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Open Carrying a Knife in Huntington

knoppixguru

New member
Joined
Jul 26, 2012
Messages
1
Location
Huntington
I have read the law text on the laws regarding OCing a knife in West Virginia. However, I cannot derive from it what exactly I can and cannot carry around without question of legality. I decided to carry a knife instead of a gun because I am only 19 and cannot carry a handgun, and carrying a shotgun on my back would raise suspicions. I know a concealed blade must be 3.5" or under. However, how about an openly carried knife? I have read different answers on the topic of OC'ing a knife but I am still not sure.

I will ideally carry this knife for self-protection for Huntington is rather scary sometimes with the type of people around here.

I simply need to know what size knife I can OC legally here for self-protection.
 

Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
35,317
Location
Valhalla
Don't know why you make the blanket statement that you can't carry a handgun - legal age to OC in WVA is 18 years old.

Summary
West Virginia is a traditional open carry state but there are some grandfathered local open carry bans not preempted by state law, such as the City of Charleston. There is complete state preemption of all firearms laws, but any local laws passed before preemption remain in effect.

Minimum Age to OC 18
http://www.opencarry.org/wv.html

Reference knife laws:
http://knife-expert.com/wv.txt
 
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