Quick question about double edge tips

res1cue

res1cue

Joined
Feb 2, 2010
Messages
2,138
Hey, so in VA, double edged knives are considered dirks, and are legal to own, but illegal to carry

but what if I took my knife and just sharpened about half of an inch of the tip (to make penetration easier, but most of the spine is intact so i can baton/apply pressure with my hand) would that make it illegal to carry?
 
Technically, that would be a false edge and would not actually be double-edged. In practice it would be up to the officer involved to decide (don't you just love how one person gets to define reality for everyone else) and odds are that officer won't know enough about knives to know it isn't double-edged. He'll look at it, see sharp edges on both sides and call it a dirk.
 
^^^What he said.
A lot of officers, although not all, will think well there are 2 sharp edges, therefore it's double edged.
So i would suggest to leave it unsharpened just to make it easier on yourself and make sure there is no chance it will be seen as a dirk.
 
The best thing you can do is to look up VA's laws and READ 'em. No matter what opinions you garner here on the subject, they won't do you any good in court if you get arrested.

I'm inclined to believe that deliberately sharpening both edges on your knife is what most cops would call 'intent' to use it as a stabbing weapon. That can only work against you (legally) in the long run.

Again, look up your own jurisdiction's laws and really study 'em. And even then, think twice.

That's my two cents...

Dave
 
You can just grind it to a decent false edge. It doesn't have to be really sharp to improve penetration, unless you're talking about a knife with a pretty thin false edge to begin with. Hey, any improvement is still an improvement, and it's better not to risk any legal issue.
 
thanks for your opinion guys,

i was referring to a knife with no swedge at all, and is quite thick, so i will just thin it out and not actually make it an edge

and i did read the laws many times, but it doesn't get more specific than "dirks are illegal to carry concealed or otherwise"
 
I've been reading into it, as I also live in Virginia, and can't find anything other than a prohibition on carrying dirks.
 
That's a real SOB of a problem. When does a narrow false edge begin to be the equivalent of a dull blade? For must of us, it would make sense when you could see that you could shave with one side, and not the other. However, I can see a prosecutor making the case that the false edge is as sharp as another blade's edge.

A bit off-topic, but lately I've been wondering if any court has ever demanded that every millimetre of cutting edge be used to determine overall length, meaning that serrated and non-serrated versions of the same knife would have different lengths under law.

TC
 
im sure they haven't thought that far in advance

also, what if you made a knife with a extra long ricasso, say of an inch

would that be counted as "blade length" too?

and that is a good point about "how sharp is sharp enough to be considered an edge"



so elvis what part are you from?

im here in charlottesville
 
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