Suggestion: Print length on blade

[bls]

...Mind you, I'm not in favor of the idea. In order to be of any real value it would require that, at a minimum, all US jurisdictions agree to that uniform definition for the term "blade length"...

That's not the angle that I'm taking on this at all. It has nothing to do with law. It's all psychological.

If a cop asks to see your knife, holds it up against his hand and decides it's over 4 inches long, and you start telling him that he is wrong, instead of being an offender you are now an offender who has the nerve to tell the cop he is wrong.

On the other hand, if the cop opens up the knife and you inform him that the length is printed on the blade, now he looks like the bad guy if he decides to start knit-picking about how the length is measured. Most likely he'll reluctantly leave you alone.

Regards,
bls

 

[Mitchell Knives]

Generally, if you not doing anything wrong in the first place, a cop is not going to harass you about your knife. One of my buddies is a cop and I asked him if he ever hassled anyone about their knives. He said the only time he has ever seen anyone charged for having a knife is when they have already been caught for another crime. (burglery, muggings, etc) The knife charge is just something to tag on to the other charges.

If your knife is of legal length, you don't need it written on the blade. You can easily prove the length of a blade via manufacturer documentation. Knives have waaaay too much stuff written on them as it is.

 

[bls]

Generally, if you not doing anything wrong in the first place, a cop is not going to harass you about your knife...

Hi, ElectricZombie. It may be true that a cop is unlikely to search you unless you are doing something wrong. But you can also be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Also, if you ever use a knife in self-defense, you can be sure that the knife will get the cop's immediate attention.

Also, it is possible that North Carolina is not as bad as NYC. Cops have raided stores in NYC, arrested the owners and confiscated the knives. This is very knife-unfriendly territory.

And again, the main benefit is psychological. It is very unlikely that a cop will ever see my knife, but I would feel better knowing that if he does, I can just point out the length imprinted on the blade.

Regards,
bls

 

[Clay1]

I live in an area where the number is 3". For some reason the government chose the dollar bill to be 6" in length. My rules is to take the dollar fold it in half hold it up against the handle and the blade should not show.

Someone commented about how to measure blade length and having some standardization. Many scales now have an almost 45 degree angle to them when the meet the blade. If you measure from where the scale is the farthest is best for us, but if you get some stickler you could be in trouble.

Some police officers in rural areas won't even give you much grief about a 3 1/2" blade is your out and about with a good attitude. Others will give you grief if you have a box cutter in your pocket and you get caught in a bad situation - bar fight etc. Your blade should make the legal limit without having to position the knife just right to show that it makes it. It should do it easily. Clay

 

[Ritt]

Hmmm. It's just my opinion, or perhaps my impression... If a police officer decides he's going to take your knife away, he's not likely to give a rat's ass what's printed/stamped on the blade.

 

[Tohatchi NM]

This whole issue is sticky and a little scary. I try to comply with the law. It's hard, because first, the laws are hard to find; second, individual towns may have different regulations and moving from one jurisdiction to another is extremely complicated; third knife laws seem to be either intentionally vague or extremely dated. (example - the prevalence of anti "dirk" language. Also, the "gravity knife" laws. Back in the good old days when knives were hard to open, this may have been relevant. But with modern materials, especially washers, just about the only blades that won't flick open are sheath knives.) I think the laws may be intentionally vague so that if you get caught doing something bad, they can stretch the law to fit. That doesn't make me any happier about the off chance that I'm doing nothing wrong but happen to arouse someone's suspicion or malice.

I've thought about blade length in some detail, since I currently live in an environment (Boston) with a length-limit written into the law. If I buy a blade that's spot-on according to the manufacturer's spec, but someone decides to measure a little differently, I may very well be guilty of a felony. I'm particularly worried about curved blades like the Harpy or Dodo - would the DA decide to measure along the cutting edge instead of tip to handle? Can I afford a high-power enough lawyer to convince the jury that said DA is a moron?

The scary part comes in the penalty. A felony conviction strips away lots of rights and comforts that most people take for granted. A felony knife conviction perhaps moreso, because most people equate knives with weapons, violence, etc. Better than putting length measurements on blades, we need to educate the public, portray ourselves as upstanding citizens and knife use as normal.

Although, when we print the length, we might as well include a few other warnings, like "Not for use as a backscratcher" or "POINT EDGE THIS WAY" or "The surgeon general has linked knife use with psychotic behavior. This blade will turn you into a raving, bloodthirsty maniac." :footinmou