Knife carry laws in Hawaii?

NaturalMystic

NaturalMystic

Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
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Hey guys, looks like I'm taking a really last minute trip to Maui in the next day or so and wanted to take my Salt 1 and Ladybug Salt, a SAK and my Leatherman Wave but was wondering if anyone can advise on the knife carry laws there.
Unfortunately I'm busy packing, taking care of all the last minute stuff I need to do and charging my camera batteries, so don't really have much time to try searching before I leave.
As usual your insight is greatly appreciated.
 
This should cover you:

From the sounds of it, they are pretty lenient as far as I can tell "class C misdemeanor" for just about anything involving a 'weapon.' That would be a class A misdemeanor here in Texas at the very least :o

http://knife-expert.com/hi.txt
 
Awesome guys! SteelSnob, looks like your post pretty much covers it. I would normally try doing a search etc but thought I had a couple days before leaving. My wife sprung the date on me this morning that she's trying to get us a flight for tomorrow morning! I just moved so most of my clothes, etc are still packed in boxes and bins. I worked all day then had a previously scheduled photoshoot this evening so just got home to start packing, etc about an hour ago. Talk about a last minute trip!

Anyhow, thanks again. Looks like I should be fine with the Salt 1 and Ladybug Salt.

Cheers!

Oh BTW SteelSnob, whereabouts in Hawaii are you going? I think we're going to Maui then may do some island hopping.
 
hawaiianhawk said:
all your stuff is legal to carry here. no double-edged or concealed carry, otherwise you oughta be fine. :)
Click to expand...
you can carry legal knives here concealed, or unconcealed.

you can carry a fixed blade of any length, concealed or unconcealed.

same goes for folders, except for switchblades and butterflies.

double edged knives are generally considered to be dirks or daggers.

I carry fixed blades daily in HI, usually concealed, sometimes open. It's no big whoop.
 
Thanks guys, really appreciate the tips and info. Well unbeknownst to me, my wife ran into some issues with our flight for Thursday so she's trying to get one for Friday instead. Looks like I do have an extra day to prep after all. Good thing because I've been so busy packing my gadgets and crap that I haven't even touched my clothes yet!

I'm still debating if to take my D70 or D300 with 18-200mm and Canon G11 as backup or skip the DSLR altogether and take the G11 and SD870IS as backup. I'm pulling my hair out! LOL. I want to travel as light as possible but think I'll be kicking myself if I don't take my DSLR. Decisions, decisions!
 
I lived in HI last 5 years. The knife laws are (intentionally?) vague and apply mostly to the context of if you intend it as a weapon or not. There is actually a law that says no carrying of weapons, no matter what the form is. Just say it's for diving or use as a tool, and you're OK. Also, as previous posts said, no double-sided stuff or switchblades. CA has similar laws about sticks and bats. If you have a big mag light in CA, and tell an officer "it's to smack someone who tries to rob me", then it's a felony, but say "that's for seeing in the dark", then it's no problem. Just make sure to watch what you say if ever confronted by a LEO.
Also, if you take your DSLR, don't leave it in the car. Theft is pretty popular in HI. A friend of mine left their luggage in the trunk of a rental one time to go on a hike and spent the rest of their trip at the passport office trying to get duplicate ID for the flight home. Keep your ID and anything valuable with you or at the hotel at all times.
 
Hey sambodai,
thanks for that info. I'm walking with my Salts because I want them primarily for at the beach (in the water to fight off the sharks! LOL) and for the hikes we intend to do.
Right now I'm swayed to leaving the DSLR at home, it may be a hindrance on the outings we intend to do so I think the G11 and SD870IS Canons should suffice.

Turns out our flight situation got messed up while my wife was trying to book last night so we're leaving tomorrow after all. She tried to book some tickets on sale but ran into issues with the webpage freezing. After several attempts to refresh the page it came back as booked at the regular price, not the sale price. She spent most of this morning fighting to have the tickets cancelled and re-booked at the sale price but had to take a different flight instead. Right now she's trying to book a hotel on Maui.

If anyone's got suggestions for a nice reasonably priced hotel in Maui that'd be great!
 
Let us know how it goes. I'm planning on bringing a Salt-1 and a Tasman Salt plus maybe a FB for hiking. I also want to bring a more expensive folder but I'm afraid I'll lose it some how.
 
Well I got back from Maui yesterday (talk about a long travel day!). I left the hotel Tuesday morning at 10 am, with connector flights from LAX to O'Hare then finally I landed at 9am EST on Wednesday back home in Toronto.
Anyhow, I carried the Salt1 and Labybug Salt with no problems. The interesting thing is that I forgot to take my Leatherman Wave (in nylon sheath) out of my carry-on backpack but it got through the US carry-on detectors without any issues. It was only when I was on the first plane that I realized I had forgotten to repack it in my checked luggage! Go figure!
 
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