Knife laws in PA.

B

Blades

Joined
Oct 5, 1998
Messages
3,151
Any one know what the general state laws are for knives??
I can't search, been here 10 years, but no search for me. :)
Thanks for the help.
 
yea i would not carry any bali or blade longer than 3.5 inches in philly. my wifes family lives outside of philly and i used to live near philly to. recently they have been cracking down. especially since there has been a ton of movies filmed there recently since the mayor and governor are trying to raise philly's economy they are one of the few big cities that arnt charging a tax for filming. thus more movies equals more people coming to watch filming and the police are getting more strict. thats what i was told last time i was in philly and they were filming the new transformers movie.
 
glistam said:
Good link. To sum it up in plain English: No switchblades. Balisongs, but no switchblades.

That's basically it. No length limit or anything mentioned in law.

Word of warning though: Cities make their own laws, especially Philly.
Click to expand...

I did the Police self defense training for another PA city for a number of years. Most cops that I have talked to will tell you that less than 4 is okay. Most will just lay the blade across their open palm, if it fits then it's okay.
I carry a knife for back up for the pistola;):thumbup:
 
shike said:
I did the Police self defense training for another PA city for a number of years. Most cops that I have talked to will tell you that less than 4 is okay. Most will just lay the blade across their open palm, if it fits then it's okay.
I carry a knife for back up for the pistola;):thumbup:
Click to expand...

Ah, that's why we have courts.
Here's the thing: If a cop is claiming a 4 inch limit, he or she may be referring to a local county or city law. If there is not such a law dictating a limit to length, the case will be thrown out immediately, barring some other standard of judgement (i.e. that it's a switchblade, it was carried with unlawful intent, etc.)
The palm thing is another matter. Some cops know how many inches their own personal palm is and use this to eyeball the length relative to it. But this is not a legally defensible method of measurement. The court will measure it with a ruler regardless, and if it doesn't add up, the case get's thrown out.
 
Fallons Knives said:
yea i would not carry any bali or blade longer than 3.5 inches in philly. my wifes family lives outside of philly and i used to live near philly to. recently they have been cracking down. especially since there has been a ton of movies filmed there recently since the mayor and governor are trying to raise philly's economy they are one of the few big cities that arnt charging a tax for filming. thus more movies equals more people coming to watch filming and the police are getting more strict. thats what i was told last time i was in philly and they were filming the new transformers movie.
Click to expand...

In Philly, you can be arrested and fined for carrying ANY knife or sharp object that can be used as a weapon.
 
morrowj_98 said:
In Philly, you can be arrested and fined for carrying ANY knife or sharp object that can be used as a weapon.
Click to expand...

As discussed in another thread, what does my head in is that you can carry a concealed firearm in Philly. Even non-concealed carry is technically legal. What makes it "worse" is that PA is a shall-issue state on concealed carry permits.

But you can't have a knife in Philly, under any circumstances, unless you're working and has a legitimate need for said knife.

Maybe some of us in Philly should get together and write to the city council, asking them to remove that particular ordinance or at least make it less vague and give people their 2nd amendment rights back. Maybe I'm taking laws, etc. too literally? After all, I'm not a US Citizen, I just live here and English isn't my first language.
 
Last edited:
I was looking at a Benchmade 9051/9052. I live in PA, so does this mean that knife is illegal to carry or own ???
 
nyefmaker said:
I was looking at a Benchmade 9051/9052. I live in PA, so does this mean that knife is illegal to carry or own ???
Click to expand...

I believe this knife is ILLEAGAL to carry. It is LEAGAL I believe to own one. Just don't know take it out into public, unless you are only transporting it for sale, or your new house, W/E. Other states it is ILLEAGAL to own one, even if it is in your own house. So be careful and check the laws to make sure. I'm not a lawyer, so do not take my word for it. Check it out your self to make sure.

I have lived near Pittsburgh all my life, and have always been told that as long that it is no bigger than my palm then it is ok to carry. I don't actually live in Pittsburgh, and this was from my parents. Technically you can carry any sized knife, unless that particular county/city has their own limit, but I would keep it within 4 inches, 4 1/2 atmost, so not to attract any unwanted attention.
 
Last edited:
nyefmaker said:
I was looking at a Benchmade 9051/9052. I live in PA, so does this mean that knife is illegal to carry or own ???
Click to expand...

PA state law gets fuzzy for me here. If I understand it correctly, a 9051/9052 would be illegal to carry in Pa. but not illegal to own. I understand it is illegal to sell autos in Pa as well. Dealers have been arrested at gun shows for selling autos in Pa., however I've seen other dealers selling autos in plain site with no fear of being arrested. There was a dealer on this forum selling autos at shows in Pa. I asked him about it and he said because they were collectible it was okay to sell them. Fuzzy....

If you do own any autos, I'd leave them in your house.
 
So are they saying in this that kershaw assited openers like the wirlwind ,leek and chive are illegal ?
 
monsterdog said:
As discussed in another thread, what does my head in is that you can carry a concealed firearm in Philly. Even non-concealed carry is technically legal. What makes it "worse" is that PA is a shall-issue state on concealed carry permits.
Click to expand...

This is because Pennsylvania has preemption for firearm laws, but not for knives. Philadelphia is not allowed to pass a law banning concealed carry of firearms (and we all know they would if they could), but they can ban knives.
 
I just saw this thread now. I have asked the Philly PD when I set up the shopping ceneter I over see what the Philly law was on knives and was told by the Captain I was with they had a ban on all knives unless they were used for a specfic reason. They consider a knife arrest a good one as they now do in NYC as well.

I do know a switchblade dealer that was arrested by the PA State Police at a gun show and had about 20+ old Italian knives taken as evidence from him. When he went to court the judge agreed that they fell under the curio exception and dropped the charges and returned the knives. I think the PD will view them as illegal, but the courts seem to be more knife friendly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top