So what are your general knife laws?

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mk.ultra

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*please keep this in general so I can get more responses, this is not a specific knife law question*

Just wondering, what are the knife laws where you reside? I constantly see people talking about carrying 4" blades and such, kinda makes me jealous. In Milwaukee, WI (mostly urban area) I can only carry a 3" blade, no assisted, no gravity knives, no switchblades. Also it cannot "look like a weapon." (Which is completely subjective)
 
Generally, in California, you can carry any length non-auto folding knife concealed as long as the blade is not open. Fixed blades must be carried open. Autos and balisongs are legal to own but can only be carried if they are less than 2" in blade length. Smaller jurisdictions may have other limitations, but in my area, these are the only laws I must abide by.
 
mk.ultra said:
*please keep this in general so I can get more responses, this is not a specific knife law question*

Just wondering, what are the knife laws where you reside? I constantly see people talking about carrying 4" blades and such, kinda makes me jealous. In Milwaukee, WI (mostly urban area) I can only carry a 3" blade, no assisted, no gravity knives, no switchblades. Also it cannot "look like a weapon." (Which is completely subjective)
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I'm sure there's more then this, but these are the main ones in Canada that I know of.

No auto's, no balisongs, no two edge dagger type knives, no carrying knives for self defense purpose, Must be for utility. Other then that it's fair game.
 
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In the Netherlands:

Illegal or often illegal:
- Double edged knives
- Blade is longer than 3,54 inch (for folding knives)
- Assisted or automatic opening (depending on the length of the blade)
- Folders with a total length (opened) over 11 inch
- Butterfly knives (depending on the length of the blade)
- Probably intended to be used as a weapon

Item six (intended to be used as a weapon) seems rather arbitrary, but basically means that the police can use their own discretion in high risk situations such as a sport match, music concert or a political rally. Generally attitude also makes a difference.

It’s probably not a good idea to carry a knife with military and or self defense terms engraved or printed on it, or a knife with that looks like a dagger or combat knife.

In practice single bladed SAK knives with blades longer than 3,54 inch are routinely sold in general or sporting goods stores. Also police and justice seem to be pretty lenient when it comes to ‘law abiding citizens’.
 
i asked a cop once, and he said as long as the blade is under 5in, most stuff is fair game...
 
dinozzo said:
i asked a cop once, and he said as long as the blade is under 5in, most stuff is fair game...
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Rule #1, NEVER take legal advice from a cop.

In our modern justice system, there are absurd amounts of little trivialities for even the smallest law. Cops can't know them all. When it comes to knives/guns, cops aren't usually completely up to date, unless they were knife knuts or gunnies in the first place.

Trust me, I've had cops tell me I can't have over 3 inch blade (wrong), no longer than the width of your palm (wrong), can't have loaded magazines in the lockbox with my pistol (wrong), etc....
 
With the new law that was signed in June where I live, a knife has a blade length of at least 5 inches. There is also no mentioning of autos or balis.

I guess the lawmakers realized that when they made gun laws more clear that a knife shouldn't be heavily regulated.
 
goodeyesniper said:
Rule #1, NEVER take legal advice from a cop.

In our modern justice system, there are absurd amounts of little trivialities for even the smallest law. Cops can't know them all. When it comes to knives/guns, cops aren't usually completely up to date, unless they were knife knuts or gunnies in the first place.

Trust me, I've had cops tell me I can't have over 3 inch blade (wrong), no longer than the width of your palm (wrong), can't have loaded magazines in the lockbox with my pistol (wrong), etc....
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oh i know...i dont really know about that piece of information, and i definitely wouldnt trust a cop for legal advice..
 
1. This thread is about knife laws, so I moved it to Knife Laws. General Knife Discussion is for discussion of specific knives. It is not an all-purpose, high-exposure bulletin board.

2. Those of you who do not have a recognizable location in your header should say where you are when you post, or it is largely meaningless to us.
 
In the UK, we can only carry non-locking knives with cutting edges under 3" without a good reason.

If we can argue that we need a locking or fixed knife for work, religious reasons, or for a particular activity then we can carry them, although gravity knives, push daggers, and autos can never be carried.

That's a simple overview, there are other complications - any knife can be considered a weapon under certain circumstances, and some places (like schools and pubs) are knife-free zones.

Much is left to the discretion of the individual officer, which can be pretty scary if you're carrying an unusual but legal knife (like a friction folder, for example) and have to pass through random metal detector checks in the City.
 
In Florida, any folding knife you want, concealed. Any fixed blade you want carried open. Get a CWP and you can carry any knife anyway you want to.
 
In Germany balisongs, gravity knives (it has to be gravity - centrifugal force doesnt count) and larger switchblades (blade > 3 3/8'') are banned - even possession.

If you're carrying a one-hand-opener (size doesn't matter) or a fixed blade w/ a blade > 4 3/4 '' you need to have a legal reason - which cant be SD.
You need a legal reason for carrying daggers, legal (small) switchblades or other weapons (even any bayonets), too, which could get hairy since they're meant to be weapons.

It sucks for EDCing OHOs that the definition of this legal reason is quite vague - at 1st its up to the police officer to decide whether it is ok if you're saying that its your cutting tool for whenever you need to cut something or if he doesnt agree to that...
(of course you could say that you just cut up an apple w/ it, but... i guess most officers wouldn't accept that)
He could take the knife, it would be a misdemeanor and if you got enough money or a good legal expense insurance you could take it to court - but as of now there weren't any of these cases and nobody knows anything for sure...

When this law was filed in 2008 many people started carrying fixed blades.
Since there's no differentiation between open and concealed carrying of knives and since its quite rare that police officers frisk anybody w/o a good reason* i usually just EDC my folders (up to bm710) IWB if i'm in the city..

s_f

*: a good reason to them - if you look like you got definitely some pot on you or if you're obviously drunk or if you look like you're about to kick someones ass i guess you're much more likely to be checked by them.. (since that description doesnt suit me this is no 1st hand experience - just stories and guesses...)

//edit: @ amue: funny to find someone from munich, here ;)
regarding the OTFs: yes - obviously i forgot... probably because i usually just ignore them... I always did that with balisongs, too, but recently they kind of grew on me - more and more often i think that these 42s are really nice knives - at least for playing ;-)
And yes, i also forgot the lock for OHO - i tend to taking it for granted that a folding knife has a locking mechanism - maybe thats the reason why i (nearly) always forget that SAK in my backpack when counting the knives i have with me^^
 
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s_f said:
In Germany balisongs, gravity knives (it has to be gravity - centrifugal force doesnt count) and larger switchblades (blade > 3 3/8'') are banned - even possession.

If you're carrying a one-hand-opener (size doesn't matter) or a fixed blade w/ a blade > 4 3/4 '' you need to have a legal reason - which cant be SD.
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Sorry, but I have to make some corrections/additions to that:

-push-daggers are illegal, too
-switchblades are only legal if they are side-opening, single-edged and with a blade shorter than the aforementioned 8.5cm. That's metric ;)
- that means that ALL OTF Switchblades are illegal. I find that interesting, because in the US, OTFs are not discriminated from "normal" autos.
-switchblades with a blade length under 41mm are not considered weapons
-you only need a good reason for carrying a folder if it is locking AND can be opened with one hand




Apart from that, I agree with what you said about the "good reason". I too carry locking one-handers, since I doubt that I look like a person who would give a cop a reason to frisk them.
 
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Well, I'm in Maryland, and we can carry conventional folders, assisted openers and balisongs concealed legally. No length limit.

Fixed blades are a crapshoot for concealed carry, but can be carried openly. Also, pretty much ANY knife is legal if open carried, even switchblades, so long as there is no clear intent to injure another person unlawfully. There is a law against sale of switchblades, but no laws on ownership and open carry.
 
well, i see no NYS'ers posted yet, so I will...

no switchblades, no "gravity blades", no daggers, no dirks, no ballistic knives, no knuckle knives, no cane swords, no "ninja throwing stars", no carrying razors, no stilettos
then there's the subjective "no dangerous knives"


no blade length restrictions rocks!!!
 
i'm in Australia and nearly everything is illegal.

double edged, auto, assisted opening, push-daggers, balisongs....

Even a SAK or a Leatherman requires a "reasonable excuse". although cops are pretty reasonable when it comes to multitools.
 
Man reading these just makes me depressed. and frustrated at how people or government elitist have no realistic knowledge of which blades are deadlier or deadliest. They just think "if it looks scary it's gotta do way more damage right?" Please. My SAK can cause severe slashing damage probably far better than those switchblades those gangsters are carrying that cant sharpen worth jack.

Canada while not bad since there are no blade limitations go like "hey even though Emerson waves are like infinitely faster than switchblades or gravity knives, those are for some reason far more deadlier!" AND GOD, does the definition of a gravity knife pisses the hell out of me. CENTERFUGAL FORCE ha ha, lets put a fictional imaginary force into legal context with a vauge "cannot be flicked out by ceterfugal force" assuming they mean centrifical ANY knife short of a fixed blade can carry enough momentum to be "flicked" out. Though it maybe beyond human limitations, it still can be opened by your deadly force.

Also the deadly push dagger. What on earth makes a push dagger more deadly than a 10.5 inch Ontario Marine raider that is legal to pick up, and a tiny 2 inch push dagger is not? Christ almighty, why do we as a people allow this crap to go through? I think people forget the government is run by the people, not the other way around in the western world. We should be working not to just protect the small freedoms we have, but to fight to reclaim them back.
 
Virgina law prohibits sale of, or ownership with intent to sell (ownership being considered prima facie evidence of that intent), switchblades and ballistic knives. Also concealed carry of, "any dirk, bowie knife, switchblade knife, ballistic knife, machete, razor [or] . . . any weapon of like kind[.]" Fortunately, the VA Supreme Court showed some common sense last year and ruled that a weapon of like kind must be "substantially similar" to a prohibited item; daggers have two edges and a protective guard for the hand; dirks also include short swords, which have the blade set into a hilt.

All of which means that, particularly here in SW VA, with minimal limitations, I can carry any folder that's not an auto and not worry whether the fixed blade knife on my belt is concealed by my shirt or jacket.
 
Kansas City, Missouri. 4" blade limit on folders and fixed blades. No autos. You can own autos for collecting purposes but they cannot be carried. If you have a concealed carry weapons permit, you can carry as long of a blade as you can conceal but still no autos.
 
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