New to carrying a knife, need some help on if i'm legal or not

E

Eric Santos

Joined
Jun 25, 2017
Messages
2
Okay, so I've done some reading on my laws here in California, but still stuck on one important question:

Are these knives legal to carry:
TAC Force TF-710
TAC Force TF-711
(Mostly concerned about the TF-711)

They are "assisted open folding knives" I believe, not too sure. The blade lengths are 4 inches, and the whole knife opened is 8.9 inches. In order to open it, you must push down with your finger on the little triangle piece on the blade, technically not on the handle I've read that folding knives are completely legal in California, no length limit, but as far as these go since they are assisted open, I'm not too sure. Thanks for any help!
 
You could always go to your local police station and show them pics and descriptions of those knives and I'm sure they'll give you a solid answer.
From what I've read and heard of the climate in California, I'd be concerned about carrying any knife that looked aggressive or tacticool, even if they were technically legal. For first time knife carrying I'd recommend a Victorinox SAK or a Case or other brand traditiona with less than 3 inch blade. These are knives that generally aren't mistaken as weapons but are solidly tools.
 
bt93 said:
You could always go to your local police station and show them pics and descriptions of those knives and I'm sure they'll give you a solid answer.
From what I've read and heard of the climate in California, I'd be concerned about carrying any knife that looked aggressive or tacticool, even if they were technically legal. For first time knife carrying I'd recommend a Victorinox SAK or a Case or other brand traditiona with less than 3 inch blade. These are knives that generally aren't mistaken as weapons but are solidly tools.
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Don't do this. Police officers frequently don't know and don't have a ton of reason to be honest if you look like you might be trouble. If you want an accurate answer go to an attorney.
 
It really depends where in California. There's not a whole lot of areas where there isn't a 3" knife law. I am fortunate to live in an area where over 3" is legal but I'm surrounded by counties with where length is restricted to 3"
 
Don't ask the police anything. Most don't know the difference.
I'm in L.A. County and carry a perfectly legal spring assist Protech TR5 that was specially made for our area due to these antiquated laws that plague us.
A folder so long as not an auto should be fine. I've carried many for over 30 years here and never a problem. Even showed to our local LEO's.
 
SoCalEDC said:
Don't ask the police anything. Most don't know the difference.
I'm in L.A. County and carry a perfectly legal spring assist Protech TR5 that was specially made for our area due to these antiquated laws that plague us.
A folder so long as not an auto should be fine. I've carried many for over 30 years here and never a problem. Even showed to our local LEO's.
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so seems like even though a folder could be spring assisted, it's still not an auto if i'm understanding this right. that TR5 looks pretty good too, so i might look into that instead.
 
Californian here. Assisted knives are okay to carry as long as they don't cross the line into "Automatic", and have a "bias towards closure". For being non-automatic, this just means that the knife's method of deployment must be directly on the blade (such as a flipper tab, thumb stud/hole, nail nick, etc.) and not on the handle (button automatic, switch automatic, button-opened gravity knife, etc). As long as the method of deployment is on the knife itself (which both are, being flippers), they are not considered automatics under the law. The "bias towards closure" just means that when a knife is closed, it wants to remain closed, so it must have a detent or spring holding it shut. Spring-assisted knives often have the spring option through their nature of being spring-assisted, so all is good. There are a few places in California I don't bring blades over 3 inches to, being Sacramento, San Francisco, and L.A. County. Sacramento and L.A. prohibit over-3's, and SF prohibits them when "illegally loitering" but I'm just not gonna take the risk so I just bring a smaller blade. Hope this helps, cheers.
 
I've lived in California for 47 years. Assisted opening folders are legal to carry throughout this state. Some counties/municipalities have limits on the length of blade that you can OPENLY carry (like a 3" length limit). But those same counties/municipalities do not limit the length of blade you can carry concealed.

That may seem odd, you would think that the laws would be more restrictive regarding concealed knives, but that's not the case when it comes to folders.

I live in San Diego and there are no length limits on manual (or assisted) folders down here, carried openly or concealed.
 
One thing I forgot to mention is that under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you EVER say that any knife you're carrying is for self defense. It doesn't matter if it's a Blacked Out Wave Opened Ergonomic Handle Spear Point knife. If you are ever asked about it, "I use it for work-related purposes, officer". Most officers won't care, but some like the power or need to meet a quota. Local knife laws may or may not restrict the use of "weapons", but none restrict the use of "tools". Your knife, to any and all who make it a concern of theirs, is a tool. End of debate.
 
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