Going to Knife Expo in Pasadena 3/19-21?

D

DWK2

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Nov 3, 2003
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There are always some quality craftsmen (and women) showing their blades. I usually buy a couple traditional Old West/Mountain Man style knives from Jeff Morgan.

Any makers planning to have a table there? If so, what do you plan to bring?

Anyone have plans to buy something interesting? If so, what are you looking for?

DancesWithKnives
 
Wife and I are going to the October Pasadena show.
 
So-Cal
 
I attended last year, and they had some great displays and products. I am not a vendor, only a spectator. I will be there on Friday this year.
 
Is this a good show to go to for someone that can maybe only spend less than $100 at the show?
 
One thing I always appreciated about Jeff Morgan is that he makes a range of knives. He almost always has a few simple 1095 steel Old West or Mountain Man style knives for around $80-100. In addition to his moderately priced stuff, I often buy a couple of the <$100 items for holiday and birthday gifts. I have in front of me right now one of his Green River style knives with lignum vitae scales that I paid less than $100 for, including a copper riveted leather sheath. Needless to say, selection is best on Friday.

There are a few other makers with lower priced knives, not to mention some dealers with good factory knives or modest customs for resale. You'll just have to look a bit harder. But even if you don't buy anything, it is a lot of fun just to see the show.

Some of the free seminars/demonstrations are also quite interesting.

DancesWithKnives
 
Yes, the Knife Expo management allows you to bring knives in. When you say "...carry your pocket knives? With You?" I assume you are referring to carrying a folding knife completely concealed in your pocket. If that's what you are referring to, you are OK. However, in LA County you generally cannot openly carry in plain view a knife with a blade of 3 or more inches---that includes folders. In addition, I wouldn't bring a lot of knives because the Knife Expo folks don't like folks trying to sell out of their daypacks and it might look like that was your intent.

DancesWithKnives
 
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Hmmm, I might show up, got to make a note of it. Gonna bring my Busse ASH-1, finally a place I can carry without other people giving me suspicious looks.
 
Volk said:
Hmmm, I might show up, got to make a note of it. Gonna bring my Busse ASH-1, finally a place I can carry without other people giving me suspicious looks.
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I have some Busse Basics from the Old Days but I'm not familiar with that model. Remember that you'll be in LA County, which generally does not permit open/plain view carry of a blade of 3 or more inches. There are a few exceptions but I wouldn't want to rely on them.

In LA County, a folding knife of any length completely concealed in your pocket or daypack is not a problem. But any knife (folding or fixed) openly carried in plain view should have a blade of less than 3 inches. As you probably know, concealing a fixed blade in CA is a no-no, unless it is inaccessible/unavailable to you.

When I buy fixed blades at the show, I put them inside my daypack which I wear on my back when walking to my vehicle. I personally believe this makes them inaccessible and doesn't constitute prohibited concealed carry. However, you need to make your own decision on that.

Sorry I couldn't be more positive, but this is still LA County....:(

DancesWithKnives
 
DWK2 said:
I have some Busse Basics from the Old Days but I'm not familiar with that model. Remember that you'll be in LA County, which generally does not permit open/plain view carry of a blade of 3 or more inches. There are a few exceptions but I wouldn't want to rely on them.

In LA County, a folding knife of any length completely concealed in your pocket or daypack is not a problem. But any knife (folding or fixed) openly carried in plain view should have a blade of less than 3 inches. As you probably know, concealing a fixed blade in CA is a no-no, unless it is inaccessible/unavailable to you.

When I buy fixed blades at the show, I put them inside my daypack which I wear on my back when walking to my vehicle. I personally believe this makes them inaccessible and doesn't constitute prohibited concealed carry. However, you need to make your own decision on that.

Sorry I couldn't be more positive, but this is still LA County....:(

DancesWithKnives
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Yeah I knew you couldn't conceal one, but no-no on open carry that's just well...lets not use foul language. I remember I had a talk with park ranger (not sure which park it was, but it was in SoCal) He said that it was OK to carry a fixed blade as long as its not concealed, and that wasn't only in the park (since we all had axe's, cooking knives and wide assortment of other utility/not so utility blades on us). The dude proceeded to tell me that he knew a guy who would walk about with a katana, he would go on walks with it and people would call the cops on him. He said as long as you are not acting dumb about it, and don't look threatening, cops shouldn't touch you. Then again now that I think about it it was either in Temecula or Lake Cachuma (most likely Cachuma) Which isn't LA county.

Ok so how does one go camping in LA county? (hmmm, I'm sure there places one can go here.) Or what if I wanted to see those basics you were talking about, is there an exception for the show? I guess I'm gona stick to my GW then. Also just so I don't break any laws, what do they mean by open carry? I mean if its under three inches, And I wear it on my belt but my coat hangs over it, is it concealed? And I figured my small double edged push dagger was illegal in cali no matter how I carry it, or am I wrong and I can carry one?

Sorry for so many questions but I've been meaning to ask them, and since its a knife event legal info might me directly relevant for those who are thinking of attending.

At least now I can rest easy knowing that I'm not breaking any laws carrying Spyderco Military (I can carry it, right?)
 
Under CA state law, you can generally openly carry a fixed blade of any size in plain view (with the usual exceptions for courthouses, schools, airports, etc.). LA City and County have parallel ordinances that generally prohibit open carry of a blade of 3 or more inches. There are exceptions for legitimate religious, vocational, and recreational uses. So you might be OK trail hiking in the country in LA County with an exposed 3+ inch knife but I'm not offering an opinion on that. If you worked for a tree trimming service, you might also be OK.

Some cities/counties other than LA may also have knife laws that are more restrictive than state law, so you need to check your jurisdiction.

I'm not an LEO but perhaps our member Morimotom (LEO in LA area) will see this and offer his opinions.

I don't know of any exceptions to state or county/city laws for the Knife Expo. If you wanted to feel more at ease, carrying your hardware in a locked briefcase would likely avoid legal issues.

With regard to your question about partial concealment, that may be a gray area and I don't want to offer an opinion on it. However, if it is legal only to openly carry in plain view (as with a readily accessible fixed blade), I would want the entire knife/sheath exposed. I would not want any portion covered. If you were wearing a fixed blade on your belt and your coat were to completely hang over it, LEOs have told me that they would consider it concealed.

There's no specific double-edged prohibition or push dagger prohibition that I'm aware of under CA law. As a fixed blade, it could not be carried concealed and readily accessible to you.

With regard to a Spyderco Military, it is a folding knife so it can be carried concealed under both CA and LA County laws. However, it has a blade of 3 or more inches so it cannot be openly carried in plain view in LA County. I have heard LEOs opine that if any part of the knife is visible, it is being carried in plain view. Therefore, some advise that such a 3+ inch folder be completely concealed in your pocket. That means not clipped---since that would expose at least part of the knife.

LA City and County have some knife laws that seem a bit bizarre and inconsistent. If you go to about the third page of the Knife Law Forum, there's a long thread with a title something like "California Knife Law WTH". Last post was by Morimotom on December 23, 2009. I believe that on page 3 of the thread, around post 50, I gave my recollection of how those odd county/city ordinances came to be. That thread also contains some links to the various laws and some very good advice from our LA LEO member, Morimotom. In addition, there are a number of other CA knife law threads in the Knife Law Forum.

That's my understanding but if you want to investigate these legal areas further, it would probably be a good idea to post inquiries in the Knife Law Forum where you might get LEO opinions that may be more useful and complete than mine.

DancesWithKnives
 
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Sorry, didn't mean to get off on a knife law discussion.

So who's headed for Knife Expo?

DancesWithKnives
 
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