Ah, NYC. As you might have noticed, quite a lot of discussion goes on here about their laws.
The bane of many blade enthusiasts in NY is a badly worded "Gravity knife" law that means that a knife that swings open by centrifugal force and then locks open is a "gravity knife." The police frequently exploit this by grasping the blade or spine of it and swinging the handle open. This basically makes all locking folders "gravity knives." And the courts let them get away with it.:thumbdn:
Granted, a percentage of officers have a degree of common sense and will warn you about this, but not cite you. Others will bring the law down hard without mercy because, well, technically it's the law. No real way to predict the reaction for every cop.
Generally swiss army knives and most multitools pass the gravity knife test (meaning they are legal) because they either don't lock (slipjoints don't count) or are impossible to flip because of the shape. For example I have a Gerber Diesel. You have to slide the pliers out, open the handles, then dig the blade out of its position with a thumbnail. No flipping with this thing.
The Wave? Not handled one, but from watching people handle it, I don't think you can flip it because it appears like the blade is recessed and cannot be gripped. Further, being a multitool it may never even occur to most LEOs to try it.
To address the open carry issue in NYC, there is a possibility of being approached if you have it in a belt sheath, at the very least because the officer will not know what's in there from a distance without making you take it out. Leatherman makes conventional folders too.
