to use it as a utility knife, so the LEO's can't hassle you about that like they might in Canada.

I would like to carry an Emerson La Griffe as a backup more often, but don't want to run afoul of the fixed blade must be carried unconcealed law (silly when you think of it, seeing that blade is less than 2" long)....that is the issue I was thinking about when I first posted this topic.

Out in the bush, I will carry some larger fixed blade "survival" knives, but there isn't anybody out there to care whether it is concealed or not.
 
I've spent many hours reading up on penal codes on knives. 12020, 653k, the works. From what I could make out, if they mention a dirk or dagger, you can rightly assume that they just mean any fixed blade in general. However, there is no problem with carrying a fixed blade as long as you doing it openly, meaning a belt sheath. I read around some and it appears as though that's pretty much the only location you can carry a fixed blade "openly" without getting hassled by the cops.

As for carrying a fixed blade in your car, it's simply not allowed if it's anywhere you can easily access it. In other words, the only place you can have it is in the trunk. I'm sure that if you were wearing it on your belt and you got stopped, the officer would most likely let you off if you mention that it's simply in case you ever needed to cut your seatbelts in the case of an accident and you couldn't get it off. However, if you really want to play it safe, to the trunk it goes.
 
YayILikePie said:
As for carrying a fixed blade in your car, it's simply not allowed if it's anywhere you can easily access it. In other words, the only place you can have it is in the trunk. I'm sure that if you were wearing it on your belt and you got stopped, the officer would most likely let you off if you mention that it's simply in case you ever needed to cut your seatbelts in the case of an accident and you couldn't get it off. However, if you really want to play it safe, to the trunk it goes.
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this is the case for firearms, but im not aware of any section that prohibits transport of a knife in the passenger area of a vehicle in any form other than what is prohibited by 653k.

could you cite or link your source?
 
MORIMOTOM said:
this is the case for firearms, but im not aware of any section that prohibits transport of a knife in the passenger area of a vehicle in any form other than what is prohibited by 653k.

could you cite or link your source?
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Sure. It's just what it says in 653k.

653k. Every person who possesses in the passenger's or driver's
area of any motor vehicle in any public place or place open to the
public, carries upon his or her person, and every person who sells,
offers for sale, exposes for sale, loans, transfers, or gives to any
other person a switchblade knife having a blade two or more inches in
length is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Although it only says a switchblade knife, it pretty much extends over to fixed blades as well. Either way, it's best to play it safe and not leave a knife laying around the front of your car.
 
YayILikePie said:
Although it only says a switchblade knife, it pretty much extends over to fixed blades as well. Either way, it's best to play it safe and not leave a knife laying around the front of your car.
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on what do you base this opinion?

it doesnt prohibit carry of any knife, only those defined as switchblades.
 
MORIMOTOM said:
on what do you base this opinion?

it doesnt prohibit carry of any knife, only those defined as switchblades.
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Yeah, that's true. However, I've heard some pretty bad stories about people getting hassled for carrying simple folders in their cars, even if they don't fall under the category of switchblade. Rather than dealing with the trouble of going into court to fight off a claim, it's easier to avoid the situation entirely. Don't get me wrong though. You're correct in that the law doesn't specifically outlaw fixed blades in the car, but I just don't think it's that good of an idea. Many cops don't really know the penal codes very well and there's always conflicting ideas going around.
 
YayILikePie said:
Yeah, that's true. However, I've heard some pretty bad stories about people getting hassled for carrying simple folders in their cars, even if they don't fall under the category of switchblade. Rather than dealing with the trouble of going into court to fight off a claim, it's easier to avoid the situation entirely. Don't get me wrong though. You're correct in that the law doesn't specifically outlaw fixed blades in the car, but I just don't think it's that good of an idea. Many cops don't really know the penal codes very well and there's always conflicting ideas going around.
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your point is valid, however i make attempts here not to offer legal advice.

it is my intention to interpret the letter of the law rather than to create "what if" scenarios.

interpretation is always a factor in applying the various laws.
 
Would a fixed blade be considered concealed if it is mounted in the regular fashion on a belt sheath, but it is so short that it is covered by the bottom of a t-shirt? So would you have to tuck your shirt in to carry the knife?
 
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