gravity/inertia knives

Centurian said:
:eek: OK, for my forum brothers on the east coast I got some questions? So do people in NYC not carry Spyderco's or Benchmades ect? Is the law applied all the time or when ever they selectively want to? By that I am asking if your just normal every day citizen cruising down Main St. and a police officer sees a pocket clip in your pants can and do people get stopped (detained) or arrested?

Or is it a law that is used and applied to "selected" individuals, meaning if the cop thinks the person looks rather undesirable and they have the knife they can stop detain and perhaps arrest that person if for nothing else then the knife?
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tom19176 said:
Centurian, in NYC the law is most strongly enforced by the Transit division of the NYPD ( Subways mostly), however it is enforced everywhere and many middle age white males have been charged with CPW being the only charge. The NYPD feels weapons arrest are a great response to a robbery spike in an area, so if there were two or three robberies on Tuesday night, there will be ten "weapons" arrest the next day to show action has been taken. Where do you think all those weapons are found....pocket clips...belt sheaths....etc, and never think there are not quotas. Most CPW ( criminal possession of a weapon) where the weapon is a knife are made in the last half of the month...
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Centurian-

The answer is yes...

People who live in or visit NYC - and who are aware of its knife laws - do not carry Spyderco's or Benchmade's. In fact, they don't carry any folder than 'locks upon opening'; or any slipjoint close to or over the 4" limit. (The blade must be less than 4".) Or any knife that looks like a weapon rather than a functional "pocketknife". And the knife is always carried completely concealed as per NYC law. No pocket clips or belt sheaths showing.

Where I might disagree with tom19176 relates to the type of person carrying the knife and the reasons s/he gives for having it.

Of course, not everyone is searched.
And not everyone found with a knife that's technically (or even actually) illegal is arrested on the spot.
And not everyone who is, in fact, brought into court is automatically found guilty.

As usual, if the person is a 'fine, upstanding citizen' type s/he stands a much better chance of walking away from the scene than someone who looks like/acts like a criminal type.

BUT, with all that said, the simple fact is that much is left to the officer's discretion under NYC law. And you can be arrested on the spot for carrying a locking folder, or a knife deemed by the officer to be a 'dangerous knife'.

So, in the end, it's just not worth it.
A nice friendly traditional slipjoint or SAK is a good knife carry in NYC (and some other parts of NYS).
Carrying just about any other kind of knife while there just isn't a wise move.
 
Well, you would be surprised who is arrested these days in NYC. As a former NYC LEO, I know the law very well. As stated before I manage retail real estate now. I have about 30 off duty officers working for me in the malls in Brooklyn, Queens and Times Square, and they all tell me of many persons coming back from work with a knife clip that are stopped and often arrested. Yes you need proable cause to search someone if the knife is not exposed. Last year there were 500,000 "250 stop and frisk forms" filled out by the NYPD. These forms are only used when an arrest is not made or summons issued. They are filled out to document a stop and frisk of a person that does not end in police action. So lets see, there are 8,000,000 New Yorkers, 500,000 stopped and frisked. 250,000 crimnal court summons issued yearly, and about 200,000 arrest yearly with a police force of 40,000. I would not carry any questionable knife under those conditions.
 
rifon2 said:
A nice friendly traditional slipjoint or SAK is a good knife carry in NYC (and some other parts of NYS).
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I live in nyc and carry a Swiss Army Climber every day. I've used it out in the open many a time--slicing food in Central Park, opening a letter while walking down the street, or cutting a thread off my jacket while standing on a corner--and have never had a problem.

That being said I have been thinking of getting a Spyderco Bob T slipit. This thread is changing my mind.
 
I wonder what Benchmade/Spyderco would say about the legality of their knives in NYC. Someone from NYC should email the DA's office of their borough and see exactly what constitutes a gravity/inertia knife
 
tf8s, about four years ago in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan the NYPD raided stores selling knives. The bulk of those were Benchmade/Spyderco, and other brands. Any knife that could be flicked was considered a gravity knife. All the merchants were found or plead guilty. The DA in all five Boros believes these types of knives to be gravity knives. A few judges here and there sometimes disagree, but it is rare. Hey it seems like many of you don't believe this is the law in NYC. There have been many post here by memebers who joined just to ask for help because they were arrested for this. I remember the college kid, the 23 year old woman, and the construction worker all of whom could not believe they had been arrested for a gravity knife.....I have seen many people charged with this crime in NYC, and never seen a simple dismissal....
 
out of the box, my endura 4 absolutely cannot be flicked. i can even hold the blade and it still won't deploy, but i'm guessing it would still be consdiered a "dangerous knife" in nyc?
 
tf8s said:
out of the box, my endura 4 absolutely cannot be flicked. i can even hold the blade and it still won't deploy, but i'm guessing it would still be consdiered a "dangerous knife" in nyc?
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I believe it would be. This thread may fit better in the legal section.
 
tf8s said:
out of the box, my endura 4 absolutely cannot be flicked. i can even hold the blade and it still won't deploy,
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That's very strange.

tf8s said:
but i'm guessing it would still be consdiered a "dangerous knife" in nyc?
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Depends on the LEO, your appearance (age, dress, etc.), the reasons you give for having it with you, the reason(s) why the LEO discovers you have it, and other things as well.

But the best bet by far is "yes"; it would in fact be deemed "a dangerous knife" and/or a "gravity knife".
 
tf8s said:
it's a lock back, so I didn't think it was supposed to be very easy to open it with the flick of a wrist. i can open it very quickly with my thumb though
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Any Endura I've ever handled could be flicked, though not as easily as a framelock or linerlock...
and could also be opened by holding the blade and doing a "Spydie Drop".
 
I've had two endura 4 g-10s and neither would deploy with just the flick of your wrist. grabbing the blade and "dropping" it has the blade come out a bit but no where near even 45 degrees.
 
tf8s said:
I've had two endura 4 g-10s and neither would deploy with just the flick of your wrist. grabbing the blade and "dropping" it has the blade come out a bit but no where near even 45 degrees.
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Interesting, I'd never seen or heard of that. :cool:

Anyway, though, as you mentioned, an Endura is generally not the kind of blade you want to be carrying around NYC.
The city government generally frowns on the carry of larger size "tactical" knives.
 
rifon2 said:
Interesting, I'd never seen or heard of that. :cool:

Anyway, though, as you mentioned, an Endura is generally not the kind of blade you want to be carrying around NYC.
The city government generally frowns on the carry of larger size "tactical" knives.
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yeah, I wouldn't, I was only curious---I'm not from nyc.

as for the endura, I just tried loosening up my pivot screw and deployment remains the same. it deploys very easily with just my thumb, so I have no problems with it, but if normal enduras are flickable, I'm wondering why mine isn't.

were the enduras you handled endura 4s?
 
tf8s said:
it deploys very easily with just my thumb, so I have no problems with it, but if normal enduras are flickable, I'm wondering why mine isn't.

were the enduras you handled endura 4s?
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Both 3's and 4's.
 
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