What would you do if carrying a knife became illegal in your country?

DocJD DocJD your double jointed samurai would be better off saddling the cat and sparing his feet if he's gonna romp around in socks like that.
 
I genuinely feel bad for the OP. In my neck of Merica, the state did AWAY with most knife laws. Only three types are illegal to carry down the street, and mostly only in large cities. You can't carry a dirk, true dagger, or sword. A Dirk is a throwing knife, a true dagger has to have both sides of the blade well sharpened, and well, a sword is not defined by length in the law, leaving it up to the officer to decide how he wants to handle it.

No, I don't live in California...
 
That would be a real pain and I’m certainly glad I don’t have to make that decision. I suppose the penalty would likely dictate my response. If it were a minor fine or light penalty I personally would do as I pleased. If it was a serious penalty I wouldn’t carry a knife. I’m in my late 60’s and in all those years and sketchy places I have been, I have carried a knife every day but never needed one to defend myself or get me out of a serious situation of any kind. Very useful tool but not a mandatory carry item. Alternatives (if legal where I was) if I felt a need for protection, a solid walking cane, a stout belt with a heavy buckle, another capable person accompanying me to double my odds, dog, a solid metal ink pen and of course if I was John Wick a f…..g pencil. If I felt really strongly about it I would get involved in a legal movement to make changes.
Tell me what the rules are and I can usually come up with a way to accomplish what I need.
 
To answer the OP's question:

I would still carry a knife. I've been carrying a knife(s) for so long, I'd feel naked without one. I carry two folders and my Leatherman everywhere I go. To be without at least my Leatherman, because some SH politicians said I couldn't, would be unacceptable to me. As others have said, better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. Or at the very least judged by 12 than obey tyrants.

The only thing for evil to triumph, is for good men(and women), to do nothing. Old phrase, older truth..
 
Frisco Felon said:
Can you site a penal code?
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No. And am not going to dig through every single city and county ordinance.

A quick internet search, show automatics must be 2" or less. With assisted knife being a grey area. Meaning my Benchmade Barrage is essentially a no go because some jerk LEO decides to take and I have no real recourse.

I did find that the law does change in 2026. The state law does limit knives to 2.5" in most public places. Meaning again, some jerk LEO can and most likely will take my BM Barrage.

is-this-legal.com

What Length is Legal in California Knife Laws After 2026 Changes?

In California, as of 2026, knives with blades exceeding 2.5 inches are generally considered illegal to carry in most public places unless you have a specific
is-this-legal.com is-this-legal.com

Bottom line, in Commiefornia it's pretty much all at your own risk to carry anything you can defend yourself well with.

I was born and raised in California. Been and lived all over the state. In my opinion it's become a giant cess pool, where criminals are favored and innocent civilians victims more often than not.
 
It is already. You need a valid "lawful" reason. A butcher can have a butcherknife, an electrician an electricians knife on the job, a diver a divingknife while diving. But a judge decides what legal is. So there are no real "legal" knives here, only illegal types like automatic, bali's, etc. Self defense is absolutely NOT a valid reason.
But i was never checked by the police (yet). Knife crime is exploding here due to the influx of non european "refugees". We are expecting more and more restrictive checks. So basically there is no way of carrying anything legally here. Even "any object carried with the purpose to commit a crime in the future is a crime", like any object. If the police think you have it with you for an unlawful reason, like say self defense, the object is considered a weapon.
 
Whisperstealth said:
I was born and raised in California. Been and lived all over the state. In my opinion it's become a giant cess pool, where criminals are favored and innocent civilians victims more often than not.
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Loki.88 said:
It is already. You need a valid "lawful" reason. A butcher can have a butcherknife, an electrician an electricians knife on the job, a diver a divingknife while diving. But a judge decides what legal is. So there are no real "legal" knives here, only illegal types like automatic, bali's, etc. Self defense is absolutely NOT a valid reason.
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Without breaking any rules on the discussion of politics, what y’all are describing is the vast majority of the world.

There are a handful of states in the USA where most of the big freedoms converge. There are no knife restrictions upon law abiding people where I live. No permit is required to carry a firearm. There are no emissions inspections of our vehicles. Law enforcement doesn’t stop law abiding people and “check” them for anything. Not many places left like this. Find one and dig in.
 
MarbReds said:
Without breaking any rules on the discussion of politics, what y’all are describing is the vast majority of the world.

There are a handful of states in the USA where most of the big freedoms converge. There are no knife restrictions upon law abiding people where I live. No permit is required to carry a firearm. There are no emissions inspections of our vehicles. Law enforcement doesn’t stop law abiding people and “check” them for anything. Not many places left like this. Find one and dig in.
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That definitely ain't here in NYSHITTY.......😉

I'do what I need to do for ME...🤘
 
Sounds like California has really turned into a cesspool. Heard Glock pistols are becoming the latest victim. Worried about someone's knife when scumbags are looting stores left and right without punishment. That Newsome sounds like a real gem for sure!
 
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MarbReds said:
If you have the financial means it is the best decision you can make for your family. Just my two cents as a NY expat

See above, NY is where we fled.
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Always come back!!!🙄 Family.....cant live with em , cant live without em & cant kill em😁!!!!

Too deeply rooted....90% of my family is on Staten Island and there are a dozen plus I their mid 80's now so...
 
I am late to the party here as well, but I just read the whole thread. I will do my best to avoid anything political but with all respect due to the mods this is an inherently political question.

Louky, I am troubled to read about this, but thank you for sharing your situation, I hope we can all learn something from it. To directly answer the question "what would I do?" well, I have to give you an answer based on what I have done here in the United States. I lived in California for the first 50+ years of my life, as you know we are a collection of states and they all make their own rules to some degree. When California started outlawing certain guns, and made the others tougher and tougher to get... what I (and many other people did) was get more guns and hoarded ammo. Nearly every "tactical" type weapon I own, yep, bought them in California. The caveat is... I couldn't take many of them outside the house, which looks similar to your situation with the knives.

Fortunately 6 years ago I moved to Tennessee, my neighbor from time to time shoots his full-auto Browning in his back yard, there are really no illegal guns or knives in Tennessee and you can carry most of them open in public. The funny thing is, I haven't bought much tactical stuff out here at all,...I buy old guns and knives because my government respects my rights, so I do not feel threatened by them.

Since moving is not an option for you, in your shoes, I would carry and have a well-rehearsed legitimate reason and be prepared to have something to back it up. Look for and learn case law of anyone that has been charge with a possession infraction and how they were able to defend it, or why they weren't. I hate to say it, but learn from the misfortunes of others. And do as you do now, be a respectful citizen and don't give the cops a reason to bother you.

I have been to your beautiful country, I hope to visit there again soon.
 
Whisperstealth said:
No. And am not going to dig through every single city and county ordinance.

A quick internet search, show automatics must be 2" or less. With assisted knife being a grey area. Meaning my Benchmade Barrage is essentially a no go because some jerk LEO decides to take and I have no real recourse.

I did find that the law does change in 2026. The state law does limit knives to 2.5" in most public places. Meaning again, some jerk LEO can and most likely will take my BM Barrage.

is-this-legal.com

What Length is Legal in California Knife Laws After 2026 Changes?

In California, as of 2026, knives with blades exceeding 2.5 inches are generally considered illegal to carry in most public places unless you have a specific
is-this-legal.com is-this-legal.com

Bottom line, in Commiefornia it's pretty much all at your own risk to carry anything you can defend yourself well with.

I was born and raised in California. Been and lived all over the state. In my opinion it's become a giant cess pool, where criminals are favored and innocent civilians victims more often than not.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I’d be the last one to defend CA laws as we are happy to have moved to WY a year ago, but that website is just plain wrong (AI?).

In CA you can still open carry most fixed blades, and conceal most manual folders, with some (and different) blade length limitations on school or government property (only). Autos longer than 2.5” are out.

County laws might be more restrictive.

Look up the codes, please.

Roland:

+@killgar (CA resident expert)
 
Whisperstealth said:
No. And am not going to dig through every single city and county ordinance.

A quick internet search, show automatics must be 2" or less. With assisted knife being a grey area. Meaning my Benchmade Barrage is essentially a no go because some jerk LEO decides to take and I have no real recourse.

I did find that the law does change in 2026. The state law does limit knives to 2.5" in most public places. Meaning again, some jerk LEO can and most likely will take my BM Barrage.

is-this-legal.com

What Length is Legal in California Knife Laws After 2026 Changes?

In California, as of 2026, knives with blades exceeding 2.5 inches are generally considered illegal to carry in most public places unless you have a specific
is-this-legal.com is-this-legal.com

Bottom line, in Commiefornia it's pretty much all at your own risk to carry anything you can defend yourself well with.

I was born and raised in California. Been and lived all over the state. In my opinion it's become a giant cess pool, where criminals are favored and innocent civilians victims more often than not.
Click to expand...

I am stuck in California for the foreseeable future. Not all of us are able to just pick up and leave when we want to. Family makes things complicated sometimes.

It's unfortunate to live here, but anyone who does should do their due diligence and research the laws themselves.

I wouldn't trust a random website when it comes to weapons laws because they are often wrong, as is the link you provided. At least, I am completely unable to find any information on new legislation affecting knife laws for 2026 in CA. The under 2.5" law only affects K-12 schools.

Yes, it is true that there are some municipalities that restrict blade length to under 3", but not all of them do. CA is an absolute mess of different laws based on State, county and city laws/ordinances.

If you're not up to speed on the laws where you are, then keep the concealed folders under 3" (under 2.5" for K-12), always carry fixed blades openly on hip, autos / balis / gravity knives under 2" (otherwise legal to own at home). Some municipalities have further restrictions on any spring loaded knife and fixed blade length.

Where I live, I can carry any length as long as I'm not loitering (ie; homeless) in certain places and don't refer to it as a weapon.

It's rare to be stopped and asked if you are carrying weapons, but it can and does happen occasionally. Wouldn't hurt to keep a copy of the laws on you at all times. Be safe!
 
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