I was kind of curious as to which it means, and feared that it would be up to interpretation. My point however is that a Ka-Bar could be considered legal either way. I would not myself personally consider a Ka-Bar an "irregular" hunting knife since, as mentioned, there are likely to be many people carrying it due to the fact that it is issued in the Marines.
Of course another problem here would be the question of why you would be carrying a hunting knife if you weren't hunting. For example if you were stopped by a LEO and carrying a hunting knife of any size on your person, not including being in a vehicle, and had not purchased a hunting license or there was nothing in season, it would be cause for suspicion. At which point it would be up to the LEO to decide if you were carrying for self-protection or other potential necessity, or for more malignant reasons. Of course, in that case a Ka-Bar, which is well known as a Marine combat knife, would be a little more suspicious than say a Cold Steel Master Hunter (happens to be the closest fixed blade to me). If for no other reason than blade length.
The real concern here to me is ultimately what is an "ordinary" pocket knife? Could it be any pocket knife that's not an auto (or assisted) opening knife? Any knife that doesn't have a locking blade? Knife of a certain blade length? It's so vague that it could (would) vary from one officer to another. It's frustrating really just how vague the law is. Around where I live most of the local LEOs probably wouldn't blink an eye if you were carrying something like a Ka-Bar or pocket knife - as long as it isn't something extra large like the Espada XL, that might be a cause for a double-take but they'd probably let it slide. States on the other hand have been a little less lenient/more suspicious than the locals, at least around here.
Of course another problem here would be the question of why you would be carrying a hunting knife if you weren't hunting. For example if you were stopped by a LEO and carrying a hunting knife of any size on your person, not including being in a vehicle, and had not purchased a hunting license or there was nothing in season, it would be cause for suspicion. At which point it would be up to the LEO to decide if you were carrying for self-protection or other potential necessity, or for more malignant reasons. Of course, in that case a Ka-Bar, which is well known as a Marine combat knife, would be a little more suspicious than say a Cold Steel Master Hunter (happens to be the closest fixed blade to me). If for no other reason than blade length.
The real concern here to me is ultimately what is an "ordinary" pocket knife? Could it be any pocket knife that's not an auto (or assisted) opening knife? Any knife that doesn't have a locking blade? Knife of a certain blade length? It's so vague that it could (would) vary from one officer to another. It's frustrating really just how vague the law is. Around where I live most of the local LEOs probably wouldn't blink an eye if you were carrying something like a Ka-Bar or pocket knife - as long as it isn't something extra large like the Espada XL, that might be a cause for a double-take but they'd probably let it slide. States on the other hand have been a little less lenient/more suspicious than the locals, at least around here.
