knife carry laws in florida

T

thewrathofraf

Joined
Feb 19, 2007
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Ok, so I have searched a few times on this, and I have found a lot of info on the internet about this, but I am still confused as to what the laws in FL are. They dont address everything.

Is it ok to carry a pocket knife on your pocket or keychain? Is it ok to carry a fixed blade without a permit? Is it ok to open carry?

I have a RAT Izula...is it ok to carry that around with me for every day use?

Thanks for any help guys.
 
thewrathofraf said:
LOL...so are you saying I can carry whatever I want where ever I want?
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In my CCW permit class, the instructor advised use that we could open carry anything (not firearms).......even a katana, as long as it open carry and not concealed. He said when it comes to concealed knives, that it is up to officer and judge discretion. Some may feel a 4" knife is fine, while others may feel 3" is the limit. He advised us to either open carry, or to carry concealed with a CCW permit.

In practice you'll probably be fine with pretty much anything. The only times I have head of people being convicted of carrying knives, was when they were doing something else illegal and that got tacked on as an additional charge.

However, they didn't let me take my 1.5 inch Vic Signature into a courtroom. I thought that was a bit silly, but I guess that's where we are post 911.
 
ieraseu said:
In my CCW permit class, the instructor advised use that we could open carry anything (not firearms).......even a katana, as long as it open carry and not concealed. He said when it comes to concealed knives, that it is up to officer and judge discretion. Some may feel a 4" knife is fine, while others may feel 3" is the limit. He advised us to either open carry, or to carry concealed with a CCW permit.

In practice you'll probably be fine with pretty much anything. The only times I have head of people being convicted of carrying knives, was when they were doing something else illegal and that got tacked on as an additional charge.

However, they didn't let me take my 1.5 inch Vic Signature into a courtroom. I thought that was a bit silly, but I guess that's where we are post 911.
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Hey, thanks for that. I do not have a CCW, and I want to carry something with an under 3" blade for general everyday cutting use, so it sounds like I will be fine. This is very good to know. Thanks a ton dude.
 
You could always buy this book. http://www.knifelawsonline.com/knifehome/

Or look at this http://www.handgunlaw.us/documents/USKnife.pdf

People have told me this book has some info on Florida kinfe carry. http://www.floridafirearmslaw.com/

You could also check with the local library's and see if they have the books I listed. From my research Florida knife laws are a very gray area in the statutes. It says a "common pocket knife" is ok but never defines what a "common pocket knife" is. I've also seen links to case law that states anything under 4 inches is ok, but of course I cant find that link now.

You could solve many of these issues by going here http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/weapons/index.html and getting a concealed weapons license.
 
ieraseu said:
In practice you'll probably be fine with pretty much anything. The only times I have head of people being convicted of carrying knives, was when they were doing something else illegal and that got tacked on as an additional charge.
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I agree with that.
 
rmc85 said:
You could always buy this book. http://www.knifelawsonline.com/knifehome/

Or look at this http://www.handgunlaw.us/documents/USKnife.pdf

People have told me this book has some info on Florida kinfe carry. http://www.floridafirearmslaw.com/

You could also check with the local library's and see if they have the books I listed. From my research Florida knife laws are a very gray area in the statutes. It says a "common pocket knife" is ok but never defines what a "common pocket knife" is. I've also seen links to case law that states anything under 4 inches is ok, but of course I cant find that link now.

You could solve many of these issues by going here http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/weapons/index.html and getting a concealed weapons license.
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I have heard much of this as well. I dont intend to carry anything over a 3 inch blade, so...idk... I will look into those books. I would like to get a CCW eventually, but I cant really afford it right now.
 
Here is a link to the case involving a folding knife.

http://vlex.com/vid/l-b-appellant-vs-state-florida-appellee-20847092

Relevant portion of the case:

As to the knife at issue here, we hold that petitioner's knife plainly falls within the statutory exception to the definition of “weapon” found in section 790.001(13). In 1951, the Attorney General of Florida opined that a pocketknife with a blade of four inches in length or less was a “common pocketknife.” Op. Att'y Gen. Fla. 051-358 (1951). The knife appellant carried, which had a 3 3/4-inch blade, clearly fell within this range. FN4 Accordingly, appellant's conviction is vacated as we find that the knife in question was a “common pocketknife” under any intended definition of that term.

We note that neither the Attorney General nor this Court maintains that four inches is a bright line cutoff for determining whether a particular knife is a “common pocketknife.” We merely hold that appellant's knife fits within the exception to the definition of weapon found in section 790.001(13). We decline to consider whether a pocketknife with a blade-length in excess of four inches can be considered a “common pocketknife.”
 
jurisprudence said:
Here is a link to the case involving a folding knife.

http://vlex.com/vid/l-b-appellant-vs-state-florida-appellee-20847092

Relevant portion of the case:

As to the knife at issue here, we hold that petitioner's knife plainly falls within the statutory exception to the definition of “weapon” found in section 790.001(13). In 1951, the Attorney General of Florida opined that a pocketknife with a blade of four inches in length or less was a “common pocketknife.” Op. Att'y Gen. Fla. 051-358 (1951). The knife appellant carried, which had a 3 3/4-inch blade, clearly fell within this range. FN4 Accordingly, appellant's conviction is vacated as we find that the knife in question was a “common pocketknife” under any intended definition of that term.

We note that neither the Attorney General nor this Court maintains that four inches is a bright line cutoff for determining whether a particular knife is a “common pocketknife.” We merely hold that appellant's knife fits within the exception to the definition of weapon found in section 790.001(13). We decline to consider whether a pocketknife with a blade-length in excess of four inches can be considered a “common pocketknife.”
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Thats what I was looking for. IIRC this guy was in the commission of a crime (B&E I think or am I thinking of a different case?) then they tacked that on as another charge. The problem here is that this took a long drawn out process to come to this conclusion. Time = Money.

Just get a CCW.
 
I carry all kinds of knives in florida. You can also freely purchase automatic knives here, so I'd assume that the laws are quite lax.

I usually carry multiple knives, and sometimes carry a 5-6 in fixed blade on my belt. Have never had any trouble.
 
I feel like I saw an episode of Cops (filmed in Florida) once where a guy had a neck knife and got busted by the LEOs since it was inside of his shirt and therefore concealed. Whereas if it had been on the outside of his shirt flopping around he would have been fine. The guy said it was inside of his shirt because he had bent over and it had slipped inside of his collar, but the LEOs didn't seem to care.
 
I imagine they were arresting him for something different in the first place, like D.U.I. or throwing his wife out of the trailor, or drugs or something.

Either way, I still recommend getting your concealed permit, I've had mine for years.
 
LeftytwoGuns said:
I imagine they were arresting him for something different in the first place, like D.U.I. or throwing his wife out of the trailor, or drugs or something.

Either way, I still recommend getting your concealed permit, I've had mine for years.
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I think they stopped him while he was walking around because he looked like he was on every drug known to man...
 
FL is a "shall issue" state, every(law abiding)body should take advantage of that.

that said - there is NO state statute prohibiting the open carry of any non-firearm weapon. that does not mean it's a great idea, ALOT of discretion should be excercised when choosing an open carry to avoid unpleasant encounters.

the ONLY knife you can conceal w/o a permit (legally) is "a common pocket knife" cops have varying opinions on what constitutes "a common pocket knife" however, we all generally agree that phrase does not describe a fixed blade. so.... you really shouldn't conceal one :)

generally speaking, if you're not in one of the big cities, FL is pretty knife friendly.
 
Just wondering, are you still allowed to open carry a pistol with out a permit? I remember there being a lot of media play about that years ago.
 
tom19176 said:
Just wondering, are you still allowed to open carry a pistol with out a permit? I remember there being a lot of media play about that years ago.
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790.053 Open carrying of weapons.--

(1) Except as otherwise provided by law and in subsection (2), it is unlawful for any person to openly carry on or about his or her person any firearm or electric weapon or device.

(2) A person may openly carry, for purposes of lawful self-defense:

(a) A self-defense chemical spray.

(b) A nonlethal stun gun or dart-firing stun gun or other nonlethal electric weapon or device that is designed solely for defensive purposes.

(3) Any person violating this section commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
 
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