Legal Knife Carry Age

[wannabeagunsmith]

Around where I live crime is going up like theres no tomorrow....and I am too young (17) to carry a gun. What is the age to carry a blade for self defense and is a permit required? I am looking at an automatic opening blade. I have carried multi tools before but those are a joke when it comes to SD. I am thinking of getting a Gerber.. Oh and I live in WA

 

[Hunterdad]

Laws are different from state to state. You need to look up your current state laws.

 

[miniMacGuru]

Also, don't forget to check your city laws. While SC doesn't have much on knife-carrying, my city has a 3" blade restriction.

 

[rcmodel]

automatic opening blade.

Better rethink that plan right there.

Those are as much against the law as guns, everywhere.

rc

 

[allaroundhunter]

Assisted opening blades cam be just as fast.... And are much more affordable. Also, if you don't know how to fight with a knife, it can do much more harm than good to you to try to use one in a defensive situation.

Sent from my HTC One X

 

[wannabeagunsmith]

I am just talking about the kind nutnfancy is always reviewing....

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Gerber-Covert-F.A.S.T./16523850


kinda like this, you know with assisted opening not a switchblade.

 

[wannabeagunsmith]

I guess I don't know the terms very well.. what is the difference between "assisted opening" and "automatic" blades?

 

[rcmodel]

I would argue that assisted opening is no faster then a good liner-lock or Axis lock.

I can flip a good one open harder and faster then my switchblades.

And I agree taking a knife to a gunfight is a real bad idea.
Even taking a knife to a knife fight is a real bad idea.

It will be difficult for them to tell the winner from the loser when the cops & ambulance get there.

rc

 

[glistam]

Well regarding the title of your thread, there is no age requirement in WA. In fact there isn't in most states. The same knife laws apply to adults and minors.

Regarding automatic vs. spring assist, an automatic has a button, lever, or slider switch located in the handle. A spring assisted knife has no actuator of any kind to extend the blade. It requires you to push the blade itself beyond a certain point.

Washington State actually just changed the law on this matter. Effective June 7, 2012, the previously prohibited "spring blade knife" (which was vague) was officially clarified:

"Spring blade knife" means any knife, including a prototype, model, or other sample, with a blade that is automatically released by a spring mechanism or other mechanical device, or any knife having a blade which opens, or falls, or is ejected into position by the force of gravity, or by an outward, downward, or centrifugal thrust or movement. A knife that contains a spring, detent, or other mechanism designed to create a bias toward closure of the blade and that requires physical exertion applied to the blade by hand, wrist, or arm to overcome the bias toward closure to assist in opening the knife is not a spring blade knife.

Source: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41.250

RC makes a point you should also consider when carrying a knife specifically for defense. Playing the odds, this is statistically how using a knife as a weapon turns out.
The attacker has a gun. You die.*
The attacker also has a knife. You both die.
The attacker is unarmed. You go to jail for murder 2 or assault.

Not 100% of the time mind, but think about that for a while when choosing what armament you want.



*Yes yes I know about the Tueler drill, but that assumes a blitz attack on holstered firearm.

 

[wannabeagunsmith]

So given what you have said, I assume THIS knife:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Gerber-Covert-Mini-F.A.S.T./16523851?findingMethod=rr

is illegal? Strange they sell them in my local walmart..

 

[wannabeagunsmith]

Yes those are good points to remember but a knife is better than nothing.

 

[S&W620]

Check out Emerson Knives. They are a bit spendy, but well worth it. Very high quality and very well built.

I carry a CQC-14 "Snubby". It's a 2.7" blade with a full size handle. Like other Emerson's, it has the 'Wave opening system', which is about as quick and easy as it gets.

This goes with me just about everywhere.

As far as using a knife for self defense, use common sense.

 

[wannabeagunsmith]

Thanks, will do.

 

[JTW Jr.]

Having worn out the locks on many Emerson's , I would suggest something else, there are far better options for the price. At one time I had as many as 14 EKI's , from 98 Commanders, PSARK, Karambits, Mini Comms, etc. so I have experience with them.
The Commander is the most ergo knife I have used, just wish the lockup lasted longer. A framelock commander is the best knife I ever owned ( weiland conversion - why did I ever sell it I will never know)....



Not sure about all of Washington but Seattle has this :
Title 12A - CRIMINAL CODE
Subtitle I Criminal Code
SMC 12A.14.080 Unlawful use of weapons.


D. Sell or give away to any person under eighteen (18) years of age any
dangerous knife or deadly weapon other than a firearm, or for any person
under eighteen (18) years of age to purchase any dangerous knife or deadly
weapon other than a firearm, or for any person under eighteen (18) years of
age to possess any dangerous knife or deadly weapon other than a firearm
except when under the direct supervision of an adult.

 

[glistam]

The gerber covert is legal. That button is just the lock, it doesn't open the blade.

 

[hso]

wannabe,

You should read through the various threads in NFW. We can't solve your problem for you, but we might educate you enough so you can solve your question for yourself.

Knives are weapons of last resort. A good stick that you can carry all the time will trump a knife. Pepper spray and Tasers (notice the capitol "T") can give you more distance than a stick and an apology option that a stick or knife might not allow.

In WA you're better off carrying spray than just a stick and stick more than knife. The beter bet is to carry a spray, a Taser, a stick and a knife. The best is to know how/when to use each. The ideal is to have the right mindset and skills to use each to know how to avoid having to use them.

You can carry an assisted opener (again, read this forum to understand the difference between a switchblade and an AO), but there are many quick manual opening knives that will be as/more reliable. Remember that you get what you pay for, but that regardless of how much you pay for a tool, if you don't learn to use it well you're not better off. Also remember that a $12 livestock cane will work as well as a $100 martial arts cane and that a $50 knife can work almost as well a a nearly $200 knife is you don't ask them to do it too many times.

Having defensive options in depth is much better than depending upon just one option. A knife is just one good defensive tool. Sticks and sprays are others. Your best bet is to know where trouble lies, avoid it and be able to recognize it when it oozes out of the usual haunts so you can get somewhere else promptly.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I am with HSO get a hiking stick or cane and pepper spray. They work and won't get you thrown in Jail like a knife would.

 

[hso]

No, pepper spray, stick AND knife.
Just don't be foolish enough to just fixate on the knife as the best solution to your perceived problem. The defensive equation is complex and oversimplifying it will not lead you to the correct solution.

There are several solutions and they depend upon the variables in the initial defensive problem. Understand what defensive variable results in which best solution. The best defensive solution is always what's in your head instead of what's in your hand.

 

[allaroundhunter]

I typically carry a gun (where I can), pepper spray, and a knife. If I get in a situation that could go bad my options look like this:

1. Get out
2. Use pepper spray to avoid lethal force if it is not needed but cannot escape confrontation.
3. Use lethal force (handgun) if absolutely required
4. Use my hands to defend myself (no knife)
5. If I absolutely have to, read "last resort", use my knife. This would be if there is a struggle over my weapon, if all other options have failed, if the other options are not viable or they had not been available.

No one wins in a knife fight, it is just a matter of who loses the worst.

Sent from my HTC One X

 

[CWL]

Hey wannabe,

At 17, are you still in High School? If you are, you have to live by various "no tolerance" laws as a student & minor. Be aware of that so you don't get arrested & kicked out of school. You may not think that it means much now, but that will affect your chances of getting into college, or the military, or becoming a lawman, or your ability to purchase firearms when you are of age. -You want to be a gunsmith, right?

Also, if you are going to carry a knife at your age, you should carry ones that you wont mind too much if hey get confiscated from you.

Good automatics are expensive, and you don't want to lose them.

Personally, I wouldn't trust in one as a SD knife, but that's just my opinion.

 

[JTW Jr.]

No, pepper spray, stick AND knife.

Not sure where you all live, but I have never seen anyone carrying a "stick" here.

 

[Onward Allusion]

that a $50 knife can work almost as well a a nearly $200 knife is you don't ask them to do it too many times.

...and a $20 fixed blade will be more reliable and quicker than most $100 folders...

 

[Onward Allusion]

wannabeagunsmith
Legal Knife Carry Age
Around where I live crime is going up like theres no tomorrow....and I am too young (17) to carry a gun. What is the age to carry a blade for self defense and is a permit required? I am looking at an automatic opening blade. I have carried multi tools before but those are a joke when it comes to SD. I am thinking of getting a Gerber.. Oh and I live in WA

Gerber Covert is a good all around knife. I just picked one up down at SMKW. Good balance for a folder.

I would suggest getting a 4oz canister of pepper spray in a belt holster. You can legally carry @ 17 (as young as 14) with your parent's permission in WA. Rather than a stick which HSO suggested, I would recommend a bike lock. Something like a Kryptonite Evolution (3.25"x9.5") It'll slip into your back pocket rather easily. Otherwise you can go old school and use a lock on a bandana but even a rookie cop will know what it's for. The knife should be your last resort.

 

[kBob]

First re read, and carefully this time, everything hso wrote.

Also in reality are you more likely to have to use that knife in defense or be questioned by an LEO or other person of authority about your carrying it? Likely the answer is not having to use it for personal defense. Given that, do you think officer friendly or Coach In-Your-Face will think a double edged, black, militaristic looking pig sticker will look like a "common folding pocket knife" and not an offensive weapon?

Some years ago Gary Kleck at Florida State University (look him up) did a survey of National Institute of Justice reports on assaults out side the home. Looking at the outcomes from over 140,000 street crimes, attempting to use a knife was among the highest forms of self defense to likely result in your own hospitalization or death.

Now folks around here do not like to read that, but there it is.

Mind set, awareness, and training are are much more important.....like hundreds of times more important .....than what physical tool you have. If a specific tool is more of a hinderence or danger to you than a help, why cart it around waiting for it to hurt you?

Stop looking at self defense as a correct magic wand issue.

-kBob

 

[glistam]

Some years ago Gary Kleck at Florida State University (look him up) did a survey of National Institute of Justice reports on assaults out side the home. Looking at the outcomes from over 140,000 street crimes, attempting to use a knife was among the highest forms of self defense to likely result in your own hospitalization or death.

I believe it. I have a long lecture I could go into but I didn't want to be abusive to the OP, who I'm sure is mulling this over now.