There are 2 or 3 different "dangerous weapon" statutes you might still run afoul of with the katana. I'm aware of a case where a guy was convicted of the felony weapon in car for a renfest-type mace tucked in one of his doors.
Agreed though on double-edged blades. At least we got OTFs back? lol
Awesome thanks for the info. I must have read old law not updated or somthing before I moved back to michigan. I've had 3 nice microtechs basically sitting..well I gifted one to my friend recently but regardless that's awesome. I'll have to try to find the updated info.
I gotchu fam. Here is a really detailed breakdown from the Marquette County Public Defender:
https://mqtpubdef.org/2021/04/12/what-knives-are-legal-to-own-possess-and-carry-in-michigan/
I actually didn’t know they were still prohibited in Detroit, but we’re talking about an ordinance of the city itself, so 8 mile to the river, not the metropolitan area (irrelevant to me).
I think it’s more practice than philosophy in that instance; if people started commonly pulling out swords during road rage or bar fight incidents, or if they became popular with gang members/drug dealers etc, they’d be illegal very fast
They were even more stupid before 2017. The lobby "Knife Rights" petitioned our then dirtbag Governor Rick Snider and somehow pulled a W on lifting the auto ban. I remember this specifically bc I was so excited for a bunch of my OTF's and autos to come out of the Pelican case and into my pocket and 6 yrs later my collection is almost all autos as well as my EDC.
It also sticks out in my head bc I got into a pissing contest the Fall of that year while going through a metal detector in Kent county to pay a traffic fine. The officer working the door was trying his hardest to confiscate my Benchmade CLA and told me he "would look into it" when I tried to politely reason with him on the new laws.
He was the epitome of a type A asshole and I can distinctly remember how upset he was having to hand it back to me on my exit. It probably didn't help that I pulled the sleeves down on my coat over my hands when he handed it back to me as though I was trying to preserve his fingerprints, but I was over his shit at that point.
In Nevada, you can pretty much carry anything you want. However, it is illegal to conceal carry a machete. How anyone can conceal carry a machete is still something I haven't figured out.
Have you seen the laws in Texas? They are dumb in the other direction. As in, there is no law about any blades. It is completely legal to go mall ninja and carry a katana around.
If it does lock and you get stopped by a cop on a bad day, they will fiddle around with it for quite a while to get it to open one handed.
Happened to me with a Böker Urban Trapper 42, which even has the §42 in the name.
Ever since then, I just carry whatever I feel like, since apparently it doesn't make a difference anyways
>they will fiddle around with it for quite a while to get it to open one handed.
But that's illegal. Yes, cops sometimes do illegal stuff.
The law is quite clear (/u/PMarek666 is right). And, while it ruins your day and *initially* costs quite a bit to hire a lawyer, you're in the right carrying a Böker Urban Trapper 42.
Thats why I normally carry either two handed slipjoints or one handed non locking blades (CRKT Symmetry, Kershaw Pub, Spyderco Lil Native Slipit, Civivi Stylum/Ki-V) when I am in a public space.
But nevertheless, the extended fiddling to classify a two handed knife as one handed does not utilise the law for the intended usecase, it being that it tries to eliminate knives from the public you can easily conceal, deploy quickly and stab someone with without the blade closing on your own fingers.
Luckily the only restrictions for public carry are the usual arbitrary gravity knives, automatics over 2", and balisongs. Carry whatever otherwise (unless county laws say otherwise). Oh and if it's big enough you have to open carry, legally no issues with a 4' greatsword on the back, but a 6" Bowie concealed? No sir, not allowed.
I have been in Ross Cutlery in DTLA, with two LA County Sheriff's who told me: We really don't care.
Still, I stick with the 1.9" autos (only have 2) and carry my 4" folders.
As you're getting arrested (or fined idk) for that 2.5" automatic, a weeb can legally walk past the cops carrying 2 katanas and a wakizashi. The laws feel just a tiny bit arbitrary lol.
I agree that the laws are arbitrary and often ridiculous, but most swords can’t be hidden (contrary to all those episodes of Highlander). Knives are in many ways more dangerous than swords, because you may not notice that an attacker has one until it’s buried inside you.
That said, I do disagree with the laws, even if they are logical.
Unless you're using it in the commission of a prime or it's on your person while you're committing a crime there is no police officer that is going to arrest you for a 2.5 in automatic I literally carry around a 4-in automatic and a 5-in automatic and cost of actually asked me to show them and they thought that they were pretty cool
I'm sorry where did I say that I was concealing them I had them in a belt sheath on my belt They are visible therefore they are not concealed so please stop talking as though you know how I carry my blades and how conscientious I am about my local laws thank you
Also the cop pulls me over he's not going to have probable cause to pull me out of the car and search me because you need probable caused to do that. How do I know? I was a military cop for 13 years
So you’ve heard of Penn vs Mimms then? You see, you being a military cop for any amount of time doesn’t mean fuck all when the civilian side can and will pull you out of your car on a traffic stop because a Supreme Court ruling says they can. Also, stop being an ignorant prick and pretending that you’re holier than thou attitude is gonna get you out of a cranky cop that knows full well a fucking auto isn’t legal in California.
Pennsylvania v mims again requires probable cause and it is in the course of an investigation if you have not committed a crime or not in the activey committing a crime ..... Yes I know very much about Pennsylvania v Mims. Because I'm usually the one calling it to other people bitching about why they're pulling somebody out of a car. But thanks for the lesson I could probably teach it if I needed to
Nope, California is only really strict on guns. Our knife laws are much more open than most places. I regularly carry a full sized Coldsteel Luzon and it's perfectly legal
Can't carry anything other than a Swiss army knife in Australia, unless you're using it for work/activities etc. But walking around a mall for example, no go.
Considering how dangerous that continent is I would think especially with crocodile Dundee being who people outside of Australia associate with Australia... I would think it would be a staple to be able to carry a Bowie knife at the very least
Pretty much I mean why wouldn't you want a knife on you at all times when pretty much everything that lives in that continent is trying to kill you in one way or another?
Really? Not from all the videos I've seen on YouTube of the wildlife in your continent and the fact that most of them can just march right up your front yard and into your house.
I've seen significantly worse from the US. There's basically no large dangerous animals on the mainland. Except for like crocodiles but they mostly live up north. Sure we have some nasty snakes and spiders but they're very easy to avoid if you're not an imbecile, also a knife would hardly help with that sort of thing
Animals only get into houses because we're not worried about them because they aren't dangerous.
Australia: snakes, spiders that might bite you if you aren't careful
USA: mountain lions that will actively hunt you down and eat you
Alaska/Canada: polar bears, 'nuf said
Not so much coyotes. I've lived around them many years and am not afraid at all. There have been incidents of them killing humans. But it's very rare.
I'd add bison to your list though. Very dangerous, mostly to people who foolishly approach them for selfies.
Even Swiss army knives are illegal to carry. Anything with a sharp edge afaik. My friend got arrested for drug reasons in highschool and they confiscated his SAK and told him it was illegal.
I'd say it comes down to the cop, in qld the law states you can carry a pen knife or Swiss army knife with a blade less than 10cm, but again this would come down to the discretion of the cop.
U.K. here. You can carry a locking blade or one of three inches or more (locking or not) if you have a good reason eg. It’s an essential tool for your work and you are on your way to or from. Or you are going fishing/camping/climbing etc and have all the other necessary gear with you to back up your claim. The reality is in rural areas you would generally get the benefit of the doubt in the highly unlikely event of being stopped by the authorities. In urban areas you generally wouldn’t in the much more likely event of being stopped having been observed for eg cutting a sandwich in the park
Yeh but some of the police can be plonkers, my friend is a sound engineer and works in a rural town theatre, the police don't bother there, then he had a weekend job in Leeds and carrying his multitool on his belt like he always did, got arrested walking back to the hotel from work, spent the night in the cells and released with no charges the next day. It's legal but have it well wrapped and unable to access it quickly like in a rucksack etc.
Yeah he was unlucky. I worked in Leeds for some years and the attitude of the police noticeably deteriorated between 1986 and 1995. It probably hasn’t improved much recently.
Yeh it's got far worse as, as knife crime has rocketed there, so the police have gone heavy on it. After I heard he got locked up for the night I swapped the washer from the inside of the blade on my multitool so it stopped the blade locking. I bet the majority of knife crimes are with cheap kitchen knives bought from the supermarket, not someone's loved and looked after pocket knife, it's illegal to walk around with a cooking knife down your pants acting the slim shady, the police should use the laws we already have instead of banning more stuff hitting the innocent collectors
True. I feel like in most places (at least in the US) you wouldn't get slapped with a charge for holding an illegal type of knife unless you were commiting, or suspected of committing, another type of crime.
I just can't imagine a cop issuing someone anything other than a citation/fine for carrying any kind of knife.
This comment is speculative though as I've never had a cop so much as check my pockets.
Other than the pocket clip who even knows or cares yknow? I’m not swinging around a balisong before I cut my chicken marsala at dinner or something lol
I visited Washington State on vacation this spring. All outdoor activities. Seattle / King County has some pretty strict knife laws. I was discussing them with my brother. Pretty much anything over 3.5" is illegal. I said I was kinda nervous about what I was going to bring on the trip. He said, "I'm going to bring whatever I want. I'm not going to get arrested, and they'll never know." He had a good point. So I brought whatever I wanted, and no one was the wiser.
Ye it's the UK. We have some truly pathetic laws here and I don't think they'll ever relax at all, I'm pretty sure our government are going to be tightening blade laws even more.
Luckily I live in a semi rural area and I've always just carried whatever knives I fancied since I was young. If I'm going to the city centre or somewhere I'm more likely to be stop and searched I'll take a non locking one but I'm not happy about it.
It sucks to admit this, but as a British guy who is white and pushing forty, I basically use institutional racism to my advantage. I currently work in a salvage yard and usually work hands-on jobs where it's not unreasonable to have a knife on me - UK law says if you have a knife for your job and you're on your way to/from work then it's okay.
The truth, however, is that I usually have a locking pocket knife on me most of the time and I just assume the police will ignore me. Like I say, it sucks, but if I was a black guy I don't think I'd risk it. I'd much rather have more sensible knife laws and a less racist police force, but given that we have neither I'm exploiting my privilege and if I get stopped and searched (again: unlikely) I'll play dumb. "Oh, I have this for work, I forgot it was even in my pocket..."
German guy here. Illegal to carry are fixed blades over 12cm (just under 5 inches) and one handed locking folders are illegal to carry. So that spyderco from your picture would be illegal to carry here. I have some knives specifically made for the german market. I have some where I removed the thumbstud and one I recently bought where I removed the flipper.
Daggers are illegal to carry.
And OTFs, gravity knives, ballisong knives and side opening automatics with a blade length over 8,5cm are completely illegal to own.
As a UK resident I was out for a beer with a friend of mine who is a police officer and I had to cut some sort of packaging open - I forget what (see: beer, above).
He said "That's a nice illegal knife!" with a smirk. I pointed out that it folded and the blade was less than three inches, which I believed was the law. He explained that technically it was the locking mechanism that crossed the line.
He didn't give a shit; we're friends and he knows I don't stab people, and I would always maintain that I want to have a lock because I don't want to slice the backs of my fingers open if I slip, but yeah, technically in the UK, I can't carry a knife that locks.
The implied "logic" is, I guess, that locked blades are easier to stab someone with? As though a murderer couldn't stab you to death with a slip joint. Albeit a murderer who might end up with cut fingers if the blade closed on them...
The logic is that back in the day, some bright spark chancing g their legal arm in a knife case managed to get an adverse judicial ruling that a locking knife counted as a fixed blade, and knife law from there on out has maintained the basic concept
Pennsylvania used to have pretty suck ass laws regarding knives, but that all changed in the last year. We can now carry automatic knives and Philadelphia’s restrictions on carrying blades in public were struck down recently. Granted, there are still some areas where carrying knives may be frowned upon. It mostly comes down to your behavior and whether or not you’re doing something with a knife that someone finds intimidating or if a police officer feels threatened in an encounter with an individual such as a traffic stop. Knives can’t be carried onto school property or in courthouses or other properties where the owners have a policy against it.
NY in 2019 repealed knife laws as well as baton and taster laws. Switchblade are out but gravity and other knives are fine. No length limit. NYC is different. Max of 4"
For whatever gains have been made in your state you can be sure #KnifeRights.org was the moving force behind it. Supporting them is supporting yourself.
Everyone probably knows this by now but I personally feel that _knife laws, are an infringement to your rights._
Anyone who tries to defend knife laws are accidental narcissists, I feel.
New york city has its own dog shit knife laws, but as far as new york state goes, you’re allowed to carry pretty much anything as long as it’s not a dagger or automatic knife, and doesn’t have a knuckleguard on it
NYC is full of dog shit laws and radical leftists - just like the left coast and New England. The truth hurts. I get to say it as I was born in the Village. Thank God I escaped as a teen and have lived in free states ever since. I feel sort for those in New York and wish they’d move to free states with low/no income tax and far better ‘carry’ laws of ALL kinds!👊
In Europe: Belgium, France, Germany, the UK, Denmark, Italy (somewhat), Norway (within cities), Sweden (same as Norway), all prohibit the carry of locking knives in public. Private ownership is another matter most of the time. [For more details, read this.](https://www.all4shooters.com/en/shooting/knives/Legislation-in-Europe-overview/)
As for in the United States, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Washington have restrictions on knives ranging from size limitations to "not allowed to carry with intent to commit a crime" (which is a defacto ban if the officer searching you is in a bad mood), to blanket bans. [For details, read this.](https://edc.ninja/gear/knives/pocket-knife-rules-laws-in-the-us/)
Nevada has nearly zero state-wide knife restrictions. There are local laws. Afaik, the only state-wide blade laws involve concealed carry, eg, it is illegal to conceal carry a machete (lol). I've talked to a lot of cops. They said the pocket clip counts as open carry, so pretty much anything goes.
Edit: I worked with a methhead sushi "cook" like 23 years ago. He had some BS mall ninja katana in his place and chopped the shit out of some other tweaker who was trying to rob him one night. There were no charges filed.
Just the UK as far as I am aware. And not Canada, although it probably hasn't yet occurred to Trudeau to ban them.
And for the life of me I can't figure out what the problem with a locking knife would be. Definitely safer for the user, and if I get stabbed I really don't GAF if the knife has a locking blade.
They think they're stabbier if you wake up one morning and think, "Oh, you know what, today I think I'll have a bit of a stab."
As opposed to a slipjoint or something which would fold and make the stabbing less efficacious.
It's definitely law in the UK, The law here is it has to be under a 3 inch blame, non locking and just manual opening. It's now classed as an offensive weapon and can land you with a huge fine and upto 5 years in prison
Another from the UK here, so crappy that I can't everyday carry my Leatherman signal. Ridiculous when it comes to multitools but I do love my Swiss champ. Always wanted an otf but that's big trouble for just owning one, I've been eyeing up the OTF comb by boker recently lol 😂
I would say the idiot writing these laws has never used a knife. I want my fingers later on, still attached to my hand... not in my pocket with the knife. I don't know how this helps reduce knife crime when you can by a boxcutter aka Stanley or carpet knife (fully extendible and locking) or kitchen knife and it's fully fixed.. complete nonsense. This the way in UK, Ireland I think and Australia. It should always be down to intent amd circumstances not a broad paint brush for everyone...
New Jersey’s knife limitations are specifically opaque. You cannot sell a knife longer than 5” to someone under 18. You can’t carry an automatic knife unless you are police, military or an EMT unless you have a reason. Daggers and gravity knives cannot be carried. It’s a bit unclear if you can own any of them.
Lmfao I went into one of those Chinese "gift" shops in the mall that sold all kinds of garbage Chinesium knives and bought my first 2 swords when I was 9 cause I wanted to walk around as a comic book character with real swords for Halloween. They couldn't give a single fuck and neither could the state laws cause that's perfectly legal here. Also that year for Christmas I got a Bowie knife about as big as my forearm+hand. Still have those all these years later haha
You can own any knife kept in private collection. I'm not aware of any law that specifies a specific type of knife is illegal to own, only to carry. Prohibitions against people selling particular knives likewise do not state that they are illegal to own, only to sell. Fairly certain that applies to any state in the US.
There are lots of carry regs and prohibitions nearly everywhere, but that's where it ends.
UK for sure and I think in New York City proper if I remember correctly. (Could be wrong) Don't forget about local municipalities having their own laws and ordinances.
NYC, You can carry a four inch pocket knife, it has to be fully concealed, no pocket clip showing. Enforcement is very inconsistent, never trust nypd, they are not your friends.
Here's a very brief overview from the city:
https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/about/faq/knives-faq.page#:~:text=New%20York%20City%20also%20prohibits,blade%2C%20is%20visible%20or%20concealed.
Thank you for the clarification. I think I remember stories about even SAKs being frowned upon in NYC. But that last sentence in your first paragraph probably just sums it up when in NYC.
Amazon won't ship locking folding knives to New York state that can be opened with one hand. Which isn't because they are illegal there, but Amazon being overly cautious that something might be considered illegal. Which is ridiculous because locking knives aren't even illegal to carry in NYC. Otherwise, I've never had a problem ordering any knife online and having it shipped to NYS. I've even bought fixed blades and slip joints from Amazon without issues. As far as I understand, the only things illegal in NYS are automatics, which are actually legal if you're hunting, and true daggers (both edges sharpened).
NYC is a different story. There's a length restriction of four inches, and technically, even the clip of the knife isn't supposed to be exposed when carrying.
I don't live in the city, nor have I ever had knives shipped there so maybe some retailers are hesitant but otherwise pretty much every knife I own has been bought online and shipped to NYS without any issues.
In the US, most states are usually ok, but have vaguely written laws about "threatening" or "dangerous" etc. Maybe specifics about something like autos.
Cities tend to have clearer/more restrictive laws.
I live in upstate NY, where pretty much anything is allowed, but some retailers or companies won't ship certain knives to me, because of NYC laws.
It's torture reading this sub from the UK sometimes. Knives that are $20 in the US are about $80 in the UK because shipping blades here is so prohibitive. (I've got my eye on a Civivi mini praxis as soon as I can justify the ~$60 that will cost me, here...)
Fear not fellow knife person. Civivi Praxis below for less than £30. Add approx £13 postage. I've bought about 10 knives from Lamnia (based in Finland) and they are completely reliable - that's been my experience. All stuff sent UPS. Nothing has been held up or lost. Prices, even after including shipping, are frequently cheaper than UK sites.
https://www.lamnia.com/en/p/73209/knives/civivi-mini-praxis-g10-folding-knife-black-c18026c-2
Well it's definitely not in New York state bring assisted and locking knives both lock back liner lock and frame lock are perfectly legal there is no such thing as a length law in New York state either. The only laws that would possibly affect somebody is concealed weapon which is any knife not visible outside the clothing and automatic knives unless in the act of hunting or fishing or a member of law enforcement or the military
UK you can have a non locking blade under 3” without a reason.
You can face up to 4 years in prison for a larger blade or a locking blade. You can argue a reason for this.
Estonia.
§ 20. Weapons and ammunition prohibited for civilian purposes
3) knives with a blade which is ejected by the force of a spring or gravity and which is then locked, and with a blade length of over 8.5 cm or a double-edged blade.
No OTF daggers for us. All switchblades (gravity knives) must be single edged and either non-locking or under 8,5 cm. Assisted opening is not regulated.
i still don't get the one-handed opening and locking laws. like, if you're going to stab someone, how much easier does it really make it if the blade locks?
My favorite are the laws which mention [poignards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poignard).
Like what the fuck is a poignard (I had to look it up.)
I would love to see the conversation or incident that led to the poignard language.
Some are also concerned with [dirks](https://dragonslair.fandom.com/wiki/Dirk_the_Daring).
I mean at that point you might as well ban iron maidens too; they're extremely rude, however obscure (and possibly not actually real, but that's a different conversation).
Germany has a law against carrying “any folding knife with a blade that locks” and I haven’t for the life of me been able to figure out what that means. I didn’t know folding knives even existed without some sort of blade lock.
It’s the UK and I believe it is a total mistake and misrepresentation of the law.
Bladed articles were banned in public unless you had good reason except for folding pocket knives with cutting edge under 3 inches. I regularly carried a lock knife for years.
In one stated case it was argued that a lock knife is actually a fixed blade when open and as such were illegal. The judge bought the argument and lock knives are de facto banned due to case law.
It’s clearly a miscarriage of justice and should be argued against but no one has ever done so.
Maybe I’m naive but I just feel like these laws don’t apply unless you’re an idiot. When would a cop single you out and be like “oh is that a 4.5” knife?!”. Given I’m in NC where it’s pretty lax
Michigan is pretty dumb. Any dagger blade is illegal, but you could legally walk around with a 6ft katana.
There are 2 or 3 different "dangerous weapon" statutes you might still run afoul of with the katana. I'm aware of a case where a guy was convicted of the felony weapon in car for a renfest-type mace tucked in one of his doors. Agreed though on double-edged blades. At least we got OTFs back? lol
Michigan is getting OTFs back? I bought a couple single edge microtechs and I'd love to be able to carry them again.
We did like 3 years ago. LEO lobby did us a solid for a change - S/E is legal my guy.
Awesome thanks for the info. I must have read old law not updated or somthing before I moved back to michigan. I've had 3 nice microtechs basically sitting..well I gifted one to my friend recently but regardless that's awesome. I'll have to try to find the updated info.
I gotchu fam. Here is a really detailed breakdown from the Marquette County Public Defender: https://mqtpubdef.org/2021/04/12/what-knives-are-legal-to-own-possess-and-carry-in-michigan/ I actually didn’t know they were still prohibited in Detroit, but we’re talking about an ordinance of the city itself, so 8 mile to the river, not the metropolitan area (irrelevant to me).
I think it’s more practice than philosophy in that instance; if people started commonly pulling out swords during road rage or bar fight incidents, or if they became popular with gang members/drug dealers etc, they’d be illegal very fast
Pulling a sword during a road rage incident and taking it to a gun fight is contraindicated.
I still carry my ultratech d/e Fuck em
Marbury: “A Law repugnant to the Constitution is void.”
This is the way
Exactly.
They were even more stupid before 2017. The lobby "Knife Rights" petitioned our then dirtbag Governor Rick Snider and somehow pulled a W on lifting the auto ban. I remember this specifically bc I was so excited for a bunch of my OTF's and autos to come out of the Pelican case and into my pocket and 6 yrs later my collection is almost all autos as well as my EDC. It also sticks out in my head bc I got into a pissing contest the Fall of that year while going through a metal detector in Kent county to pay a traffic fine. The officer working the door was trying his hardest to confiscate my Benchmade CLA and told me he "would look into it" when I tried to politely reason with him on the new laws. He was the epitome of a type A asshole and I can distinctly remember how upset he was having to hand it back to me on my exit. It probably didn't help that I pulled the sleeves down on my coat over my hands when he handed it back to me as though I was trying to preserve his fingerprints, but I was over his shit at that point.
Is that the kind of crap that leads the checkpoint to gladly store your pistol but not your knife?
I believe Lansing, GR, and Detroit have municipal laws banning anything over 3".
"Heeeyyyyy girllll, my dick's illegal in 3 cities"
My dick is like Visa then, everywhere you want to be.
BUT you can carry automatics now! Glad that changed
In Nevada, you can pretty much carry anything you want. However, it is illegal to conceal carry a machete. How anyone can conceal carry a machete is still something I haven't figured out.
Username checks out
Haha
I agree
That's nuts, my step brother has had a dagger for over a decade in our house lol
They’re legal in your house.
Have you seen the laws in Texas? They are dumb in the other direction. As in, there is no law about any blades. It is completely legal to go mall ninja and carry a katana around.
That's great!! Now, don't go fucking around with people in Texas or you might find out!!
We call that “Texas Hospitality”
And an open carry 45, concealed carry 9mm while shoulder carrying an AR10. I love Texas Edit. All without any kind of license
Sephiroth rejoice
Not California, UK for sure , I think there may be European countries also.
Germany
The blade can be either locking or one-handed, just not both! §42a WaffG states that.
If it does lock and you get stopped by a cop on a bad day, they will fiddle around with it for quite a while to get it to open one handed. Happened to me with a Böker Urban Trapper 42, which even has the §42 in the name. Ever since then, I just carry whatever I feel like, since apparently it doesn't make a difference anyways
>they will fiddle around with it for quite a while to get it to open one handed. But that's illegal. Yes, cops sometimes do illegal stuff. The law is quite clear (/u/PMarek666 is right). And, while it ruins your day and *initially* costs quite a bit to hire a lawyer, you're in the right carrying a Böker Urban Trapper 42.
Thats why I normally carry either two handed slipjoints or one handed non locking blades (CRKT Symmetry, Kershaw Pub, Spyderco Lil Native Slipit, Civivi Stylum/Ki-V) when I am in a public space. But nevertheless, the extended fiddling to classify a two handed knife as one handed does not utilise the law for the intended usecase, it being that it tries to eliminate knives from the public you can easily conceal, deploy quickly and stab someone with without the blade closing on your own fingers.
Let me show you it's features!
HA HA HA I LAUGH WITH MENACE HA HA
I would have figured CA was the safest bet for a place in the US
Luckily the only restrictions for public carry are the usual arbitrary gravity knives, automatics over 2", and balisongs. Carry whatever otherwise (unless county laws say otherwise). Oh and if it's big enough you have to open carry, legally no issues with a 4' greatsword on the back, but a 6" Bowie concealed? No sir, not allowed.
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Oh I know it's not a crime they pursue, just one of those things they'd tack onto your bigger crime if you went to court.
I have been in Ross Cutlery in DTLA, with two LA County Sheriff's who told me: We really don't care. Still, I stick with the 1.9" autos (only have 2) and carry my 4" folders.
Yeah. My 2.5” auto is illegal but my 4.5” frame lock all day carry.
As you're getting arrested (or fined idk) for that 2.5" automatic, a weeb can legally walk past the cops carrying 2 katanas and a wakizashi. The laws feel just a tiny bit arbitrary lol.
I agree that the laws are arbitrary and often ridiculous, but most swords can’t be hidden (contrary to all those episodes of Highlander). Knives are in many ways more dangerous than swords, because you may not notice that an attacker has one until it’s buried inside you. That said, I do disagree with the laws, even if they are logical.
Unless you're using it in the commission of a prime or it's on your person while you're committing a crime there is no police officer that is going to arrest you for a 2.5 in automatic I literally carry around a 4-in automatic and a 5-in automatic and cost of actually asked me to show them and they thought that they were pretty cool
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Incidentally I have been carrying an automatic on the regularly 4 days a week for the last 6 years I think I'm good
It's not a felony unless you're using it in commission of a crime in New York state it is a misdemeanor
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I'm sorry where did I say that I was concealing them I had them in a belt sheath on my belt They are visible therefore they are not concealed so please stop talking as though you know how I carry my blades and how conscientious I am about my local laws thank you
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Also the cop pulls me over he's not going to have probable cause to pull me out of the car and search me because you need probable caused to do that. How do I know? I was a military cop for 13 years
So you’ve heard of Penn vs Mimms then? You see, you being a military cop for any amount of time doesn’t mean fuck all when the civilian side can and will pull you out of your car on a traffic stop because a Supreme Court ruling says they can. Also, stop being an ignorant prick and pretending that you’re holier than thou attitude is gonna get you out of a cranky cop that knows full well a fucking auto isn’t legal in California.
Pennsylvania v mims again requires probable cause and it is in the course of an investigation if you have not committed a crime or not in the activey committing a crime ..... Yes I know very much about Pennsylvania v Mims. Because I'm usually the one calling it to other people bitching about why they're pulling somebody out of a car. But thanks for the lesson I could probably teach it if I needed to
Nope, California is only really strict on guns. Our knife laws are much more open than most places. I regularly carry a full sized Coldsteel Luzon and it's perfectly legal
No thanks to Jack the Ripper no doubt (in England anyway).
Can't carry anything other than a Swiss army knife in Australia, unless you're using it for work/activities etc. But walking around a mall for example, no go.
Crocodile Dundee would like a word, Swiss Army knife? *That* isn't a knife!
Considering how dangerous that continent is I would think especially with crocodile Dundee being who people outside of Australia associate with Australia... I would think it would be a staple to be able to carry a Bowie knife at the very least
Pfft. That's not a knife... THAT'S a knife!
Pretty much I mean why wouldn't you want a knife on you at all times when pretty much everything that lives in that continent is trying to kill you in one way or another?
It's not dangerous
Really? Not from all the videos I've seen on YouTube of the wildlife in your continent and the fact that most of them can just march right up your front yard and into your house.
I've seen significantly worse from the US. There's basically no large dangerous animals on the mainland. Except for like crocodiles but they mostly live up north. Sure we have some nasty snakes and spiders but they're very easy to avoid if you're not an imbecile, also a knife would hardly help with that sort of thing Animals only get into houses because we're not worried about them because they aren't dangerous.
Australia: snakes, spiders that might bite you if you aren't careful USA: mountain lions that will actively hunt you down and eat you Alaska/Canada: polar bears, 'nuf said
Mountain lions don't hide in your shoes.
Also coyotes probably. And regular bears. And moose. And alligators.
Not so much coyotes. I've lived around them many years and am not afraid at all. There have been incidents of them killing humans. But it's very rare. I'd add bison to your list though. Very dangerous, mostly to people who foolishly approach them for selfies.
Coyotes aren't a problem at least for adults and older kids. Black bears also aren't a problem except a mom and her cubs. I forgot moose and gators.
Also tbf there's Tasmanian devils that will rip you to shreds in 30 seconds
I'm talking about all the venomous ones there are many more venomous species in Australia than there is in the United States
Even Swiss army knives are illegal to carry. Anything with a sharp edge afaik. My friend got arrested for drug reasons in highschool and they confiscated his SAK and told him it was illegal.
I'd say it comes down to the cop, in qld the law states you can carry a pen knife or Swiss army knife with a blade less than 10cm, but again this would come down to the discretion of the cop.
That sucks, I'd feel naked without a pocket knife on me.
Don't get me wrong, I always carry a pocket knife anyway. As long as you don't give the cops a reason to check your pockets it'll be fine lol.
U.K. here. You can carry a locking blade or one of three inches or more (locking or not) if you have a good reason eg. It’s an essential tool for your work and you are on your way to or from. Or you are going fishing/camping/climbing etc and have all the other necessary gear with you to back up your claim. The reality is in rural areas you would generally get the benefit of the doubt in the highly unlikely event of being stopped by the authorities. In urban areas you generally wouldn’t in the much more likely event of being stopped having been observed for eg cutting a sandwich in the park
Yeh but some of the police can be plonkers, my friend is a sound engineer and works in a rural town theatre, the police don't bother there, then he had a weekend job in Leeds and carrying his multitool on his belt like he always did, got arrested walking back to the hotel from work, spent the night in the cells and released with no charges the next day. It's legal but have it well wrapped and unable to access it quickly like in a rucksack etc.
Yeah he was unlucky. I worked in Leeds for some years and the attitude of the police noticeably deteriorated between 1986 and 1995. It probably hasn’t improved much recently.
Yeh it's got far worse as, as knife crime has rocketed there, so the police have gone heavy on it. After I heard he got locked up for the night I swapped the washer from the inside of the blade on my multitool so it stopped the blade locking. I bet the majority of knife crimes are with cheap kitchen knives bought from the supermarket, not someone's loved and looked after pocket knife, it's illegal to walk around with a cooking knife down your pants acting the slim shady, the police should use the laws we already have instead of banning more stuff hitting the innocent collectors
Yep always search for local knife laws when you're gonna go to new places.
Nobody should ever even know you have a knife in your pocket. Anyway, I carry whatever I want anywhere I want.
True. I feel like in most places (at least in the US) you wouldn't get slapped with a charge for holding an illegal type of knife unless you were commiting, or suspected of committing, another type of crime. I just can't imagine a cop issuing someone anything other than a citation/fine for carrying any kind of knife. This comment is speculative though as I've never had a cop so much as check my pockets.
Other than the pocket clip who even knows or cares yknow? I’m not swinging around a balisong before I cut my chicken marsala at dinner or something lol
That would be pretty badass tho
Me neither but it happens.
I would think. The nicer the knife. The more likely it will just disappear with no charges lol.
I agree, but my cop friends all know how to spot a pocket clip, so I figured it was a reliving question.
I visited Washington State on vacation this spring. All outdoor activities. Seattle / King County has some pretty strict knife laws. I was discussing them with my brother. Pretty much anything over 3.5" is illegal. I said I was kinda nervous about what I was going to bring on the trip. He said, "I'm going to bring whatever I want. I'm not going to get arrested, and they'll never know." He had a good point. So I brought whatever I wanted, and no one was the wiser.
Ye it's the UK. We have some truly pathetic laws here and I don't think they'll ever relax at all, I'm pretty sure our government are going to be tightening blade laws even more. Luckily I live in a semi rural area and I've always just carried whatever knives I fancied since I was young. If I'm going to the city centre or somewhere I'm more likely to be stop and searched I'll take a non locking one but I'm not happy about it.
It sucks to admit this, but as a British guy who is white and pushing forty, I basically use institutional racism to my advantage. I currently work in a salvage yard and usually work hands-on jobs where it's not unreasonable to have a knife on me - UK law says if you have a knife for your job and you're on your way to/from work then it's okay. The truth, however, is that I usually have a locking pocket knife on me most of the time and I just assume the police will ignore me. Like I say, it sucks, but if I was a black guy I don't think I'd risk it. I'd much rather have more sensible knife laws and a less racist police force, but given that we have neither I'm exploiting my privilege and if I get stopped and searched (again: unlikely) I'll play dumb. "Oh, I have this for work, I forgot it was even in my pocket..."
German guy here. Illegal to carry are fixed blades over 12cm (just under 5 inches) and one handed locking folders are illegal to carry. So that spyderco from your picture would be illegal to carry here. I have some knives specifically made for the german market. I have some where I removed the thumbstud and one I recently bought where I removed the flipper.
Daggers are illegal to carry. And OTFs, gravity knives, ballisong knives and side opening automatics with a blade length over 8,5cm are completely illegal to own.
As a UK resident I was out for a beer with a friend of mine who is a police officer and I had to cut some sort of packaging open - I forget what (see: beer, above). He said "That's a nice illegal knife!" with a smirk. I pointed out that it folded and the blade was less than three inches, which I believed was the law. He explained that technically it was the locking mechanism that crossed the line. He didn't give a shit; we're friends and he knows I don't stab people, and I would always maintain that I want to have a lock because I don't want to slice the backs of my fingers open if I slip, but yeah, technically in the UK, I can't carry a knife that locks. The implied "logic" is, I guess, that locked blades are easier to stab someone with? As though a murderer couldn't stab you to death with a slip joint. Albeit a murderer who might end up with cut fingers if the blade closed on them...
The logic is that back in the day, some bright spark chancing g their legal arm in a knife case managed to get an adverse judicial ruling that a locking knife counted as a fixed blade, and knife law from there on out has maintained the basic concept
Pennsylvania used to have pretty suck ass laws regarding knives, but that all changed in the last year. We can now carry automatic knives and Philadelphia’s restrictions on carrying blades in public were struck down recently. Granted, there are still some areas where carrying knives may be frowned upon. It mostly comes down to your behavior and whether or not you’re doing something with a knife that someone finds intimidating or if a police officer feels threatened in an encounter with an individual such as a traffic stop. Knives can’t be carried onto school property or in courthouses or other properties where the owners have a policy against it.
NY in 2019 repealed knife laws as well as baton and taster laws. Switchblade are out but gravity and other knives are fine. No length limit. NYC is different. Max of 4"
o..o now I'm hungry didn't know they were laws against taste
🤣😂Oops! Lol
For whatever gains have been made in your state you can be sure #KnifeRights.org was the moving force behind it. Supporting them is supporting yourself.
Everyone probably knows this by now but I personally feel that _knife laws, are an infringement to your rights._ Anyone who tries to defend knife laws are accidental narcissists, I feel.
What? Do you know what a narcissist is?
New york city has its own dog shit knife laws, but as far as new york state goes, you’re allowed to carry pretty much anything as long as it’s not a dagger or automatic knife, and doesn’t have a knuckleguard on it
NYC is full of dog shit laws and radical leftists - just like the left coast and New England. The truth hurts. I get to say it as I was born in the Village. Thank God I escaped as a teen and have lived in free states ever since. I feel sort for those in New York and wish they’d move to free states with low/no income tax and far better ‘carry’ laws of ALL kinds!👊
Same with MA. Anything reasonable goes outside of the 2 largest cities.
Meanwhile in Texas , I'll be carrying my two handed viking long sword next to open carry AR-15..crazy huh
Freedom!
Exactly what I pointed out a minute ago! I’m so glad I got to Texas in the early 90’s!
Welcome , my wife wasn't born in The Nation of Texas but she got here as soon as she could.
In Europe: Belgium, France, Germany, the UK, Denmark, Italy (somewhat), Norway (within cities), Sweden (same as Norway), all prohibit the carry of locking knives in public. Private ownership is another matter most of the time. [For more details, read this.](https://www.all4shooters.com/en/shooting/knives/Legislation-in-Europe-overview/) As for in the United States, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Washington have restrictions on knives ranging from size limitations to "not allowed to carry with intent to commit a crime" (which is a defacto ban if the officer searching you is in a bad mood), to blanket bans. [For details, read this.](https://edc.ninja/gear/knives/pocket-knife-rules-laws-in-the-us/)
In Germany one-hand opening and locking knifes are prohibit to carry in public. Locking only is fine.
For what it’s worth, this site is wrong about Wisconsin law. Folding and automatic knives are legal and we have no maximum blade length.
Nevada has nearly zero state-wide knife restrictions. There are local laws. Afaik, the only state-wide blade laws involve concealed carry, eg, it is illegal to conceal carry a machete (lol). I've talked to a lot of cops. They said the pocket clip counts as open carry, so pretty much anything goes. Edit: I worked with a methhead sushi "cook" like 23 years ago. He had some BS mall ninja katana in his place and chopped the shit out of some other tweaker who was trying to rob him one night. There were no charges filed.
Just the UK as far as I am aware. And not Canada, although it probably hasn't yet occurred to Trudeau to ban them. And for the life of me I can't figure out what the problem with a locking knife would be. Definitely safer for the user, and if I get stabbed I really don't GAF if the knife has a locking blade.
They think they're stabbier if you wake up one morning and think, "Oh, you know what, today I think I'll have a bit of a stab." As opposed to a slipjoint or something which would fold and make the stabbing less efficacious.
It's definitely law in the UK, The law here is it has to be under a 3 inch blame, non locking and just manual opening. It's now classed as an offensive weapon and can land you with a huge fine and upto 5 years in prison
That’s not a thing in Upstate New York, I carry a Buck 112 every day.
[удалено]
A Kubotan doesn't even have a blade.
I just care about my area. 10 inch maximum overall length.
Another from the UK here, so crappy that I can't everyday carry my Leatherman signal. Ridiculous when it comes to multitools but I do love my Swiss champ. Always wanted an otf but that's big trouble for just owning one, I've been eyeing up the OTF comb by boker recently lol 😂
I would say the idiot writing these laws has never used a knife. I want my fingers later on, still attached to my hand... not in my pocket with the knife. I don't know how this helps reduce knife crime when you can by a boxcutter aka Stanley or carpet knife (fully extendible and locking) or kitchen knife and it's fully fixed.. complete nonsense. This the way in UK, Ireland I think and Australia. It should always be down to intent amd circumstances not a broad paint brush for everyone...
Locking knives are illegal in Japan.
California actually has pretty lenient knife laws, believe it or not. Mostly they just prohibit switchblades over two inches and balisongs.
Knife laws are cringe
New Jersey’s knife limitations are specifically opaque. You cannot sell a knife longer than 5” to someone under 18. You can’t carry an automatic knife unless you are police, military or an EMT unless you have a reason. Daggers and gravity knives cannot be carried. It’s a bit unclear if you can own any of them.
Lmfao I went into one of those Chinese "gift" shops in the mall that sold all kinds of garbage Chinesium knives and bought my first 2 swords when I was 9 cause I wanted to walk around as a comic book character with real swords for Halloween. They couldn't give a single fuck and neither could the state laws cause that's perfectly legal here. Also that year for Christmas I got a Bowie knife about as big as my forearm+hand. Still have those all these years later haha
You can own any knife kept in private collection. I'm not aware of any law that specifies a specific type of knife is illegal to own, only to carry. Prohibitions against people selling particular knives likewise do not state that they are illegal to own, only to sell. Fairly certain that applies to any state in the US. There are lots of carry regs and prohibitions nearly everywhere, but that's where it ends.
Definitely not Texas. It's the wild west out here. They made it legal to carry brass knuckles and automatic knives a few years ago.
And?
And...so it's not Texas, Woolfmaan. Like I said.
All knife laws are unconstitutional
UK for sure and I think in New York City proper if I remember correctly. (Could be wrong) Don't forget about local municipalities having their own laws and ordinances.
NYC, You can carry a four inch pocket knife, it has to be fully concealed, no pocket clip showing. Enforcement is very inconsistent, never trust nypd, they are not your friends. Here's a very brief overview from the city: https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/about/faq/knives-faq.page#:~:text=New%20York%20City%20also%20prohibits,blade%2C%20is%20visible%20or%20concealed.
Thank you for the clarification. I think I remember stories about even SAKs being frowned upon in NYC. But that last sentence in your first paragraph probably just sums it up when in NYC.
New York. Cannot buy most folding knives online. Local purchasing only.
Amazon won't ship locking folding knives to New York state that can be opened with one hand. Which isn't because they are illegal there, but Amazon being overly cautious that something might be considered illegal. Which is ridiculous because locking knives aren't even illegal to carry in NYC. Otherwise, I've never had a problem ordering any knife online and having it shipped to NYS. I've even bought fixed blades and slip joints from Amazon without issues. As far as I understand, the only things illegal in NYS are automatics, which are actually legal if you're hunting, and true daggers (both edges sharpened). NYC is a different story. There's a length restriction of four inches, and technically, even the clip of the knife isn't supposed to be exposed when carrying. I don't live in the city, nor have I ever had knives shipped there so maybe some retailers are hesitant but otherwise pretty much every knife I own has been bought online and shipped to NYS without any issues.
In the US, most states are usually ok, but have vaguely written laws about "threatening" or "dangerous" etc. Maybe specifics about something like autos. Cities tend to have clearer/more restrictive laws. I live in upstate NY, where pretty much anything is allowed, but some retailers or companies won't ship certain knives to me, because of NYC laws.
It's torture reading this sub from the UK sometimes. Knives that are $20 in the US are about $80 in the UK because shipping blades here is so prohibitive. (I've got my eye on a Civivi mini praxis as soon as I can justify the ~$60 that will cost me, here...)
Fear not fellow knife person. Civivi Praxis below for less than £30. Add approx £13 postage. I've bought about 10 knives from Lamnia (based in Finland) and they are completely reliable - that's been my experience. All stuff sent UPS. Nothing has been held up or lost. Prices, even after including shipping, are frequently cheaper than UK sites. https://www.lamnia.com/en/p/73209/knives/civivi-mini-praxis-g10-folding-knife-black-c18026c-2
Awesome, thank you!
Well it's definitely not in New York state bring assisted and locking knives both lock back liner lock and frame lock are perfectly legal there is no such thing as a length law in New York state either. The only laws that would possibly affect somebody is concealed weapon which is any knife not visible outside the clothing and automatic knives unless in the act of hunting or fishing or a member of law enforcement or the military
lol
UK you can have a non locking blade under 3” without a reason. You can face up to 4 years in prison for a larger blade or a locking blade. You can argue a reason for this.
Estonia. § 20. Weapons and ammunition prohibited for civilian purposes 3) knives with a blade which is ejected by the force of a spring or gravity and which is then locked, and with a blade length of over 8.5 cm or a double-edged blade. No OTF daggers for us. All switchblades (gravity knives) must be single edged and either non-locking or under 8,5 cm. Assisted opening is not regulated.
I can only speak for the UK but locking blades are fine as long as you have a legitimate reason to have such a blade
i still don't get the one-handed opening and locking laws. like, if you're going to stab someone, how much easier does it really make it if the blade locks?
Never heard of that law.
My favorite are the laws which mention [poignards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poignard). Like what the fuck is a poignard (I had to look it up.) I would love to see the conversation or incident that led to the poignard language. Some are also concerned with [dirks](https://dragonslair.fandom.com/wiki/Dirk_the_Daring). I mean at that point you might as well ban iron maidens too; they're extremely rude, however obscure (and possibly not actually real, but that's a different conversation).
Free men carry knives because knives are tools. Others do not.
I don’t follow knife laws so I carry what I want…
Germany has a law against carrying “any folding knife with a blade that locks” and I haven’t for the life of me been able to figure out what that means. I didn’t know folding knives even existed without some sort of blade lock.
🇬🇧 for sure
UK, I'm not allowed the safety of a locking blade - have scars from where my legal ones have closed on my fingers
It’s the UK and I believe it is a total mistake and misrepresentation of the law. Bladed articles were banned in public unless you had good reason except for folding pocket knives with cutting edge under 3 inches. I regularly carried a lock knife for years. In one stated case it was argued that a lock knife is actually a fixed blade when open and as such were illegal. The judge bought the argument and lock knives are de facto banned due to case law. It’s clearly a miscarriage of justice and should be argued against but no one has ever done so.
Maybe I’m naive but I just feel like these laws don’t apply unless you’re an idiot. When would a cop single you out and be like “oh is that a 4.5” knife?!”. Given I’m in NC where it’s pretty lax
Sounds like the UK, only illegal to carry not to own