California Knife Laws - What You Can & Cannot Carry (2024)

California knife laws are among the strictest in the U.S., and several cities and counties have even stricter local knife laws you are expected to follow. Many knives such as switchblades meet the statutory definition of “dangerous weapons,” which means possession, manufacturing, and sales are tightly regulated.

Below our California criminal defense attorneys provide a general overview of what knives you may carry openly, concealed, or not at all. We also discuss location restrictions, the penalties for violating the law, and how to fight criminal charges.

California laws by knife

Folding knives

California Penal Code 17235 permits both the open- and concealed carry of folding knives provided that they are in a folded or closed position. Permissible folding knives include:

• pocket knives,
• Swiss-army knives,
• non-locking folding knives,
• certain utility knives, and
• spring-assisted knives (not switchblades).¹

Note that if a folding knife is extended and locked into position, then it becomes a “dirk” or “dagger,” which has different rules (discussed next).

Fixed-blade knives

California Penal Code 21310 PC makes it a crime to carry a concealed fixed-blade knife, also called dirks or daggers. You may openly carry a fixed-blade knife provided that:

1. the knife is contained within a sheath, and
2. the sheath is worn suspended from your waist.

(A “pocket clip” carry of a knife is probably considered concealed, though the law is ambiguous.)

Examples of fixed-blade knives include:

• stilettos,
• chef’s knives,
• ice picks, and
• bowie knives.
  

Carrying a concealed fixed-blade knife is a wobbler in California. This means it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.²

Switchblades

California Penal Code 21510 prohibits switchblades, which are defined as:

• knives with the appearance of a pocketknife,
• with a blade length of 2 or more inches, and
• which can be released by a flick of a button, pressure on the handle, flip of the wrist, or another mechanical device.

Switchblades also go by the names:

• automatic knives,
• spring-blade knives,
• spring-loaded knives,
• snap-blade knives,
• ejector knives, and
• pushbutton knives.

In California, switchblades also include:

• butterfly knives,
• balisongs, and
• gravity knives.

Possessing, carrying, or selling a switchblade is a misdemeanor in California, carrying up to six months in county jail and/or $1,000 in fines.³

Other prohibited knives

As with switchblades, the following knives are prohibited in California:

• air gauge knives (PC 20310),
• ballistic knives (PC 21110),
• belt-buckle knives (PC 20410),
• cane swords/cane knives (PC 20510),
• lipstick case knives (PC 20610),
• shobi-zues (PC 20710),
• shurikens, ninja stars and throwing stars (PC 22410),
• undetectable knives that metal detectors miss (PC 20810), and
• writing pen knives (PC 20910).

The possession, sale, manufacture, or import of undetectable knives is a California misdemeanor carrying up to six months of jail time and/or $1,000. For any other type of prohibited knife, prosecutors can bring misdemeanor or felony charges. Felony penalties include:

• 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in jail and/or
• up to $10,000.⁴

Knife-free zones in California

Public buildings

Penal Code 171b makes it a crime to bring or possess certain knives into California state or local public buildings or at meetings required to be open to the public.¹²Prohibited knives under this statute include:

• any knife with a blade over 4 inches, and it has a fixed blade (or one that can be fixed), and
• any prohibited knife under the law.

Violations can be prosecuted as either:

• misdemeanors carrying up to 1 year in jail and/or $1,000, or
• felonies carrying 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in prison and/or up to $10,000.

Schools and on school grounds

Penal Code 626.10a1 bans certain knives on the grounds of:

• any K-12 public or private school,
• California community colleges,
• The University of California,
• California State University,
• any private university, and
• certain state colleges.

The prohibited knives include:

• dirks or daggers,
• knives with blades longer than 2.5 inches,
• a folding knife with a fixed blade that can lock into place (“locking blade”),
• ice picks, and
• a razor blade with an unguarded blade.

Violations can be prosecuted as either:

• misdemeanors carrying up to 1 year in jail and/or $1,000, or
• felonies carrying 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in prison and/or up to $10,000.

Additionally, Penal Code 626.10a2 makes it a misdemeanor to bring a razor blade or box cutter to the grounds of a K-12 school. Penalties include up to one year in jail.⁵

Federal property

15 USC 1241-44 make it a federal crime carrying up to five years in prison to:

1. introduce or transport a switchblade in interstate commerce, or
2. possess a switchblade on federal or Indian lands, or lands subject to federal jurisdiction.

This law does not apply to if you have only one arm and if the switchblade’s blade is three inches or less in length.⁶

Local knife laws

Many California counties and municipalities have knife ordinances that are more restrictive than state laws. For example:

• Los Angeles prohibits openly carrying in public any knife with a 3-inch or longer blade . (Section 55.10)
• Oakland bans carrying knives with a blade of 3 inches or longer. (Section 9-36.010).
• Sacramento County prohibits knives on any county property. (Section 9.42.010)
• San Diego County bans the possession of “throwing knives” at county parks. (Section 41.117)
• San Francisco bans loitering while carrying concealed knives with a 3-inch or longer blade. (Section 1291)

What is legal in one city may be illegal in the next, so you are strongly advised to check all local ordinances before carrying or transporting any knives there.

Occupational exceptions

Hunters, construction workers, cooks, gardeners, and other people for whom knives are “tools of the trade” may have relaxed knife restrictions. Just be sure to check California state and local regulations with regard to your particular job or activity. Plus, when you are not “on the job,” you must follow the same knife laws as everyone else.

Self-defense with knives

California law permits you to use legal knives in self-defense or defense of others as long as:

• you reasonably fear immediate bodily harm, and
• you use proportional force to deflect the threat.

If you use a knife in self-defense when it is not reasonably necessary, you could face criminal charges such as for the following:

If you wish to carry a knife for self-defense, make sure it is legal under both state and local law. Also, you should not use it unless you are facing a serious threat; in some cases, merely brandishing a knife – and not using it to stab – would be sufficient to ward off any danger.⁷

In any case, you are advised to carry pepper spray or a stun gun instead of a knife – they immobilize your assailant without lethal consequences.

Fighting knife charges

Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with crimes involving weapons, including knives. In our experience, the following five defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries.

1. Law enforcement conducted an unlawful search and seizure. If police found the knife by violating your Fourth Amendment rights, we would ask the judge to suppress the knife as evidence. If the court complies, the D.A. may be forced to drop your case for lack of proof.
2. Your knife was legal. Illegal knives have precise legal definitions. If we can show your knife’s blade length or operating mechanism falls outside of that definition, you should not be convicted of possessing an illegal knife.
3. You did not know you had a switchblade. If you did not realize your switchblade was illegal or had the characteristics of a switchblade, you should not be convicted of possessing it. This is an effective defense because prosecutors have no way of getting inside of your head and knowing your intent.⁸
4. The knife was not concealed. We have had cases where clients were carrying legal knives openly, but the police mistakenly thought they were concealed. In these cases, the police’s own bodycam footage can help get a concealed carry charge dismissed.
5. You acted in lawful self-defense. As discussed above, you may use a legal knife in self-defense as long you believe it is reasonably necessary and you use reasonable force. Valuable evidence in these cases to show you acted within the bounds of self-defense are surveillance video, eyewitness accounts, and medical records.

Additional reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Criminal Use of Switchblades: Will the Recent Trend towards Legalization Lead to Bloodshed? – Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal.
• Eradicating ‘This Dreadful Knife Problem’: Legislative and Judicial Initiatives against Knife Possession – Youth Justice.
• Man finds 2nd Amendment protects his use of banned switchblade – Wisconsin Law Journal.
• Knives and the Second Amendment – University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform.
• The Knife Crime Problem: Further Developments – Youth Justice.

Legal References: