going to san francisco

sturzi

sturzi

Joined
Dec 12, 2007
Messages
888
Hi everybody,
I'm going to San Francisco tomorrow, doing a little camping in the sequoia national park etc, and have a few knife related questions. First, from what information I've found, a Benchmade 710 should be legal to carry in California. It would be nice to have this confirmed.
Second, the knife shops here have a very small selection of good knives, and it can get very expensive to import them. So when I'm coming to the US, it would be nice to handle a few knives in a shop without buying them first for a change :). Does anyone know a good shop with a nice selection in San Francisco? I'd mainly be interested in Spydercos, and handling a Sebenza to see what all the fuss is about would be cool ;). I hope this vacation doesn't ruin me financially :D.

Cheers
 
sturzi said:
I'm going to San Francisco tomorrow, doing a little camping in the sequoia national park etc, and have a few knife related questions. First, from what information I've found, a Benchmade 710 should be legal to carry in California. It would be nice to have this confirmed.
Click to expand...
You're right that a Benchmade 710 is legal according to CA state law, which doesn't place any limit on the blade length of non-automatic folding knives. (Legal autos are limited to 2" or less.) However, a number of localities -- including parts of the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas -- have more restrictive laws that cap the length of locking folders at 3". So I'd suggest leaving the 710 at home and carrying something a bit smaller so you don't have to worry about going somewhere in the Bay Area where the 3" limit would make your blade illegal. Another option would be to save the 710 for when you're camping and carry something smaller when you're in the city itself.
 
thanks, that's good to know. Hopefully I'll get to check out the shop, I think we'll be in that area anyway for a day.
And in the city a SAK will do just fine, which I have with me anyway (well, I'm Swiss :) )
 
And what is allowed in a National Park may very well be entirely unrelated to what is allowed in the state the park is in.
 
I'm fairly certain the 710 is legal, as you can buy them here. I've actually seen people with 710s, so there's that too.

As far as knife shops, im not familiar with the city, as work there, but actually live in the south bay area. If you're willing to take the trip, there are a couple of good places.
There's the Stevens Creek surplus, which has a huge array of low end to upper mid-range/lower-highend knives. They also have a decent collection of spyderco's. There's also one of the best pizza joints in the entire bay right next door.

There's also another store in cupertino (farther south) called Armor Geddon. They've got a wide variety of knives, everything from the Microtech HALO V (law enforcement only) to A decent collection of Cris Reeve knives that they move fast. They've also got a large selection of Gold Class Benchmades (regular benchmades too). just a fun store to visit, they also carry airsoft (not so good), high end katanas (an entire wall), replica broadswords - really any edged weapon. yeah....
 
No, there is no length limit in SF. There is one obscure law which confuses people into thinking there is a 3" limit, though.

The law says it is illegal to LOITER with any blade over 3". That's it.

I'm not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, etc.... :p
 
I live in Bekeley and work all over the Bay Area including SF.
Carry your 710 with pride! In 16 years of carrying a knife with a pocket clip here in California I have never been bothered by the police. These days I carry a full size Ritter Grip without any issues.
Enjoy our mountains!!!!

PS there is a pretty good knife store in Oakland if you are out this way.
 
goodeyesniper said:
No, there is no length limit in SF. There is one obscure law which confuses people into thinking there is a 3" limit, though.

The law says it is illegal to LOITER with any blade over 3". That's it.
Click to expand...
Good call. I had completely forgotten that the 3" limit in SF was tied to the loitering provision. :thumbup:
 
Sequoia is quite a ways from SF. I'd recommend you look at gun stores in the Merced/Fresno/Sacramento area (depending on how you're traveling). The further you get away from SF the more likely you are to find a good place that caters to outdoorsmen.

In the city I recommend REI, most people forget they carry knives. The one in San Jose used to have a big assortment.
 
San Jose is just an hour away. Come check out Castello Gun Shop. They have a huge selection of knives from all brands. Plus antique firearms, if you're into that kind of thing.
 
TAD Gear is worth a visit for sure, they are now open during the week so give them a call and check their hours.
 
Also Webeknives at Pier 39 fishermans warf. Im suprised no one mentioned them.
http://www.webeknives.com/
Someone there told me about T.A.D Gear when I inquired about a Strider. So if they dont have or carry it they will atleast tell you where you can go to get it.
 
We be knives is a decent shop. The guys are rude sometimes though.

Armor-Geddon is the best shop I've found so far. They have a decent selection, and stock Sebenza's.

-Freq
 
There's no 3" blade length limit in San Francisco per se. The length limited applies only to those who are 'loitering.' So the 710 should be legal, so long as the cop doesn't interpret the knife to be a 'gravity knife.' But to be honest, most cops don't know squat about the actual knife codes, based on the feedback on these forums. You should be safe carrying your 710 IMO.

We Be Knives at Pier 39 should have all or most of the knives you're looking to handle. TAD Gear is definitely worth a look also. They have Striders and customs, and some productions.
 
Agreed, We Be Knives is worth a visit. Take the cable car or F-Line street car to Pier 39. Always seemed like nice guys to me. Except maybe when too busy flipping. :) They have to deal with serious tourist trade, so I'd give them some slack. If you know the Benchmade (or whatever) model number they will probably give you some respect. I bought a 943 there. Don't expect a bargain though.
 
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Anyone have a street address for TAD Gear? Their website makes me want to shoot myself in the head.
 
Just type "tad gear" into Google

I didn't know they were so close, I will definitely do a visit. But no way I'm buying anything at retail with tax on top :(

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