NYC Knife Laws?

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ximpetus

Joined
Jul 17, 2005
Messages
6
I read the legal text and found it very vague and open for interpretation. I looked through other postes on the forums and found some from 2001 but the laws change all the time and I just want some up to date advice
I was wondering what would be an appropriate knife to carry in the NYC.
I was thinking about Spyderco Delica. Can I legally carry? What is the largest size blade I can legally carry? Does it have to be concealed or displayed on the belt, or in the pocket with the pocket clip sticking out. Does serrated blade make it illegal? What is all the legal mambo jumbo is regarding gravity knives mean. A friend of mine that's a cop trainee told me that if you can hold a knife by the blade and flick it open, that is considered a gravity knife and is illegal, but that would apply to most of the folders on the market. Can some one give me a clear cut explanation?

Regards,
Felix
 
Felix,

Unfortunately, the New York state penal law has a very broad definition of "gravity knife" and some officers, ADAs and judges have accepted the position your friend mentioned.

Though the numbers are small compared to the number of people actually carrying pocketknives, people are indeed routinely arrested in NYC for possession of a common pocketknife.

Actual penalties vary, but any time spent in a holding cell is bad news as far as I'm concerned.

As to "public display of a knife" and blade length issues, the city administrative code has some language on this, but bear in mind that just because something is under four inches does NOT mean it's legal in NYC.

Legislative reform is desperately needed to protect well-intentioned, legitimate knife users.
 
Carry a ruler, keep pivots tight, don't flash around or brandish it and you'll be fine. PMillie rides in my pocket all the time here. Serrated knives are more common than plain edge, in my experience
 
Extension to GarageBoy's rules - don't let the clips show, and don't be stupid when you're carrying anything

Interesting little story a friend of mine told me the other day:

An acquaintance of his (a lawyer in some small firm) gets into a car accident. No one is injured, the cops are called in and they take statements. The cop offers the guy a ride, since his car is out of commission. He agrees, and squats to get into the backseat, lifting his jacket out of the way to sit down. The cop notices the clip in his pocket. Long story short, he gets to take a fun little jaunt down to the police station.

Nice, huh?
 
Thanks for all your input and for the fun story (knife saber). What a nice police officer.

If the clip doesn't show isn't it considered a concealed weapon?
 
Another thing to worry about now are the random bag searches in the mass transit system that's going to happen tomorrow morning.
This is before you enter the system, but I suppose they can do it when you're in the transit system if they have probable cause.
 
even less than probable cause -- "reasonable suspicious" or just plain "random."

sad to say, there's just too much worry in carrying a decent folder in NYC these days.
 
i got a summons for carrying a knife in public view on the 4th of july this year. no ride to the station(lucky i guess) it was a buck strider 880t.
now the knife was bearly in public view becaus it was under my shirt. he even had to ask me what is that under your shirt (as he pointed) but i guess he had some kind of idea that it was a knife becaus thats why he stopped me.
i lifted my shirt and showed him it was a knife cliped to my belt. he asked me to remove it. he then procced to mesure it with his pointer finger length wise( dont ask cuz ive never seen this done) and said that it was over 4 inches.
i then assured him it was not over 4inches very politely. he obviosly belived me becaus he gave it back to me and said that i should keep it in my pocket. and the summons is for "knife in public view"(exact wording) nothing about knife over 4inches.
all through out this expirence i was nice polite and respectfull. i also asked him if he thaught i should carry somthing smaller. he said yes that would be better.

some side notes
the LEO was a lieutenant with a srgnt driving an unmarked car.
he never searched me( lucky me i had 2 or 3 more knives in pockets).
i was lucky not to get a second summuns for ridding a bike on the side walk.
ive been stopped befor by detectives for other resons. with this same knife and had no problems carrying it the same way. even on ocations that ive been patted down and searched.
later that night a friend of mine got a summons for fire works( remember 4th of july) from the same lieutenant. i was there as well but made sure not to be seen by the same lieutenant 2 times in one day!! lol so know at least i have some one to got to court with that day!
needless to say a good amount of fire works where confiscated( but thay left our garbage can of beer :D ) so the night was not lost.

all in all im just glad i got my knife back and we got to keep the beer.
but im still lost on how we are supsed to carry a folder in nyc. it seems that its all up to the discretion of the LEO at the time.
i was always under the impression that an unseen knife in the pocket was considered a concieled weapon.
so i normaly carry on my belt outside the pants. but if i carry cliped in the pocket i can be considered in public view.
like i said im lost.
i was going to post this the night it happened but thaught it would just bore you guys to death.
just thaught i would share in light of this topic.

...justin
 
thank you for your post, justice
sorry you still got a summons and either fight it or pay it.
I've only recently been edc'ing a mini grip and e2e on a horizontal holster, so far no attention from cops. Only once when the homeland security chief was in town and I asked 2 plain clothes when will the thing be over. One just looked at my mini socom clipped on my pants pocket and grunted something I didn't understand.
my mini grip is yellow with the black clip. maybe it's because I'm invisible.
people rarely notice me, it's a blessing and a curse.
 
im a bit late on this but i was just reminded
any way i went to court on the 17th of august.
i got to court at around 9 am. waited on line after line till about 11:30 when i got to my(as well as 500 other people's for that day) court room. and waited untill thay called my name. then you get about 30 seconds(though i seemed to get a bit more then others) with the judge and your public defender. thay asked me why i was wearing the knife on my belt and befor i could answer thay said(both judge and public defender)" you thaught it would be considered a concealed weapon?" i said yes.
the judge asked me what i do for a living. i said i make knives. though i dont make much of a living and im just starting out. both judge and public defender looked at me with that funny look and shrugged ther shoulders asked me if i wanted to get it over with i said yes the judge said $50? i said yes thay said guilty go wait in the hall for your paper work. 40 min later and $50 poorer i was out of there.
p.s- out of the 500 or so people that where there 85% where there for fire works from the 4th of july.
98% of the 500 got a fine for $50
......justin
 
Definatley carry concealed knives in NYC. Its better safe then sorry. Beleive me, you don't want to do anything that will get you arrested. Carry concealed and try to cary a knife that doesn't stand out of your pocket. That is, one with a shorter handle length that does not stick out all that much, and nothing over 4-inches.
 
thanks for the update, justice.
I haven't been inside criminal court in a long long long long time.
Was there twice during my teens, once for a BB gun and the other for some BS infraction of "bulky item in subway" (my bicycle)
oh yeah, I got busted for littering and had no ID, it was a inner foil gum wrapper. this was also during july fourth.
None were good experiences. If I were asked why I have a knife, I would say I work in construction, which I do. I also make custom cabinets, bookcases etc.
 
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