Open public carry of fixed blade knives?

AlaChoctaw

AlaChoctaw

Joined
Jul 17, 1999
Messages
795
I want to know what you think about the open carry of a fixed blade knife.There is no legal reason not to, and down here it is totally accepted to carry a folder in a belt pouch or clipped to a pocket.I have a new Spyderco Moran in the kydex sheath,and think it would be a shame for it to live in a display or storage box.I generally dress pretty well,casually, and don't look like a thug.At 50 years old, I find myself not much giving a damn what others may think of my actions, as long as they are legal and decent, but I certainly don't want to do anything to reflect badly on all knife people,or to give critics any ammunition.What do you think?Is this a valid concern or am I making much of nothing?

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"To grow older is inevitable.To grow UP is optional."


 
AlaChoctaw,

Unfortunately too many folks out there react negatively to seeing big blades. Even the Spydie Moran, despite it being shorter in length than many open folders, stirs reactions.

My compromise has been a pocket slip sheath where I'm able to carry blades under 9" OAL without causing a rhukus. I've also used IWB sheaths for the same reason. A big belt sheath just doesn't cut it with a shirt and tie
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!

We're contemporaries as I'm 52. I tried carrying medium sized fixed blades openly but LEOs, security folks, etc simply frown on it. The usual opening gambit from them is to ask why I need to carry such a big blade. The fact that those I tried were comparable to open folders didn't make one iota of difference. Bottom line is that it seems to constitute an "in your face" challenge which doesn't sit well with non-knife nuts. FWIW it also follows the thinking about concealed carry permits for handguns. The counsel there has always been that if you're gonna carry, make sure no one can see it as it causes reactions up to an including panic. You know the little old lady screaming "He's got a gun!" Best advise with knives is the same...



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-=[Bob Allman]=-

I did NOT escape from the institution! They gave me a day pass!

BFC member since the very beginning
AKTI membership pending
VHA and NRA member

 
bald1;

I was wondering if you would mind telling a little more about what a "pocket slip" is, and how to wear/use it.

I myself am a little self concious about fixed blade carry, and kind of admire the few that I see doing it. I have been looking for ways to carry fixed blades concealed, and tastefully.

Thanks

[This message has been edited by knzn (edited 09 October 1999).]
 
Thanks for the input, Bald 1.That's kind of the way I was leaning.As a LEO myself, I have always felt that a gun should always be carried concealed when in plain clothes, for tactical reasons if nothing else.The kydex sheath of the Moran isn't too bad for pocket carry without the clip attached.Do you suppose Mike Sastre could make me up a real pocket rig for it? Thanks for your time and attention.

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"To grow older is inevitable.To grow UP is optional."


 
When I made a fuss about the RA's in other dorms on campus here telling residents they couldn't have knives, I started by showing them our rulebook. It bans firearms (
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) but doesn't mention knives. There is, however, an escape clause that says that anything recognized as a concealed weapon under IL law is also banned, however.
I've been carrying my Folts Mantis openly ever since. I had it set up as a neck knife, so I usually just tie each end of the cord around one belt loop and adjust it till it hangs tip up right next to my front pocket. Most people don't notice it and I can draw it faster anyway because it hangs right next to my hand.

Doom on the administration. Down with oppression . . . .
smile.gif


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"It is not criminals who enter schools and shoot children . . ."
--Ann Pearston, British gun control apologist and Moron
 
I carry an 8" total length Greco Persian in a front pocket slip sheath.
I carried it in a Nordic belt pouch for awhile but got too many raised eyebrows.

Sherry Greco made the slip sheath.
Just picture a sheath without a belt loop that covers all but the last inch of knife handle.
Mine has two holes in the seam at the top through which I pass a 72" leather lanyard.
I run the two 36" ends up out of my pocket and to the rear, up and under my belt and then down my trousers waist band.
By virtue of the simple pressure and friction between belt and trousers, the lanyard holds the sheath at the top and rear of the pocket, so it doesn't flop around, and I can put keys and change in the pocket and the stuff sits in the space below the sheath.
Oh, by the way, this requires baggy, pleated type trousers, like Levi Dockers, in order to work.
When I pull the knife out, the sheath occasionally follows but the lanyard soon separates knife and sheath, like a static line on a parachute.
The sheath then dangles from my belt, unnoticeable and with no hassle.
Incidentally, you can easily slip the knife in and out of your pocket while seated, say at a table, without attracting attention to the movement.
When I wear overalls, I put the knife and sheath in the diagonal leg pocket on the right leg.
I have done this for about a year, and feel very comfortable with this arrangement, sometimes forgetting I even have a fixed blade knife in my pocket.
I also carry a small folder as my beater, as the sheath knife has an intimidating appearance, like a live 8" hornet, and I do not use it for mundane chores.
I hope I never use it
smile.gif
.

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Luke 22:36, John 18:6-11
 
:
Diffeent states,different folks.
I have a nephew who is very noticeably like me an Indin.He carries a 5" fixed blade in a real fancy Indin type sheath.Maybe most folks just think it's something else because of the sheath.Maybe they just think it's cool because he's an Indin.He is about 35-38 or so and isn't a kid,but with the hair and sometimes the clothes I would expect him to have trouble,but he doesn't.
He's also an artist and wears the knife everywhere he goes.

I am getting pretty close to 60 and I still don't wear one visible in public too often.I used to wear a little "file knife" on my belt a lot though.One day at work one of the office ladies asked,"Is that a Lethal Weapon?" I told her not nearly as Lethal as the large screwdriver I was carrying.
smile.gif




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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
Cornbread ain't s'possed ta be sweet!....Dagnabit gurl,whut did they teach you way up north in ....;) hehehe.

 
Gentleman,The way I have read some of the post on the fourm is that we should not let people see our ugly knives those wicked thing that we carry around. I carriwd a fixed blade around for a long time and If I raised any eyebrows I sure wasn't looking back to notice. I think if people see others carring knives around without being all cut up from them then it gets them used to seeing them. Then when they do see them they wont be so scared.It kinda like knowing that your neighbor has a dog in the back yard when you walk past it doesn't scare you because you know that it is there as aposed to not knowing that your neighbor has a dog because he dosn't let you see him then when you walk by and runs out and barks you jump out of your pants trying to get away from him.I think if more people would see knives being carried thay wouldn't be so scared when they did see one.JMHO
 
I won't go into details yet again, but basically I carry a 13" overall FB in an unusual tip-up belt rig. Half the overall knife is above the belt, and the draw is to pull the grip forward and up. This allows a loose shirt or jacket to conceal at least half the overall length, mebbe a bit more, but the draw happens without need for sweeping the clothes out of the way first. And since the grip is obviously visible it meets the California legal need for open carry.

Some cops have seen it now, and not had a problem...then again, they didn't see it actually drawn. It's been described as a "Klingon marital aid".

In any case, I think more work needs to be done in the area of "just open-carry enough for the law but minimizes sheeple freakout". So far, it's worked well for me.

Jim
 
AlaChoctaw, knzn:

A slip sheath is a minimalist sheath that stays in your pocket as you withdraw the knife.

Over a year ago I posted threads about what a steal I thought the Spydie Moran was. I also had coordinated with Scott Evans at Edge-Works to have a multi-carry tactical sheath designed for my active duty naval corpsman son who is serving with the fleet marine forces, as well as a slip sheath for old dad. They became so popular that they're a menu order item on Scott's web site. Check 'em out! http://www.tacticalholsters.com


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-=[Bob Allman]=-

I did NOT escape from the institution! They gave me a day pass!

BFC member since the very beginning
AKTI membership pending
VHA and NRA member

 
Folks,

I wouldn't carry a knife openly while in the city. Its more acceptable to carry a knife while hiking or in a rural community (in environments where knives have an obvious use). But, in one of the large cities it would either be considered a threat (what's that nut going to do with that knife?), a warning (this guy is probably up to something ... you don't want to stick around for it!), or an open invitation (look at that guy in from the sticks lets get him).

I have usually found that the safest and most efficient strategy is to blend with the crowd. I would advise you against carrying such a nice trophy for would be punks.

 
Bald 1, just ordered the slip sheath.Thanks for the info.Will let you know how it works out.

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"To grow older is inevitable.To grow UP is optional."


 
Right on about tempting the punks. Not only as a trophy, but also a challenge. "you think you're bad with that knife!" I've seen it happen, not to me but I was there. Don't show it, don't wave it, they only know you got it, when they get it . Heaven forbid.

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Can it core a apple?
 
Yikes, I remember some state outlawing pocket or was it wallet holsters for guns. Maybe it was Calif, and believe it was felony to posess. Might want to check that the law doesn't also apply to knife sheaths.
 
bald1;

thanks for the tip on the web site, but I keep getting "unknown host"

I will try it another time and maybe it will work then.
 
I have grown fond of using a small fixed blade around work, but am hesitant to carry it on The Streets of San Francisco (A Quinn/Martin Production). It certainly doesn’t seem to be worth the potential hassles, even though some of the Kydex sheathes being designed make it as convenient to carry a fixed blade as a folder. And California has a twisted standard for just about everything. You can’t carry a fixed blade over 4” in length or an automatic knife, but you can carry a one handed folder as long as your arm.

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James
San Francisco, CA

 
I have frequently carried a small fixed blade openly in Los Angeles, CA, for several years now. Usually one of my home-mades, with a blade under three inches to satisfy local law. Leather sheath, wood or micarta handle, non-tactical look about it.

So far no confrontations concerning it with law enforcement or anybody else. People don't react as fearfully to it as they do when I pull out a black-bladed "tactical" folder for some mundane cutting chore. I find that people are more afraid of a folder opening up than they are of a fixed blade that has been open all the time.


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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
My normal carry is my Ansø fixed blade in a pocked sheath. depending on what type of pants I'm wearing, it might be really visable or almost totally hidden, but I've never had any problems. The only people have seen it is when they ask to borrow a knife
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Aaron

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amacks@nist.gov
Don't forget to pay your taxes...they eventually become my knives:)

 
In Kentucky you can carry a fixed blade as long as it is in the open. I'm not sure what the limits are. I usually see people with small fixed blades in a belt sheath. Carrying ANY fixed blade concealed in KY is a big no no. Different cities seem to have different laws about everything, so it also depends on where you are. The real problem is that LEO's don't seem to know the laws. I've asked every LEO that I have met what the laws are on knives, fixed or folding, and pretty much gotten a different answer from all of them.

I was working in an antique store for a while and got to know the Officers that walked through the mall/convention center a little bit. One day one of them came in while I was looking at a knife magazine and started asking me about it. I then took out my full size Sebenza and asked him what he thought about it. He just looked at it and told me that he was pretty sure that it was illegal. He then told me to not let anyone see it and that he wouldn't do anything.

My basic point is, that in todays America, it is hard to tell when you are breaking some law, or if someone else thinks you are breaking the law. In college I dated a young woman that gasped in horror when I pulled out a SAK in a bookstore to cut a stray thread on my shirt. We didn't date long.
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(A real shame, she was really cute.)
 
Alachoctaw,

I used to live in a small town in Alabama called Arab. Most people there know me and know that I am a knife maker. The local newspaper even did an article on me once. I didn't have any problem carrying a fixed blade in a belt sheath. I even wore one to church. Also,My wife worked for the Police Department so that helped I'm sure. However, I did have to have a pistol permit to carry a firearm.

I have now moved to Vermont, yes the only state that doesn't have gun laws. I can carry a pistol open here (I choose not to but, to carry concealed instead) but, I have been challenged on the legalities of the knife I am carrying. By the way, don't get caught with an automatic knife on you up here.

I moved here to take a job that just happens to be in a federal government building on federal property. I was told by the security guards that I could not carry a fixed blade knife at all, nor a folding knife with a blade over two inches. But, when it is someone's birthday or if there is a potluck dinner, you should see the size of the carving knives that somehow appear.

This state is kind of rural so when you see someone with a knife you know that person considers it a tool. It doesn't bother me to see a knife on someone's belt however, I know some people aren't as open minded as me. I don't wear dirty clothes, so when I have a belt sheath on I make sure it looks good. I see people with scuffed and worn sheaths on their belt. I think that looks kind of bad. It doesn't take much to make a new sheath or to get a new one made. If you are proud of the knife then put it in a good sheath.

I think I need to stop now before this just sounds like rambling.

Thank you for letting me voice my opinions.
 
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