Open carry of a knife in Florida, doing some digging and this is what I found:

A

Accord

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Apr 2, 2006
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Before posting this and beginning my research, I did a search here on BladeForums.com and read every single thread on here in regards to Florida law and found a lot of conflicting information, everything from one person say it's legal to open carry a full size Ka-Bar to another person saying it's illegal to open carry anything over 3.5 inches. I am clueless as to whether it's legal to OPEN carry a foldable knife on your belt or not so I did a little bit of digging.

I looked up state statute 790.053 which explains everything about open carry, however it only mentions firearms and non-lethal tasers and stun guns, it says nothing about the open carry of knives.

I then called up my local police department's NON-emergency line and spoke with someone there, and he confirmed my worst fears and said he wasn't sure... if he's not sure, then officers on the street probably won't be sure either and it would really suck to be arrested and whatnot for not doing anything wrong. He said the old fashioned way they used to do it was if you held out 4 fingers and the blade was longer than the width of all 4 fingers then it was illegal and you would be arrested, but if it was shorter than your 4 fingers you're good to go. I told him that I don't want to be arrested because of a misunderstanding in the law and he told me to call FDLE.

So I just got off the phone with FDLE. I asked them if it was legal to open carry a foldable knife on your belt and the woman I spoke with said that it was legal as long as the blade was under 4 inches. I asked if there were any statutes or anything I could look at and print out to confirm this and she recommended I go to MyFlorida.com and look at the laws on the books and I explained how I was already there and that there was nothing on there in regards to blade length or the open carry of knives. She told me to call back tomorrow before 5pm and ask for the FDLE legal department and they will point me in the right direction.

So i'm going to call the FDLE legal department tomorrow and will definitely update you guys on what I find.
 
The reason knives are not mentioned under the open carry statute is that it's not illegal to openly carry a knife under FL law. (regardless of locking mechanism or length)

Knives ARE mentioned under the CONCEALED carry statutes, speficially to say that a "common pocketknife" is not considered a weapon and does not require a concealed weapon permit for concealed carry. When tasked with defining a "common pocketknife" the state has stuck with a 4" or shorter blade in most cases but there is no length specified anywhere under FL law for any purpose.

The 4" "rule" has nothing to do with fixed blades, or open carry..

Unfortunately, the state has not claimed total control of knife laws (unlike firearms for the most part) and local laws MAY vary from state laws. I haven't found any such local law, and they'd likely be in conflict with the state constitution anyway.
 
I'm a fish farmer.
My knives are daily tools and I carry them wherever I may be.
Concealed ? Sure.. If it's raining..

If a former hall monitor with a badge harasses me over a knife I damn sure have better done seriously wrong or the charge will not just be " illegal knife" but shall include assault on a police officer.( fists, not blades, I'm not entirely stupid)

Today, when I go to the striper farm, I'll be wearing a machete on my belt ( cane grass is too tall) and carry it into the gas station and the feed store with me , on my way to the farm.
Most of these good ole guys are reasonable enough to know what's up.. some rookie may have another idea for attaining his brownie points.

Time will tell.
 
Yeah I have found that many law enforcement officers make up the laws concerning guns and knives as they go along and often don't know the real truth. They can't restrict open carry of fixed blade knives that much because it impedes many "legit" activities, mainly hunting and fishing. Most filet knives are well over some mythical 4" rule. Now carrying inside buildings and such would depend on where you live.
 
Knives that are fixed or folders that are open carried are considered to be tools and not under any statute.

If you use them in threatening manner in other wise non self defense sitution then you would be in trouble.

If you bring them into a police station or bar or school then your asking for trouble.

If you carry a fixed blade or a folder over 4 inches or an automatic then you need a cwp to be legal.

I open carry a 5in or 7in blade on a daily basis and never had any difficulties in either Brevard, Indian River, Saint Lucie, Martin, Volusia or Osceola counties.

My suggestion do what I did:

Talk directly to the states attorney office of the jurisdiction since they would be the ones prosecuting and have them point out the specific statute if they say its illegal.

I spoke with Indian River and they said open carry was generally legal for a fixed blade as they could not find a prosecutable statute for mere possesion ---only for using in threating manner.

Also try the book by Gutmacher.

The conflicts come on here when:

open vs concealed

person with cwp vs non cwp

fixed vs folding

police view--ie call on phone vs actual view--talk to states attorney

bottom line--talk to SA and get it from horses mouth -they are the prosecutors
 
While I was in Florida, I carried two folders, one with a 7" blade, and the other with about 3" Who knows if it was legal, but I read every statute regarding knives and found no blade length limit.
 
I also recommend Jon Gutmacher's book.

And getting a CWP.. after which, none of this guesswork will matter.

As far as concealment goes, according to the FLORIDA SUPREME COURT:

A common pocketknife is not a weapon when it is a folding knife with a blade of less than four inches, unless it has significant features normally reserved for a fighting knife. They have also noted that there may be some instances where a folding blade of more than four inches may not be considered a weapon, but I don't know what instances they had in mind.
 
Here is a followup to my original post:

I just spoke with Mr. Steve Hurm who is a Regional Legal Advisor for the FDLE and he said that there is NOTHING on the Florida state statutes against the open carry of a pocket knife and therefore you CANNOT be prosecuted, however that doesn't mean you won't be hassled or a cop who may not know the exact law won't arrest you or anything, but the important thing is that you cannot be prosecuted. He cited a 1951 opinion by the attorney general and also a Florida supreme court ruling which stated that a "common pocket knife" was any knife under 4 inches and according to Florida law a "common pocket knife" is NOT a weapon and therefore there is no law against being able to open carry it.

Mr. Hurm was very gracious, answered all of my questions, and even did some research right there with me on the phone. He gave me the phone number of his direct line at his office should I have any followup questions.
 
Gringogunsmith said:
I'm a fish farmer.
My knives are daily tools and I carry them wherever I may be.
Concealed ? Sure.. If it's raining..

If a former hall monitor with a badge harasses me over a knife I damn sure have better done seriously wrong or the charge will not just be " illegal knife" but shall include assault on a police officer.( fists, not blades, I'm not entirely stupid)

Today, when I go to the striper farm, I'll be wearing a machete on my belt ( cane grass is too tall) and carry it into the gas station and the feed store with me , on my way to the farm.
Most of these good ole guys are reasonable enough to know what's up.. some rookie may have another idea for attaining his brownie points.

Time will tell.
Click to expand...
Don't you "alpha male" personalitites ever get tired of this sort of silly posturing?
 
Menocu said:
A common pocketknife is not a weapon when it is a folding knife with a blade of less than four inches, unless it has significant features normally reserved for a fighting knife.
Click to expand...
What features are considered "knife fighting" features?
 
Accord said:
What features are considered "knife fighting" features?
Click to expand...

The feature that turned a FL man's folding blade of less than four inches into a weapon was a "large handguard, more commonly associated with hunting or combat knives than with common pocketknives." I have no idea what model the knife in question was, though.
 
I live in Florida and all this interests me, still I wonder...

Why doesn't a folder in your pocket (with clip showing) count as concealed?

What if your shirt is untucked and it barely shows?
 
IANAL, but I think the criteria is that if a reasonable person can identify it as a knife, it's open carry. Shirt covers it, and it's concealed. However, if it falls under the "common pocketknife" criteria, it's a moot point, as a common pocketknife is not a weapon and hence it does not matter whether it's concealed or not, as long as it isn't used in a threatening manner.

Now, whether it's concealed or not, putting your hand on it or doing anything that could be construed as "reaching for something" can count as assault, if not aggravated assault. CWP or not, "common pocketknife" or not, it becomes a weapon used in a threatening manner. Watch what you say, how you say it, and your body language and you should be okay. If someone asks if you were putting your hand on a knife, say no, you were putting your hand in your pocket (FYI, it's best to keep your hands visible as a CYA tactic whether you're armed or not.) Don't in any way imply that you are willing to use a knife as a weapon unless you're ready to do so and face the consequences... and be careful about letting someone come to that conclusion on their own, as that can still be used against you.
 
So much misinformation in this thread...
 
It is amazing to me that the "hand width" test is still believed to be the gold standard. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I would love to see the ruling on that one.

"So, Officer X, this knife exceeded your hand width?" Yes

"So, Officer X, does this knife exceed the width of Officer Y's hand" No

"Hmmmm................move to dismiss your Honour"

Gotta love the wives tales...:cool:
 
OrangeJoe said:
I'm also awaiting FusionZ's reply. Then he will have TWO posts.
LOL
Click to expand...

Ask me questions and I will answer them to the best of my ability...

Actually after re-reading this thread there is some truth.
 
I live in Florida and have carried blades for quite a while. This includes pocket knifes and fixed blades. As far as I can tell and I have inquired with friends that are police officers. You can carry a knife that is less than 4" and you are within the statue of the law. If it is a fixed blade or not it will not matter as long as it is 4" or less. Now for you to carry a larger length blade you will have to be in an outdoor environment like fishing, camping, hunting, etc. I have carried 7" blades while fishing and hunting and it has not been a problem. If you want to carry a blade longer than 4" in a public / private facility you are allowed with a conceal weapon's "W" permit. That implies to strictly "conceal". Now if you have a conceal weapons permit you know the regulations concerning the carry of conceal weapons. If you decide to push the limits of the law and walk into your local grocery store with a 7" fixed blade exposed. It will be the interpretation of the law enforcement officer to find out what your intentions where. He can confiscate it, ask you to secure it in your car, or take stricter measures against you. I saw a man walking in a public parking lot with a machete and the cops stopped him. He was asked to leave it in his car. The man complied and no further incident occurred. It is up to the officer of the law to decide what action he will take against you for anything over 4”. That is what I have experience and seen first hand.
 
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