FL. knife laws.

[spookboy]

I know posts are supposed to be firearms related, but in all respect people like myself who DONT have a ccw permit, usually carry a blade or tac folder. What is state law, on legnth, visibility and auto knives(switchblades). It is to my understanding that one inch of the knife must be visible,as to not make it concealed.Thats why the pocket clip is one and a half inches. If someone can clarify this it would be appreciated

[Stainless]

(13) "Weapon" means any dirk, knife, metallic knuckles, slungshot, billie, tear gas gun, chemical weapon or device, or other deadly weapon except a firearm or a common pocketknife, plastic knife, or blunt-bladed table knife.

(1) It is unlawful for any person to manufacture, display, sell, own, possess, or use a ballistic self-propelled knife which is a device that propels a knifelike blade as a projectile and which physically separates the blade from the device by means of a coil spring, elastic material, or compressed gas. A ballistic self-propelled knife is declared to be a dangerous or deadly weapon and a contraband item. It shall be subject to seizure and shall be disposed of as provided in s. 790.08(1) and (6).



There is no definition given to what common pocketknife means but:

In 1997, the Florida Supreme Court interpreted the meaning of the "common pocketknife" exception for the first time. In L. B. v. State, 700 So. 2d 370, 373 (per curiam), the court determined that a pocketknife with a blade of 3¾ inches "plainly falls within the statutory exception to the definition of `weapon' found in section 790.001(13)." The complete analysis of the Florida Supreme Court on this issue was as follows: "In 1951, the Attorney General of Florida opined that a pocketknife with a blade of four inches in length or less was a `common pocketknife.' The knife appellant carried, which had a 3¾-inch blade, clearly fell within this range." Ibid. (citation omitted). The Florida Supreme Court accordingly vacated the conviction in L. B. because the "knife in question was a `common pocketknife' under any intended definition of that term." Ibid. Justice Grimes, joined by Justice Wells, wrote an opinion agreeing with the majority's resolution of the case "[i]n view of the Attorney General's opinion and the absence of a more definitive description of a common pocketknife." Ibid.