Texas Law

T

Texas_T

Joined
Oct 8, 2002
Messages
85
I am having a hard time finding knife laws concerning Texas. I like to carry a schrade fixed blade sharpfinger and was wondering if it is actually legal. Not concealed on my belt. Any input would be appreciated
 
I had no luck finding a pic of a Sharpfinger, but if it has only one cutting edge and is less than 5.5 inches in blade length it should be OK. Except for the ironic banning of Bowies, Texas has quite reasonable knife laws. Another nice thing, to my mind, is that concealed/open carry is not an issue, either. The law does not specifically name double-edged knives as illegal, but "case law" has decided that double edge=dagger or dirk. Balisong/butterfly knives are not specifically named as illegal, but they fall under the definition of opening with centrifugal force or gravity, which are also illegal. Also, fixed or folder makes no difference in Texas law; both are OK, so long as the blade is otherwise legal. Like anywhere else, there will be police officers who don't know the law as well as they should, so the more innocent your knife appears, the better, and don't "act a fool" with a knife. It certainly would not hurt to carry a photocopy of the relevant section of the Penal Code with you if your carry knife looks menacing or pushes the limits.
 
Good answer Rex. Even the LEOs don't know every little law, unfortunately, neither do the guys selling the knives sometimes! Last month when the misses and I were looking at some fixed blade Cold Steel knives at a hunting supply store, one of the clerks said that he had been told by a city LEO that fixed blades were illegal here. We called my father-in-law, who is also a city LEO, about whether there are any city ordinances beyond what state law limits. He had to look it up, thinking the length limit was 5 3/4", but I already knew and he confirmed 5 1/2" was the limit and there aren't any local extras.
If you're wondering about any other limits, check here too:
http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/sta-law.htm
It's got a lot of good info on state knife laws.

Now I have my own question:
Would my USAF Pilot's Survival Knife be considered a "dirk or dagger" knife when it has a sharpened swedge? I'd like a few opinions while I mull over the idea of carrying it.

Matt in Texas
 
When you carry a knife with a sharpened swedge, I would think it would be interpreted as double-edged, and may also be interpreted as a Bowie. This is only my opinion. I, myself, would not arrest someone with such a knife, unless they were a menace of some kind. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of case law could help us here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top