Sghian Dhub blade length

[auld argonian]

Just thinking about this...the 3 inch blade length limit seems pretty common in those places where there is a blade length limit. Oddly, though, most of the Sghians that I see available on the internet are just over that length...3 and one-quarter or 3 and three-quarters, for example. There's been a lot of chat here about what makes for a nice sghian so why aren't more builders taking that into consideration? It doesn't seem like it would throw the proportions off very much and it would get around that little technicality. This may seem like small potatoes to some of you but I have known guys who have had knives taken away by the cops because they were a quarter-inch over the limit.

Best

AA

[McNulty]

AA
I was at a retirement party this past weekend and got to talking with our Community Resource Officer ( the school cop in regular terms) and she had noticed and wanted to see my skian dubh. It is 3.5" exactly and she said that because of its length some police officers in Colorado would confiscate it as a concealed weapon. I did not know that. She said that most would take into consideration how it was being worn BUT... be warned!
Nulty

[Howard Clark]

My own experience about any of this kind of things is that it is determined primarily by your attitude and demeanor whilst conversing with the officer. If you are polite, respectful, confident, and mature about the exchange, such things usually go well. At least they will go better.

And there's always the bottom line I have been saving, but not needed yet. "What, you think I'm gonna go perpetrate a crime dressed like THIS ? Come on man, think about it. The witnesses will all say," "It was the guy in the kilt, he dunnit, we saw him".

Pretty hard to disappear into the crowd, around here, at least.

But be polite. And it always helps to know the law in your area. Go to the library, and look it up. Every state has statutes concerning the legal length of knives that you can carry. Some cities are more restrictive.

[Streetcar]

Howard's right. The law is a little different in every jurisdiction. Know the law in your area.
In the U.S., officers have a fair amount of discretion and will take into account the totality of the circumstances. The "attitude test" is usually a big factor in whether the officer gives a warning, confiscates the blade or turns a blind eye.

Brief digression by way of example:
In Seattle, fixed bladed knives of ANY length are illegal to carry.
The area I patrolled had (and still has) a high "transient youth" poplulation, and it was not uncommon for some of these "travelers" (as they liked to call themselves) to have a hunting knife strapped to their belt. We would routinely stop them and usually confiscate the knife (occasionally one would have a legitimate need for it. In those cases we would allow them to secure the weapon at the bottom of their pack).

A few years back, during one of the neighborhood festivals was a woman in some sort of "Xena" costume. She had a small knife strapped to her belt.
Now she was just an average citizen, out participating in the festival. She wasn't causing a bit of trouble. BUT, we still had to contact her about the knife. She was defensive at first, but I explained that we couldn't confiscate the knives of these homeless kids and then blatently ignore her carrying one. She said she understood and we let her secure the knife in her car.

The point is, don't be offended if an officer asks you to put the skean away. The street is not the place to argue the subject.

[auld argonian]

I appreciate the input but I really didn't want to start another thread about carrying a sghian...I was genuinely curious about why makers don't take what I have observed is a legal limit in many localities into consideration when designing the knives in the first place.

The thought came to mind when I was looking at the Atlanta Cutlery blades and noted that they were 3 1/4" long and thought, "oh well...I'll just bury the extra 1/4" in the bolster or the handle and it'll be technically street legal for Chicago should the issue come up".*

And attitude test or not let's not forget that legal is legal and let's also not forget that not all law enforcement officers are as fair minded as you all might be. Chicago...remember? Lots of things, legal or not, have gotten "confiscated" in my experience and they don't end up in a box at the district station. I wouldn't wear a sghian anywhere around this city for several reasons but if I was heading to an event, I'd tuck one in the hosetop when I got there. If all of the sghian dhub lore that we kick around here is true then the little sucker really didn't spend all of its time stuck in a sock in plain sight anyway. Plenty of room under the kilt and it doesn't seem like too may people are going to go looking around in there without probable cause.

Best

AA

*Stuff like this comes up when my brother-in-law, who has been retired from the force for the past five years, shows up and starts pontificating about all of the stuff that "I coulda arrested you for that". To which my usual response is, "Well, it's really a good thing that you're retired now and don't have to worry about things like that, isn't it?"

[Streetcar]

...And attitude test or not let's not forget that legal is legal and let's also not forget that not all law enforcement officers are as fair minded as you all might be. Chicago...remember? ...

Heh, heh. Yup. Lived there for a few years myself. Chicago P.D. certainly had/has a different...style...than up here in Seattle.

At any rate, I didn't mean to hijack the thread. I guess the short answer is that there really is no U.S. standard for a "legal" blade length. It still goes back to local ordinances.