On 10/16/2014 2:28 PM, RH Hutchins wrote:
> Which leads to an assumption that virtually everyone here carries a 
> pocket knife of some sort. 


I used to.  I always carried a SOG lock blade.  A few years ago I did 
some research on a case across nation wide state & federal court 
opinions and discovered  something that blew the myths about knives and 
carrying that I had entertained, all to pieces.

Especially as it regards  fixed or lockable blades and blade length and 
deadly weapon status as seen by the courts, and what kinds of knives 
have been held by courts both federal and state to be deadly weapons and 
therefore unlawful to just be wandering around with.

I learned that  (absent clear state statutes to the contrary)  any fixed 
or lockable blade no matter the length  is per se a deadly weapon and 
unless one has a business or recreational purpose like a job or going 
fishin' well - - -  then having it on one's person constitutes 
possession of a deadly weapon and one can be charged criminally.
is 4"  a limit?  Nope, not unless your state has a 4" law.   None of the 
three states where I'm licensed do. None of the states I surveyed did 
either.