I can buy a pocket knife in NYC if I'm not an American citizen?

[Miguel Cotes]

I plan to visit the United States (nyc) this September and I was wondering if I can specifically buy a victorinox camper and an opinel n8. I do not plan to carry with them on my stay, just buy and keep immediately in my backpack.

 

[cheesemaster]

I assume you mean buy them here? You'll have no problem buying those knives if you can find them. Regardless of the letter of the law, I'd think hard about whether you really need to carry something as big as the opinel. The police have a lot of discretion on what they can choose to hassle you for and unless you have a job or something that really requires it, you might be asking for trouble. I might even choose something smaller for the victorinox. There's a lot written on NYC issues in these forums, but the the quick take is: "Do not have your knife visible at any time in public."

 

[stabman]

Sounds to me like the OP just wants to buy the knives, putting them still packaged into his backpack.

That is called shopping, and is 100% okay in NYC.

For carry, a small slip-joint that stays out of sight in a pocket is safe.

 

[campandtravel]

Yeah OP did you have any trouble? Seriously it shouldn't be any problem if they're packaged, and no you don't have to be a citizen to spend money here.

 

[Mo2]

The problem might be when taking them out of the country on an airplane. You'll have to check them in so they dont get confiscated by security and hopefully none of them get stolen by airport employees afterwards.

Other than certain types of knives its easy to purchase them in knife shops or gun shops without any id or anything.

 

[Bad Ninja]

You can buy anything that's legally sold.
As long as you are an adult, no one cares if you are a citizen or not.
No one will ask.
That said,...
NY is one of the worst places in the US to shop for knives.

Edit**
Just saw the date of the OP.