help with knife laws WA state! what falls under the term "gravity opened knife"

[tenaciousj]

so i live in WA state and am confused by the vauge law that prohibits "gravity opened knives" and such. as everyone on this forum knows, any modern folding knife can be opened using some variation of a "downward wrist flicking motion" including every spyderco ever made to even the most innocent swiss army knife. i've read the WA state law as it is reproduced online but im wondering if there is anyone out there that has practical experience with such laws either from law enforcement or cilvillian perspectives. i am really hoping that knives as practical and useful as the delica cant reasonably be considered a deadly weapon

thank you

[The Deacon]

Washington does consider balisongs to be gravity knives. That's a fact, the rest of this is just my opinion.

I think there would probably be a warning sticky somewhere on these forums if there was a genuine issue with the police in Washington state routinely arresting "solid citizens" carrying Spyderco folders and charging them with carrying a gravity knife. Hell, even if it only happened once in a blue moon it would be all over the forums. If it routinely happened with Buck, Kershaw, Victorinox, or any other brand of knife it would be all over some forum and would have at least been mentioned here before. Since none of those things seem to have happened, I'd tend to think this is a non-issue.

Count the number of times you've been stopped and frisked in your lifetime. If it's zero, you probably have nothing to worry about. On the other hand, if Washington state is anything like the rest of the country, if you act like enough of a "menace to society", even if it's only an act, the police will find some way to creatively interpret the law to make your life miserable. Know it works that way here in New York state.

Thankfully, the converse is also true; if you do nothing to get yourself pegged as a potential hoodlum or psycho, the cops tend to ignore you unless you've already become a victim. However, there is no guarantee, in Washington state or anywhere else, that no police officer will ever arrest anyone on a bogus charge.

[Grendelspyce]

The Deacon is right (though we butted heads on this same topic a while back). The "law" is an excuse for law enforcement to hassle hoodlums or anyone they feel like hassling. If you are a clean cut average joe they probably won't mess with you unless they are bored, need to make a quota (like NY City cops do), or you really make a spectacle of yourself.

Best bet is to keep your knife deep in your pocket, do not use the pocket clip.

[tenaciousj]

The Deacon is right (though we butted heads on this same topic a while back). The "law" is an excuse for law enforcement to hassle hoodlums or anyone they feel like hassling. If you are a clean cut average joe they probably won't mess with you unless they are bored, need to make a quota (like NY City cops do), or you really make a spectacle of yourself.

Best bet is to keep your knife deep in your pocket, do not use the pocket clip.

i read somwhere on a knife forum that carrying a knife in the pocket can be considered illegal concealment whereas carrying the knife clipped to the pocket (thereby making a small portion of the knife visible) is considered open carry and therefore legal. l havent read this under any state statute and so i consider it to be speculation at this point. anyone else familiar with this concept of "law"?

[wescobts]

Well said Deacon :spyder: