Ok, I always thought they were straight up illegal to carry autos in NC. But reading up on it now it seems it only illegal to conceal carry them. So is it being clipped to your pocket considered a legal way to carry an auto knife in the state of NC?

To be clear, the knife itself is inside the pocket with the clip portion visible on the outside. I guess this is more of a when is it concealed vs open carry.

I've wondered myself if a visible clip is sufficient to constitute open-carry of any knife which didn't meet NC's definition of a concealable pocket knife.  It certainly is extremely common to see visible knife clips on peoples' pockets in the state.  That said, I would imagine it is open for interpretation by law enforcement as to what the standard is for sufficient visibility to denote open-carry.

I've heard it said that NC concealed  knife infractions are rarely pursued on their own; rather, they are "add-ons" which come up in the context of another infraction like disturbing the peace, assault, etc.

I'm curious to hear what an authoritative source has to say (lawyer, LEO).

The clip would be sufficient

I have never heard of a knife charge that either

A was a tack on charge

Or

B somebody talked their way into a charge.

Clip has to be shown.

I carry a Microtech everyday. I showed my neighbor that is a detective for the area PD and he said he doesn’t see a problem with them. He said a lot of his officers carry them.

@Gerkyn

Best advice, which, is worth what you paid for it, read until your eyes bleed; odds are you won't get bothered unless you're engaged in other crimes. Use it in self defense, expect to sort it out in court.  As always, for actual legal advice on this subject, consult your attorney.

https://www.akti.org/state-knife-laws/north-carolina/

https://nccriminallaw.sog.unc.edu/knives-and-the-right-to-bear-arms/

https://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_14/GS_14-269.html

https://knifeup.com/north-carolina-knife-laws/

http://www.thetruthaboutknives.com/know-your-knife-laws-12-north-carolina/

https://handgunlaw.us/documents/USKnife2.pdf

https://nchuntandfish.com/forums/index.php?threads/good-site-outlining-nc-knife-laws.42652/