LEOS: Would You Arrest Someone With This Knife?

[Texas Star]

YouTube - Gerber Combat Folder: Something Wicked This Way Comes


This is a Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn folding knife. In the video, the man has had the false edge sharpened, making it illegal in most locales.

BUT...would you arrest someone carrying the knife in its original form? Is it illegal in your jurisdiction? If so, on what grounds?

I'm reluctant to carry mine, lest I encounter some aggressive cop who might see it in a belt pouch and ask to examine it. Granted, my looks and manner of dress have never brought me to the attention of the police, but I figure it's best to err on the side of caution.

Thanks,

T-Star

 

[westkybanded]

Here in KY, there's nothing illegal at all about that knife. I'm amazed that Texas has restrictions on this.

I always thought of Texas as one of the last free states.

 

[mtgianni]

I can't imagine it being illegal anywhere but I have lived in the Rockies all my life. My son was hasseled by the school compliance officer and written up for carrying a 7" blade. I brought in the original box of the knife and showed that it had a 3 5/8" blade. There are idiots everywhere.

 

[Phillips7609]

I'm with Tex. I still want to hear what the LEO's have to say...from as many states as possible.
'Cause I gotta be honest, I'd like to have one

 

[WONTLETYOU]

nyc you would get the chair for that

 

[Phillips7609]

Oooook, so I'll strike New York off my "places to visit after I get my new knife" list.

 

[Lt JL]

In a belt sheath? Probably wouldnt measure the blade. In a pat-down preceding arrest or for officer safety I would take it, but if no arrest, I would return it. John

 

[AJW]

Generally speaking, here in Wisconsin, concealed you would get arrested.

 

[RonJ]

Since it has a 4.48" blade wouldn't it be illegal to carry in most states?

 

[Phillips7609]

Amazon.com has them and they're advertised as having a 3-7/8" blade. That's the titanium coated but I think that's the only difference.

 

[BigRich315]

I believe the length may make it illegal here in KY (I doubt you could pull it off as a "hunting" knife), but considering it's covered under our Concealed WEAPONS License, I kinda want one.

 

[RonJ]

Amazon.com has them and they're advertised as having a 3-7/8" blade. That's the titanium coated but I think that's the only difference.

Whoops! There are different blade lengths. I clicked on this model:
Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn Combat Folder - Double Bevel Green - #22-01608 : Gerber Knives - at Rocky National

 

[safearm]

Lawful, concealed carry is never the problem. It's when the carrier does something to bring negative attention to themselves, i.e., DUI, disorderly conduct, etc., that the carrying of a concealed weapon becomes an issue. The legal description of a knife as a weapon is intentionally vague, such as, "switchblade, dirk, dagger." Nowhere in Mississippi law is the length of a blade defined, therefore, depending on the circumstances, I could charge someone with a 2 1/2 inch blade pocketknife with carrying a concealed deadly weapon. So as I write this, I could conceivably be in violation because I have a knife in my pocket. If you start the music, you better be ready to dance.

 

[sipowicz]

"Under California state law, non-switchblade pocket knives that are concealed in the closed position can be legally carried, concealed or open-carry. Fixed-blades must be carried openly. Knives that are disguised as something else (belt buckle, shotgun shell, etc.) are completely banned. Switchblades may be owned privately in the home, but not street-carried; while not specified, most people assume that transport is legal on the same basis as a gun: locked in the trunk in a locked container. Cane swords are completely banned."

We don't have a blade length rule....so a pocket knife can be as big as you want...but any dagger style has to be open carried...even those little hideaway neck knives and such cannot be concealed, which defeats their whole purpose...

 

[bk43]

The only state I am sure this knife is illegal in is MA(there's probably a couple others I've forgotten about). Elsewhere it's who's interpreting the law and local ordinances that mess things up. I mean really, what's a dirk, or daggar, or combat knife...that's like saying assault rifle.

Bob

 

[jag312]

That knife is perfectly legal in California. Some people erroneously believe that a knife with a double edged blade is illegal in California, citing Section 12020 of the California Penal Code. However, the Penal Code makes it illegal to carry "concealed upon his or her person any dirk or dagger." The key word is concealed, because if anyone were to read to the end of that Penal Code section, it further states that "knives carried in sheaths which are worn openly suspended from the waist of the wearer are not concealed within the meaning of this section."

So, the knife is legal in California as long as it is in a sheath carried openly on your waist.

I have argued with many police officers about this very topic. The response I like the best is, "I don't care what the law says. The knife should be illegal." Stupidity should be illegal too, but so far no one has been thrown in jail for the simple crime of voting for Feinstein, Boxer, or that witch Pelosi.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Problem with a knife like that is that you or somebody else is sooner or later going to cut the snot out of themselves with it. I think a double edged folder is one of the dumbest things I have seen in a while. If I were a cop and stopped somebody with a kinfe like that, I'd probably let them keep it as sooner or later they would hurt themselves with it.

 

[jlrhiner]

The blade length on mine is 4 1/4". Ironically, I never worried about it's legality.

 

[buckeyeshooter1]

Its legal here in Ohio. You DO know the old saw about bringing a knife to a gun fight?

 

[jlrhiner]

I don't know about everyone else, but I try to bring both.