Spyderco Forums

Hi,

I don’t know if this is very interesting, but I thought that a thread about knife laws in different countries/places could be useful for the forum members.

In Portugal, were I live, the law was made to allow all reasonable uses and to criminalize all others, so it is a bit ambiguous, like most laws in this country…

A blade under 10 cm or 3.93 inches is legal, except for automatic opening and other weird ninja stuff; it doesn’t matter if it is a fixed blade, slipjoint or lock blade, all are legal.

The thing is, you must have a reasonable motive to carry the knife, and this is the grey area. If you can convince the law enforcer that you need the knife for something (legal) you need to do, there is no problem, if not, it depends on his/her/they(?) mood… The purpose is to discourage people that carry knifes for attack or defense.

And then there are exceptions to this. In a lot of places, such as schools or hospitals, ALL blades are prohibited, but if you can justify the need for a blade over 10 cm, you can use it in activities such as hunting, gardening and other some professional, recreational or domestic uses.

The Police in urban areas or the National Guard in country/rural areas have ZERO tolerance around schools and other sensitive places but generally they have good sense and won’t bother anyone unless they see some type of menace.

This is my simple interpretation of a complex law and I am no lawyer, so check all details it if you need to use a knife in this amazing country.

I live in the U.S. State of Georgia. Anything under 12" is legal for open or concealed. Anything over 12" for open or concealed requires a permit. At that point, anything goes.

There are special requirements for school grounds. I believe 2". Though, I have never heard of a parent picking up a child or attending a child's event ever running into an issue here.

There is also a rule in Georgia where local cities cannot pass more restrictive laws than the state laws.

Type of knives. Georgia does not ban any type of knife from fixed, disguised, or automatic for example. You can carry a sword if you have a permit.

There is a cellphone app with an up to date database of US knife laws available.

https://kniferights.org/resources/legal-blade/

Belgium is a very strange country so our knife laws are also kinda strange.
Its kinda one major grey zone. Automatic knives ar forbidden as are balisongs.
But for the rest the laws aren’t clear they never put any laws on size or locks. Its just a matter of where you are and what you do with you’re knife. It mostly depends on the judgement of the officer that is watching you. So i have carried all my spydies around for 20 years now and never had any trouble.
But i would never take a knife to a football game , an indoor public event , the airport, …
Also the people here are sheeple but not the kind that calls the cops sheeple if you use you’re knife in a store to open some plastic or cardboard to take you’re product for example.They just look strange at you and that’s it , if an officer sees that he will let you do you’re thing and ignore you.

So basically if you behave the law is on you’re side and you have a tool on you . If you act like an idiot flipping you’re knife in public to act tough to people all day you are carrying a deadly weapon and you will loose you’re knife fast even if it would be a plastic toy one. ( No i am not joking that has happend in real life it even was on the news last comicon. )

I live in South Carolina and, aside from one restricting the blade length of knives carried on school grounds, there are no state level laws regarding knives here. However, a few cities do have local ordinances restricting the blade length of knives within city limits. Can't say for sure but, since most define a knife with a blade longer than their limit as a "concealed weapon", they might be unenforceable against someone with a CWP (concealed weapons permit).

Like Apollo i'm from Belgium as well. The problem is that they inserted into law that every object you have on you that is used, or can be used in commiting a crime is seen as a weapon. This means everything can become a weapon. Your car, a stone, a wooden branch, fireworks, batteries, whatever. There is the concept of legal reason. A diver with a diving knife with his diving gear driving towards or from the divesite is not a problem, but if the diveknife is still in his car the next day it's a weapon. A hunter with his hunting knife is no problem while hunting, not in the pub two days later. They made the laws so murky that you are always in trouble if law enforcement thinks you might use something to use as a weapon. They will confiscate the "weapon" and the judge will decide. I never had a problem carrying my knives here but i will never be certain that i'm in a legal position.

My concealed carry permit literally states "weapons of mass destruction" and also covers edged weapons. I believe it even verbally mentions swords. I really don't put much concern into it as long as it fits into my pocket lol.

Jim Malone wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 17, 2022 5:12 am

Like Apollo i'm from Belgium as well. The problem is that they inserted into law that every object you have on you that is used, or can be used in commiting a crime is seen as a weapon. This means everything can become a weapon. Your car, a stone, a wooden branch, fireworks, batteries, whatever. There is the concept of legal reason. A diver with a diving knife with his diving gear driving towards or from the divesite is not a problem, but if the diveknife is still in his car the next day it's a weapon. A hunter with his hunting knife is no problem while hunting, not in the pub two days later. They made the laws so murky that you are always in trouble if law enforcement thinks you might use something to use as a weapon. They will confiscate the "weapon" and the judge will decide. I never had a problem carrying my knives here but i will never be certain that i'm in a legal position.

That is pretty much the same as the USA, IF the tool is used in a crime it is a weapon.

Evil D wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 17, 2022 5:52 am

My concealed carry permit literally states "weapons of mass destruction" and also covers edged weapons. I believe it even verbally mentions swords. I really don't put much concern into it as long as it fits into my pocket lol.

I'm the same way. Maybe it's ignorance, but I just don't pay attention to that stuff. If it's in my pocket, I'm not worried about it no matter which knife it is. Sometimes if I'm wearing a pair of darker jeans or a black shirt, I will intentionally grab for a knife with a black or bronze clip though. That's about as far as I go with that stuff.

The laws here in Norway are pretty similar to Portugal and Belgium it seems. There’s a general prohibition against carrying knives or any other object suitable to cause harm in public spaces, but if you have a justifiable reason it may fly. Yeah, it doesn’t get much more mushy than that.
Until recently there was no blade length limit, but since about a year ago they added a slightly redundant section about knives over 25cm/10” being prohibited - well, unless you need it, then it’s still OK.
Autos, balisongs, stilettos and daggers are illegal to own. So is any knife that is concealed as something else or is clearly made as a tool of violence without any obvious legal area of use. Yet swords and bayonets are legal, so you just never know, I guess.

As seems to be the common experience in other ambiguous jurisdictions, regular people, minding their own business rarely have any interaction with the law, and rarely get into any trouble. I wish there were a stronger legal defense for knife users, but I generally just carry what I like and don’t worry about it.

That mostly sums it up, and there is no shortage of silliness IMO, but at least until now, that was the full extent of it. Just this past week, the police authorities released their new interpretations of the latest update to our weapons law. I haven’t had time to go through it all, but one thing that’s in there is that they now define autos (which, if you remember, are illegal to even own) as anything that can be opened swiftly with a button, nub, stud or similar, no matter if the opening action is powered by a spring or not. It’s currently unclear if these new interpretations will hold up to legal scrutiny, but this marks a new level of silliness even for this kingdom, and I’m actually starting to worry a bit about what we may have in front of us.

I’m in Arizona USA
There aren’t any real knife restrictions here besides the typical not in schools, government buildings ect. However Arizona law as far as I see doesn’t address butterfly / balisong knives. They are simply left out of any knife laws I can find. (online at least)

We regularly see people open carrying handguns here, and occasionally even rifles (usually ranchers who came into town and didn't want to leave the rifle in the truck while they went into the store). I'm not aware of anyone ever being bothered about a knife here. I know (because it was in the newspaper years ago) that it's technically legal to carry a sword here--the police apparently had to come out and talk to a mentally disturbed guy who was carrying two katanas around town.

The problem with the 'justifiable reason' language is that it all comes down to the individual officer and if he's grumpy, or you look disreputable or you just get him on a bad day, things can go poorly. I'd much rather have a clear cut rule and not have to wait for my day in court to get my knife back.



I just googled and found this for our state:

A person does not have to have a concealed weapons license to carry or be in possession of a deadly weapon or firearm in the following circumstances:

Any deadly weapon located in plain view;
Any lawfully possessed shotgun or rifle;
Any deadly weapon concealed in a motor vehicle;
A firearm that is not loaded and is secured in a case;
A firearm that is disassembled or permanently altered such that it is not readily operable; and
Any deadly weapon concealed by a person who is:
Over eighteen (18) years of age;
A citizen of the United States or a current member of the armed forces of the United States; and
Is not disqualified from being issued a license under Idaho Code § 18-3302(11)(b) – (n).

Source: https://www.idaho.gov/laws-public-safet ... eapon-law/
The actual law is here: https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesr ... ct18-3302/


So basically as long as it's not concealed, it looks like anything goes here.

Here in the UK the authorities saw the UKPK and said “That’s the perfect pocket knife! It proves you don’t need anything bigger or locking”.

I think …

In Germany you can have either a two handed locking knife, or a non locking one hander. No blade lenght limitation on folders. Fixed blades with blade length under 12 cm (4.72 in.) can be carried visible or concealed. There are forbidden blades in Germany like balisongs, push dagger, OTF's, side-opening automatics above bladelenght of 8,5 cm are also illegal , gravity knives and like almost everywhere hidden knives.

Jim Malone wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 17, 2022 5:12 am

Like Apollo i'm from Belgium as well. The problem is that they inserted into law that every object you have on you that is used, or can be used in commiting a crime is seen as a weapon. This means everything can become a weapon. Your car, a stone, a wooden branch, fireworks, batteries, whatever. There is the concept of legal reason. A diver with a diving knife with his diving gear driving towards or from the divesite is not a problem, but if the diveknife is still in his car the next day it's a weapon. A hunter with his hunting knife is no problem while hunting, not in the pub two days later. They made the laws so murky that you are always in trouble if law enforcement thinks you might use something to use as a weapon. They will confiscate the "weapon" and the judge will decide. I never had a problem carrying my knives here but i will never be certain that i'm in a legal position.

Indeed that’s why down here its so important to use you’re common sense. If it does not feel okay let it at home or car or at least do not use it at that moment. Its kinda the only way to enjoy this hobby in Belgium. Also not living in the city helps allot. I almost never see officers. And since i always behave myself i also never attract them even if i would come across them.
As a former officer did you really search for pocket knives constantly while walking by on patrol ? Or only if people were acting suspiciously?

My State is fairly No Laws on Knives, 🫠

Jim Malone wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 17, 2022 5:19 pm

In Germany you can have either a two handed locking knife, or a non locking one hander. No blade lenght limitation on folders. Fixed blades with blade length under 12 cm (4.72 in.) can be carried visible or concealed. There are forbidden blades in Germany like balisongs, push dagger, OTF's, side-opening automatics above bladelenght of 8,5 cm are also illegal , gravity knives and like almost everywhere hidden knives.

One should add, that you are allowed to carry fixed blades over 12 cm and one handed locking knives, but only if you have legitimate reason to do so. The law does not say, wath a legitimate reason is. It implies, one should use comon sense. So in the end it is up to the officer or the judge. But in general camping, your job or fishing usually is a legitimate reason. Self defense is not!
And you can transport those knives in a closed container. Some say, a blosed backpack qualifies as such a container. But I think that depends on the officer or judge to decide.

We are very blessed here in the state of Missouri USA. I can legally carry my M390 Military model or any other model with a blade 4 inches or less. Also here in Missouri during hunting seasons I see people carrying all kinds of fixed blade knives on their belts and never hear anything said about it.

Here in Missouri the only time you would ever get bothered for a knife is if you were to break another law. For instance if you were to get a DWI (driving while intoxicated) and you would have a knife over the legal limit then they would probably take your knife away from you.

I've lived here in Missouri a good part of my life and I've never ever been hassled about any of my pocket knives > or fixed blades either whenever I carry them. Most of the knife and gun laws here in Missouri are pretty reasonable for the most part. As far as automatics (switchblades) or balisongs ( butterfly knives) I've got two friends that carry autos and neither one of them have ever been bothered about it.

No i checked for clips in pockets. I worked in a big city with a high crime rate in an intervention unit so most of the time the subjects where carrying something illegal. Pocket knives where not our main concern, used needles where when you searched someone. But we found our share of knives in cars. Once had a guy who improvised a shoulder holster for two large kitchen knives with cardboard and string. Most stabbings where with kitchen knives or cheap knives. Never found any high quality knives. Our part of the city was inhabited with poor people, drug addicts, prostitutes and illegal immigrants. Most had no money or needed a lot every day so they didn't have the financial means to use and buy fancy pocket knives. On the other hand we had a lot of drugtrafickers with firearms but they didn't seem to be interested in pocket knives. Stopped a minor once who had two fake spyderco's (harpy styled) in both left and right pockets. I saw two black clips in both pockets so stopped him and confiscated the knives. I had like a huge cardboard box with confiscated items in, in my locker. We just confiscated it and destroyed the item later. We didn't bother to put everything on paper because the DA's didn't press charges and it would take half our day to fill in paperwork. Not exactly legal but this was the way it was done then. You get a real sense of who is a law abiding citizen and who is a criminal. So you start to profile everyone. You catch a lot of fish but those who act and look innocent could get away with a lot. During our shifts we had two to three teams ( 6 guys/ girls ) in total for about a 80000 inhabitands so you only did the most urgent things. If you stopped and searched you would be in the station for a few hours and there would be no crew for the urgent things like murder, bank robbery, fights. I did other things as well like work in the drug brigade and work in civilian clothing as well. But there was always too much work and not enough time. Trouble found us, we didn't have to look for it.
So if you act normal, dress normal and don't stick out no one will notice or care.

By only reading the news i think that legal and red tape problem you describe is still there.
Its amazing officers still to there job since it seems every criminal they catch go’s free in a few days.
Thx for the lesson about our own country. Glad i am not a city guy its seems like a totally different country from where i live and its only a few miles in any direction before ** hits the fan i guess. . Hope that will not change and life outside of the city keeps being calm and enjoyable.