Whats the legal size of a blade that you can carry in the state of CA?

Answer 1

It depends on the situation/context.

Here are some relevant statutes from California Penal Code:

171b. (a) Any person who brings or possesses within any state or local public building or at any meeting required to be open to the public ... any of the following is guilty of a public offense punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or in the state prison: ... (3) Any knife with a blade length in excess of four inches, the blade of which is fixed or is capable of being fixed in an unguarded position by the use of one or two hands.

626.10. (a) Any person, except a duly appointed peace officer ... or a member of the military forces of this state or the United States who is engaged in the performance of his or her duties, who brings or possesses any dirk, dagger, ice pick, knife having a blade longer than 2 1/2 inches, [or] folding knife with a blade that locks into place, upon the grounds of, or within, any public or private school ... is guilty of a public offense, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison. (b) [same] upon the grounds of, or within, any private university, the University of California, the California State University, or the California Community Colleges. [some exceptions apply]

653k. Every person who possesses in the passenger's or driver's area of any motor vehicle in any public place or place open to the public, carries upon his or her person, and every person who sells, offers for sale, exposes for sale, loans, transfers, or gives to any other person a switchblade knife having a blade two or more inches in length is guilty of a misdemeanor.
For the purposes of this section, "switchblade knife" means a knife having the appearance of a pocketknife and includes a spring-blade knife, snap-blade knife, gravity knife or any other similar type knife, the blade or blades of which are two or more inches in length and which can be released automatically by a flick of a button, pressure on the handle, flip of the wrist or other mechanical device, or is released by the weight of the blade or by any type of mechanism whatsoever.

12020. (a) Any person in this state who does any of the following
is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in the state prison: (1) Manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives, lends, or possesses ... any ballistic knife ... any belt buckle knife .... any lipstick case knife, any cane sword, any shobi-zue, any air gauge knife, [or] any writing pen knife....

12001.1. (a) Any person in this state who commercially manufactures or causes to be commercially manufactured, or who knowingly imports into the state for commercial sale, keeps for commercial sale, or offers or exposes for commercial sale, any undetectable knife is guilty of a misdemeanor. As used in this section, an "undetectable knife" means any knife or other instrument with or without a handguard that is capable of ready use as a stabbing weapon that may inflict great bodily injury or death that is commercially manufactured to be used as a weapon and is not detectable by a metal detector or magnetometer, either handheld or otherwise, that is set at standard calibration.

So, it looks like 4" in public, 2.5" on school grounds, and nothing concealed in prison, and you can't sell or manufacture anything intended to defeat metal detectors. And that's just state law. County or city ordinances may impose greater restrictions.

Answer 2

Under California state law, non-switchblade pocket knives that are concealed in the closed position can be legally carried, concealed or open-carry. (Strangely enough, switchblade knives less than 2" ARE legal to carry in most jurisdicitions). Fixed-blades must be carried openly. Knives that are disguised as something else (belt buckle, shotgun shell, etc.) are completely banned. Switchblades may be owned privately in the home, but not street-carried; while not specified, most people assume that transport is legal on the same basis as a gun: locked in the trunk in a locked container. Cane swords are completely banned.

Your lockblade folding knife should have a thumbstud, thumb"hole", thumb "disk" attached directly to the blade (versus on the grip and linked up via a gearbox of sorts). It should not have a spring that does ALL the opening, and finally, the blade needs to have at least some tendency to stay closed in the pocket or whatever bias a "bias towards closure.

As long as it's got all that, it cannot be "declared a gravity knife or switchblade" even if you can snap it open with relish :). And you can carry it concealed so long as it's concealed in the FULLY closed position, or open-carry if that's your thing (not recommended for BIG stuff, in case you happen on a town with a funky local ordinance or a really cranky cop

Generally speaking, folding knives of any length are legal, and but non-folding knives must be visible, in a sheath, worn at the beltline and less than 5"

Here's the trickiest part. Los Angeles and a few other SoCal cities have a town ordinance banning the carry of knives over 3". In SOME cases, it's phrased as a ban on big stuff of any sort carried openly, so that excludes fixed-blades and the open-carry of big folders, but you can still conceal (and LEAVE concealed until needed to save a life) a large folding knife.

San Francisco has an ordinance on knife carry, but it's only linked to simultaneous "illegal loitering". Clearly, this was meant as a "homeless control measure" of sorts, God only knows how old. Berkeley has a knife ordinance too.

But the reality is, local knife ordinances cannot be applied to people passing through on a major road, enforcement of all local ordinances is spotty unless you fit a "juvenile offender profile", and most cops don't even know their local knife ordinances.

If you're scrupulous about not violating state law, which I'd highly recommend, and you don't come across as a slimeball, the odds are vastly against your having problems. I've had a lot of cops see my street-carry pieces, and I've not had a confiscation or harassment yet.

Answer 3

4 inches

Answer 4

3 inches or less, and cannot have any type of trigger spring to open it. At least that was the law last I heard. You can call the local cop shop to be very clear.

Answer 5

3 or 4 inches.

Answer 6

what size mower can you pick up