How to carry my knives?

The Bear

The Bear

Joined
Nov 23, 2001
Messages
162
Hi guys,
I’m writing from Italy and I’m planning a tour trough the parks of Canada (BC and AB) and USA (MT). The fact is I really don’t know how to carry my knives to be sure not to have law problems.
I’m thinking to carry a SAK in my backpack and a Spyderco Starmate on me. I suppose there’s no problem with the SAK carry but I’m a little worried about the Starmate.
Is it better a take it in my pocket or on my belt?
And when I stop in cities, towns or villages have I to put it in the trunk of my car?
Is it better I carry a smaller knife, a Native, for example?
I’ll be grateful to you for any suggestion you can give me.
By
 
In canada you have to open carry, Concealed carry is illegal, so i would clip it to your belt, hope that helps, im unsure of US laws you will have to wait until someone from the US answers.
 
I should also add that every day i carry a CS SRK to work with me(I work as a shipper/reciever and break open crates and break down skids all day long) and so far no one has said anything, so i wouldnt worry about the Spyderco to much, i really doubt anyone would even notice, just make sure its not concealed :)
 
In Canada you have to open carry weapons. AFAIK folding pocket knives are not considered weapons, unless you use one as such. Furthermore, I believe we've had an opinion of at least one LEO that a folding pocket knife with a pocket clip, clipped to a pocket, is not concealed.

I carry two Enduras daily, clipped to my pockets. You shouldn't have any trouble with your Starmate carried likewise. I've never been questioned about mine, and I don't take them off "in town" (Heck, I live "in town").

Pierre
 
It all depends on what the LEO you are dealing with
thinks. Even if it is legal, they can still give you
a hard time. Try not to look or act like a ahole;)
 
I wanna thank you all for your precious suggestions (very useful and interesting site, Ryan M!).
I didn’t know what you told me about concealed carry and now I understand the reason why, when I was in Wyoming some years ago, I saw everybody carrying their knives on the belt!
Bye
 
Bear - I don't know about other places, but you're looking for potential trouble if you carry the Starmate in Italy. The rule here basically is "need to carry." You'd be fine with the Starmate in the woods or on a hiking trip, but you'd have a hard time justifying it on a trip to the grocery store. Granted, you're not likely to be searched, but if the Police were to stop you, you'd have to be able to give a good reason for carrying that knife. There's sort of an informal 3 inch (or the metric equivalent of 3 inches) rule here, but it's just a rule of thumb. Enforcement is very subjective, so what might be kosher for one Italian LEO might not be at all for another. It's precisely this subjective enforcement that you have to be careful of: you never really know if a particular knife is going to get you in trouble until it happens. That said, however, a 3.5" or larger blade is almost surely not going to pass, unless, as I mentioned, you have a good reason for carrying it.
 
Ciao Nathan S,
I hope you are Italian so I'll write to you in italian.
Forse non ci hai fatto caso ma anch'io sono italiano e se c'è un paese di cui conosco le leggi sui coltelli, questo è l'Italia.
So bene che tutto è piuttosto confuso e che le regole dipendono molto da chi le deve far applicare. Ciò che tu dici circa il "need to carry" è assolutamente vero. D'altra parte, ti dico che se in Italia porti un coltello in tasca, qualunque esso sia, a meno che tu non assuma atteggiamenti dissennati, è difficilissimo che ti fermino e ti perquisiscano. In poche parole, in Italia il "concealed carry" è la cosa migliore da fare, fermo restando il principio del "need to carry".
Ti saluto e ti ringrazio comunque per i consigli.
Ciao.
 
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