fixed or folder

[Dan_Br]

what are the laws in Md on knife carry?
Can you point me to an understadable link
Thanks

 

[mopar92]

Folder concealed. Fixed open carry only.

Tada!

Check your local ordinances too.

 

[NickZac]

MD knife laws leave a lot of discretion to the enforcement arm. Much of the law is really interpreted by local ordinances and, as a general rule, carrying is only an issue if the person carrying is making trouble. Of course also there are better knives for better occasions, such as how I will take my 2.75 inch Small Sebenza to my office rather than my 4 inch Umnumzaan with a more 'threatening' profile or my fixed Busse Swamp Rat. No single site is going to provide sufficient info, and virtually anything...even a 1.5 inch slipjoint, can constitute a deadly weapon more so due to how it is used versus what is actually is.

I would advise, however, on EDCing a folder over a fixed blade for a variety of reasons, not just legality. ZT and Chris Reeve make folders designed to replace smalled fixed blades, in which the knives use slightly softer steel for greater toughness and ease of field sharpening, have reinforced tips, and use the Reeve Integral Lock, that can withstand throwing, chopping, batoning, hacking, and other things a fixed blade would be used for.

Physical wording is here: http://knife-expert.com/md.txt

Interpretations vary: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/681285-Maryland-knife-laws

 

[Roneut]

The laws on knife carry are codified in Maryland Criminal Code, Title 4-101

Basically, it is illegal to carry a "dangerous weapon" concealed, but it is not illegal to carry anything openly (unless you are unlawfully planning on attacking someone). "Penknives" (all folders of any size) are exempt from the definition of a weapon, and thus are legal to carry concealed or openly as you please except on school property or if prohibited by local county or city ordinance.

There actually is very little left to interpretation on the matter of folding knives. The highest courts of the state have repeatedly ruled that all non-switchblade folders are "penknives" and thus exempt from the carry law, even when the defendant used the penknife to commit murder or aggravated assault. A cop even lost his badge after he wrongfully detained a man for a folder.

Fixed blades are legal if carried openly as stated because the law only restricts concealed. No matter the size, even if it is a sword. Concealed falls into a very peculiar grey area due to the definitions of what fixed blades actually count as "dangerous weapons." The law just says "dirk knife" and "bowie knife," but is not limited to those exact dictionary definitions. Case law suggests that these can be applied to any fixed blade knife, and police are known to make arrests without any criminal intentions evident. However, if the knife is of a utilitarian design and there is no evidence of criminal intentions, the judge will throw the case out (example, State v Hutton 2010).

 

[bshedwick]

I've been looking at this issue a little closer just recently. Does this mean I cannot have my 2" pocket knife on me if I go in my kid's elementary school?

 

[Roneut]

I've been looking at this issue a little closer just recently. Does this mean I cannot have my 2" pocket knife on me if I go in my kid's elementary school?

That's covered under CR 4-102

A person may not carry or possess a firearm, knife, or deadly weapon of any kind on public school property.

Some exceptions do apply: On duty cops, guards hired by the school, and people in an organized and approved educational shooting activity or historical demonstration.

So the answer is yes, you are in violation of not only school policy, but state law if you bring a knife onto the property even if it is a tiny 2" pocket knife.

There is a "however." The case In Re Melanie H, 1997 made the following determination:

Accordingly, we hold that in order to convict a person of carrying or possessing any rifle, gun, or knife on school property under Art. 27, § 36A*, the State must show that the instrument possessed can, under the circumstances of the case, reasonably be considered a deadly weapon. This objective approach is in keeping with the legislative intent to prohibit the possessing and carrying of deadly weapons on public school property and will avoid the regular violation of that statute by students, teachers, and staff who are engaged in the routine performance of their duties at the public schools.

*This is the old designation of 4-102, but it's the same statutory language.

The defendant in the case had a butter knife in her locker, but had not done anything violent and said she used the knife as a prybar when she was at home (she was a child in a group home and the caretakers were locking up the food). The court reversed her conviction, effectively finding her innocent of any wrongdoing. The precedent set was that Maryland, from a state law perspective, is not "zero tolerance," because that would be ridiculous and actually impede normal function of the school. I would point out however this will not affect internal policy of a given school, who can still expel students or serve a trespass on a parent should they actually see a knife.

 

[NickZac]

\
There actually is very little left to interpretation on the matter of folding knives. The highest courts of the state have repeatedly ruled that all non-switchblade folders are "penknives" and thus exempt from the carry law, even when the defendant used the penknife to commit murder or aggravated assault. A cop even lost his badge after he wrongfully detained a man for a folder.

There is a ton of interpretation on what constitutes a deadly or dangerous weapon as well as what constitutes a 'gravity' knife.

Maryland Case Law:
- "'Gravity knife' constituted a dangerous or deadly weapon."
(1964)
- "Pocketknife with the blade already open did not require
any time to open the knife, as one would with a penknife,
contained all the offensive qualities of a switchblade or
gravity knife because it was instantly available for
violent use, and was not a penknife within the statutory
exception." (1990)
- "On the face of the statute, there is no indication
contradicting the view that a penknife is a penknife
whether small or large, whether the blade is closed or
open, whether the blade is locked open or unlocked, and
whether it is carried concealed or openly." (1991)
- "A folding knife without switchblade but with a locking
device... falls within the exception for 'penknives
without switchblade" in this section." (1986)
- " A buck [sic] knife (a knife having a blade which folds
into the handle and which locks into place when open)
carried with the blade open was 'penknife without
switchblade' within statutory exception, and this status
was not altered by knife's blade-locking device or fact
that it was carried with its blade open." (1991)
- "Where defendant's conviction was on the basis that the
utility knife was a dangerous and deadly weapon per se,
but the Court did not consider defendant's intent, the
Court of Appeals reversed the conviction and remanded for
a new trial." (1992)
- "Location of the defendant, including whether he or she is
in a public place or on private property, is simply one
factor for the trier of fact to consider..." (1995)
- "For objects not legislatively classified as dangerous and
deadly per se, the State must prove that the object is
within the class described as any other dangerous or
deadly weapon of any kind." (1992)
- "Where the only evidence presented was that the object
appellant was carrying was a knife over three inches long,
this evidence was insufficient to meet the statutory
requirements of this section." (1992)

The traditional sense of the gravity knife, such as the German Paratrooper's Knife, isn't always used. While something like the Benchmade AXIS is not a gravity knife by traditional definition, ease of 'flicking' it open makes it a not-so-clear-cut area (hence when selling knifes you should tighten the pivot so they cannot be flicked open with one hand).

I am not an attorney and go by what I am given on Blade Forums and other places...has this been replaced by other rulings?

 

[Roneut]

There is a ton of interpretation on what constitutes a deadly or dangerous weapon as well as what constitutes a 'gravity' knife.



The traditional sense of the gravity knife, such as the German Paratrooper's Knife, isn't always used. While something like the Benchmade AXIS is not a gravity knife by traditional definition, ease of 'flicking' it open makes it a not-so-clear-cut area (hence when selling knifes you should tighten the pivot so they cannot be flicked open with one hand).

I am not an attorney and go by what I am given on Blade Forums and other places...has this been replaced by other rulings?

That looks like a copy paste from http://knife-expert.com, much of which is outdated. The first case reference to a gravity knife is from 1964; the laws changed since then, with Mackall v. State effectively overruling it, declaring "Penknives today are commonly considered to encompass any knife with the blade folding into the handle, some very large." The second case from 1990 is simply mentioning them in passing, but also should be noted that case too has also been overturned by Bacon, 1991, which stated even if carried with its blade already open, a folder still falls within the statutory meaning of a penknife and thus is still legal. The remaining cases do not seem to leave any sort of "interpretation" about what folders are legal what are not, indeed most of them are positive towards specifying all folders as legal. I should probably point out, most of the posts from BladeForums about Maryland were actually written by me .

 

[NickZac]

That looks like a copy paste from http://knife-expert.com, much of which is outdated. The first case reference to a gravity knife is from 1964; the laws changed since then, with Mackall v. State effectively overruling it, declaring "Penknives today are commonly considered to encompass any knife with the blade folding into the handle, some very large." The second case from 1990 is simply mentioning them in passing, but also should be noted that case too has also been overturned by Bacon, 1991, which stated even if carried with its blade already open, a folder still falls within the statutory meaning of a penknife and thus is still legal. The remaining cases do not seem to leave any sort of "interpretation" about what folders are legal what are not, indeed most of them are positive towards specifying all folders as legal. I should probably point out, most of the posts from BladeForums about Maryland were actually written by me .

Correct, it was a reference directly from them. I've noticed it hasn't been updated in a while.

Would you consider writing something that could be a 'sticky' on MD knife laws? Many different sources say different things.

So has it reached a point in which there is no longer any worry about a standard folding blade, regardless of lock mechanism used, being considered a gravity knife?

 

[Roneut]

Would you consider writing something that could be a 'sticky' on MD knife laws? Many different sources say different things.

So has it reached a point in which there is no longer any worry about a standard folding blade, regardless of lock mechanism used, being considered a gravity knife?

Sure I could draft something up. Let me know how I would submit that.

Regarding gravity knives, you will notice that the current statutes make no mention of them anywhere.

 

[Dan_Br]

Folder concealed. Fixed open carry only.

Tada!

Check your local ordinances too.

thanks, by open carry I guess that means in a sheath that is visible on your side.
Now how about a fixed karambit? They are sometimes sharpened on both sides, does that make it illegal?
I am getting a folding fox karambit, but was wondering about fixed

Dan

 

[Roneut]

thanks, by open carry I guess that means in a sheath that is visible on your side.
Now how about a fixed karambit? They are sometimes sharpened on both sides, does that make it illegal?
I am getting a folding fox karambit, but was wondering about fixed

Dan

If it folds into its handle and its not a true switchblade, it's legal. Period. Design or number of edges is irrelevant. If it doesn't fold, it's a grey area, so open carry is the only guarantee of legality. Keep in mind that everything except a handgun is legal for open carry. Period. It is only your actions that would make it illegal, not the object itself.

 

[Angus]

most court houses and state buildings prohibit them. Md prohibits the carring of star knives and butterfly knives can be considered like switch blades in most cities. There is a good book written in 2006 by David Wong called knife laws of the fifty states, Unfortunatly is has become outdated. Iknow that tennessee considers butterfly knives as switch blades. I was informed of that by a deputy sheriff in knoxville but he let me keep my knife because I was from maryland and worked for a sheriffs office in maryland.

 

[Dan_Br]

Thanks
dan