Longest legal knife to carry

[arbud]

Hey guys going to buy my first knife to carry. Was wondering what is the longest blade i legally carry in my pocket
how about in my car
can i legally have one that opens with a flick of the wrist
can i legally own a switch blade.
Lot of questions thanks for your help

 

[Slurms]

A pretty comprehensive summary here:

http://www.knifeden.com/knife-laws-in-maryland/

and here:

http://www.knifeup.com/maryland-knife-laws/


So, to answer your questions:

Hey guys going to buy my first knife to carry. Was wondering what is the longest blade i legally carry in my pocket
--there appears to be no legal length limit for knives

how about in my car
--I think if it's legal to carry, it's legal to have in your car

can i legally have one that opens with a flick of the wrist
--I believe that is considered a "gravity knife" and is not legal to carry concealed (although it is legal to own one)

can i legally own a switch blade.
--yes, but it is not legal to carry

That is my understanding based on the above links.

 

[crazybird]

Great questions! I need to better educate myself on this topic as well being that 4 of my 5 kids are boys and they all love and collect various knives.
I found this article that looks to have some reliable information.

http://www.knifeup.com/maryland-knife-laws/

 

[vetogunban]

A pretty comprehensive summary here:

http://www.knifeden.com/knife-laws-in-maryland/

and here:

http://www.knifeup.com/maryland-knife-laws/


So, to answer your questions:

Hey guys going to buy my first knife to carry. Was wondering what is the longest blade i legally carry in my pocket
--there appears to be no legal length limit for knives

how about in my car
--I think if it's legal to carry, it's legal to have in your car

can i legally have one that opens with a flick of the wrist
--I believe that is considered a "gravity knife" and is not legal to carry concealed (although it is legal to own one)

can i legally own a switch blade.
--yes, but it is not legal to carry

That is my understanding based on the above links.

Good information. Little concerning about so many different local ordinances.

 

[T'Challa]

Hey guys going to buy my first knife to carry. Was wondering what is the longest blade i legally carry in my pocket
how about in my car
can i legally have one that opens with a flick of the wrist
can i legally own a switch blade.
Lot of questions thanks for your help

MD has no length restriction so long as the blade is not fixed, and can fold into it's handle.

You cannot carry a switch blade. You cannot carry a gravity knife(a knife where the blade unsheathes with the push of a button, allowing gravity to release the blade.) Flicking open a knife is from inertial not gravity and would be legal. You can possess a spring assisted knife. http://www.knifeup.com/maryland-knife-laws/

 

[usa259]

Great question. I been meaning to ask something similar; frankly I thought I had; getting old not good. When taking the HQL a reference was made to only a "pen Knife" being legal to carry. And, wasn't a knife used as the probably cause relating to Freddie Gray?

 

[balttigger]

Interesting question that most likely would be a point-of-incident decision on the part of law enforcement. I have a Gerber EZ-Out clip pocket knife. There is no assist spring, but if I flick my wrist hard enough, the blade pops right open and locks. Would this be considered a "gravity knife"? I always thought they were ones that only required the tip be pointed down when the button was pushed.

EDIT: T'Challa answered while I was forming my question.

 

[T'Challa]

Great question. I been meaning to ask something similar; frankly I thought I had; getting old not good. When taking the HQL a reference was made to only a "pen Knife" being legal to carry. And, wasn't a knife used as the probably cause relating to Freddie Gray?

Penknife in MD is a pocket knife that is not a switch blade or gravity knife. Rule of thumb. If you can buy it at Walmart, Home Depot etc, it's probably legal to conceal carry.

 

[Bertfish]

Another fun little fact...no assisted opening knives in Baltimore City. That was one of the reasons they supposedly stopped Freddie Gray.

 

[balttigger]

Another fun little fact...no assisted opening knives in Baltimore City. That was one of the reasons they supposedly stopped Freddie Gray.

The City illegal assist opening was the reason for the arrest. A known drug dealer running away from initial contact with law enforcement in a high crime area was the reason for the stop.

 

[T'Challa]

The City illegal assist opening was the reason for the arrest. A known drug dealer running away from initial contact with law enforcement in a high crime area was the reason for the stop.

So it was an illegal stop? I digress, wrong thread. Besides, SCOTUS just ruled today that cops can make illegal stops as long as they end up with a person who has a warrant. Slippery slope......

Anywho, not sure if spring assisted knives are illegal in Bmore... You can buy one at Walmart in Bmore so.........

 

[Minuteman]

There are numerous threads asking these same questions, its ok, you'll get the same answers here. Not much has changed regarding knife laws in Maryland in a long time. Just glancing at this thread, everything I saw that T'Challa posted is correct; he's very reliable source of good info.

 

[Minuteman]

So it was an illegal stop? I digress, wrong thread. Besides, SCOTUS just ruled today that cops can make illegal stops as long as they end up with a person who has a warrant. Slippery slope......

Anywho, not sure if spring assisted knives are illegal in Bmore... You can buy one at Walmart in Bmore so.........

Oops, didn't read the last part. My understanding is that they are legal to own, just not legal to carry in Baltimore, Ocean City, and maybe one other place... can't remember. This came out when there was that big issue/story last year, Freddy Gray I believe. I don't think anyone cared, and probably still don't care, but because I believe it was the original justification for stopping him, it refreshed everyones memory that 'spring assisted' (like most kershaw knives and others) are technically illegal in Baltimore.

 

[balttigger]

So it was an illegal stop? I digress, wrong thread. Besides, SCOTUS just ruled today that cops can make illegal stops as long as they end up with a person who has a warrant. Slippery slope......

Anywho, not sure if spring assisted knives are illegal in Bmore... You can buy one at Walmart in Bmore so.........

No. SCOTUS has upheld (Illinois v. Wardlow, et. al.) that a person's sudden and unprovoked flight from identifiable police officers, patrolling a high crime area, is sufficiently suspicious to justify a stop and detaining of that subject.

On the second point, Baltimore City Charter & Code

§ 59-22. Switch-blade knives.

(a) Possession or sale, etc., prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, carry, or possess any knife with an automatic spring or other device for opening and/or closing the blade, commonly known as a switch-blade knife.

Now, what we would all call a common definition of a switchblade does not jive with the City as by their definition, assist openings are also switch blades.

 

[smokey]

An interesting question would be "what is the largest folding knife that is comfortable to carry EDC".
this sumbitch is surprisingly easy to carry, and the arclock has much of what makes the benchmade axis lock good. It feels smoother to operate, but isn't as strong.
http://www.knifecenter.com/item/SOG...ding-knife-vg10-satin-plain-blade-grn-handles

This has cold steel's version of a wave opener for fast deployment and feels more solid than the spec elite(which has a little handle-flex side to side). The triad lock is incredibly strong, but isn't as user friendly as something like an axis lock.
http://www.knifecenter.com/item/CS2...folding-knife-cts-xhp-plain-blade-g10-handles

Personally, my carry knife is a benchmade contego. I like the size, cpm-m4 steel, and carbide glass breaker. I disliked the handle, so I reground it to mimic my spyderco PMII. It's an incredibly tough knife and the axis-lock makes it really easy and quick to deploy, use, then put away.
http://www.knifecenter.com/item/BM8...398-inch-CPM-M4-Black-Plain-Blade-G10-Handles

 

[Minuteman]

Heres the Freddy Gray part I mentioned:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/ma...md-sun-investigates-knife-20150509-story.html

-------

I was curious what (if any) knife police officers in Maryland are issued. Didn't find a good answer in the minute I searched, but I did find this little nugget: http://www.usadojo.com/articles/pd-knife-regulations.htm

 

[T'Challa]

No. SCOTUS has upheld (Illinois v. Wardlow, et. al.) that a person's sudden and unprovoked flight from identifiable police officers, patrolling a high crime area, is sufficiently suspicious to justify a stop and detaining of that subject.

On the second point, Baltimore City Charter & Code

§ 59-22. Switch-blade knives.

(a) Possession or sale, etc., prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, carry, or possess any knife with an automatic spring or other device for opening and/or closing the blade, commonly known as a switch-blade knife.

Now, what we would all call a common definition of a switchblade does not jive with the City as by their definition, assist openings are also switch blades.

I was referring to SCOUTS' ruling this week. Utah v. Strieff . http://www.opednews.com/articles/Ut...rt-SCOTUS_Utah-Versus-Strieff-160621-974.html

 

[GUNSnROTORS]

I disliked the handle, so I reground it to mimic my spyderco PMII.

My opinion as well.

Have considered doing similar, but couldn't commit to a pattern. Hope you consider it a compliment if I borrow heavily from your design!

 

[smokey]

My opinion as well.

Have considered doing similar, but couldn't commit to a pattern. Hope you consider it a compliment if I borrow heavily from your design!

haha sure. The biggest points of improvement were in knocking down the harsh points on benchmade's thumb ramp, and rounding over the weird point on the handle where most people's middle finger wraps around. Rounding over the thumb ramp now allows me to move my thumb up on the spine of the blade pretty comfortably for better leverage. Getting rid of that sharp jut means I can now grab the handle normal instead of in some odd vulcan greeting grip.

I also dug in a bit back by the pinky to create a slight hook for better control back there, and ground the front part of the handle forward a bit...both to get rid of some of the needless jimping and also to get my index finger closer to the edge. Aside from that, I rounded over the g10 on the inside of the handle a bit, while keeping some squareness to it along the spine.

With the new shape, it's a completely new knife and MUCH more ergonomic. I'd considered ditching it for a gayle bradley because I like the cpm-m4 so much, but wanted better ergonimics. Reshaping the handle allowed me to get the feel of the PMII(which is very good) for the the most part, while keeping the excellent axis lock and the cerakoted cpm-m4. Having something like cerakote or DLC over cpm-m4 seems like such an absolute no-brainer, I'm baffled more makers don't use it. CPM-m4 at 64 hrc is pretty untouchable to me for everyday edge retention, ease of sharpening(relative to something annoying like cpm-s110v), and the ability to quickly bring the edge back with a rod and some quick stropping. Where S30v keeps a razor edge fairly well, then falls off relatively linearly into a working edge..but comes back nicely with a strop....and s110v loses the razor edge pretty much the second you cut anything tough with it, but keeps the working edge forever while being a bitch to bring back...cpm-m4 keeps a razor edge for waaaaaay longer than anything else and then stays at a working edge. While it doesn't come back as quick or easy as s30v, it's much easier than the higher-carbide steels. It's also stupid-easy to get it sharp. I feel like I could rub a block of cpm-m4 on a sidewalk and then pick it up and shave....vs s110v, where it's REALLLLLY picky about you maintaining a steady angle and requires gradual steps down to stropping, which takes forever.

 

[WeaponsCollector]

I recommend Cold Steel.
Here's my everyday carry, extra large first generation Cold Steel Voyager...