Maryland knife laws.

[glistam]

Since a folding knife is considered a penknife and not a weapon, can it be carried concealed or does it have to be visible?

It can be carried concealed or openly, whatever is your preference.

By specifying that a penknife does not count as a weapon, this law quite literally does not apply. No law against something = legal.
Again the usual warning that schools it's still illegal, but that is due to an entirely separate law that only applies to schools and nowhere else.

 

[glistam]

^The folding knife concealed/not concealed issue has been explained many times in this thread already, but a folding knife is okay to carry in a pocket or sheath. A fixed blade must be visible

We should coin a new acronym: RTFT(hread)

Welcome new Md members!
Carl, we need to do another get together with all these new members
Is edgeworks still up and running?
CH

Was there a few months ago. I like them, as one of the few cutlery stores left in the state after poor Chesapeake K&T went belly up. Great product variety!
One minor amusement to me as a knife law guy is they have several true switchblades in their display case with the tags "law enforcement and military only," as if that actually makes it ok!

 

[Alaric92]

Question for you guys. I have a set of Hibbens throwing knives. Can I carry them on my hip as long as people can see them?

 

[glistam]

Question for you guys. I have a set of Hibbens throwing knives. Can I carry them on my hip as long as people can see them?

Yes! If it's not a gun, not be used to attack or menace, and people can see it, it's legal. There are no special "throwing knife" regulations in the state law. Only catch is if you live in a county or incorporated city with an ordinance against it, though off the top of my head I don't know any that apply to any fixed-bladed knives except maybe federally owned and operated land.

EDIT: One other warning. People can be morons, and cops are no exception. Have a look at this essay for an elaboration. http://weaponlaws.wikidot.com

 

[Charlie_K]

Well don't just roll over and take it. Aren't you on camera the whole time during a traffic stop? They have dash cams. I'd like to see them lie their way out of that.

Under normal circumstances. But in situations like this the dash cams are mysteriously nonfunctional and there's no video to contradict the story of the police.

 

[glistam]

Under normal circumstances. But in situations like this the dash cams are mysteriously nonfunctional and there's no video to contradict the story of the police.

I know who this guy is, ok? He's kind of a duffus and not as innocent as he claims, but suffice it to say he was acquitted of the weapon charge. So your claim that the dash cams "are mysteriously nonfunctional" didn't pan out. Still guilty of driving on a suspended registration though.

 

[slaxn420]

Elite Forces Slim Black Concealable Tanto Knife With Finger Grip & Sheath... I recently percussed this from budk.. and was wondering if it was legal to conceal, let alone carry at all in Baltimore MD. thanks.

 

[sh00ter01]

Elite Forces Slim Black Concealable Tanto Knife With Finger Grip & Sheath... I recently percussed this from budk.. and was wondering if it was legal to conceal, let alone carry at all in Baltimore MD. thanks.

No, can't conceal a fixed blade.

-sh00ter

 

[Stargater]

You can carry them openly, but concealed is the problem. I was just talking to a fellow today privately who was arrested for carrying two Boye Basics, which are very small fixed blades. He ran a stop sign and the cop asked if he had any weapons in the car. He volunteered his Boye's (If this is you, Don't DO THAT!) which were concealed under his shirt on his belt. He got taken in for carrying a dangerous weapon. "Bowie knives" are illegal to carry concealed, but this term has no definition in law. I don't know the outcome of this poor fellow's case because he has not been tried yet, but food for thought.

Please excuse me for resurrecting an old thread, but things in Maryland are heating up over the knife issue and it was news to me that it's okay to car fixed blade knives openly.

As far as the guy who was pulled over, yikes! I know a cop who arrested some poor old guy because they talked him into letting them search his car on a routine stop (NEVER, EVER, LET THEM DO THIS). The guy said yes, and they found (to the driver's amazement) a small, beat-up .22lr Jennings J-22 pistol with no magazine under the seat. They cost maybe fifty bucks back in the day and were made of zinc. So, did these officers give him a warning and put the gun in his trunk until he got home and found out if it was one of his son's friends, as heed told them?

No, they arrested him, left his car by the side of the road to be towed and booked him! I couldn't believe it! I'd known this cop for years, yet he did something as low and despicable as that. But sadly, this is what this country is coming to -- where we have to regard police as potential bad guys. Many civilians have come to the aid of cops over the years, and they need our support and good will when they get into a pinch -- and doing what my friend did not only is helping turn this country into an entirely different place (a worse place) than the one we grew up in, it undermines public trust. Our reaction, though, is to be firm, but respectful, polite, and we must know our rights. That's why many of us say, don't EVER consent to being searched without strenuous protest. In our day and age, cops no longer be assumed to be our friends. And I'll bet the next time that man gets a call from a police charity that helps support the families of fallen cops, he might be less charitable than he was in the past.

 

[glistam]

Please excuse me for resurrecting an old thread, but things in Maryland are heating up over the knife issue and it was news to me that it's okay to car fixed blade knives openly.

As far as the guy who was pulled over, yikes! I know a cop who arrested some poor old guy because they talked him into letting them search his car on a routine stop (NEVER, EVER, LET THEM DO THIS). The guy said yes, and they found (to the driver's amazement) a small, beat-up .22lr Jennings J-22 pistol with no magazine under the seat. They cost maybe fifty bucks back in the day and were made of zinc. So, did these officers give him a warning and put the gun in his trunk until he got home and found out if it was one of his son's friends, as heed told them?

No, they arrested him, left his car by the side of the road to be towed and booked him! I couldn't believe it! I'd known this cop for years, yet he did something as low and despicable as that. But sadly, this is what this country is coming to -- where we have to regard police as potential bad guys. Many civilians have come to the aid of cops over the years, and they need our support and good will when they get into a pinch -- and doing what my friend did not only is helping turn this country into an entirely different place (a worse place) than the one we grew up in, it undermines public trust. Our reaction, though, is to be firm, but respectful, polite, and we must know our rights. That's why many of us say, don't EVER consent to being searched without strenuous protest. In our day and age, cops no longer be assumed to be our friends. And I'll bet the next time that man gets a call from a police charity that helps support the families of fallen cops, he might be less charitable than he was in the past.

Resurrecting a thread is generally fine, but please read the entire thread before doing so. This matter was already discussed at length.

 

[Stargater]

I did read the thread, but I forgot to mention the main reason I brought it up.

Just recently I purchased one of those ridiculously large Espada XLs, and my wife asked me if they were legal in Maryland. I told her yes, there was no legal limit on blade length. But when I actually got one of the bloody things, I couldn't imagine what the reaction of a Maryland cop might be if he searched someone and found such a knife (or one of those equally gargantuan Timber Rattlers which sell for under twenty bucks.) Still, I carried an Espada XL on a recent vacation while walking on secluded trails in the late afternoon. But one reason I carried it was because there weren't any cops around where we were walking.

 

[glistam]

Just recently I purchased one of those ridiculously large Espada XLs, and my wife asked me if they were legal in Maryland. I told her yes, there was no legal limit on blade length. But when I actually got one of the bloody things, I couldn't imagine what the reaction of a Maryland cop might be if he searched someone and found such a knife (or one of those equally gargantuan Timber Rattlers which sell for under twenty bucks.) Still, I carried an Espada XL on a recent vacation while walking on secluded trails in the late afternoon. But one reason I carried it was because there weren't any cops around where we were walking.

I think we need to make a very important distinction here, because these two events are not equivalent.

That man had a handgun in his car. That's illegal, no tip-toeing around it.
Folding knives of any size, and fixed blades that are not concealed, are legal.

It's absurd to expect a cop to let some off with a warning who breaks a fairly serious law in MD (we're one of the most gun-unfriendly state in the US), especially in this case and I will tell you why: They already disliked him and were fishing for an excuse to get him. That's why they asked if they could search his vehicle. I know enough cops to know that searching every car that you pull over for a traffic stop would be so time consuming that they'd never get anything done. This "poor old guy" was not as innocent as he claims.

Arresting people for things that aren't illegal is a federal matter, and as mentioned in this thread, will land said officer in court and out of a job.

 

[Wave0000]

New guy here from Maryland. I carry a fixed blade all day everywhere. Kabar hindrance with 3 1/4 inch blade. I farm and the folders just never hold up. Sometimes its under my shirt, sometimes its in the open just depends on how my shirt falls. From the farm to drinking at a bar I've never had an issue with anyone or any cops. As long as you are just going about your business, not acting like an a** or wearing a sword on your side I doubt anyone will mess with you. That is just my personal experience.