thoughts on measuring blade length

[LizardKing]

Reading the knife law updates mike posted got me thinking about how the blade lenth of a knife is measured. Some of the Laws apply only to knives over 2 1/2 or over 4 in ect, so the method of measureing the blade length is very important. One point that i found facinating is some of the laws specified cutting edge length, this could prove problematic as i will demonstrate.

For an example lets take my combo Microtech LCC.

lenth of blade bolster to tip 3.56 in

Length of cutting edge (note the curved nature of the LCC's blade) 3.69 in

length of cutting edge inclueding serrations 5.4 in

granted if the blade were examined on a microscopic level we would probably be measureing the length in feet, i feel that any clever LEO or lawyer could make the arguement that the cutting edge of the blade would inclued the inside radius of the serrations.

now imagine what the cutting edge length of your matriarch is....a bit over 4? (i would guess near a foot long)

 

[medusaoblongata]

If it's not spelled out in the penal code, then it's up to case law to determine how blade length is measured. Often it's hard to tell and/or can depend on how anti-knife the LEO/DA/etc. is. I have heard one rumor of LEO's somewhere using a fractal computer program to "straighten" out the serrations on a knife to get a longer blade length. I really doubt this is common practice anywhere. I also usually think of the cutting edge (the distance in a straight line from the tip of the blade to where the edge begins) as being shorter than "full stabbing depth" (the distance in a straight line from the tip of the blade to the top of the handle), but there's usually no guarantee how a prosecutor will measure it. Usually, the cop on the street will just hold the blade up to a ruler though (if he has one, otherwise he'll use the palm of his hand and consider the blade too long no matter what the law says). While I imagine that a clever prosecutor could try to use the length measured inside the serrations, I doubt that would usually hold up in court, not when it's so much easier just to hold the blade up to a ruler. If it came up, you could look at the literature published by the manufacturer, ask custom knife makers, etc., how they measure blade length. If Microtech says the blade length of the LCC is 3.6", and you hold it up to a ruler and it's about 3.6" long, the prosecutor would have a hard time convincing a judge and jury that the blade is really 5.4". YMMV though.

 

[LizardKing]

I have heard one rumor of LEO's somewhere using a fractal computer program to "straighten" out the serrations on a knife to get a longer blade length.

That was actually the inspriation for my post, i was thinking about fractal length.