I found a good deal on a Becker BK-14 "Eskabar" so I nabbed it up thinking it would be a great EDC knife (for bushcrafting purposes only). I wish to carry  this knife concelead however googling around a bit to check legality has left me a bit cross-eyed. Some say its legal some say its illegal. The reason I am paranoid about this is I just applied for my CHL and I definitely don't want it taken away for something as stupid as a concealed knife charge. However I do have use for the knife and I wish to exercise my rights and "batoning" a folding knife through wood is dangerous!

NC Statute states:



If you look up "Bowie" and "Dirk/Dagger" in a dictionary you will see that the knife doesn't fall into either category nor is it a folding pocket knife. Hell the knife is smaller than most of my normal sized folders. Tired of browsing forums and getting nowhere I decided to write my local Sheriffs office and ask. They passed the email around the office because a couple of people weren't sure on the answer until one sheriff finally responded with



I read his response as "its ok to carry" because by definition it doesn't fall into any of the categories prohibited in the statute. However I would still love to hear everyones opinion on it. I'd hate to have to open carry a knife while I am conceal carrying a firearm.

I know in Missouri, The Revised Missouri Statues has a definitions section at the beginning of the Weapons Offenses chapter. This section defines "Knife" the following way:

(12) "Knife", any dagger, dirk, stiletto, or bladed hand instrument that is readily capable of inflicting serious physical injury or death by cutting or stabbing a person. For purposes of this chapter, "knife" does not include any ordinary pocketknife with no blade more than four inches in length;

It basically comes down to the blade length. I Missouri, 4 inches is the magic number for most fixed blades. Im unfamiliar with North Carolina's statues though. Check the definitions section of North Carolina's Weapons Chapter.

I am not a lawyer but my interpretation of NC statute is that to carry a knife, it has to be a folding knife, which encloses the blade entirely, including the tip, hence the closed position. A good lawyer might be able to argue that a sheathed knife falls under the same interpretation, but I'd prefer not to endure the harassment on a routine stop as to why I was carrying a weapon that was not a "pocket knife".

Yeah I agree, the only one I think you can carry concealed is a folding pocket knife. I just tied my knife to my back pack. Open carrying a knife isn't really a big deal