New (and Old) Jersey dudes

shaldag

shaldag

Joined
Jun 17, 2004
Messages
8,436
I have noticed that there are a lot of people from NJ on these forums, and they say that NJ knife laws are more liberal (in the good sense) than I thought. My wife's family lives in NJ in a number of different towns, and we occasionally visit. Any knife stores with a large selection? andy custom dealers? What's out there in the wilds of the Garden State? No hurry as no immediate travel plans, but if there is something really good, I would go somewhat out of my way....

Thanks
 
Knife stores, knife stores ... One Stop Knife Shop, Bayou Lafourche, New Graham, Knife Center ... :D

I bet the members of the New Jersey Knife Collectors Association own more knives than the three biggest knife stores in the state!
 
The knife selection in this state is dismal. Fred Eisen's (http://artknives.com/) just over the river in New Hope, PA, though, and he has a goodly selection of customs.

And about our knife laws... We don't actually have a length limit, which sounds really good. But we instead have a "concealed deadly weapon" law, which essentially leaves the decision in the hands of the cop on the scene. Understand, I've never had a problem with cops and knives here (I stay out of trouble, look the cops in the eye, and treat them politely), but at least on the books, the laws are uncomfortably vague (hell, prolly unconstitutionally vague, but just _try_ fighting a "weapon" control law in Jersey).

And our gun laws suck. A lot.

But our diners... Our diners are _awesome_. If you come to the Garden State, don't even _think_ of leaving without eating in at least one Jersey diner. :D

BTW, this reminds me... Gotta make a point of going to at least one NJKCA meeting. It'd be fun to handle alll those knives I'll never be able to afford. ;)

When's the next meeting?
 
In South Jersey where I stomp around the knife store selection is rather depressing. We don't have anything really. I think there is one store about 45 minutes or so away from me but I've never investigated finding the exact location and that is the only store I know of.

But our diners... Our diners are _awesome_. If you come to the Garden State, don't even _think_ of leaving without eating in at least one Jersey diner.
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haha, what we lack in knife stores we make up with in diners. I think there are at least about thirty diners in my immediate location, all you have to do is pick a direction and just riiiiddddeeee.

We have flea markets. Sometimes, though I admit rarely, you can find some decent knife substance there.

I just remembered, there is kind of a knife store around where I live, Raul's Army and Navy. It is more an army store but I was in there a couple years ago and I think I saw some knives behind the counter but I believe most of them were old war relics and such. The store is also dark and kind of creepy.

Like that store in "Gremlins" where the guy got Gizmo. What a reference huh?

-Bryan
 
Grover_Cephas said:
And about our knife laws... We don't actually have a length limit, which sounds really good. But we instead have a "concealed deadly weapon" law, which essentially leaves the decision in the hands of the cop on the scene.
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Could you please explain exactly what this "concealed deadly weapon" law is? We are allowed to carry fixed blades concealed aren't we?
 
Could you please explain exactly what this "concealed deadly weapon" law is?
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In NJ, if it's concealed. . .it's considered deadly. :p


Zoo Jersery, in my experiences, have some of the toughest knive and gun laws in the US. Knife stores: go to PA or as Esav said. . .shop on line.

With that said, as long as you keep your nose clean you won't, or should I say "shouldn't", have any problems.

Just don't let them see you toss the knife. . .as they're running your plates. :D
 
Russ,

Probably best if you post your question in the Knife Laws Forum here on BF.C. There are some pretty knowledgable folks over there. Especially read the sticky at the top of the page. It contains some pretty useful info. :) Hope you make it to the meeting this month!
 
VultureParade said:
. The store is also dark and kind of creepy.

Like that store in "Gremlins" where the guy got Gizmo. What a reference huh?

-Bryan
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Works for me! ;)
 
I'm a Jersey guy.

Knife stores? Is there a such thing?! :confused: :p Online only basically... There is an Army/Navy store not too far from me with a good V'nox selection though...And there is always Galyans (a new one is opening in Freehold soon) and other large chains like WalMart and Target.

Laws? Not too shabby. :) I doubt your going to get a hard time except if you use the knife in a flashy way, or as a weapon. I'm 18 and the cop who pulled me over recently didn't even blink about my SAK except to ask the dumb question "Whats this?" Other then that he didn't even touch it. I expect there might have been trouble if I said "It's my self defense corkscrew". ;)
-Kevin
 
Can I be a "member in absentia"? Y'know, kinda like Johns Kerry & Edwards. I was really stoked about the club, but have been unable to attend even one meeting. Sunday 1PM I'm just getting home from church with the family.

You guys are missing out. I have knives nobody else does (i.e., unpopular), including 2 versions of the old chinese 007 from the 80's. Of course, one custom costs more than my whole collection, but that's what diversity is all about.

Have fun.

BTW, all of my knives have come from here, eBay, SMKW, and online dealers.
 
RH, you are hereby officially a member. And if you can't make it to the meetings because of church -- then pray for us! :)
 
Grover_Cephas said:
But we instead have a "concealed deadly weapon" law, which essentially leaves the decision in the hands of the cop on the scene.
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This is not necessarily a bad law. It is really the legal equivalent of "ban the behavior, not the object". You can carry just about any knife, just don't wave it around. And if your behavior is aggressive and your hand is anywhere near that knife, then you've turned it into a weapon. It is not up to the cop to call it a weapon if you're walking down the street minding your own business.

Unless you're like Collucci, who gets into arguments with cops all the time! :D
 
Esav Benyamin said:
This is not necessarily a bad law. It is really the legal equivalent of "ban the behavior, not the object". :D
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Which, in and of itself, isn't a bad thing. What makes this a "bad law", IMHO, is its vagueness. I think it may give too little guidance to the citizen, and too much discretion to the officer on the scene. If the law made it a crime to _use_ a knife as a weapon, i might be more inclined to support it. As it is, it gives an officer the discretion to look at, say my Spyderco Military, and say "wow, that's a big, scary weapon". And I have no legal principle to fall back on. As a result, I can't carry my Millie with confidence, because the laws are less clear than if we simply had a length limit (or, in a rational world, no limit on objects).

It's like obscenity laws. They're deliberately written vaguely enough that people are afraid to invest in the production of edgy material, because a judge _might_ find it obscene.

What's a "deadly weapon"? "I know it when I see it." :D

(And again, I _do_ carry my Millie, and have never, _ever_ had a problem with cops. I'm just uncomfortable with the law in principle.)
 
Russell:
The law is badly confused and occasionally conflicting. See the text at:
http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/nj.txt

Esav:
So I'm guessing nobody'd complain if I showed up on Sunday? :D
I'm gonna see if I can make it. I have a late night (Rocky Horror Show) on Saturday, and an RPG group on Sunday evening. But I'll be there if I possibly can. How d'you do this thing? Do you just reserve a room, or are we there as diners? (I'd feel rude showing up and ordering nothing if the latter was the case...)
 
Grover_Cephas said:
Russell:
The law is badly confused and occasionally conflicting. See the text at:
http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/nj.txt
Click to expand...

So it says that any knife I carry must be appropriate for lawful use or else it's a weapon. Is self defense a lawful use? Right now I only carry a folder so that's not difficult to pass off as a utility knife but I was planning on starting to carry a fixed blade (Spyderco Perrin) with a 5" blade soon. If a police officer sees this knife what type of excuse should I give for carrying such a large knife? Also, if I use this knife to defend myself what should I say to justify why I carried it? Would it become a crime if I honestly told them that I carried the knife with the intent to use it to defend myself if need be?
 
In my opinion, not only shouldn't you ever tell a cop that you "intend" to use a knife in self defense, you should play down your _willingness_ to use it in self defense.

"What do you need that for?"

"I started using it when I worked in a warehouse, and it's so useful I just kept carrying it."

"I'll bet it makes you feel a little safer in a dark alley, too, huh?"

"[good-humored] Nah, I wouldn't know how to fight with it. I'd probably just take my own hand off. If somebody tried to mug me, I'd toss him my wallet and run like hell."
And hell, in my case, that's the God's-own-truth. :D

Remember, the legal difference between tool and weapon here is very vague. Your own actions and statements are most of what an officer has to go on when making that call.

As for the Perrin, I love the look and design philosophy of it, but I'd be very wary of carrying it in Jersey. If you have a job or hobby in which a good-sized fixed blade would be appropriate, then maybe you could be okay. Alternately, if you look eminently "respectable", it'll probably never be an issue, as long as you carry responsibly.

Good luck!
 
Grover_Cephas said:
Do you just reserve a room, or are we there as diners? (I'd feel rude showing up and ordering nothing if the latter was the case...)
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We reserve a room ... the area all the way in the back. It's kind of a rabbit warren, so we are semi-private, although other diners have looked over, with no problems resulting.

We hold our show and tell when we first arrive, wander around and chat, over drinks if you like. When we are ready to eat, those who are leaving early or don't want anything to eat can leave, or just sit around and continue talking. No problem there, either.

we are very happy to have any knife knuts stop by, even if it's not something you may be able to do regularly.
 
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