What about the laws?

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Dukester

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
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City & State/Province
Washington State
Is there a website that gives laws, ordinaces, regulations regarding max blade length allowed state by state?

Thanks in advance...

Dave
 
I agree, packing.org is usually the best place to find that type of info. As a general rule though, you are usually ok in most states with a blade 3 inches or smaller and non-serrated. Some states view serrated blades as very evil objects.

Something else you can do is ask your local law enforcement or state troopers. Most are pretty familiar with those laws.

--Jason
 
I am sorry to trouble you folks. I went to the www.packing.org website. I followed the directions of chosing your appropriate State and clicking on the knife link, which I cannot find???

Help...
 
RebelRam, I hate to disagree but LEO are frequently uninformed as to what is currently legal or not legal, state AG office is the place to get information like that. they can't keep up with every law on the books. I had a local LEO swear up and down my "assisted opening" folder was illegal. his supervisor clued him in.

frequently now you can get info like that from your state AG web site. and sometimes you can find out the most interesting things with just a phone call (I lost a bet betting that sword canes in Idaho were only legal with a CCW. I was wrong, there legal without a CCW)
 
Thanks X-RAY for the Link.

Sifting through all the mumbo jumbo they way I understand it, it appears any knife is illegal in Washington State. It states any knife that you could use gravity to assist opening the blade or the use of centrifugul force e.g. flicking the wrist (which I do with my Spyderco Endura)would deem illegal in my State. Automatic Knife defined as a knife who's blade is opened with mechanical or a spring like device. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
I guess I should have put a disclaimer in my original answer. In some states the LEO's are clued in. Your best bet is to find one that is also into knives and guns.... those are the ones that are usually up to date on what the laws are. Fortunately in Alabama there are quite a few in law enforcement that are into those types of hobbies and know the details. But as stated above, sometimes all it takes is a phone call to the right state office, but even then it's not guaranteed. I spent an hour on the phone one afternoon with the DMV explaining to them that I could renew my driver license before it expired if I needed to update the info on it, such as my new home address. At the end of that phone call, the woman still said I was wrong and refused to change the info. Then after that a couple months later I went through a roadblock and asked a trooper and he said that's the most insane thing he has ever heard of!

So if it were me, get your answer from a couple places and find out how close they all are. If you get a couple different answers, keep checking around.

--Jason
 
The AG's office is the final word, short of court. Most LEO's couldn't possibly keep up with the letter of every law, and have to make field decisions based on experience. Lot of misconceptions with knives, for instance I don't know of one state that has CCW permits that have anything to do with knives, mine doesn't. I thought my state had a 3.5" limit, but the letter of the law states that anything 3.5" or above, so that .1" I thought was legal isn't.
 
Concerning wrist-flicking:

It seems that the ability to wrist-flick a knife open only *really* counts as illegal if the knife was modified by the user to allow this to happen, like if you intentionally loosen the screws. It's been mentioned elsewhere that in instances like these, the arresting officer will be asked to perform a set number of successful wrist-flicks in front of the judge. If he can pull it off, you're in trouble.

Bottom line...take notice of who's around if you flick your knife open. Even if you're just opening a box of printer paper, there are a lot of people out there who see your instant one-handed opening not as handy, but as dangerous.

Good luck.
 
You need to pay attention to the specifics regarding carry statutes locally, too. Some states require you to display a knife that you carry so as not to conceal it while others like here in New York consider display a form of intimidation and require you to conceal a knife from public view. I used to carry a knife clipped to my pocket and I see alot of people continuing that but, it's actually an open invitation to be stopped and possibly arrested on weapons charges, as some have found the hard way.

The AKTI is an orginization worth looking into if you are interested in edged tools, and preventing/ repealing bad legislation. They have succeeded in preventing, changing and repealing a few bad laws in several states as well as providing legal counsel to people in cases of injustice regarding possession arrests.

TSG /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
My sugestion would to be get a copy of the laws in your area, and read in for yourself. Both state, and local. Then however you have to consider "case law" which basicaly means the laws that your lawmakers have made are not to be abided by. In other words, the court has a history of interpreting, or inforcing a law how they see fit, and that is the standard you will be held to.

Our city ordinace here states "that I may carry on my person, and unconcealed firearm". However I am ensured by LEO that I will be arrested as case law has set precident. If I wasn't in need of my current security position I would be tempted to push the issue.
 
That's something I have never understood. If you have a CCW and can carry a concealed pistol, then why not apply it to knives as well. Fortunately I live in a state where the laws are pretty reasonable. I have never had a problem with any LEO over a knife. And in some cases I have had offers from LEOs to buy some of my knives I carry.

I also have a buddy in New Jersey (now that's a state with some weird laws) and he told me that they are not allowed to even own hollow points for their guns. Nevermind that fact that hollow points for pistols were designed so that they wouldn't overpenetrate and harm innocent bystanders.

Now if we can just get 50 state CCW reciprocity.

--Jason
 
you have to remember that in a lot of places CCW laws are a very hot item politicaly, so you get all kinds of wierd conditions. some are reasonable, some are not. some cover anything that can be a weapon (glass soda bottle) to only the firearm you registered with the state when you applied. (IE: Texas, if a resturant makes more than 50% of there money from booze, you can't carry there, in Idaho, you can carry into a bar (just don't go over .08), or even close, better yet, don't drink alcohol at all).

some include knives, some don't.

all to often, it comes down to what the judge says.
 
I know in Washington State the Law is not as simple as black and white. The law just seems too vague. There definition of an automatic knife is basically a knife period. I guess it just depends on what mood the judge is in that particular day?
 
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