Kansas Blade Law Question (Sword, actually)

[Cheshire Delusion]

First I shall quote the article which states illegal blades...

Kansas - Article 42. Crimes Against the Public Safety;
Weapons Control. Section 21-4201. Criminal use of weapons
is knowingly...
(1) [Omitted from quote as it does not pertain to question]
(2) carrying concealed on one's person, or possessing the
same with intent to use unlawfully against another, a
dagger, dirk... dangerous knife, straight-edged razor,
stiletto, or any other dangerous or deadly weapon or
instrument of like character, except that an ordinary
pocket knife with no blade more than four inches in length
shall not be construed to be a dangerous knife, or a
dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument...

Now my question is... Would it be illegal, to wear at ones hip or back in plain view while in sheath (or even out of one) here in Kansas?

I ask this question because it does say CONCEALED in article two there... I also ask because a friend of mine who's father is a police officer says that fixed-blades are illegal in Kansas (or maybe it's in the area I'm in...) [which includes swords of all types, so he says], so would it be the case for the two swords that I own? (Ones 52" without a sheath, the other is 68" with a sheath)

I thank whoever reads this for their time.

 

[Watchful]

I'll go out on a bit of a limb here, because the Kansas wording looks pretty similar to many states' wording.

Swords in most areas are in and of themselves legal to own. But note the word "intent" when it comes to carrying.

If you elect to wear a sword on your back, you need to have a good reason to do so: you're part of a demonstration, or you're participating in a class or obvious training session at that very moment. Or you're using it as a tool at that very moment: cutting brush or something understandable to a person walking by.

If you're carrying for self-defense, that generally doesn't hold up because it tells the world you're expecting trouble and therefore you consider the sword a weapon--ergo, illegal to carry a weapon. If you're carrying a sword around because it looks cool, that won't do either: it will likely be viewed as an attempt to intimidate, in which case you know it looks lethal and therefore is likely a weapon... and so on... and you're back where you were.

Incidentally, this has nothing to do with swords: you could carry a sharp stick on your back and the same principles would apply.

Unless anyone corrects this or refines my answer, that's probably the simplest explanation.

 

[Cheshire Delusion]

This answer works for me. The reason I was asking was because a few friends of mine and myself we going to do a mock battle to entertain a few people (though I'm sure wooden swords would work better for mock fights) in our social club and community. I would assume that this goes on with demonstration part and hopefully be legal. I could always talk to local law enforcement to let them know whats going on as well.

 

[Watchful]

...a few friends of mine and myself we going to do a mock battle to entertain a few people (though I'm sure wooden swords would work better for mock fights) in our social club and community. I would assume that this goes on with demonstration part and hopefully be legal.

Sure sounds like it. If you're wearing the sword purely in the context of the demonstration, you're almost certainly fine. I wouldn't wear it down the street, but would carry it in a vehicle trunk until arrival.

I could always talk to local law enforcement to let them know whats going on as well.

That's probably more work than is really necessary. It wouldn't hurt to do it, but I can't imagine that people passing by would look at that and think "Oh my word--a real battle!" In other words, it'd be hard to imagine someone calling the police on that. And if the police do arrive, they'll probably be very interested in the history and accuracy of your demo, than worried about whether one of you is actually a homicidal maniac.