Folders in College?

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pythondrummer

Joined
Oct 2, 2006
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Hey there.

it's been a while since i've been on here. i've got a question. I'm going to college this fall in LA. my EDC is a spyderco endura 4 wave. I think this is ok in terms of LA. Does anyone know if this will present a problem to the university? I tried looking on their website for the info and couldn't find anything. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
You could call the university OPS (or whatever they call it) and ask anonymously.

I would prefer something that didn't resemble a weapon or appear aggressive in any way at all. I think the Endura is a fine knife, but the black plastic easy-open design will give many people the wrong impression.

IMO, you should consider something more aesthetically friendly, like a SAK. Plus, the bottle opener and corkscrew will certainly come in handy. ;)
 
I remember the folder that I carried when I started college back in 1978. It was a Gerber FSII with a 3 3/4 " blade, drop point. It was flat, so it concealed easily in the pocket. I carried it in the right front pocket of my jeans. It didn't print at all and nobody took any notice of it. I carried it all 4 years of college without incident and used it frequently at my part-time job in a store and as a sporting knife on the water and in the field. Very versatile. Back in those days, there was no such thing as a "tactical folder" or "pocket clip". I am not sure if Gerber still manufactures this knife. If not, a similar sized one should serve you well. Make sure that the folder you choose is lightweight and flat, with a maximum blade length of 4". You really don't need anything longer. Keep it deep in your pocket and you should be fine. Also, I would not show it to any of your fellow students or faculty. In today's ultra-liberal society, you may find yourself expelled from school and/or facing criminal charges.
 
The college's policies on knife carry determine the issue.

If the college has no stated policies, look to the State's law governing knife carry on college/university campuses.
 
Can I ask why you need a knife in a place of education?

Is it to cut up books in the library or demolish frustratingly hard coursework?

Just curious....:D
 
Which university? Perhaps someone is familiar with their specific policies.

As to why a knife might be needed, if you are living on campus, a knife is very valuable for food preparation (and a folding knife would be safer to store in a dorm drawer) not to mention box and blister pack opening and all the other typical daily knife chores.

Where I teach, there is a no-knife policy in the dorms and on campus unless work/art related. Presumably the students are all very proficient at gnawing open their bags of chips and gummy bears and purchase all their cheese and salami pre-sliced. The reality is that I know a reasonable number of students who discretely carry various small folding knives and pocket tools.
 
Can I ask why you need a knife in a place of education?
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Yes, because of course his day to day life at college is completely removed from day to day life in every other venue of existence, and the need for a cutting edge couldn't possibly exist.

Cynicism aside, your college almost certainly has rules forbidding you from carrying a pocketknife. Most institutions of higher learning are extremely politically correct, and a knife is anything but in the eyes of such people.

I believe my university had such a policy when I went to school. At the time (the early 1990s) I got away with carrying a Bucklite sporting a one-armed bandit, all four years, carried fairly openly in a sheath on my belt. I doubt I could pull that off now, the progression of hoplophobia being what it is.
 
LA = los angeles, or louisiana?

in los angeles, you would be permitted to carry the folder per the california penal code. however, los angeles county and city prohibit the carry of a knife with a blade over 3" in length (concealed).

and universities will likely have their own rules on knife carry.
 
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I'm pretty sure if you carry something with not just a knife blade your good, a SAK is a great choice because everyone knows what they are and have a good reputation... The reason i said something not just a knife blade is because you want people to think you carry a tool not just a knife.
 
topspeclt said:
Can I ask why you need a knife in a place of education?

Is it to cut up books in the library or demolish frustratingly hard coursework?

Just curious....:D
Click to expand...

Well, I toted a blade for protection the year before I graduated from college. I just didn't make it obvious. Some places on some campuses make people great targets for muggings, especially when project housing or questionable neighborhoods are not too far away. :(
 
I think that a college's rules on knife carry should be regarded carefully (assuming that the college has such rules).

Because the college holds your degree.
It clearly would not be a good situation to be - let's say - in your 4th year, and suddenly be found in violation of the college's rule on knife carry.
And the powers that be at the college deciding to give you a hard time about your degree.

Not saying it's gonna happen, just saying it's something to consider.
 
The rules will usually state that "weapons, including knives" are not allowed. I have found that, in practice, at least at my University, this is a cover-your-butt legalese statement and that safe, unharmful use of knives *are* tolerated by the campus.
 
Everyone is Leathermaned up in my school.
Had a professor stick a kitchen knife in a paper bag when a colleague went up to him and said, you're gonna get pulled over, to which he replied, it's kitchen knife, how else am I supposed to carry this thing? and shrugged it off
 
It's OT, but interesting - you take a normal size kitchen knife, steak knife, whatever - outside of your house, and suddenly you're a freakin' criminal because of it.
(In many places, anyway.)

What the prof said was true...how else are you supposed to get a kitchen knife from one place to another?
 
I carried folders in college (CRKT M16-14LE, Spyderco Native II). Never let anyone see them so it was never an issue. Wearing untucked XXL t-shirts kept my pockets covered so the clip was never seen. At one of the schools I went to there were illegal firearms and drugs being brought onto campus, so I don't think me carrying a folder was the biggest of their worries. Out of sight, out of mind.
 
topspeclt said:
Can I ask why you need a knife in a place of education?

Is it to cut up books in the library or demolish frustratingly hard coursework?

Just curious....:D
Click to expand...

Let's see - opening boxes, cutting string or rope, slicing fruit, slicing lunch meat or sausages, cutting a temporary patch for the slit in your bicycle tire, shaving the edge of a drawer that sticks, etc.

Many people recognize that knives are tools first, with many legitiamte uses, and are sometimes used as weapons. In some areas, the media has focussed so much on the use of knives as weapons that people who are not thinking for themselves sometimes assume that knives are only intended only for inappropriate uses.
 
It is prohibited to bring or possess on the campus other types of weapons capable of inflicting great bodily injury or death (hereinafter referred to as “lethal weapons”), unless it is with the written permission of the UCLA Police Chief. Examples of such lethal weapons include but are not limited to large knives, ice picks, daggers or other similar instruments. The applicable Penal Code prohibition applies to any knife or similar implement with a fixed blade longer that 2.5 inches.
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That is for UCLA
 
I always kept a SAK Tinker in my bag. It rarely came out while on campus, but I think they were a bit more lax prior to the last 7 years.
 
I go to a public university in VA and they allow knives up to 4.5" blade, which is very large but many people go camping on weekends so I guess it allows for that. I usually carried a Trance or Buck Tempest and almost all of my guy friends carried a knife.

Although students aren't allowed to own guns on school property, the PD does allow us to store them at the station in a vault, and can access them anytime. Since its a public university, non-students are allowed to CCW.
 
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Here is (most of) the California law that would apply to your situation:

"626.10. (b) Any person, except a duly appointed peace officer as defined
in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, a
full-time paid peace officer of another state or the federal
government who is carrying out official duties while in this state, a
person summoned by any officer to assist in making arrests or
preserving the peace while the person is actually engaged in
assisting any officer, or a member of the military forces of this
state or the United States who is engaged in the performance of his
or her duties, who brings or possesses any dirk, dagger, ice pick, or
knife having a fixed blade longer than 21/2 inches upon the grounds
of, or within, any private university, the University of California,
the California State University, or the California Community Colleges
is guilty of a public offense, punishable by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment in the state
prison.
(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not apply to any person who brings
or possesses a knife having a blade longer than 21/2 inches or a
razor with an unguarded blade upon the grounds of, or within, a
public or private school providing instruction in kindergarten or any
of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, or any private university, state
university, or community college at the direction of a faculty member
of the private university, state university, or community college,
or a certificated or classified employee of the school for use in a
private university, state university, community college, or
school-sponsored activity or class.
(d) Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not apply to any person who brings
or possesses an ice pick, a knife having a blade longer than 21/2
inches, or a razor with an unguarded blade upon the grounds of, or
within, a public or private school providing instruction in
kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, or any private
university, state university, or community college for a lawful
purpose within the scope of the person's employment.
(e) Subdivision (b) does not apply to any person who brings or
possesses an ice pick or a knife having a fixed blade longer than
21/2 inches upon the grounds of, or within, any private university,
state university, or community college for lawful use in or around a
residence or residential facility located upon those grounds or for
lawful use in food preparation or consumption."

Note that 2 1/2 " is the magic number. In section a of this regulation, the prohibited objects are listed as "dirk, dagger, ice pick, knife having a blade longer than 21/2 inches, folding knife with a blade that locks into place, a razor with an unguarded blade, a taser, or a stun gun" which seems to differentiate between fixed blade and locking folder (both illegal over 2 1/2"), and a non-locking folder, which might not be illegal.

Best advice: Don't carry anything on campus which you know to be illegal; keep your knife low profile; keep your knife use very low profile; don't EVER pull a knife on someone, unless it's a life-or-death situation. (One student here pulled a knife on someone "jokingly" in some casual dorm wrestling play, and found himself very quickly facing a number of deputy sheriffs and a felony charge. Not fun!)
 
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