knife law experiences in New York state

trout #2

trout #2

Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
527
It seems fairly well established the New York City is to be avoided at all costs if you're a knife enthusiast. What about the rest of the state? I've found a few vague law references so far but was curious about any first-hand experience of how they're interpreted and enforced. I may be moving to Ithaca, NY in the spring and am trying to decide how worried I should be.
 
The law reguarding gravity knives that is being actively enforced in NYC is in fact a NY State law. The exposed knife ban is only in NYC. I have found that in Nassau and Suffolk and upstate NY the law is not enforced in a manner as it is in NYC. That said it could be at anytime and the case law allows many folders to be considered gravity knives. There is no state blade size limit.
 
I live in Suffolk County, NY and I carry a Sog Seal Pup (fixed blade). NYC is very strict when it comes to weapons, but the rest of the state is somewhat descent.
 
are there any folders that are not considered a gravity knife? perhaps something that locks closed?
 
anthonyc, there is an issue with a knife that needs a lock to be released before opening if the blade can be flicked open after the button is pressed. The law was written ( and enforced for years) banning true gravity knives that required the user to "release" the blade from the handle. For years that was viewed as pressing the release button and then flicking the knife open or allowing it to fall open via gravity. The way the law is being enforced today, it seems logical that any knife requiring you to press a button to open the blade ( not an auto) would not be a gravity knife, but in NYC I still say the best bet is a non locking folder under 4" blade and not exposed....
 
Dave the pilum knife is the Russian model that actually shoots the blade out of the knife like a spear gun. They are illegal in all of the USA and are very poorly made garbage. This is the only knife I agree with being banned every where.
Levine's link is helpful, but the real sense of the law lives in the court system and local police as to how it is enforced. In NYC the present day view is all knives are bad, and in other parts of NY the enforcement seems to be different. In NYC, if you can hold the blade and flick the handle open it is considered a gravity knife !! This has held up in court and remember this is the state law that is being enforced there. I have been out of law enforcement in NYC for years now, but in my day there were never an arrest for simple knife possession. It is considered a good collar now.....times have changed for the worse....
 
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