Legal Blade Length & Why

P

PSB

Joined
Dec 21, 2003
Messages
71
I'm a bit confused re: legal blade length. What difference does 1/16 of an inch have on the lethality of a knife (assuming it were to be used for such a purpose)? Is there less of a chance of permanent organ damage with a blade less than three inches. What is the reasoning behind the less than 3 inches rule?
 
Welcome to Bladeforums!

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Blades that poke or cut vital organs are more likely to be lethal. For example damage to the liver often causes a delayed death. Length matters. If you are going to set a limit you look at lethal injuries on one side and the length of blade that is adequate for most around town tasks. Somewhere in the 3 to 4 inch range makes some practical sense. I usually carry a 3.25" blade and find it takes care of business. If I had to I would grind off the last .25" and it would still work for me.
 
What is the reasoning behind the less than 3 inches rule?
Click to expand...

Applying a rational standard to law-making is a fatal flaw in "understanding". The various blade-length restrictions are arbitrary and meaningless. It doesn't mean you won't be charged and convicted over 1/16th of an inch, though.

IINM (and I may be), Georgia has recently made it illegal to conceal a folding pocket knife with a blade length over 2 inches. I'm quite sure I could wreak unimagineable horror on an unarmed person with a 2 inch blade, in no time flat, if I were so inclined. They probably wouldn't appreciate the fact that I'm not using an illegal 3" blade.

I don't even live there, but the state will still let me carry my Glock 27 when I visit. :rolleyes:

So no, it doesn't make sense.
 
I realize I'm asking a number of questions. Is there anything close to the National Rifle Association (i.e. fully supported by millions, complete with top lawyers) in the knife world? It becomes very confusing where you can and can't or should and shouldn't conceal carry. If I open carried my knife on my job, I'd be out of a job. The minute I leave my job it's expected to be visible. Of course, you never really want it visible as one doesn't wish to generate trouble. In addition, I am aware you never bring a knife to a gunfight, but I'd sure as hell would rather have one than not have one in a bad situation....even in Georgia.
 
I think it is interesting to learn about the lack of "knock down power" of a knife which may none the less have inflicted a fatal wound. A Harvard student was involved in a fight with a couple of rough characters in Boston. After the fight one of the tough guys sort of bragged about how they'd roughed the guy up. About that point they figured out that he'd been seriously wounded. They didn't immediately seek medical help since they had legal issues. It turned out that the tip of a Spyderco Military had poked into the guy's heart. He was dying and yet he hadn't realized he had been seriously hurt. In the end he died. The Harvard guy was convicted of manslaughter.

Maybe wider shallower wounds would have been a better defensive approach. Wounds that don't stop an attacker and yet leave you defending yourself against murder charges seems like a bad tradeoff.

Anyway a 3.5" blade was long enough in this case to kill somebody.

This article contains references to the autopsy results:
http://www.courttv.com/scripts/feat...thisFile=/trials/pring-wilson/092404_ctv.html
 
Legislators have to arbitrarily pick numbers to effectuate laws: 18 to vote, 21 to drink, 0.08 blood alcohol level, 3" blade, etc.

I'm guessing that the blade length in legislation is always a "feel good" length, i.e., it literally starts to look scary at more than the legislated length. Same thing with so-called assault weapons - their defining factors, like a flash suppressor or collapsable stock, just look scary but do not actually increase lethality. JMO.

right on :thumbup:
 
Welcome to Amerika. I got a CCW just so I can carry my normal larger than
2 inch folders in my front pocket in Georgia.
 
OK.....now here's a stupid question. I thought that conceal carry only applied to guns. So you're telling me that if you have a CCW, that also applies to conceal carry of knives of (any, various) lengths?
 
Every state's "CCW" law is written differently from similar laws in most other states. In addition, there are many other laws on their books that also enter into what sorts of weapons and tools you may legally carry. We shouldn't expect the average legislator to act in a reasonable, rational, and intelligent manner, nor should we make anything simple enough that it might interfere with the ability of the average lawyer to make a very lucrative "living." Remember, also, that legislators are usually just lawyers with more ambition and/or a greater hunger for power.
 
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