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Carrying knives

sirtirithon

sirtirithon

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May 14, 2010
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Spokane, ,
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I know this is a gun forum, but I'm certain most of us carry some form of blade. My EDC is a kershaw blur.I seem to recall reading somewhere that the legal blade length limitin WAis 3.5". Is this correct? I can't seem to find it in an RCW.

Most fixed blade knives are longer. So whats the deal?Can a person carry a 5" fixed blade knife in the open and not be hassled for breaking the law? Do any of you carry a blade longer than 3.5" ?

What prompted this question is that I ordered a gerber lmf ii asek knife last week and I intend to wear it when I go for hikes after work. The blade is over 4.5" long. If I am questioned by a LEO for OC my firearm and they notice that I am also carrying a blade longer than 3.5" could I be in hot water?

Thanks for any information!
 
T

Tawnos

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Joined
Jun 4, 2008
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2,542
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Washington
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sirtirithon wrote:
I know this is a gun forum, but I'm certain most of us carry some form of blade. My EDC is a kershaw blur.I seem to recall reading somewhere that the legal blade length limitin WAis 3.5". Is this correct? I can't seem to find it in an RCW.

Most fixed blade knives are longer. So whats the deal?Can a person carry a 5" fixed blade knife in the open and not be hassled for breaking the law? Do any of you carry a blade longer than 3.5" ?

What prompted this question is that I ordered a gerber lmf ii asek knife last week and I intend to wear it when I go for hikes after work. The blade is over 4.5" long. If I am questioned by a LEO for OC my firearm and they notice that I am also carrying a blade longer than 3.5" could I be in hot water?

Thanks for any information!
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I don't know of any statewide blade length limitation. The federal pocket knife exemption is 2.5", and there's no preemption, so each city may have its own knife rules.
 
j2l3

j2l3

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Aug 18, 2007
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871
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Seattle, Washington, USA
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As said previously, each city has authority to regulate this for themselves. You need to check your local codes to know for sure.
 
J

jchen012

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Oct 4, 2006
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144
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Bellevue, WA, ,
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There is no state law that addresses blade length. Therefore you can carry any length concealed in the eyes of the state, but you are at the mercy of city codes. I know that Seattle has a 3.5" or less for concealed knives. Can't find any info on other cities.
 
Tomas

Tomas

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Mar 18, 2010
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University Place, Washington, USA
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(Knife laws in Washington State are an insane patchwork with no statewide standard - and no preemption. Each little city, town and village can, and often does, have it's own "laws" on that. Personally I have carried a knife since I got my very first folder when I first joined the Cub Scouts in the early '50s. http://tijil.org/cub_scout_knife.jpg Yes, I carried that Cub Scout knife to elementary school for years, concealed, and even used it on the occasional classroom project with the teacher's full knowledge when I need a cutting edge for something. Speaking of insanity, these days carrying a knife like that would get me kicked out of school. I still carry a pocket knife sharp enough to shave with, but these days it is my favorite Paul knife. http://tijil.org/gerber_paul.jpg )
 
Tomas

Tomas

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University Place, Washington, USA
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jchen012 wrote:
There is no state law that addresses blade length. Therefore you can carry any length concealed in the eyes of the state, but you are at the mercy of city codes. I know that Seattle has a 3.5" or less for concealed knives. Can't find any info on other cities.
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Just to add to the info, Tacoma Municipal Code Section 8.66 covers Tacoma's rules on knives and among many other considers any knife with more than a 3 1/2 inch blade, including shank, to be a "dangerous knife."*

See: http://cms.cityoftacoma.org/cityclerk/Files/MunicipalCode/Title08-PublicSafetyAndMorals.PDF

(It strikes me that my old USAF survival knife I brought back from Vietnam would be a "dangerous knife" in Tacoma if I sawed the blade off at the hilt and just kept the handle, as the shank is considerably longer than 3.5 inches... These damned laws are insane.)
 
A

Aaron1124

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Jul 5, 2009
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Kent, Washington, USA
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There are no state laws on blade length. The law tells you that you can not furtively carry specific weapons, with swords, daggers, certain fixed blades, and some other weapons. There's no law against how long your folding pocket knife may be. I carry a 4.5" smith and wesson folding blade.

However, certain cities, such as Seattle, Tacoma, and I believe Olympia have local ordinances against blade length. Seattle does not allow the carry of ANY fixed blade, regardless of if it's open or concealed. Their folding blade limit is 3.5", I believe. Same with Tacoma. Not sure about Olympia, but I do believe that they have a blade length limit as well.

It's kind of a pain. I think folding pocket knives should also be included in the preemption, because I don't like the fact that I'm perfectly within state law to carry my pocket knife mostly anywhere in the state, but if I go to Seattle, Tacoma or Olympia, then I'm breaking the law. Thankfully, most cities simply adopt state law on the issue.
 
G

geojohn

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Joined
Mar 17, 2010
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117
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Snohomish County, Washington, USA
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FWIW, there is a growing organization, that among other things, is working to establish state knife preemption, just like many states have with respect to firearms: http://kniferights.org/

Doug Ritter, who also runs the excellent Equipped to Survive web site (http://www.equipped.com) is behind this.

The time is probably not right for Washington now, but when it is it will be good to know that there are folks with the experience to help.
 
A

Aaron1124

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Kent, Washington, USA
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geojohn wrote:
FWIW, there is a growing organization, that among other things, is working to establish state knife preemption, just like many states have with respect to firearms: http://kniferights.org/

Doug Ritter, who also runs the excellent Equipped to Survive web site (http://www.equipped.com) is behind this.

The time is probably not right for Washington now, but when it is it will be good to know that there are folks with the experience to help.
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Cool. Thanks for sharing the site.
 
Metal_Monkey

Metal_Monkey

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Joined
Jul 23, 2008
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282
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Everett/Lynwood, Washington, USA
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Don't carry a knife in Lake Stevens....Snohomish officers did a number taking mine during Aquafest...Was just a normal Gerber one, but the LSPD....not even worth it. Celori is an assbag.
 
killchain

killchain

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Sep 7, 2009
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788
Location
Richland, Washington, USA
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Tomas wrote:
(Knife laws in Washington State are an insane patchwork with no statewide standard - and no preemption. Each little city, town and village can, and often does, have it's own "laws" on that. Personally I have carried a knife since I got my very first folder when I first joined the Cub Scouts in the early '50s. http://tijil.org/cub_scout_knife.jpg Yes, I carried that Cub Scout knife to elementary school for years, concealed, and even used it on the occasional classroom project with the teacher's full knowledge when I need a cutting edge for something. Speaking of insanity, these days carrying a knife like that would get me kicked out of school. I still carry a pocket knife sharp enough to shave with, but these days it is my favorite Paul knife. http://tijil.org/gerber_paul.jpg )
Click to expand...
The knife laws suck. I don't understand why WA preemption doesn't cover them as well, and why we can't have a CWP that covers it.

I don't personally carry a knife, but I do carry a Leatherman Wave that I've caught guff for. My wife has illegally carried her scary cub scout knife that her Father the Scoutmaster gave her when she was a little girl... which I've used to open many things while out because I didn't bring mine. :p
 
A

Aaron1124

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2,044
Location
Kent, Washington, USA
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killchain wrote:
Tomas wrote:
(Knife laws in Washington State are an insane patchwork with no statewide standard - and no preemption. Each little city, town and village can, and often does, have it's own "laws" on that. Personally I have carried a knife since I got my very first folder when I first joined the Cub Scouts in the early '50s. http://tijil.org/cub_scout_knife.jpg Yes, I carried that Cub Scout knife to elementary school for years, concealed, and even used it on the occasional classroom project with the teacher's full knowledge when I need a cutting edge for something. Speaking of insanity, these days carrying a knife like that would get me kicked out of school. I still carry a pocket knife sharp enough to shave with, but these days it is my favorite Paul knife. http://tijil.org/gerber_paul.jpg )
Click to expand...
The knife laws suck. I don't understand why WA preemption doesn't cover them as well, and why we can't have a CWP that covers it.

I don't personally carry a knife, but I do carry a Leatherman Wave that I've caught guff for. My wife has illegally carried her scary cub scout knife that her Father the Scoutmaster gave her when she was a little girl... which I've used to open many things while out because I didn't bring mine. :p
Click to expand...
I don't think we should even have a CWP to conceal them. I think we should be able to carry whatever knife or blade we want to carry, concealed or openly.
 
sirtirithon

sirtirithon

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Joined
May 14, 2010
Messages
55
Location
Spokane, ,
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Thanks for the information! I figure I will continue to carry my legal kershaw blur and carry the gerber lmf when I'm hiking outside of town. I don't think I will get hassled at all out in the woods with a fixed blade on. I agree that we should be able to carry whatever blade we want. Especially considering that it's legal to pack a loaded .45 around in the open without a permit but you can't carry a 4" knife in most cities? what gives? And if nothing else if you have a CCW it should include bladed weapons. Oh well.
 
A

Aaron1124

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Jul 5, 2009
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2,044
Location
Kent, Washington, USA
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sirtirithon wrote:
Thanks for the information! I figure I will continue to carry my legal kershaw blur and carry the gerber lmf when I'm hiking outside of town. I don't think I will get hassled at all out in the woods with a fixed blade on. I agree that we should be able to carry whatever blade we want. Especially considering that it's legal to pack a loaded .45 around in the open without a permit but you can't carry a 4" knife in most cities? what gives? And if nothing else if you have a CCW it should include bladed weapons. Oh well.
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You *can* carry a 4" knife in most cities. There's only a select few cities with blade length restrictions.
 
amzbrady

amzbrady

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Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
3,521
Location
Marysville, Washington, USA
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Aaron1124 wrote:
killchain wrote:
Tomas wrote:
(Knife laws in Washington State are an insane patchwork with no statewide standard - and no preemption. Each little city, town and village can, and often does, have it's own "laws" on that. Personally I have carried a knife since I got my very first folder when I first joined the Cub Scouts in the early '50s. http://tijil.org/cub_scout_knife.jpg Yes, I carried that Cub Scout knife to elementary school for years, concealed, and even used it on the occasional classroom project with the teacher's full knowledge when I need a cutting edge for something. Speaking of insanity, these days carrying a knife like that would get me kicked out of school. I still carry a pocket knife sharp enough to shave with, but these days it is my favorite Paul knife. http://tijil.org/gerber_paul.jpg )
Click to expand...
The knife laws suck. I don't understand why WA preemption doesn't cover them as well, and why we can't have a CWP that covers it.

I don't personally carry a knife, but I do carry a Leatherman Wave that I've caught guff for. My wife has illegally carried her scary cub scout knife that her Father the Scoutmaster gave her when she was a little girl... which I've used to open many things while out because I didn't bring mine. :p
Click to expand...
I don't think we should even have a CWP to conceal them. I think we should be able to carry whatever knife or blade we want to carry, concealed or openly.
Click to expand...
+1 Thats a better thought, because in theory if every US citizen legally able to do so,armed themselves and carried a firearm, no knife would be an issue.
 
A

Aaron1124

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Kent, Washington, USA
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amzbrady wrote:
Aaron1124 wrote:
killchain wrote:
Tomas wrote:
(Knife laws in Washington State are an insane patchwork with no statewide standard - and no preemption. Each little city, town and village can, and often does, have it's own "laws" on that. Personally I have carried a knife since I got my very first folder when I first joined the Cub Scouts in the early '50s. http://tijil.org/cub_scout_knife.jpg Yes, I carried that Cub Scout knife to elementary school for years, concealed, and even used it on the occasional classroom project with the teacher's full knowledge when I need a cutting edge for something. Speaking of insanity, these days carrying a knife like that would get me kicked out of school. I still carry a pocket knife sharp enough to shave with, but these days it is my favorite Paul knife. http://tijil.org/gerber_paul.jpg )
Click to expand...
The knife laws suck. I don't understand why WA preemption doesn't cover them as well, and why we can't have a CWP that covers it.

I don't personally carry a knife, but I do carry a Leatherman Wave that I've caught guff for. My wife has illegally carried her scary cub scout knife that her Father the Scoutmaster gave her when she was a little girl... which I've used to open many things while out because I didn't bring mine. :p
Click to expand...
I don't think we should even have a CWP to conceal them. I think we should be able to carry whatever knife or blade we want to carry, concealed or openly.
Click to expand...
+1 Thats a better thought, because in theory if every US citizen legally able to do so,armed themselves and carried a firearm, no knife would be an issue.
Click to expand...
I'd still want one, though. I'd feel more comfortable with a blade in a close quarters situation, or in a situation that involved multiple attackers, if, God forbid, I was ever in such a situation.
 
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