Ok to carry in New York City?

K

KnifeDreams

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Dec 16, 2014
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I'm curious to hear from any of you that carry or have carried in New York. I've researched knife laws for NYC and found some conflicting info. One guy said he had his Sebenza taken away, one guy (lawyer I think) said only slip-joint/non-locking is safe. And others saying under 4" blade is ok. I read that complete conceal carry is the law, and if a cop even sees the pocket clip, they've been known to give you trouble.
If anyone has had any personal experience they could share, I'd appreciate it.
 
It appears that NYC's laws for knives are quite gray and perhaps purposely that way.
Were I to travel to or live in NY I'd carry the same Victorinox Super Tinker and not worry about it. I'd leave my favorite ZT770cf home...sigh...
I'd not want to risk the potential problems and aggravations by carrying anything other than I just said.
I'd also NEVER live in or visit NY...bad enough I'm in Northern NY...hopefully soon to be NH bound...NY state sucks
 
The clip will cost you the knife. Keep it small and don't do anything stupid. !! There are no guaranty in NYC
 
Take off the clip and put it your pocket, you'll be fine. Use common sense.
 
Something like the old style locking sodbuster or locking folder with a heavy back spring would be ok. Under 4" blade length, do not use clip carry, and non- flipping are the major points. And don't think regular flip, think that it has to survive the most oddball gorilla strong flipping motion you can come up with.
 
Ok. Wow. It's crazy how these laws vary within NY. I live in Ithaca. Up here there's no length limit for fixed or folder. And concealed carry is not required. Autos are a no-no. As it has been explained to me by Police, the law comes down to "intent." Anyway, sounds like it's gonna be the old Swiss Army knife for the city. Thank you guys for weighing in.
 
Unfortunately it's not the knife laws you should worry about, as it is unlikely you'll be convicted for carrying a small folder. It's the cops you should worry about. They have wide discretion in making arrests or confiscating knives. I've read about stories where people have been stopped for a metal pocket clip showing and the cops asked to see the knife, which was a none assisted plain folder, depressed the lock and flicked it up and called that a gravity knife and made an arrest. Ridiculous. Moral of the story, keep the folder in the pocket no clip. I've personally carried a mini-grip and PM2 in NYC without incident.
 
The way Knife Rights discussed their New York battle on here, it sounds like even an SAK isn't New York legal because it can be flicked open.
 
In practice, in NYC, if it folds and locks and you get caught with it you WILL get arrested. Knives must be totally concealed, a clip can get you arrested as they view it as brandishing the knife. There really is no safe option, but a nonlocking folder or a totally concealed fixed blade won't break either the letter of or the warped interpretation of the law there.

Oh yeah and by the way...NYC is prob one of the last places I'd want to get arrested if I could pick a big city.
 
Just to clear up a few statements, The NYC Admin Code 10-133 bands the open carry of any knife except under certain conditions. This code was passed in the 1980s and since its passing, many knives have been offered for sale with pocket clips. The NYPD started to consider the visible clips and or part of the knife attached to the clip as open carry, and not "brandishing". This code is a simple violation that can be handled by issuing a summons in lieu of arrest or making an on line arrest of the person. The bigger issue is that of a locking folder that can be flicked open ( NOT ALL LOCKING FOLDERS ARE PER SE ILLEGAL). If the clip makes the fact you're carrying a knife an possible violation of either the Admin Code or NYSPL 265, and it is now in plain sight, you lost the possible protection of it being found during an illegal search. The law as it is APPLIED by some officers is not the intent of the law, but can cause you pain for sure, but the real laws when enforced as they were years ago, are not as bad as some other locations in big cities ( Philly has an almost total ban on any knife carry)....
 
3in or less,, non locking blade as in SAK, sodbuster jr or the spyderco ukpen knife are all ok ,,i recently had my delica taken by the NYPD ..oh and no pocket clip..i know its ridiculous :mad:
 
thanks guys for sharing the info on NYC knife laws. I'm traveling there in the next two weeks and was trying to figure what would be ok for me to carry, since while I'm up there I'll be doing some package opening and mail processing.

sounds like as long as I carry the knife fully within a pocket (not hanging by clip) I should be fine? do I have to be concerned about it patterning on my clothing?
 
kubelik said:
sounds like as long as I carry the knife fully within a pocket (not hanging by clip) I should be fine? do I have to be concerned about it patterning on my clothing?
Click to expand...

Yes, you do. If it prints through your clothing, that's considered the same as a clip showing.

I lived there before all this over-emphasis, but I often carried a small knife or SAK in a front pocket with a small wallet over it.
 
Kubelik, listen to Esav, that's my general rule when traveling btw. I go for a pen knife of SAK.

I don't carry any of my normal weekend EDC's while in NYC. It's just not worth getting your head pushed down to the ground while getting cuffed or your $100 knife taken away or getting hassled. There are places that have metal detectors and even if you are hiding it it will be hassle if you have to pull out a knife.

I've shown my sak and little pen knives to security at the NASDAQ stock exchange, NY Stock exchange, empire state building and various other building with no issues. I don't know about court houses though. And a few times I have gotten away with a UKPK or a trapper that I accidentally left in my back pack with no issues. But there's always a chance there's going to be an issue. The laws are vague and the police aren't always up on the law because the law is vague.

Almost everything counts as a gravity knife for example. Like a mini grip because the detent is weak enough that if you grab the blade it will drop open.

Stick with a small sak like a cadet and you can't go wrong! It's a lot of knife in a recognizable non threatening format!
 
esav and cchu518, thank you both for adding extra clarity on the topic. looks like I'll be bringing my beater SAK with me. a good excuse to clean it off and sharpen it, it's been sort of the runt of the litter since I began collecting modern knives.
 
Kubelik send me an email there's a japanese knife shop with blades that range from $40 to $8000 and up its a must check out! I'll send you a link in pm.
 
One more quick note, Esav is normally spot on, but I want to be sure we don't keep posting that things are worse than they really are in NYC ( they are bad)....Printing ( the outline of your knife in your pocket that makes it clear you are carrying one) is not a violation of the NYC Admin Code 10-133, BUT it would allow an officer to articulate that he has proable cause to conduct of weapons check. That can lead to a gravity knife/dangerous knife violation. but the knife must be visible in some way to be the same as clip showing to be a violation of NYC Admin code 10-133....I agree a non locking SAK is one of the safest ways to go. There are some locking knives with half stops that are also fine, and a few others that would meet the strictly imposed requirements of the NYPD.......
 
The big thing to be wary about is if you have to go through a metal detector building or tourist spot or not. If the tourist spot is federally operated like the intrepid it's another can of worms. I'm sure we all have carried around big knives, it was normal to have a buck in your hip in the 80's even my Chinese brother we wanted to be urban Cowboys back then. He even had a big old budweiser belt and the Oakridge boys would be on TV. Oom poppa oom poppa mow mow Lmao.
 
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