Southern California Knife Laws for minors?

[Revolve]

Hi, this is my first time posting on this forum.

I've been looking to carry around a small knife, as I've noticed having a knife at times would help make a lot of the volunteer work/activities I do much easier. I've been doing a little bit of research, and I think a folding knife would be the best for me. However, I'm more worried about the laws. From my research, I think as long as the blade is under 3 inches, I should be fine. However, I was just curious about the more specific laws for my area, mainly orange county/irvine.

I definitely wouldn't carry it to school, but I was wondering if it was a bad idea to just have it on my person for my other activities. Thanks!

 

[Jesse B.]

(Take this with a grain of salt, as I'm not an authority--just a guy who has spent some time researching knife laws, particularly in California.)

- I'm not aware of any carry or ownership restrictions specific to minors in California. Under certain circumstances (store policies, local regulations, etc.) physical stores might not sell knives directly to minors, however.
- As long as you obey state law, you should be good to go in Orange County/Irvine. I couldn't find any anti-knife laws on a countywide or citywide basis for those regions. However...
- If for instance you traveled into Los Angeles county, it would be illegal for you to openly carry a knife with a blade longer than 3 inches (unless it was "for use in a lawful occupation or for the purpose of lawful recreation" or as part of a "recognized religious practice").

Between the wording of the laws and the different local rules from place to place, you can see how this stuff can get confusing.

It sounds like you're on the right track, but my last word of advice would just be to err on the side of caution. In urban/suburban areas in particular, I would stick to smaller knives like you mentioned, and stay away from assisted-opening mechanisms--which could be mistaken for switchblades. My 2 cents.

 

[Revolve]

(Take this with a grain of salt, as I'm not an authority--just a guy who has spent some time researching knife laws, particularly in California.)

- I'm not aware of any carry or ownership restrictions specific to minors in California. Under certain circumstances (store policies, local regulations, etc.) physical stores might not sell knives directly to minors, however.
- As long as you obey state law, you should be good to go in Orange County/Irvine. I couldn't find any anti-knife laws on a countywide or citywide basis for those regions. However...
- If for instance you traveled into Los Angeles county, it would be illegal for you to openly carry a knife with a blade longer than 3 inches (unless it was "for use in a lawful occupation or for the purpose of lawful recreation" or as part of a "recognized religious practice").

Between the wording of the laws and the different local rules from place to place, you can see how this stuff can get confusing.

It sounds like you're on the right track, but my last word of advice would just be to err on the side of caution. In urban/suburban areas in particular, I would stick to smaller knives like you mentioned, and stay away from assisted-opening mechanisms--which could be mistaken for switchblades. My 2 cents.

Yeah, my plan was to just get a simple folding knife. Thank you!

 

[Enkrig]

**This is not legal advice** but when I'm concerned with knife laws/restrictions, I always go for a non-locking SAK (Swiss Army Knife; e.g., from Victorinox) carried deep in the pocket. I've *used* one in NYC and several places I've traveled in Europe and never had any problems.