Michigan Knife Law ???

AR fan

AR fan

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Carrying firearm or dangerous weapon with unlawful intent—Any person who, with intent to use the same unlawfully against the person of another, goes armed with a pistol or other firearm or dagger, dirk, razor, stiletto, or knife having a blade over 3 inches in length, or any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument, shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years or by a fine of not more than 2,500 dollars.
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QUESTION IS, can I legally carry a knife with blade over 3" in length?

EVERY LEO I have asked has told me that it was illegal to carry any knife with a blade over 3", folding or otherwise, in pouch, on your belt, or in pocket, and will be confiscated.

Unless I'm misreading the law, the LEO's are wrong. Why would they be misleading people as to the law? :confused:

BTW, the law is MCL 750.226, if someone wants to Google it for more clarification.
 
I live in lansing and have had many conversations with LEO`s and they always say the same thing,it changes county to county and it`s up to the officer. I have been with many people when they have been pulled over and the like and have had to tell the officer that I have a "pocket knife" on me and they hold on to it until they are done and then always give it back(no warnings or anything) and almost all the knives I carry are longer than 3 inches but not like 5 inches just around 4 .I would say only carry a knife over 3 inches if you never plan on getting caught commiting a crime because they will charge you for the knife even if you get off for whatever else you did, but if you are always polite and answer any questions quickly and otherwise coperate fully in a nice way you can carry just about anything.
 
The law allows an individual to carry a folding knife of ANY size as long as it is not carried with illegal intent. This is per LE training received from the Macomb County Sheriff Office. This certainly doesn't preclude an officer from misinterpreting the law.
 
The michigan law is vague. But you can carry a blade longer than 3". My question is, if a LEO decides to confiscate your knife, then what? Do you get a receipt describing your knife so you can go to court or police station later and get it back. Should you demand a receipt? Whats the best course of action if you know he's in the wrong?
 
filerunner said:
The michigan law is vague. But you can carry a blade longer than 3". My question is, if a LEO decides to confiscate your knife, then what? Do you get a receipt describing your knife so you can go to court or police station later and get it back. Should you demand a receipt? Whats the best course of action if you know he's in the wrong?
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2 things..go to the station and ask for the supervisor so you can get it back, in which case you might be charged with a crime.
or..
go buy a smaller one


- "An ordinary jackknife with a pointed blade 3-5/16 inches
long was not a 'dangerous weapon...' in the absence of
evidence that it was used or carried for use as a weapon."
(1945)

- "Five-inch, double-edged, nonfolding knife was not a
'hunting knife' within hunting knife exception..." (1989)

- "Defendant charged with carrying concealed weapon had
burden of proving that hunting knife was 'adapted and
carried as such'..." (1980)


thats some court decisions relating to it.

personally, I would not want to have to try it court, would cost quite a bit of money. Just get a CPL, and carry a handgun.
 
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I guess it all depends where you carry the knife. If you are downtown Detroit and the way the LEOS act there you are going to be hasseled. I have camped, hunted and fished Michigan all my life and carry 3 to 5 inch fixed blades in the parks while hunting and fishing and have never turned a head. Hunting season opens in another month and you have thousands of armed guys with all sorts of knives and rarely have a problem. Just hit a backwoods restaurant during hunting season and check out the knives on everyones belts.
 
thebrain said:
I have been with many people when they have been pulled over and the like and have had to tell the officer that I have a "pocket knife" on me and they hold on to it until they are done and then always give it back(no warnings or anything) and almost all the knives I carry are longer than 3 inches but not like 5 inches just around 4
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I have heard a lot of people say that this is something one should say, but it seems really strange to me. I would say that telling a LEO that you are carrying a weapon could be very easily misconstrued, and even if not, it gives the officer an extra reason to hassle you.

Can I please get some input from the LEOs on the board? Would you want a random dude you pull over telling you that he has a knife? I understand that we are a self-selected group here, so I'd appreciate it if you could give YOUR answer, as well as what you think your colleagues might think.
 
My question is..why push the law?
it says' 3", "unless it's a hunting knife" which 99% of police would relate to hunting season.

I will say that there's maybe 3% of police that , unless your cought with a knife-over 3"- during a crime, and it's not some mall ninja special, they won't care.
The rest will take it
most police are told anything over 3", except a hunting knife, is illegal.

take that for what it's worth.
 
filerunner said:
The michigan law is vague. But you can carry a blade longer than 3". My question is, if a LEO decides to confiscate your knife, then what? Do you get a receipt describing your knife so you can go to court or police station later and get it back. Should you demand a receipt? Whats the best course of action if you know he's in the wrong?
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If you ask for a receipt, you're supposed to get one, so be sure to ask for one,
and also note the name/badge number/license plate/date/time location of the encounter. You can't go wrong with documenting the event, so if the knife was legal, and somehow goes missing (lost ...) now you have documentation, can file a proper complaint, get some kind of restitution ... If you don't get a receipt, call the local non-emergency police number, and file a report.
 
SShepherd said:
My question is..why push the law?
it says' 3", "unless it's a hunting knife" which 99% of police would relate to hunting season.
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How do you come to that conclusion? There are two points in the MPC where knife length is mentioned, first in the "unlawful intent" section and then in a school zone weapon law. You even cited case law in one of your posts that shows that an over 3" blade is not a weapon if not carried as one.

The "hunting knife adapted and carried as such" exemption to "dirks, daggers, stilletos, and double edged blades" is only when it is "concealed on or about one's body". Folding knives are mentioned no where in this section. Neither is blade length for that matter.

I've seen michigan AG opinions that stated that the reason for these concealed weapons laws is to prevent people from quarreling while not knowing the other party is armed. This is why Michigan law allows open carry of a handgun without a permit.

This all being said, the possible misinterpretation of Michigan law doesn't even really apply to me as I am in Detroit proper almost every day so I have to conform to their 3" ordinance. I'm also very unlikely to carry a fixed blade while in the city, except for small keychain type fixed blades.

None of my EDC's are valuable enough for me to go through the bother of trying to get them back if unlawfully confiscated. Just not worth my time and effort.
 
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