Carrying live steel is, as has been stated, legal in most states, even if it’s over the legal limit for utility knives, if it is obviously a “collector” weapon. Wearing medieval clothes actually helps; I have to assume it would be a bad idea for somebody to be dressed like a biker and carrying a battleaxe… I’ve talked to people from all over the country and haven’t heard of any states where people can’t wear swords. A cop that would hassle you for having a Gerber fighting knife strapped on your hip might not say anything about a great sword across your back.
New York has laws prohibiting ownership of a “gravity knife, switchblade knife, pilum ballistic knife, metal knuckle knife, cane sword, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, metal knuckles, chuka stick, sand bag, sandclub, wrist-brace type slingshot or slungshot, shirken or ‘Kung Fu star’”.
Well, not like hanging at my hip while I go shopping or to the movies.
I have carried some in a large bag on my way to the car, or on the way to the park to meet up with my martial arts group, usually along with wasters, fencing mask, etc, etc.
Both, if it’s in a scabbard. Unless you count people tripping over it; in that case, there’s much more likelihood of an accident with a sword; however, the level of injury in that case is drastically less than the level of injury in an accidental shooting, so it kinda balances out.
:rolleyes: A (modern) handgun in a holster isn’t gong to spontaneously go off and shoot anyone, either.
I dunno; I’ve see far more people accidently injure themselves with knives and other blades than with a firearm. It’s trivial to render a firearm inert; just evacuate the chamber. A blade, however, is always “on”, ready to cut. And since a blade doesn’t operate mechanically, most people seem to think they need no training or experience to handle one. You can at least convince most people to take a firearms safety course, but training to handle a knife? “What good is that?” sigh
You can’t carry a sword, openly or otherwise, in Texas. Texas Penal Code section 46.01 includes “sword” in the definition of “illegal knife”, and section 46.02 says “a person commits an offense if he intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his person a handgun, illegal knife, or club.” It’s a class A misdemeanor (up to $4000 fine and/or up to 1 year in jail), although if you’re foolish enough to take it somewhere alcohol is sold, it’s a third degree felony.
Does this mean the Crazy 88 Straight Dope Halloween Party, where we all walk into a Japanese restaurant wearing Kato masks and wielding katanas is off???
Hee. Does anyone remember The Master Gunfighter, starring Billy Jack’s Tom Laughlin as a katana-totin’ gunslinger in Spanish California? It’s a hoot: Mexican ranchers, Spanish samurai, and Laughlin’s horrible, horrible acting.
It does depend on local ordinances, Oregon especially has some wacky knife and sword laws that mostly restrict the “cool” weapons like little switchblades and shuriken, but leave big ol’ Crocadile Dundee bowie knives ok to carry around. Go figure, laws often aren’t enacted because they make sense, but often to placate some agenda that happens to be popular at the time, such as nunchaku becoming a gang fad for a spell.
It is mostly common sense and context. We would train and work out in public parks with swords, staffs, hook knives, spears, etc all the time and the only police that ever batted an eye just came around to chat and watch us work out. I’ve seen SCA groups doing the same thing with no troubles.
Contextually, however, if you openly display this stuff on a city bus or in line at the bank, then expect to get some not-so-polite attention from law enforcement.