Knives and more specifically butterfly knife/ balisongs in North Carolina

[Piper Maru]

Do any one you know the knife laws for this state, I know they are not as strict as in some places, but still would like to know a more detailed count.

 

[glistam]

Here is a official link to the NC legislatures own website with the relevant statute:
http://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_14/GS_14-269.html

In short, it is illegal to carry fixed blades and throwing starts concealed. Note that this law does not affect ownership or open carry. Butterfly knives or anything matching their description are never mentioned nor prohibited. Folders are exempted from this law specifically as "pocket knives."

 

[JSMcustoms]

14-269 (excerpts). Carrying concealed weapons. (a) It shall be
unlawful for any person, except when on his own premises,
willfully and intentionally to carry concealed about his
person any bowie knife, dirk, dagger... razor... or other
deadly weapon of like kind. This section does not apply to
an ordinary pocket knife carried in a closed position. As
used in this section, "ordinary pocket knife" means a
small knife, designed for carrying in a pocket or purse,
which has its cutting edge and point entirely enclosed by
its handle, and that may not be opened by a throwing,
explosive, or spring action... (b1) It is a defense to
prosecution under this section that: (1) The weapon was
not a firearm; (2) The defendant was engaged in, or on the
way to or from, an activity in which he legitimately used
the weapon...



The bolded section from this excerpt from the full text of North Carolina's knife laws seems to make balisongs a clear no. Someone please correct me if this is wrong. Or is this correct like I believe?

 

[glistam]

JSMcustoms, you're using a copy-paste from http://knife-expert.com I discourage that site's use due to it being truncated versions of the statute, and in many cases, up to 6 years out of date. In any case, for NC it is incomplete and so I point to the state's official legislative page: http://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_14/GS_14-269.html

In short, balisongs are not per se banned. Rather, the statutory language simply indicates that they do not fit the definition of "ordinary pocket knife." The statute does not say that "ordinary pocket knife" is only exception to the concealed carry law, just that they are one kind of exception. It is theoretically possible to raise an affirmative defense for a butterfly knife under other parts of the law. Furthermore, nothing in this statute prohibits open carry of any weapon.

 

[JSMcustoms]

I see, thanks for clearing that up. And I checked around with a couple of LEO's that I know in my area and they said that balisongs are really a gray area and that if you're being questioned about your knife in the first place, it's probably because you were already facing a charge for something else. Their advice was to respect the officer that's talking to you about it and you'll probably get the same in return.