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is this knife legal to carry around?

8K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  IShootBack 
#1 ·
#3 · (Edited)
Knives are a tricky subject, but usually, past the ALWAYS shaky knife laws (they're hard/interpret to read in every state), things are on a common sense level with cops.

Some quick rules, applicable just about everywhere:

1. Don't carry in/near schools. Colleges are harder to define due to "campus" often strectching out a ways. Campus cops are typically pretty chill with this kind of thing, at least in my experience.
2. Don't use it in situations where people are liable to get upset. For example, don't whip it out at the post office to open a letter. Coffee houses (watch out for people in this crowd, hippies/artsy types/quiet people will freak out if you take it out, even for common tasks (like opening a letter)). For this reason, I keep a small knife on my keychain (Cold Steel Tuff-Lite) for more discrete usage.
3. Gov't buildings, anything with metal detectors, airports are off limits. I had to go to a gov't building in Boston once, and the metal detector monitor shook his head when I put my knife in with my keys. Look for an outdoors stoor (I used a knife shop in Quincy market) to babysit it for you, they're usually glad to do it.
4. If you get in trouble, THEN a knife can mean more trouble. If a cop is asking you questions, let him know there's a pocket knife in <specify location> and let him grab it until you're done talking. Even if it's a mixup (like one time when we were "testing out" a grappling hook) and you're not looking to do/doing anything illegal, make it known. Call them "sir" or "maam" and disarm the calm way by letting them grab it (do NOT reach for anything).

Like I said...it's a common sense thing. My knife (Cold Steel Voyager) is also large, but is a workhorse, that I use for everything. Your Spyderco is almost limited to defense/fighting, which does not bode as well for you. That may provide you a little more incentive to follow ALL knife laws, and not leave anything up to the officer's mood.

I carry in Massachusetts (arguably worse than California), where the official rule is like 1.5" or less on a knife, but most people look the other way.

Happy carrying

_z
 
#4 ·
The last time I checked, Kalifornia had a 2" maximum limit for any carry knife, period.

Thankfully, Indiana has no length restrictions. I called 3 different local police agencies before starting to carry a knife and all said the same thing -- no regulations on the size of the knife. So I sometimes wear large milsurp belt knives, and other times I carry large folders. My new favorite is my newly acquired Cold Steel Voyager. Unlike the Schrade X-Timer folder I tried for a couple months and returned, the Cold Steel has a long steel spine to support the blade when it's open.
 
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