Laws about knives

Factual Questions
1

I like knives. I’ll admit to that right at the start. I like them 'cause they’re shiny and pointy. I have a fair-to-small collection of knives, all of which are double-edged, and none of which are inherently illegal (no switchblades, butterfly knives, etc).

Thing is, though, when I show some of my friends my larger knives, they make comments about them not being “legal.”

I don’t understand this. I’m certain that it was legal for me to buy the knives, as I am over 18. I bought them in non-seedy places (army surplus store, SCA event, a 4th of July fair) too, I don’t think I was being all black-market-y.

Is it illegal for me to carry the knives? This isn’t much of an issue–it’s just that sometimes, if I’m doing a costume, I like to put one of my larger knives on my belt–in full view–as it accentuates and goes with the outfit (note that I would NEVER do this around children, and I would never use a knife on anyone, ever).

Is it only illegal for me to conceal the knives on my person? If that’s the case, is it illegal for me to, say, put my new big shiny-pointy that I got at the fair in my backpack? Or do I have to be concealing it say, under my shirt or in my pants or my pockets? If that’s the case, then I’m really not in any danger, 'cause I’m not paranoid enough to constantly carry a weapon.

Finally, what makes a knife “legal”? I’m assuming length, but is it length of the blade, or length of the entire thing? Approximately how big would a knife have to be to become not-“legal”? My friends seem to say it’s the width of a hand, but one of my knives is longer than my hand’s width, but shorter than my SO’s hand’s width.

I tried to Google this, but I didn’t come up with anything. This is probably because I don’t know how to type. A link to a reference would be fine (I’m in Illinois and Indiana if that helps); I’ve been trying to find one myself.

Thanks!

2

IANAL, and even if I were, I’m not at all familiar with the laws in Illinois or Indiana. All I can tell you is what I’ve found out about the laws in Cleveland, OH. In Cleveland, any blade length is legal, provided that it’s not concealed (I looked into this because I was curious about the legality of wearing a yard-long sword). If it’s concealed, then there’s a limit of (as I recall; don’t quote me on this) 4 inches (this might be the origin of the “width of a hand” thing: If you don’t have a ruler available, the width of a hand is a fair approximation to 4 inches). So a typical Swiss Army knife, with a blade of about 2 or 3 inches, is fine to have in your pocket, but a Bowie knife in a (presumably large) pocket would be a concealed weapon.

3

Cronos pretty much summed up what I know about the law as well. Although I’m in Michigan, I’d assume most states have similar laws. I believe in Michigan the maximum blade length to conceal the knife is 3 inches. A quick call to the state police should help you find out what constitutes a concealed weapon in your state.

4

Go to www.findlaw.com and search under your state’s penal codes.

5

The laws regarding knives vary from state to state so, if FindLaw works for you (it didn’t for me), that would probably be a good place to start. Other places would be your local Police department (if you trust them enough) or a local knife collector’s club. If you don’t know of any in your area, pick up a copy of Blade Magazine at the local news stand; they used to always have a list.

Here in Massachusetts, all double edged knives are illegal, as are concealed knives of over 4 inch blade length, though longer blades are okay when not concealed. I’m not sure whether swords can be legally double edged, or not, as I’ve never had much interest in them.

6

From Texas:

Texas Penal Code on weapons defines an “illegal knife” as follows:

46.02. Unlawful Carrying Weapons
“(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his person a handgun, illegal knife, or club.”

If you knowlingly, intentionally, or recklessly carry an **illegal ** knife, YES.
XicanoreX

7

In my state, I can carry a gun, even several guns, but not a knife.

8

For some reason, we got onto this subject a few weeks ago at work.

My boss recounted the time he got pulled over for a speeding ticket. The cop asked to search his trunk- my boss, not thinking he had anything to worry about, said, “sure”. He’d forgotten about his friend’s sword being in there. The cop gave him a warning about the sword, saying it was a “concealed weapon”, but let him go with just the warning.

We all had a good chuckle at that- but then my coworker chimed in with HIS story.

A few years ago, while moving his stuff between apartments, he got pulled over (for speeding, I assume, but he didn’t actually say). The cop did a visual search through the windows, and actually gave him a ticket for carrying a concealed weapon.

My friend, you see, had the audacity to be transporting his kitchen knives.

Now, it’s not like they were just sliding around freely in his car- he had them all wrapped in paper so they couldn’t actually cut anything. He tried to reason his way out of the ticket, saying that if it’s illegal to transport them, then people break the law every time they purchase kitchen knives- but the cop still gave him a ticket.

:rolleyes:

9

Butterfly knives must not be illegal here in Wyoming. I once bought a box of knives at the local police department’s annual auction of lost & found items. It included two very nasty-looking butterfly knives.

10

Oh well so much for my ideas on convincing gangs to put down the guns and go to swords.

11

Being able to “buy” something( or own something), and being able to “carry a concealed weapon”, are 2 very different things.

You can “buy” or “own” a pair of bolt cutters and a hack saw, but dont try driving around with burgler tools in your car.

Until lately, 1912 or so, any American could buy, own, or possess any inanimate article nearly anywhere. No weapon at all was outlawed until 1934, when machine guns and shotguns were outlawed. BAzookas and mortars were not outlawed until 1968, and dynamite could be bought by anyone at the corner hardware store until 1970. My family never used fireworks/firecrackers, we thought it was too dangerous. We did use dynamite though, on the farm.

The founding fathers never intended any that any American should ever be not permitted to own or possess any item. In our early years, private citizens could own anything, even the most powerful weapon in the world, a battleship! Never once did Washington, Addams, Jefferson, Madison, etc ever complain about private citizens owning anything.

12

Lightnin’: He tried to reason his way out of the ticket, saying that if it’s illegal to transport them, then people break the law every time they purchase kitchen knives- but the cop still gave him a ticket.

Susanann: Being able to “buy” something( or own something), and being able to “carry a concealed weapon”, are 2 very different things.

The point in Lightnin’s post is that every day people buy kitchen knives and then transport them home in their cars. It’s ludicrous for that to be construed as carrying a concealed weapon.

13

A kernel of truth among the chaff there. The 1934 national firearms (NFA) act did not “outlaw” machine guns but regulated them with federal registration and subjected them to a tax of $200 when transferred to a new owner. You can still own a machine gun in 33 states that allow them. A prospective owner has to submit a fingerprint card, photos and approval from local law enforcement to the BATF and ungergo an FBI background check which can take about six months. You don’t even have to be a US citizen as long as you are a legal resident alien to legally own a registered machine gun.

*Short barrel shotguns and rifles were regulated by the NFA , not all shotguns. A smoothbore shotgun must have a barrel of at least 18" and an overall length of 26". Rifles with a buttstock must have a 16" barrel and 26" overall length. Newly constructed short shotguns can be registered as an AOW (any other weapon which includes pen guns and cane guns) which has all the registration requirements of a machine gun but only carries a $5 transfer tax.

The NFA also defined destructive devices such as grenades, bombs and weapons firing fixed ammuntion over .50 caliber apart from sporting shotguns. Bazookas and mortars come under this heading. You may be confusing the NFA with the 1968 gun control act that ended import of some military surplus weapons.

14

You are correct that machine guns are not “totally illegal” for private citizens, “if” you live in an area where you can get the police chief to sign your federal application for a machine gun. The fact is , that it was not until 1934 that any federal law was passed against any weapon for any private citizen.

I always wanted a switchblade knife, but I hear that most states now outlaw them. My uncle had a really nice one, but we couldnt find it when he died.

I remember when bazookas and mortars were outlawed(, or in your words: heavily regulated) in 1968, and I almost bought some, except that I didnt know what I would do with them and my family did not want me to blow up the farm with them. It did seem like a fun thing to have though. Bazookas were $59.99, mortars were $19.99, shells and the rockets were 5 bucks each thru mail order( a lot of money at the time).

15

Automatic knives (or switchblades) are still legal in a few states and in most of Europe.

I haven’t looked up the laws lately, but South Carolina is the most obvious one to me…I was down there on vacation earlier this year and was pleased to find that automatics were pretty common. Most stores sold the typical 10-dollar junk variety that might last a year before falling apart, but I found 3 stores that actually sold extremely high-quality Italian imports for reasonable prices.

Some online and mail-order places within the U.S. and Europe will ship you a automatic, even if you live in a state where they’re illegal, but I’m pretty sure that mailing automatics across state lines violates Federal Law, and I’m 100 percent sure that it’s totally illegal to have one shipped from another country unless you’re a licensed dealer.

Flea markets are usually good places to find them, though. Here in Maryland, automatics have been illegal since the 50’s, but every flea market usually has 1 or 2 knife dealers who have some under their table and will sell you one if you know how to ask for it. They’re usually junk, though a very neat knife that had a hidden button for automatic use was making the rounds last year.