cwp and karambit in Florida

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FireDragon76

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Jan 21, 2016
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I want to carry a karambit in Florida. Currently I have a trainer folding karambit that has a wave-style opener, but I'm curious about the legality of carrying a real one. I also am interested in carrying a telescoping baton.

I looked up the information from the Florida Department of Agriculture's website(https://licensing.freshfromflorida.com/forms/FormsRequest790.aspx) and the wording is vague, it describes a concealed-carry firearm or weapon license, but the actual form asks if a person has undergone firearms training. I do not own any guns. The firearms instruction courses are not cheap, they cost 75-100 dollars from what I have looked at. So, I want to know if the firearms training is necessary to carry a knife or impact weapon concealed in Florida.
 
A karambit is ultimately just a knife with a curved blade, from a legal standpoint. No statute actually has the word "karambit" in it.

Florida's statutes legally allow any knife to be carried openly, and only regulate what weapons you may carry concealed. 790.001 defines it like this:
(3)(a) “Concealed weapon” means any dirk, metallic knuckles, slungshot, billie, tear gas gun, chemical weapon or device, or other deadly weapon carried on or about a person in such a manner as to conceal the weapon from the ordinary sight of another person.
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Several case law examples such as Porter v State show that a common folding knife with a blade under 4" and carried with the blade closed is not considered a concealed weapon, and thus legal. A much more recent case however, F.R. v State 2012, established that weapon/combat oriented features of a folder still make it an illegal concealed weapon. In F.R.'s case, his knife might have been 3", but it also had finger notches, a handguard and a partially serrated blade. Should be noted that F.R. was a 12 year old budding sociopath who threatened to stab his classmate at school because of the color of his shirt. Depending on your karambit's design, if it's clearly a weaponized type, it would likely be illegal to have it concealed. Whereas, if it's actually more like a vinyl cutting knife, it would be legal, because even though it might look similar, a vinyl cutter has an obvious utility use.

A telescoping baton is a "bille" under the law, and thus illegal for concealed carry.

Worth noting is that possessing License to carry concealed weapon or firearm, per 790.06, makes it legal to conceal any weapon, even those above. Thus even if you don't carry a gun it's still worth having. As to what's involved in getting such a license, I am not familiar enough with it, but I would advise looking into it and perhaps talking to an official about the process in more detail.
 
I was looking into the Spyderco Matriarch or a smooth bladed Kerambit that had plenty of gimping and finger notches.

I've seen one knife that looks like a vinyl cutting knife. It looks like its meant more for a standard sabre grip though. And hawksbills of course have a long history. I have thought about carrying something like that just because it is so useful for cutting through things like string and plastic bags.

I think I will look into the firearms courses. It reminds me of the time I had to take a motorcycle course just to be able to get a license to ride my 150cc scooter. It felt like overkill, because my scooter had an auto transmission and handled very differently.
 
glistam said:
A karambit is ultimately just a knife with a curved blade, from a legal standpoint. No statute actually has the word "karambit" in it.

Florida's statutes legally allow any knife to be carried openly, and only regulate what weapons you may carry concealed. 790.001 defines it like this:


Several case law examples such as Porter v State show that a common folding knife with a blade under 4" and carried with the blade closed is not considered a concealed weapon, and thus legal. A much more recent case however, F.R. v State 2012, established that weapon/combat oriented features of a folder still make it an illegal concealed weapon. In F.R.'s case, his knife might have been 3", but it also had finger notches, a handguard and a partially serrated blade. Should be noted that F.R. was a 12 year old budding sociopath who threatened to stab his classmate at school because of the color of his shirt. Depending on your karambit's design, if it's clearly a weaponized type, it would likely be illegal to have it concealed. Whereas, if it's actually more like a vinyl cutting knife, it would be legal, because even though it might look similar, a vinyl cutter has an obvious utility use.

A telescoping baton is a "bille" under the law, and thus illegal for concealed carry.

Worth noting is that possessing License to carry concealed weapon or firearm, per 790.06, makes it legal to conceal any weapon, even those above. Thus even if you don't carry a gun it's still worth having. As to what's involved in getting such a license, I am not familiar enough with it, but I would advise looking into it and perhaps talking to an official about the process in more detail.
Click to expand...
Just check out the Dept of Agriculture web site, it's quite easy in FL to get your license. It's all down by the state you don't need to deal with some idiot local sheriff
 
Just an FYI, if you take a hunters safety course (free) it will satisfy the training requirement for the CWFL. However, if you ever plan to own and carry a firearm, I highly encourage you to get some training.
 
You would need a permit to conceal carry it in FL. The law does permit the concealed carry of a "common pocket knife". I wouldn't take my chances of a jury seeing a karambit as "common". Do check the local laws, even with a permit before you venture out. In Fl it is permitted for local ordinances to have more restrictive laws than the state. There is not a Knife Preemption Law on the books. There is one for firearms. So far there hasn't been enough support for it. It's died at least twice in committee.

The process to obtain the permit is fairly easy as many of the tax offices are now a one stop shop to apply. Be sure to bring your training certification, ID,and payment.
 
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