Knife laws you should know...

Missourian

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Aug 30, 2008
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...especially if you travel within the U.S.

Down the rabbit hole.

Cities first...

Aspen Colorado, it is illegal to carry ANY knife concealed. (link)

Philadelphia... "all knives are illegal to carry except when actually in use on the job." (link)

Chicago , Cleveland, Boston and Rocky River (OH)...blade length limit is 2.5 inches for carry knives.

Los Angeles, no knife over 3 inches in blade length may be carried OPENLY! Does this include a visible pocket clip? No one knows. (link)

Possession of an assisted opening knife will still get you arrested in Baltimore. Many of those arrested have been successfully prosecuted. Only after the arrest of Freddie Gray and his subsequent tragic death was this interpretation of Baltimore statute called into question. According to the link, at present the Baltimore Police will still arrest anyone they find in possession of any spring assisted knife. (link)

Any knife that can be opened by a centrifugal force (wrist or arm flick) is considered a gravity knife and is illegal in NYC. This isn't if you can open it with a wrist or arm swing...it's if THEY can. (link) Youtube video (link)

Washington D.C. is murky...the law seems to say all concealed knives must be 3 inches or under, and all knives carried must have a utility based purpose (i.e. NOT for self defense). It must be a tool, not a weapon. Read it for yourself and make your own judgement. (link)

Ocean City, Maryland...read this one for yourself...no matter what you do, you're breaking the law (link)

In Rhode Island it is illegal to conceal carry and knife with a blade length over 3 inches.

In Delaware, only pocket knives with blades under 3 inches are legal to carry concealed.

Assisted opening knives have been construed to be illegal switchblades in all of New York State. (link)

It is illegal to carry a concealed knife in Colorado with a blade length over 3.5 inches.

It is illegal to carry openly or concealed any knife with a blade over 4 inches in Connecticut.

In Florida it is illegal to conceal any knife with a blade over 4 inches.



---------------------------------
Disclaimer - I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. This list may not be all inclusive, nor is it necessarily up to date or accurate. These are simply compiled from personal internet research while deciding on a law abiding folding knife for myself personally that is being shared.

FWIW, I chose a Kershaw Barge. a 2.6 inch wharncliffe blade with an incorporated prybar handle 4.6 inches in length. (link)

Undoubtedly a utility knife and possibly a multi-tool, with minimal modification it can be legal anywhere in the U.S. (except NYC...as it can be opened with centrifugal force from an arm flick), and the 4 inch handle makes it easy to handle, with no assisted opening. $15 on Amazon with free shipping at the time of writing.
 
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...especially if you travel within the U.S.

Down the rabbit hole.

Cities first...

Aspen Colorado, it is illegal to carry ANY knife concealed. (link)

Philadelphia... "all knives are illegal to carry except when actually in use on the job." (link)

Chicago , Cleveland, Boston and Rocky River (OH)...blade length limit is 2.5 inches for carry knives.

Los Angeles, no knife over 3 inches in blade length may be carried OPENLY! Does this include a visible pocket clip? No one knows. (link)

Possession of an assisted opening knife will still get you arrested in Baltimore. Many of those arrested have been successfully prosecuted. Only after the arrest of Freddie Gray and his subsequent tragic death was this interpretation of Baltimore statute called into question. According to the link, at present the Baltimore Police will still arrest anyone they find in possession of any spring assisted knife. (link)

Any knife that can be opened by a centrifugal force (wrist or arm flick) is considered a gravity knife and is illegal in NYC. This isn't if you can open it with a wrist or arm swing...it's if THEY can. (link) Youtube video (link)

Washington D.C. is murky...the law seems to say all concealed knives must be 3 inches or under, and all knives carried must have a utility based purpose (i.e. NOT for self defense). It must be a tool, not a weapon. Read it for yourself and make your own judgement. (link)

Ocean City, Maryland...read this one for yourself...no matter what you do, you're breaking the law (link)

In Rhode Island it is illegal to conceal carry and knife with a blade length over 3 inches.

In Delaware, only pocket knives with blades under 3 inches are legal to carry concealed.

Assisted opening knives have been construed to be illegal switchblades in all of New York State. (link)

It is illegal to carry a concealed knife in Colorado with a blade length over 3.5 inches.

It is illegal to carry openly or concealed any knife with a blade over 4 inches in Connecticut.

In Florida it is illegal to conceal any knife with a blade over 4 inches.



---------------------------------
Disclaimer - I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. This list may not be all inclusive, nor is it necessarily up to date or accurate. These are simply compiled from personal internet research while deciding on a law abiding folding knife for myself personally that is being shared.

FWIW, I chose a Kershaw Barge. a 2.6 inch wharncliffe blade with an incorporated prybar handle 4.6 inches in length. (link)

Undoubtedly a utility knife and possibly a multi-tool, with minimal modification it can be legal anywhere in the U.S. (except NYC...as it can be opened with centrifugal force from an arm flick), and the 4 inch handle makes it easy to handle, with no assisted opening. $15 on Amazon with free shipping at the time of writing.
Knife laws are often vague in most places and here in New Mexico some aspects of the law are rather murky at best. You can pretty much open carry anything except stilettos and butterfly knives which are both illegal outright. If you have a CC firearms permit concealed carry knives are permitted but in NM what constitutes 'concealed' is vague; "on or in close proximity thereto........."
Example:
The Court found, in Butler v. Rio Rancho Public School Board of Education, that a knife in a vehicle parked in a school parking lot, driven to school by defendant student, constituted carrying a concealed weapon because the weapon was in close proximity to the driver’s seat and defendant had ready access to the car during the day.
Yet in the state of NM has Extended Domain so carrying a weapon anywhere (concealed or not) in one's vehicle is legal, vehicles consist of anything from a car to a horse.
 

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