Mass. knife laws

J

John P

Joined
Nov 16, 1999
Messages
9
Does anyone have any information on Mass. law concerning knives? Legal length, is double edged ok, Fixed or Folder, etc..
I Appreciate any help, I have to travel from Texas to Mass. next week to teach a class for work and I want to take something with me since my pistol is obviously out of the question!!
John
 
John,
Try to stick to a small folder....blade length around 4".Autos with blade length over 1 1/2" are out of the question.Fixed blades are ok as long as they are small....dont bring your 16" trailhacker
wink.gif
!
And as always,dont advertise your tools.What people cant see wont hurt.Im sure you know the drill in that area.
BTW where in MA are you going?
Take care

------------------
Jay
Life is like a box of chocolates,never know what your gona git!
 
Going to Worcester next Tue., Ill be there for about two weeks. I appreciate the information. Is there any max. length for a fixed blade?

John
 
Unless your camping,yes you should keep the length of a fixed blade the same as a folder....4" or under.I carry large fixed blades at times.If im taking a trip somewhere in my home state,where I may be camping or hiking,yes you can be sure I have a large fixed blade on my person.


------------------
Jay
Life is like a box of chocolates,never know what your gona git!
 
John, what brings you to Worcester (or as the locals pronounce it, "wusta") My wife is from there. Coincidentally, my family is relocating to New England next week. Hopefully we will only be in Mass. a week or so, then up to New Hampshire for the summer, then Maine towards September. Hopefully, Maine's gun and knive laws are a more rational than most of the East. Any comments out there about New Hampshire and Maine??
Have a nice trip!
Barry H.
 
 
I live in MA, was pretty sure the length limit was 3 1/2 inches. Not totally sure but I never really carry anything large anyway. Anybody know what the real deal is?
 
According to what is listed below any size folding knife is legal.

Here is what is illegal:

Any switchblade with a blade larger than 1 1/2"

any fixed blade

Balistic knives

gravity knives

Dirks

daggers

any knife with a double edge

any stiletto

any device which enables a knife with a locking blade to be drawn at a locked position

I would take that last one as saying that the Emerson Commander with the Wave mechanism would be illegal.

Other then that all else seems OK
smile.gif


Massachusetts - Chapter 269, Section 10... (b) Whoever,
except as provided by law, carries on his person, or carries on his person or under his control in a vehicle, any stiletto, dagger, or a device which enables a knife with a locking blade to be drawn at a locked position, any ballistic knife..., dirk knife, any knife having a double- edged blade, or a switch knife... shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two and one-half years nor more than five years in the state prison... except that, if the court finds that the defendant has not been previously convicted of a felony, he may be punished by a
fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction.
- C. 269, Section 10... (b) Whoever, except as provided by law, carries on his person, or carries on his person or under his control in a vehicle, any stiletto, dagger, or a device which enables a knife with a locking blade to be drawn at a locked position, any ballistic knife..., dirk knife, any knife having a double-edged blade, or a switch knife, or any knife having an automatic spring release
device by which the blade is released from the handle, having a blade of over one and one-half inches... shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two and one- half years nor more than five years in the state prison... except that, if the court finds that the defendant has not been previously convicted of a felony, he may be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction.
- C. 269, Section 12. Whoever manufactures or causes to be manufactured, or sells or exposes for sale, an instrument or weapon of the kind usually known as a dirk knife, a switch knife... or a device or case which enables a locking knife to be drawn at a locked position, any ballistic knife... shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months...
- C. 269, Section 12. Whoever manufactures or causes to be manufactured, or sells or exposes for sale, an instrument or weapon of the kind usually known as a dirk knife, a switch knife or any knife having an automatic spring release device by which the blade is released from the handle, having a blade of over one and one-half inches or a device or case which enables a locking knife to be drawn at a locked position, any ballistic knife... shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty nor more than
one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months...
Massachusetts Case Law:
- "Knives described as 'kitchen knife,' 'folding type knife,' and 'Swiss army knife' may not fall within category of dangerous weapons." (1994) http://www.knife-expert.com


------------------

Louis Buccellato
http://www.themartialway.com
Knives, Weapons and equipment. Best prices anywhere.
-------------

"only the paranoid will survive"
 
California also prohibits carrying a "stiletto" Are they talking about the Italian style folders, or do they mean some kind of spike used for stabbing?

Jason

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"I have often laughed at the weaklings who call themselves kind because they have no claws"

- Zarathustra
 
i never heard of any fixed blade being illegal to carry as long as its not double edged.... if so looks like im in trouble
smile.gif
...not!
 
Originally posted by TheMartialWay:
According to what is listed below any size folding knife is legal.

Here is what is illegal:

Any switchblade with a blade larger than 1 1/2"

any fixed blade

Balistic knives

gravity knives

Dirks

daggers

any knife with a double edge

any stiletto

any device which enables a knife with a locking blade to be drawn at a locked position

I would take that last one as saying that the Emerson Commander with the Wave mechanism would be illegal.

Other then that all else seems OK
smile.gif


Massachusetts - Chapter 269, Section 10... (b) Whoever,
except as provided by law, carries on his person, or carries on his person or under his control in a vehicle, any stiletto, dagger, or a device which enables a knife with a locking blade to be drawn at a locked position, any ballistic knife..., dirk knife, any knife having a double- edged blade, or a switch knife... shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two and one-half years nor more than five years in the state prison... except that, if the court finds that the defendant has not been previously convicted of a felony, he may be punished by a
fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction.
- C. 269, Section 10... (b) Whoever, except as provided by law, carries on his person, or carries on his person or under his control in a vehicle, any stiletto, dagger, or a device which enables a knife with a locking blade to be drawn at a locked position, any ballistic knife..., dirk knife, any knife having a double-edged blade, or a switch knife, or any knife having an automatic spring release
device by which the blade is released from the handle, having a blade of over one and one-half inches... shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two and one- half years nor more than five years in the state prison... except that, if the court finds that the defendant has not been previously convicted of a felony, he may be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction.
- C. 269, Section 12. Whoever manufactures or causes to be manufactured, or sells or exposes for sale, an instrument or weapon of the kind usually known as a dirk knife, a switch knife... or a device or case which enables a locking knife to be drawn at a locked position, any ballistic knife... shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months...
- C. 269, Section 12. Whoever manufactures or causes to be manufactured, or sells or exposes for sale, an instrument or weapon of the kind usually known as a dirk knife, a switch knife or any knife having an automatic spring release device by which the blade is released from the handle, having a blade of over one and one-half inches or a device or case which enables a locking knife to be drawn at a locked position, any ballistic knife... shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty nor more than
one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months...
Massachusetts Case Law:
- "Knives described as 'kitchen knife,' 'folding type knife,' and 'Swiss army knife' may not fall within category of dangerous weapons." (1994) http://www.knife-expert.com


Click to expand...

Where in the law do you get that a fixed blade is illegal? Not to argue the point but Im curious.
John
 
Yeah, I want to know that, also. I've seen nothing indicating any limit of length, or that fixed-blades might be illegal. My local precinct actually indicated the opposite, although they did claim that over 6" was illegal, as well as anything serrated, so there are still plenty of uninformed police out there.

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
Growing up in Dorchester a real exclusive borrough of Boston back in the 50's and 60,s hell the 70's and 80's to where does the time go? Anyway The cops always went by the 4 finger standard. If the blade exceeded 4 fingers then it was taken come to think of it if it didn't exceed 4 fingers it was taken also hhmmm....Now the stupidity of that rule is every cops hand is a different size so thinking back the whole thing was BS. Well at least now that I'm older and wiser(hopefully) I don't run into this problem anymore. Must be one of those growing up things I guess. Hell Now I carry what I damn please. Being almost 50 you really don't find yourself in situations where a knife being found on ones person is an issue especially when walking around with a suit and tie on.
Bob
 
Sorry guys, the fixed blade call was an assumption on my part. If "a device or case which enables a locking knife to be drawn at a locked position" is illegal then wouldn't a fixed blade be also? I mean, they are saying that they are against a knife being able to be drawn in a locked position, isn't that what a fixed blade basically is? But I guess if it is not speciffically stated, then it is not illegal. Another thing to be concerned about is the definition of "dagger". Dagger-A sharp pointed knife for stabbing. Come on, you know how many knives a good lawyer could turn into a "dagger"
Just something to think about. Take care.

------------------

Louis Buccellato
http://www.themartialway.com
Knives, Weapons and equipment. Best prices anywhere.
-------------

"only the paranoid will survive"
 
I thought that was where it came from, but didn't want to jinx it. A fixed blade is not a 'locking knife,' as it never folds. One of the incredible stupidities of knife laws is that folders which open quickly (autos, gravity knives, balisongs, etc.) are illegal, but fixed-blades are not. I assume it is a concealability issue, or that would be the defense of the law anyway, if you ever challenged it as simply having been enacted to gain votes. They can't make the fixed-blades illegal or the hunters, etc. will complain too much, but they can make the rest of them illegal because not enough people complain to overturn the law. The way we're going, pretty soon one-hand knives may become illegal. Even though I don't like many of his policies, I may have to vote for Bush, knowing what may happen if Gore gets in...

--JB

------------------
e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
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