Hi Bram,
 
  What are the laws for carrying a knife in the state of Fla.? I've heard conflicting stories lately. I've tried to look it up but see no direct reference in the statutes for blade length and also I see no direct reference to clipped to the pocket vs. in the pocket.
 
 However I heard a law enforcement story recently that said a cop threatened to arrest someone because the clipped blade was inside his pocket and technically he could arrest them on a concealed weapons charge. ????  I carry my blade usually down in my pocket but recently started carrying it clipped to the pocket for this reason.

1) Is there a blade length limit?
2) Is a folding knife down in the pocket, not clipped to the pocket externally considered a concealed weapon?
 
Thanks,
Frank Ehnle
AHF

Frank:

 
unfortunately any officer can arrest ANYONE for anything whether or not it is legal, valid or lawful.
An officers job is to enforce the law they think they know it or see it, an attorney argues the law / intent of the law and ONLY a judge may interpret the law..
So if an officer wanted to arrest you for carrying your pocket knife he / she could: of course they will pay for that stupidity in court. Contrary to popular belief Police DO NOT know the laws..nor interpret them correctly if they do. So if you are arrested for carrying a concealed weapon when all you are doing is carrying an edged tool common pocket knife, well it might cost you money which you will win back in court.
 
It is your Second Amendment right to possess and carry knives...

Second Amendment: it doesn’t just mean firearms

The mention of the second Amendment immediately brings to mind in many of those that have no idea of what our constitution really means or grants us in rights is the image of an NRA member toting the biggest firearm he / she can carry. Mention the second amendment and people brace themselves for an in your face discussion over the highly charged issue of personal firearm use, possession and carry. Somehow in the quest to protect the most obvious of our rights, the second most important amendment in the Constitution: Firearms and the right to bear and use these arms to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our country has over ridden every other facet or interpretation or representation of this amendment.

A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State , the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.

No where in this statement of our most cherished document does it say this refers ONLY to firearms. It says very clearly that to maintain the security of a free state , our freedom and our country and our way of life, that the right of the people, that is the right of each person to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Arms: that’s an important word and must be viewed in context of what the founders themselves would have meant, carried and used themselves and since the Constitution is an alive document recognizing that arms change was ambiguous enough to allow modern arms or variations of those arms to be included in that protection. Knives were in that documents meaning for all of our founders carried and used knives. Firearms are just an easier arm to try to control because of their place in our society and history. Firearms very nature bring them to the forefront of any discussion: tyrants hate them, control freaks hate them, free people cherish and need them. Knives get lost in the shadows. But knives are there. They are arms / tools used by many and carried by all of our framing fathers. Knives were and are still our best friends and our first tools. Without knives we would have no modern society or civilization as we know it.

 

Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...
disarm only those who are neither inclined
nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make
things worse for the assaulted and better for the
assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to
prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be
attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.


  Thomas Jefferson

 

Ok.... back to FLORIDA:

 

mitigating factor #1: pocket knives are designed to be carried in the pockets and are exempt from the concealed carry law, no permit necessary and its designed to be carried in your pocket
mitigating factor #2: a pocket knife is 4" or less and a common pocket knife is 3" or less, so your inside the pocket carry is LEGAL if it meets either of these definitions, pocket knives are designed to be carried inside your pocket, and it is the LEGAL exception to concealed carry
The statutes directly say this and legal opinion carries further the weight of these statutes. Nothing OVER 4 inches is legal pocket carry.
mitigating factor #3: in Florida you may posses a dirk or dagger in your home, you may not carry it in your pocket or on your person EVEN if it meets mitigating factor #2
mitigating factor #4: a pocket clip is a way to safely carry your pocket knife INSIDE your pocket and there is NO LAW , no regulation about using a pocket clip....nor any law or regulation that makes your pocket knife legal carry if you USE the clip whereas carrying a pocket knife in your pocket is illegal..and there is no law or idiot regulation that says you must clip it to the OUTSIDE of your pocket which is a very UNSAFE way to carry a pocket knife.
pocket knives are designed to be carried inside your pocket, and it is the LEGAL exception to concealed carry
 
So no worries..all of my knives are LEGAL carry, NONE are assisted openers..
I just earned my Doctorate in Martial arts and Blades from the University of Bridgeport: the ONLY 4 year accredited program from a Major University or College on the USA and Canada..
and I am a legal Expert in Knives / knife use in the State of FL.( I have just written legal opinions for court cases for the State of Florida and  the State of Washington: both CSI murder cases..)
 
Of course that's all part n parcel of my current and past training programs: liability and legality of carry.
 
be safe
 
Bram