Safe and legal ways to open carry a fixed blade?

[flybri]

Upon a cursory search of a legal database, I found that State statutes and case law are unclear as to when a knife constitutes a "deadly weapon". I have also repeated some of what has been said above, with my brief explanation.

Disclaimer: I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice; if you need legal advice, hire yourself a lawyer. Also, this was only a QUICK search, and my comments and emphasis (bold fonts, etc.) should not be construed as authoritative in any regard.

Knives are mentioned in RCW 9.94A.825.

Deadly weapon special verdict--Definition.
In a criminal case wherein there has been a special allegation and evidence establishing that the accused or an accomplice was armed with a deadly weapon at the time of the commission of the crime, the court shall make a finding of fact [this means that a jury decides this point if it's a jury trial] of whether or not the accused or an accomplice was armed with a deadly weapon at the time of the commission of the crime, or if a jury trial is had, the jury shall, if it find the defendant guilty, also find a special verdict as to whether or not the defendant or an accomplice was armed with a deadly weapon at the time of the commission of the crime.

For purposes of this section, a deadly weapon is an implement or instrument which has the capacity to inflict death and from the manner in which it is used, is likely to produce or may easily and readily produce death. The following instruments are included in the term deadly weapon: Blackjack, sling shot, billy, sand club, sandbag, metal knuckles, any dirk, dagger, pistol, revolver, or any other firearm, any knife having a blade longer than three inches, any razor with an unguarded blade, any metal pipe or bar used or intended to be used as a club, any explosive, and any weapon containing poisonous or injurious gas.

This helps, but this is from Washington's Sentencing Reform Act and not the Washington Criminal Code (which is RCW 9A.xx.yy). A court might find this definition helpful, but it would probably not be determinative absent case law that said it was.

RCW 9.41.250 (Dangerous weapons--Penalty--Exemption for law enforcement officers) seems to be more helpful and seems to directly address what "possession of a deadly weapon" constitutes.

(1) Every person who:

(a) Manufactures, sells, or disposes of or possesses any instrument or weapon of the kind usually known as slung shot, sand club, or metal knuckles, or spring blade knife, or any knife the blade of which is automatically released by a spring mechanism or other mechanical device, or any knife having a blade which opens, or falls, or is ejected into position by the force of gravity, or by an outward, downward, or centrifugal thrust or movement;

(b) Furtively carries with intent to conceal any dagger, dirk, pistol, or other dangerous weapon; or

(c) Uses any contrivance or device for suppressing the noise of any firearm,

is guilty of a gross misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.

No mention of the 3 inch rule here, but the cases below mention it. Also, specific types of knives (spring knives, gravity knives) are mentioned as being illegal. No mention of concealment, and no mention of carrying a knife being illegal (which makes sense if you look at a knife as a "tool" and not a "weapon"").

Interesting holdings from some cases are below:

(1) There is a certain class of instruments that require nothing more than their existence for proof of their nature, for example, a loaded firearm or knife with blade over three inches; therefore, if one is armed with such device, as courts have defined armed, then it follows that this is “deadly weapon. State v. Samaniego (1994) 76 Wn .App. 76, 882 P.2d 195.

In other words, if you have a knife over three inches long, then you are carrying a deadly weapon. But does this refer to crimes that tack on extra prison time for committing it with a deadly weapon, or does this notion stand on its own? I.e. do you have to do something illegal while using your deadly weapon, or is mere possession enough? Read the case to find out. I didn't.

(2) Possession of switchblade knife alone is not sufficient circumstance of use to render knife deadly weapon; there must be some manifestation of willingness to use knife before it can be found to be deadly weapon. State v. Gotcher (1988) 52 Wash.App. 350, 759 P.2d 1216.

(3) Under § 9.95.040, which provides in part that a “knife having a blade longer than three inches” is a deadly weapon, the question of whether a knife having a blade 3 inches or less in length is a deadly weapon depends on the circumstances and is a question of fact. State v. Thompson (1977) 88 Wash.2d 546, 564 P.2d 323.

If I have time to read some of these cases, I'll try to provide further commentary (NOT LEGAL ADVICE) as to what this avalanche of information actually means practically: what can we carry?