knife laws in kentucky?! PLEASE HELP!

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wpn12341

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Nov 15, 2011
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needing to know knife laws in kentucky and, if possible, lexington's knife laws. Thanks for the help everyone!
 
glistam said:
Short answer: It's illegal to carry any knife concealed except for an "ordinary pocket knife or hunting knife." No law against open carry of any knives.

Now, what heck is an "ordinary pocket knife or hunting knife?" No clue. I will get back to you when I find some case law clarifying that.

Official Sources:
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/500-00/080.PDF
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/527-00/020.PDF
Click to expand...

are you a lawyer? asking cause i often don't see people referrence case law which is the way to determine the actual law interpretation.

offhand question aside, good to see kentucky's ccw permit is similar to floriduh's alllowing other wepaons including knives. i am often amazed a state would have a firearm only license and ban that same person who is now allowed to carry supreme firepower, but deny them a knive or other weapon or tool considered a weapon by some folks. logic just floats on by govt officials.

for the op, you just visiting or moving there? if visiting, i'd stay on the side of caution....

"(4) "Deadly weapon" means any of the following:(c) Any knife other than an ordinary pocket knife or hunting knife;"

reading that my guess is i wouldn't carry anything more than a buck 110. even though being large might be okay, but without a length defined by case law or in the law itself....it's anyone's guess. probably non-tactical looking folders will be okay? once again a guess without the right info.....slipjoints are a poor choice as weapons for the most part, so they should be fine. also i can't imagine a police officer arresting an old kentucky fellow, for having even a large stockman in his pocket.....but alas i am not a lawyer so what do i know?

your best bet i think is to call the state police and get a better definition of what is considered a hunting or ordinary pocket knife and go from there....and then call the lexington police and whichever county they are in and ask the county sheriff office as well, assuming it's a county setup like it is here in floriduh. reason being is you might think your in lexington, but might end up in the county, and who knows if the ordinances are the same or different. ask the same questions from all three and deduce your answer from that. got to love govt don't you? nothing is ever easy.

if moving there hands down apply and get your ccw permit.
 
jbmonkey said:
are you a lawyer? asking cause i often don't see people reference case law which is the way to determine the actual law interpretation.
Click to expand...

No sir. But I do have several in my immediate family and I have some formal coursework in criminal law, as that was my original career goal, and it's still a fascinating subject to me. Incidentally I wrote this article (http://weaponlaws.wikidot.com) with the help of a lawyer and several cop friends, which I feel should be required reading for all knife law n00bs.

Now as to Kentucky, I think it's pretty sweet that a concealed carry permit works with all weapons, for the same reasons others have stated. However, here's some case law info in case the OP is underage, has a record, or simply cannot meet the permit requirements for whatever reason:

Arguably the most famous test case was White v Commonwealth (2004), which involved a guy with a literal knife collection in his car. To set the stage, our nimrod defendant was found sleeping in his car in the middle of downtown Lexington at 7 in the morning. He not only had weed and was baked out of his gourd, he was belligerent with the cops and resisted arrest. I'm telling this part of the story because 99.9% of concealed weapon cases involved the defendant doing something overtly stupid to get the cops searching him in the first place.

Anyhow, when the cops flip him and his car to see what falls out, they find the following:
-A multi-tool with a knife blade
-A butterfly knife
-A lockblade tactical knife
-A fixed-blade tactical knife with a seven-inch blade
-A dagger
-Four additional lockblade tactical knives, one with a curved blade
-A bunch of razor blades
-An expandable baton

Among these, the appeals court ruled that only 3 knives and the baton were illegal weapons. The knives were the butterfly knife, the fixed blade tactical knife, and the lockblade tactical knife that opens with one hand.

Based on that, it looks like this law is mainly targeted at knives that appear to be designed for use as weapons, rather than tools. One would likely be fine carrying a gerber multitool, a Swiss Army knife, or a Buck 110. Think woodsy and/or utilitarian in design.
 
That's the impression I got while I was taking the ky ccw class, regarding knives. I think that anything resembling the classic outdoor genre would be ok. They did say that any type of kitchen knife would be considered a deadly weapon if it was concealed on your person.
 
glistam said:
No sir. But I do have several in my immediate family and I have some formal coursework in criminal law, as that was my original career goal, and it's still a fascinating subject to me. Incidentally I wrote this article (http://weaponlaws.wikidot.com) with the help of a lawyer and several cop friends, which I feel should be required reading for all knife law n00bs.
Click to expand...

Good read, thanks for posting the link, Sir. Although you forgot the most important reason govt passes weapon restriction laws.......to contol their citizens.;)

Also thanks for the follow up on what case law you could find.












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