How Old Do I Have To Be To Carry a Knife in NY?

[knivesngear]

I was just wondering if the legal age to carry a knife in ny is 16 and over. I go to a flea-market upstate and the legal age for buying knives is 16. that's how old i am now so I just want to make sure I can carry my knives legally without adult supervision. thanks.


-kng

 

[tom19176]

At 16 in NYS you are an adult for everything but certain sex related crimes. Make sure you are carry a LEGAL knife and never as a weapon not even self defense as that would make an otherwise legal knife a weapon and then illegal. Never at school or on school grounds. Make sure you parents approve.

 

[Eyegor]

There is no statutory minimum age to carry a knife in NY state that I know of. I know several responsible pre-teens who always have a pocketknife with them if they are not at school. Not a problem. I also know adults who I don't trust with safety scissors.

As the previous poster stated. Know the laws as they pertain to location, and usage intent. To oversimplify, walking on the street with a swiss army knife in your pocket should not cause you any problem at all. Walk the same street with a "Rambo" knife strapped to your thigh. You won't get 3 blocks. Be responsible in your knife choice, your method of carry, where you carry, and your usage and you should be fine.

 

[Karda]

There is no statutory minimum age to carry a knife in NY state that I know of. I know several responsible pre-teens who always have a pocketknife with them if they are not at school. Not a problem. I also know adults who I don't trust with safety scissors.

I think you may be mistaken.

- 265.04. It shall be unlawful for any person under the age
of sixteen to possess any... dangerous knife... A person
who violates the provisions of this section shall be
adjudged a juvenile delinquent. [Found unconstitutionally
vague by Superior Court, 1982; finding reversed by Court
of Appeals, 1983]

¤ 399-qq. Sale or promotional distribution of utility knives, box
cutters, or box cart cutters. 1. No person, firm, or corporation shall
sell or offer to sell or give away as either a retail or wholesale
promotion a utility knife, box cutter, or box cart cutter to any person
under eighteen years of age.
2. For purposes of this section, the term "utility knife", "box
cutter", or "box cart cutter" means a knife consisting of a razor blade,
retractable or non-retractable, attached to or contained within a
plastic or metal housing.
3. The provisions of this section shall not preclude the temporary
transfer of a utility knife, box cutter, or box cart cutter to a person
under eighteen years of age by such person's employer where such device
is possessed only on the employer's premises and only during the course
and scope of such person's employment.

 

[joe-bob]

Karda,

I don't read that to prohibit ordinary pocket knives. Is there a section that defines every knife as a "dangerous knife"?

 

[Eyegor]

Karda,

I don't read that to prohibit ordinary pocket knives. Is there a section that defines every knife as a "dangerous knife"?

I and most of my fellow LEOs read it the same way. While any knife can be classified "dangerous" or a 'weapon" based on either intent or usage, that provision is normally reserved for dirks, daggers, auto knives, knuckle duster knives, shuriken, etc. Your average kid in public carrying a SAK, Buck 110, and so forth should be fine, as long as he/she wasn't in a no weapons zone or brandishing. Of course, because it isn't definitively defined, this statute can be misused and everyone should be aware of that.

An internet forum is rarely the best place to discuss the fine points of law, especially when it comes down to officer judgement and the totality of the circumstances.