Knives in the Post Office

Josh K

Josh K

Joined
Sep 29, 2008
Messages
10,394
Can I carry a knife into a post office? Just a small (<4") folder clipped in pocket. I'm only asking because I seem to recall a law limiting knives to 2" inside federal buildings, but I'm not sure.
 
Keep it in your pocket, no one will know it's there, no harm, no foul.

In my career with the Postal Service, I needed a knife on the work floor day after day. We even had knives issued to cut open bundles of mail and plastic-wrapped pallets.

The law exists to assist in prosecuting people who misuse them to threaten or harm others on Federal property.
 
Actually it's 2.5" inches (the blade that is) but yes if your just a patron and you don't have it visible, nobody's going to know in the brief time you go in and out.
 
The "official warning" in my area's post office specifies that no person shall carry or possess firearms, "other dangerous weapons" or explosives while on Post Office property except for official purposes. There you have it: a knife is ALWAYS a tool, NOT a weapon.
Again, moot point. The most time that I have ever spent in any Post Office was 15 minutes. Yes, a 4" folder was riding concealed in my pocket.
 
15 minutes! Come to Chicago where there's a PO which is an entire city block, and usually staffed by just one person with about 30-40 people in line!
 
schluterc said:
15 minutes! Come to Chicago where there's a PO which is an entire city block, and usually staffed by just one person with about 30-40 people in line!
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I feel for you big-city people. I live in Dracut, MA. Population: 32,000. The closest city is Lowell. Population: 119,000. Boston (about 550,000) is about 26 miles due south via Interstate 93. Dracut does not have a local ordinance banning knives over a certain blade length. We simply follow the regular Massachusetts law. Boston, along with most of the North Shore communities adjacent to it, have local ordinances that outlaw the carrying of knives with blades longer than 2.5". The city of Lowell is trying to pass similar legislation, while Lawrence (about 9 miles to the east) passed an anti-knife ordinance similar to Boston's (2.5" maximum allowed for carry) back in 2008. I just hope that Dracut doesn't decide to partake in this foolishness.
 
TOM1960 said:
I feel for you big-city people. I live in Dracut, MA. Population: 32,000. The closest city is Lowell. Population: 119,000. Boston (about 550,000) is about 26 miles due south via Interstate 93. Dracut does not have a local ordinance banning knives over a certain blade length. We simply follow the regular Massachusetts law. Boston, along with most of the North Shore communities adjacent to it, have local ordinances that outlaw the carrying of knives with blades longer than 2.5". The city of Lowell is trying to pass similar legislation, while Lawrence (about 9 miles to the east) passed an anti-knife ordinance similar to Boston's (2.5" maximum allowed for carry) back in 2008. I just hope that Dracut doesn't decide to partake in this foolishness.
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Just a quick clarification for other readers: The 2.5" limit is federal, not state. It applies to federal property and facilities, including post offices. Outside these facilities, you local laws apply as normal.
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i often show a friend of mine who works in the post office some of the knives i sharpen before taping the box shut and shipping it out. he has shaved hair and sliced paper a few times. i have even showed them to the postmaster.
 
I routinely open-carry folders and even fixed-blade knives into my post office, and haven't had a problem yet. I suspect that, as with most local ordinances on knives, the law is there only as a means for hassling people who are already giving them a good reason to hassle them.
 
I was just at the post office. There was a worker (not clerk) walking around in the back area, and I saw quite clearly, clipped to the outside of his belt, a Benchmade 635. And unless the light was wrong or my eyes were deceiving me, it was one of the limited editions with gold colored hardware. I was simultaneously impressed to see such a nice knife, but worried that the knife would get banged up or lost just hanging off his belt.

Somehow, I doubt very many people are aware of the 2.5" rule, and as long as you keep it in your pocket, I wouldn't worry about having a larger knife. Just don't whip it out. That's why I'm glad my SAK or my Leatherman Squirt have small blades, so if I need to use it in such a place, I have a small blade to use that doesn't freak people out
 
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