Knife Sizes allowed to carry in NJ..?

[Wavester]

I have lived in NJ almost my whole life. I have collected and carried knives almost 1/2 my life, never had any problems
with anyone saying this or that is illegal. I had been always told that if you put the blade across your palm, if the blade
doesn't exceed the palm length, then if you were pulled over for any reason by law enforcement, you were ok. Now whether
that is true or not I don't know but it was always words I lived by.

So my g-friend gets into an accident the other day (by herself) - and since she was coming from having drink with friends she got
herself into a little bit of trouble. An officer started going thru her purse - and she had some of my knives in there, the
biggest being a Boker Rhino, which has a 3 in blade. She told me the officer started taking the knives out of her purse
and said she shouldn't be having these and just took them. She also had an collapsible baton in the car I gave her YEARS ago and they
took that as well, saying its illegal.

Now, I looked up Legal knife sizes in NJ, and another forum discussing this mentioned this "...The law doesn't use a size or length for knives. NJ law focuses on the legitimacy of carrying it at a specific time or place. In other words, if you can justify having or carrying that particular knife, you're okay, if not, problems. Jersey itself has some problems with some of their weapons laws..."

So please enlighten me - was the police right in taking those items - and if so, am I legally allowed to get them back..?

JB

 

[jlubas]

While the knives may not have necessarily been illegal having them on her while in commission of another crime never helps your case. While it may have been wrong for the officer to take them I can't imagine you having much luck to get them back, not unless he gave her some sort of property receipt for them.
Now the collapsible baton that is illegal. If the rhino was the most expensive knive you lost I would let it go and be more careful next time. Count your blessings he just took the knives and didn't arrest her for the baton.

Best regards

 

[Havana D]

Twice, I've seen in Blade magazine, an article written by Judge, and knife maker Lowell Bray, regarding knife laws.
In it, he says that N.J. law is a 5" blade, 10" overall length.
Has the law changed? I have no idea, but i do know that i had a Benchmade 710 was taken from me, because of the blade length.
When i said to the officer that state law says differently, he said; No, that I was wrong, and that even if so, local ordinance calls for a smaller blade length. And i wasn't given a property receipt either.

 

[Wavester]

Twice, I've seen in Blade magazine, an article written by Judge, and knife maker Lowell Bray, regarding knife laws.
In it, he says that N.J. law is a 5" blade, 10" overall length.
Has the law changed? I have no idea, but i do know that i had a Benchmade 710 was taken from me, because of the blade length.
When i said to the officer that state law says differently, he said; No, that I was wrong, and that even if so, local ordinance calls for a smaller blade length. And i wasn't given a property receipt either.

So I am assuming you did not get it back..?

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Those officers were thieves, period, no procedure, just confiscation. Not right, but if their department backs them, it can be hard to recover the property.

NJ law forbids selling a minor a knife with a 5" blade, 10" overall length. Adults can carry what they want with minimum justification. A machete under your jacket in a biker bar isn't the best idea.

That old line about if you put the blade across your palm, and it doesn't exceed the palm length, then you are OK -- not true. How can they write a law that varies with the size of everyone's palm? That's just to give the police a rough way to measure about 4".

 

[Havana D]

So I am assuming you did not get it back..?

Nope.

That old line about if you put the blade across your palm, and it doesn't exceed the palm length, then you are OK -- not true. How can they write a law that varies with the size of everyone's palm? That's just to give the police a rough way to measure about 4".

Esav, i said this to a woman working at Newark airport. She didn't want to hear anything i had to say, even when i showed her it wasn't longer than my palm, that her interpretation is subjective, it didn't matter.
So, off i ran to the car, put the knife away, so i could see my mother off on her trip.

 

[jwblack911]

i have also read that 5" blade 10" overall. and i have also heard you need a decent reason to carry

i have been searched 3 times for random things between work and accidentally bringing a knife to a club all three times if you are respectful and courteous the searches end with "where did you say i can get one of these"

one thing i do know is usually any drinking + knife = weapon :/ even though i have never been one to start fights if i get hit while at a bar and have a knife in my pocket and the police come i can get in trouble.


all in all i say write this lesson off as a loss and its a perfect time to upgrade

 

[NMpops]

Born & raised in Jersey, haven't lived there in over 30 years but go back every 2 years or so to see family. When I do I carry a SAK Spartan or a medium Case Stockman and never worry. That's what I usually carry anyway.

 

[SideTracked]

I've heard of the 5" blade 10" oal length as well here in Jerz. But.... I've also heard that all of that means nothing if you're carrying in the wrong place at the wrong time. IE; carrying a bk16 while walking around the mall vs. carrying a bk16 while hiking in the woods.

I've always made it a point to be extra courteous and respectful when dealing with officers and to date, (knock on wood) I've yet to have a problem.

 

[glistam]

Geez does anyone actually bother looking the law up these days?

The 5" blade, 10" overall is for sale to minors. The whole law reads thus:

2C:39-9.1. Sale of knives to minors; crime of the fourth degree; exceptions
A person who sells any hunting, fishing, combat or survival knife having a blade length of five inches or more or an overall length of 10 inches or more to a person under 18 years of age commits a crime of the fourth degree; except that the establishment by a preponderance of the evidence of all of the following facts by a person making the sale shall constitute an affirmative defense to any prosecution therefor: a. that the purchaser falsely represented his age by producing a driver's license bearing a photograph of the licensee, or by producing a photographic identification card issued pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1980, c. 47 (C.39:3-29.3), or by producing a similar card purporting to be a valid identification card indicating that he was 18 years of age or older, and b. that the appearance of the purchaser was such that an ordinary prudent person would believe him to be 18 years of age or older, and c. that the sale was made in good faith relying upon the indicators of age listed in a. and b. above.

This law is utterly irrelevant to the matter of carry. NJ actually does not have any laws on "carry," just possession. If the knife is one you can lawfully possess, you can also carry it. However, the restrictions on what can be lawfully possessed are more restrictive than most state's possession restrictions.

2C:39-3. Prohibited weapons and devices
...
e.Certain weapons. Any person who knowingly has in his possession any gravity knife, switchblade knife, dagger, dirk, stiletto, billy, blackjack, metal knuckle, sandclub, slingshot, cestus or similar leather band studded with metal filings or razor blades imbedded in wood, ballistic knife, without any explainable lawful purpose, is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.

A baton is a "billy." So already that is a violation.

A detailed write-up of how NJ law works, including important case law that clarifies the meaning of certain provisions, can be found here:
http://www.knifeup.com/new-jersey-knife-laws/

Be advised that all of this information is for the state. It is entirely possible for local counties and cities to have tighter, more restrictive laws on knife carry which may explain some of the anecdotes offered here. Also be advised that the palm measuring thing is 100% fiction; no such law exists anywhere in the entire world except maybe some strange far off place where the laws are still stuck in the 16th century. All laws of the US (federal, state or local) use measurement in inches or use a non-measurement based criteria to determine legality. The occurrence of security personnel and sworn police officers claiming it is the law does not in any way make it true, but rather indicates the training of said person is lacking or they are lying for unlawful ulterior motives.

 

[OnePlusTwoEqualsOne]

While the knives may not have necessarily been illegal having them on her while in commission of another crime never helps your case. While it may have been wrong for the officer to take them I can't imagine you having much luck to get them back, not unless he gave her some sort of property receipt for them.
Now the collapsible baton that is illegal. If the rhino was the most expensive knive you lost I would let it go and be more careful next time. Count your blessings he just took the knives and didn't arrest her for the baton.

Best regards

Get real dude. He didn't

While the knives may not have necessarily been illegal having them on her while in commission of another crime never helps your case. While it may have been wrong for the officer to take them I can't imagine you having much luck to get them back, not unless he gave her some sort of property receipt for them.
Now the collapsible baton that is illegal. If the rhino was the most expensive knive you lost I would let it go and be more careful next time. Count your blessings he just took the knives and didn't arrest her for the baton.

Best regards

Get real. The officer didn't,t merely take or even confiscate them. He STOLE them. And that's crap...let it go and be more careful. The knives had NOTHING TO DO with the crime at hand. They are not illegal to have in the first place, How about we take her golf cleats from the truck too...they're sharp...hell the clubs too. A citizen should NEVER feel sheep[ish about asking ands demanding to get their rightful property back from law enforcement. I have heard plenty of stories of Uncle So-And-So showing up at Christmas with all sorts of hand out gifts to relatives, stuff that never made it to the evidence locker. You can bet that officer...unles he booked the property, made a knife guy or himself very happy with your hard earned steel.

As for me, I got detained one night--not even booked or read my rights--and they emptied my pockets. I had two gemstone cabochons--one an awesome green quartz cats-eye-- n the little "drug pocket--rihjt-front of jeans--did they book them? No. Did they ask me what they were and then make remarks about how they would love to have them etc? Yes. Did I ever see them again? No. They were stolen. Cop prob gave them to his little daughter who then promptly lost them I'm sure.Should I have "been more careful? Unfortunately that night was the night I learned my lessons about this stuff...For the record I was released w/no charges...

Get real everybody.

 

[sheep herder]

Get real dude. He didn't

Get real. The officer didn't,t merely take or even confiscate them. He STOLE them. And that's crap...let it go and be more careful. The knives had NOTHING TO DO with the crime at hand. They are not illegal to have in the first place, How about we take her golf cleats from the truck too...they're sharp...hell the clubs too. A citizen should NEVER feel sheep[ish about asking ands demanding to get their rightful property back from law enforcement. I have heard plenty of stories of Uncle So-And-So showing up at Christmas with all sorts of hand out gifts to relatives, stuff that never made it to the evidence locker. You can bet that officer...unles he booked the property, made a knife guy or himself very happy with your hard earned steel.

As for me, I got detained one night--not even booked or read my rights--and they emptied my pockets. I had two gemstone cabochons--one an awesome green quartz cats-eye-- n the little "drug pocket--rihjt-front of jeans--did they book them? No. Did they ask me what they were and then make remarks about how they would love to have them etc? Yes. Did I ever see them again? No. They were stolen. Cop prob gave them to his little daughter who then promptly lost them I'm sure.Should I have "been more careful? Unfortunately that night was the night I learned my lessons about this stuff...For the record I was released w/no charges...

Get real everybody.

This thread is almost 8 years old. You need to "get real". Whatever that means.

 

[OnePlusTwoEqualsOne]

This thread is almost 8 years old. You need to "get real". Whatever that means.

Yeah I know, I see that. Nothing personal...just venting a gripe,,,not even sure how I care across it...I was searching for legal carry lengths in NJ. Again no offense,,,that was more rhetorical than anything else. Take it easy.