I printed out the IL Knife laws found here:
http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/il.txt
I gave the example of my cheap four inch tanto blade Cold Steel Voyager to the local Police. They said that pocket knives are not a problem, don't do anything stupid with it, and then left it at that.
I then called the IL State Police non-emergency number and talked to a Trooper. He looked up the laws in his book and told me that they do not have anything about knife length in their books.
He told me that he heard rumors when he was a kid about the size of your palm being the defined limit. But, they were untrue.
He said that if I get pulled over at a traffic stop (or other routine things) to tell the officer that I have a pocket knife. They will remove it from my possession, continue their inspection/procedures, then put it in my trunk and send me on my way.
He said that the laws are referring to unlawful intent as oppossed to possession. I have to intend to use the knife for an unlawful purpose.
I'm still a bit nervous about getting a 3-4 inch knife, though. I could lose my security clearance by being arrested.
The law that I printed out stated that anything 3+ inches is considered "Armed With A Dangerous Weapon." I'm still not sure if its A-okay, perfectly legal, to be "Armed With A Dangerous Weapon;" even if you do not have Unlawful Intent to use the Dangerous Weapon in an unlawful manner.
Any thoughts, comments, and/or recommendations to me?
Looking hard at a BM 710, B2, Serrated.
http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/il.txt
I gave the example of my cheap four inch tanto blade Cold Steel Voyager to the local Police. They said that pocket knives are not a problem, don't do anything stupid with it, and then left it at that.
I then called the IL State Police non-emergency number and talked to a Trooper. He looked up the laws in his book and told me that they do not have anything about knife length in their books.
He told me that he heard rumors when he was a kid about the size of your palm being the defined limit. But, they were untrue.
He said that if I get pulled over at a traffic stop (or other routine things) to tell the officer that I have a pocket knife. They will remove it from my possession, continue their inspection/procedures, then put it in my trunk and send me on my way.
He said that the laws are referring to unlawful intent as oppossed to possession. I have to intend to use the knife for an unlawful purpose.
I'm still a bit nervous about getting a 3-4 inch knife, though. I could lose my security clearance by being arrested.
The law that I printed out stated that anything 3+ inches is considered "Armed With A Dangerous Weapon." I'm still not sure if its A-okay, perfectly legal, to be "Armed With A Dangerous Weapon;" even if you do not have Unlawful Intent to use the Dangerous Weapon in an unlawful manner.
Any thoughts, comments, and/or recommendations to me?
Looking hard at a BM 710, B2, Serrated.