Texas and knives

F

Fred S2

Joined
Sep 5, 2008
Messages
185
So I'm at my daughter's ballet class, and this guy comes in with his wife, getting his kid signed up for one of the classes. Sorta cool thing is he's has a big ol' ZT clip hanging on his pocket. Dress slacks and the whole bit. Some aspects of TX are pretty cool
 
All aspects of Texas are pretty nice. Switchblades are legal too!! I live in Houston-Love it
 
I was under the impression that Texs had some.pretty restrictive knife laws. Am I mistaken? Or have things recently changed?
 
They weren't ever as restrictive as some states, but in 2013 they removed (single-edged) switchblades from the banned list, and in 2015 they passed a bill preempting the knife laws of individual cities and counties. (That is, Corpus Christi can no longer ban knives with blades over three inches long, for instance.)

There are still a lot of banned knives, including any blade (folding OR fixed) longer than five and a half inches, but the local culture is such that nobody blinks if you have a 4" titanium framelock clipped to your pocket.
 
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I spend winters in La Feria in the RGV. I like TX castle laws and TX politics in general. Its called the "Republic of Texas" for a reason.
I've heard of a few law enforcement issues that may have had the same result as they did in TX but I don't think so. They support law enforcement.

BTW, the Texas Rangers is the oldest law enforcement agency in North America.
 
Nap said:
They weren't ever as restrictive as some states, but in 2013 they removed (single-edged) switchblades from the banned list, and in 2015 they passed a bill preempting the knife laws of individual cities and counties. (That is, Corpus Christi can no longer ban knives with blades over three inches long, for instance.)

There are still a lot of banned knives, including any blade (folding OR fixed) longer than five and a half inches, but the local culture is such that nobody blinks if you have a 4" titanium framelock clipped to your pocket.
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And we should all be thanking Knife Rights & Mr. Ritter for the tireless & diligent work put in to get them passed!
 
Well, I don't call this good:

zzyzzogeton said:
The double-edge alone would make it illegal. The 10" blade length alone would make it illegal. Two illegals is still illegal.

The requirements to be "legal" for public carry in Texas is simple - single edged and a blade length of less than 5.5".

Maybe next legislative session we'll get the bill passed that would eliminate the term "illegal knife" from the penal code. This year, we missed it by just "that much".
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That pretty much sucks!! In many states it is legal to open carry any size knife
 
jackknife said:
No, not really. That would be the U.S. Marshall Service, established in 1789.
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Perhaps you are correct. 1823 for the Ranger. I cut and pasted this off of the internet. Keywords I believe are "statewide jurisdiction". A hell of an outfit non the less.

"With origins dating to the earliest days of Anglo settlement in Texas, the Texas Rangers form the oldest law-enforcement agency in North America with statewide jurisdiction. They often have been compared to four other world-famous agencies: the FBI, Scotland Yard, Interpol and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Scores of books, from well-researched works of non-fiction to Wild West pulp novels, have been written about the Rangers. They are part of the history of the Old West, and part of its mythology. Over the years, a distinct Ranger tradition has evolved.
 
Nap said:
but the local culture is such that nobody blinks if you have a 4" titanium framelock clipped to your pocket.
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And I frequently do!
My EDC rotation includes a Spyderco Military, Spyderco Manix 2 XL and ZT 0561. I carry each of them to my office and use them when I need them.

I wouldn't mind if the restrictions on double edged blades and over 5.5" blades were removed. I occasionally find a model that I would like to carry that is outside of these restrictions. I once thought that the SOG Pentagon would make an ideal outdoors knife, but it would be considered double edged. And I have a hard time finding a fixed blade that I like that isn't just over 5.5", such as the ESEE 6.



Nap said:
There are still a lot of banned knives...
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And "dirks" and "bowies". How do you define what a dirk or bowie is? Seems like most Chefs knives could be considered Bowies, and any steak knife could be considered a dirk.
 
bdmicarta said:
I wouldn't mind if the restrictions on double edged blades and over 5.5" blades were removed. I occasionally find a model that I would like to carry that is outside of these restrictions. I once thought that the SOG Pentagon would make an ideal outdoors knife, but it would be considered double edged. And I have a hard time finding a fixed blade that I like that isn't just over 5.5", such as the ESEE 6.
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Yes, it amuses me that my ESEE 6 is perfectly legal* here in the Netherlands, but not okay to carry in Texas, of all places.

And "dirks" and "bowies". How do you define what a dirk or bowie is? Seems like most Chefs knives could be considered Bowies, and any steak knife could be considered a dirk.
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The fact that there's still a list of prohibited things with names but not definitions is indeed problematic. It's also very typical of this type of law, passsed in many Southern states during Reconstruction to keep minorities from having weapons. (Yep. It's a racist law. A bit ironic, but let's not get into politics.)

* There are no restrictions on blade length for fixed blade knives, but it's often against city ordinance. I carry large knives when camping and hiking—usually my ESEE 6, in fact—but well outside of urban areas.
 
Texas has some goofy laws, like the one mentioned above banning undefined bowies and dirks, but they're rarely enforced. I had a cop compliment my double edged Microtech one time. As long as you're not behaving like an idiot you generally won't catch any grief. Just part of the culture. I got my first knife at 5 years old.
 
PENAL CODE

TITLE 10. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, AND MORALS

CHAPTER 46. WEAPONS...

1..2..3..4..5..

...(6) "Illegal knife" means a:

(A) knife with a blade over five and one-half inches;

(B) hand instrument designed to cut or stab another by being thrown;

(C) dagger, including but not limited to a dirk, stiletto, and poniard;

(D) bowie knife;

(E) sword; or

(F) spear.

The definition of an Illegal Knife in Sec. 46.01(6)(C) still includes "dagger, including but not limited to dirk, stilletto and poniard." That has not changed. None of these types of knives, dagger, etc., are defined in Texas law, but based on case law generally you should assume that a "dagger" covers any double-edged blade. This would include automatic knives with double-edged blades.

Texas law (HB1862) repealed the ban on automatic (switchblade) knives and went into effect on September 1st, 2015
...

Sec. 46.02. UNLAWFUL CARRYING WEAPONS. (a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun, illegal knife, or club if the person is not:

(1) on the person's own premises or premises under the person's control; or

(2) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle or watercraft that is owned by the person or under the person's control.


Section 46.02 does not apply to a person who:

(1) is in the actual discharge of official duties as a member of the armed forces or state military forces as defined by Section 437.001, Government Code, or as a guard employed by a penal institution;

(2) is traveling;

(3) is engaging in lawful hunting, fishing, or other sporting activity on the immediate premises where the activity is conducted, or is en route between the premises and the actor's residence, motor vehicle, or watercraft, if the weapon is a type commonly used in the activity;
 
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