I am a KY resident and have had a CCDW permit for several years. I carry a concealed handgun(s), a fixed blade fighting knife, and an auto opening folder everyday here in the Bluegrass State. Unfortunately, my job requires me to travel to IL a couple times a month. As you undoubtedly know, the government of the state of IL feels that the 2nd amendment doesn't apply to humans. When traveling in IL, the law requires that my handgun be encases in such a manner that it would be unusable in a self defense situation.

I am sure that there are also some ridiculous laws prohibiting me from carrying my large fixed blades and auto in IL.

Since I find a ball point pen to be a less than satisfactory weapon, I would like to know what type of blade I can carry in your state. I have everything from 5" folders to 3" fixed blades. A decent sized fixed blade in a strong side IWB sheath would be nice, but is it legal? What are the blade length/requirements in IL?

most folders sold here in il are 3-4 inch folders

i carry a 4 in  krenshaw with a pocket clip

actually the maj of men i see have some
sort of pocket clip knife.................

i have never had a problem but am not 100% sure what law says

If the auto opening folder opens by means of a button or spring you may want to leave that at home.

Here is a link you might want to check out. Click here

I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, I don't believe there is any blade length law in IL specifically. Nor do I believe there is any law preventing you from carrying a knife in IL. I believe WI considers carrying a knife to be carrying a ccw.

What kind of vehicle do you drive? My guns are cased in my pickup cab. Mags are loaded, separate from the guns.

So are fixed blades prohibited? Since I can't carry a gun, I would prefer to carry a fixed blade in an IWB sheath. If I am stuck with a folder, I will carry my 5" SOG Pentagon Elite II.

Quoted: So are fixed blades prohibited? Since I can't carry a gun, I would prefer to carry a fixed blade in an IWB sheath. If I am stuck with a folder, I will carry my 5" SOG Pentagon Elite II.

No they are not. The trouble only comes when you use them.

Quoted: So are fixed blades prohibited? Since I can't carry a gun, I would prefer to carry a fixed blade in an IWB sheath. If I am stuck with a folder, I will carry my 5" SOG Pentagon Elite II.

 As drobs and cody have stated, outside of chicago there isn't a blade length law in Il.
You  can carry any blade lenth you want in, theory.  I say that because not all police in Il.  have a strong understanding of state knife laws (or gun laws for that matter).   Some leo's are as  anti-knife as they are anti-gun.  

   It is perfectly legal to carry a 6" fixed blade IWB.   If for some reason you attract the attention of an leo that's either ignorant of Il. law or has a prejiduce against his fellow citizens carrying a knife bigger  or looks more  dangerous than a boyscout folder.   Said leo could make your life at least temporarily miserable    

  If you want to carry a fixed blade I'd suggest buying one with a 5" blade or less intended  for carry on your Il. visits.

   Also, Where in Il. are you going to be traveling?  

   If I stated anything that's not true please correct me.    

   

 

I have had a few LEO contacts regarding knives in the past recently a month or so ago. As I understand it, almost any knife outside of an auto opening (stilleto, switchblade etc) and a fighting knife (one with handgaurds, blood grooves and or handgrips) can be carried. IIRC the law has no length limits, but great caution should be used on something very large as some have already mentioned, many LEO's are no very fluent on knife law.
I had a lively discussion with a local officer in line at a Home Depot one day regarding the Cold Steel mini pal I had on my keyring. He was in line behind me and asked me what that was on my keyring. I told/showed it to him he grinned and asked why I had it. I told him since I am unable to carry a firearm for protection as he does I have to use alternate methods for protection. (I normally carry a few different knives and fanny pack) I then asked if it was a problem to which he said no that one is not illegal. Then he showed me his....he had the bigger brother of the mini pal and said to me this one is...I told him he'd better check the law  again and asked how he felt about citizens arrest??? hinking.gif he laughed again....and we went our separate ways....Funny he never even mentioned anything about the fanny pack....hock.gif

Cool. These are the fixed blades that I carry most often in KY. I know daggers are prohibited in IL so the Peacekeeper II is out and the 7.5" Hissatsu would probably be a little too "scary" as well.





I will probably go with the 4.5" SOG Mini Tsunami or the smaller CRKT Ryan Plan B.

Quoted: Cool. These are the fixed blades that I carry most often in KY. I know daggers are prohibited in IL so the Peacekeeper II is out and the 7.5" Hissatsu would probably be a little too "scary" as well. img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/glocker199/DSC00384.jpg img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/glocker199/000_0388.jpg I will probably go with the 4.5" SOG Mini Tsunami or the smaller CRKT Ryan Plan B. img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/glocker199/100_0034.jpg img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/glocker199/CR2803.jpg

Once again, above caveat, I don't see any law against carrying a double edged blade. If it's not specifically written out, it's not illegal. If you could conceal it I think you could get away with carrying a short sword.  

Quoted: Quoted: Cool. These are the fixed blades that I carry most often in KY. I know daggers are prohibited in IL so the Peacekeeper II is out and the 7.5" Hissatsu would probably be a little too "scary" as well. img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/glocker199/DSC00384.jpg img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/glocker199/000_0388.jpg I will probably go with the 4.5" SOG Mini Tsunami or the smaller CRKT Ryan Plan B. img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/glocker199/100_0034.jpg img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/glocker199/CR2803.jpg Once again, above caveat, I don't see any law against carrying a double edged blade. If it's not specifically written out, it's not illegal. If you could conceal it I think you could get away with carrying a short sword.

Found thsi on packing.org:

Knife carry law summary
Date updated: Aug 26, 2005 @ 10:41 pm

(720 ILCS 5/33A-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 33A-1)


Sec. 33A-1. Legislative intent and definitions.
(a) Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares the following:
(c) Definitions.
(2) A Category I weapon is a handgun, sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off rifle, any other firearm small enough to be concealed upon the person, semiautomatic firearm, or machine gun. A Category II weapon is any other rifle, shotgun, spring gun, other firearm, stun gun or taser as defined in paragraph (a) of Section 24-1 of this Code, knife with a blade of at least 3 inches in length, dagger, dirk, switchblade knife, stiletto, axe, hatchet, or other deadly or dangerous weapon or instrument of like character. As used in this subsection

(720 ILCS 5/24-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 24-1)


Sec. 24-1 Unlawful Use of Weapons.
(a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of weapons when he knowingly:
(1) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or carries any bludgeon, black-jack, slung-shot, sand-club, sand-bag, metal knuckles, throwing star, or any knife, commonly referred to as a switchblade knife, which has a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in the handle of the knife, or a ballistic knife, which is a device that propels a knifelike blade as a projectile by means of a coil spring, elastic material or compressed gas; or
(2) Carries or possesses with intent to use the same unlawfully against another, a dagger, dirk, billy, dangerous knife, razor, stiletto, broken bottle or other piece of glass, stun gun or taser or any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument of like character;

(720 ILCS 5/24-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 24-1) Sec. 24-1 Unlawful Use of Weapons. (a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of weapons when he knowingly: (1) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or carries any bludgeon, black-jack, slung-shot, sand-club, sand-bag, metal knuckles, throwing star, or any knife, commonly referred to as a switchblade knife, which has a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in the handle of the knife, or a ballistic knife, which is a device that propels a knifelike blade as a projectile by means of a coil spring, elastic material or compressed gas; or (2) Carries or possesses with intent to use the same unlawfully against another, a dagger, dirk, billy, dangerous knife, razor, stiletto, broken bottle or other piece of glass, stun gun or taser or any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument of like character.

"With intent" is the operative language, not merely the carriage or possession of any of the listed items.  Absent intent, possession is legal.

HOWEVER, intent might be inferred from, say, carrying one's dirk in one's boot, etc., along with other acts.  Maybe an admission that one is carrying said dirk as a weapon - albeit for self defense.

All my knives are for opening boxes.  

IIRC, there's another statute that catches mere possession of stun guns.

Note the standard disclaimer that I'm not a lawyer and my cop days were a long time ago.

I'll add that there was an effort by the IL State Police and some state's attorneys a couple of years ago to enforce the switchblade laws against 'assisted opening' knives.  Haven't heard anything about that lately.

Well, this has been in my pocket non-stop since the last couple months of high school. I haven't been to a class in college yet where this hasn't been with me (or more accurately, the one I lost, this is a replacement I bought).



WIZZO

"Intent" is absolutely the key.

That, and your demeanor.

All the hardware is useless unless it is concealable and deployable.

There is nothing better: www.emersonknives.com/Tact_index.html

Here's why: www.emersonknives.com/Tact_index.html

Serrated blades are tools, standard blades are weapons.

Veronica at M and A Parts

Hi Veronica... Missed ya here for a while. Where ya been?


How's Pam?

Quoted: Hi Veronica... Missed ya here for a while. Where ya been? How's Pam?

Me thinks that's your real interest here, not in my health and well being.

(sigh) At least you'll help this old broad across the street if she's heading in Pam's direction!

I'll see if I can get Doc to put her picture back up.

Veronica at M and A Parts

Reports from Brothers in New Orleans: www.mapartsinc.com/theRant.asp

Quoted: "Intent" is absolutely the key. That, and your demeanor. All the hardware is useless unless it is concealable and deployable. There is nothing better: www.emersonknives.com/Tact_index.html Here's why: www.emersonknives.com/Tact_index.html Serrated blades are tools, standard blades are weapons. Veronica at M and A Parts

Emerson makes excellent knives to be sure. However, I am so in love with my Microtechs, that I would hesitate to buy another high dollar folder that is not an auto.

Quoted: Here's why: www.emersonknives.com/Tact_index.html Emerson makes excellent knives to be sure. However, I am so in love with my Microtechs, that I would hesitate to buy another high dollar folder that is not an auto.

Microtechs are absolutely stunning examples of blade technology. Operator's eye's pOp out of their head when they see a QD Scarab "automatic, out the front". They are magnificent pieces of art, fabulous pieces of technology.

Tony Marfione's designs are genius. The std. folders are easy equals.

Our guys have any number of incredible knives that are "safe queens" including Striders, and Lord knows what else they sneak past us innocently waiting wives... Sunday Morning Gun Show Widows!

For a short while, we were all staring at the Timberline assisted blade ( known to open unexpectedly in the pocket ), sued out of existence by Ken Onion. Then they had to have the Onion Black-Out. All these "street legal" non-autos.

Agencies that we were selling "defensive" blades to began to develop "knife policies", some even specifying a requirement for "safeties".  Think about it. Heavy stress, all fine motor skills are absolutely lost. Gross motor skills (swinging a hammer type stuff) is all that remains. Could you do it... really? There's only one way to know.

An operator, even a highly trained man, will experience difficulty in pressing a button much less releasing a knife safety. Muscle memory kicks in for many at 20k functions.

There are some mighty finely crafted blades out there.

Still, they are slower and less reliable than any "Wave" featured blade, even the knock offs of the Emerson patent.

Take a look at the video clips above. True, they're just as pretty as any of their divorced Benchmade ex-wives, but they are one thing: functional!

Once an operator learns how these work- and I mean "hands-on", they will get one immediately and begin spreading the gospel.

We utilize a 15 minute training process just to get a customer's muscle memory started in deployment lest they make the two top mistakes: 1) Taking your fingertips off   and 2) Completely removing your pocket.

Not a knife for beginners. Give them a try.

Veronica at M and A Parts

Katrina and the Cops: mapartsinc.com/theRant.asp

p.s.: Pam's picture will be returning soon. Lechers.

Quoted: Quoted: Here's why: www.emersonknives.com/Tact_index.html Emerson makes excellent knives to be sure. However, I am so in love with my Microtechs, that I would hesitate to buy another high dollar folder that is not an auto. Microtechs are absolutely stunning examples of blade technology. Operator's eye's pOp out of their head when they see a QD Scarab "automatic, out the front". They are magnificent pieces of art, fabulous pieces of technology. Tony Marfione's designs are genius. The std. folders are easy equals. Our guys have any number of incredible knives that are "safe queens" including Striders, and Lord knows what else they sneak past us innocently waiting wives... Sunday Morning Gun Show Widows! For a short while, we were all staring at the Timberline assisted blade ( known to open unexpectedly in the pocket ), sued out of existence by Ken Onion. Then they had to have the Onion Black-Out. All these "street legal" non-autos. Agencies that we were selling "defensive" blades to began to develop "knife policies", some even specifying a requirement for "safeties".  Think about it. Heavy stress, all fine motor skills are absolutely lost. Gross motor skills (swinging a hammer type stuff) is all that remains. Could you do it... really? There's only one way to know. An operator, even a highly trained man, will experience difficulty in pressing a button much less releasing a knife safety. Muscle memory kicks in for many at 20k functions. There are some mighty finely crafted blades out there. Still, they are slower and less reliable than any "Wave" featured blade, even the knock offs of the Emerson patent. Take a look at the video clips above. True, they're just as pretty as any of their divorced Benchmade ex-wives, but they are one thing: functional! Once an operator learns how these work- and I mean "hands-on", they will get one immediately and begin spreading the gospel. We utilize a 15 minute training process just to get a customer's muscle memory started in deployment lest they make the two top mistakes: 1) Taking your fingertips off   and 2) Completely removing your pocket. Not a knife for beginners. Give them a try. Veronica at M and A Parts Katrina and the Cops: mapartsinc.com/theRant.asp p.s.: Pam's picture will be returning soon. Lechers.

I'm sold how many do you have instock and how many can I carry on my body at one time?

Guy I used to work with at the gun shop got into knife fighting. The rule, as I understand it, is that both parties in a knife fight are going to bleed.

Quoted: Guy I used to work with at the gun shop got into knife fighting. The rule, as I understand it, is that both parties in a knife fight are going to bleed.

That is exactly why knife fighting is to be avoided if at all possible. If you are forced to use your knife, use it to kill, not to fight.

Quoted: I'm sold how many do you have instock and how many can I carry on my body at one time? Guy I used to work with at the gun shop got into knife fighting. The rule, as I understand it, is that both parties in a knife fight are going to bleed.

We only have the Wave's. They're on the website.

Our lead instructor for Tactical Blade would disagree with that "both parties" thing.

Now For Something Compltely Different: Here's what you guys really wanted.....

Go and drool.  www.mapartsinc.com/products.asp?catId=111

V at M and A Parts

b.t.w.: We can help compensate for IL tax with reduced UPS in-state shipping rates

Quoted: Quoted: I'm sold how many do you have instock and how many can I carry on my body at one time? Guy I used to work with at the gun shop got into knife fighting. The rule, as I understand it, is that both parties in a knife fight are going to bleed. We only have the Wave's. They're on the website. Our lead instructor for Tactical Blade would disagree with that "both parties" thing. Now For Something Compltely Different: Here's what you guys really wanted..... Go and drool.  www.mapartsinc.com/products.asp?catId=111 V M and A Parts

I saw you put that up yesterday. Your shop open today? I'm heading out might stop by. Need some parts for a new build.

Always call first. 847 550-8246  Sometimes they go out to lunch. I'm working from home so I have no idea if they went to the Chineese Buffet or wandered off to the "gentleman's" club.

I don't wanna know. Just call first.

Our blade instructor just got in yesterday from South Africa. If he';s awake, he might be there today.

Veronica at M and A Parts

Thanks, I'm heading toward Schaumburg. If I finish things there quick, I'll have time and I'll call to see if anyone's in.

Quoted: Thanks, I'm heading toward Schaumburg. If I finish things there quick, I'll have time and I'll call to see if anyone's in.

You could always wait until the end of October and come to the Princeton gunshow.

Pam's always there

WIZZO

Quoted: Quoted: Thanks, I'm heading toward Schaumburg. If I finish things there quick, I'll have time and I'll call to see if anyone's in. You could always wait until the end of October and come to the Princeton gunshow. Pam's always there WIZZO

Ha.. Actually I ended up delayed, then hopped back on 355 and drove down to Plainfield where I ended up buying a gun I'd been wanting for a long time, today just seemed to be the day.

I was wondering if I ordered a bunch of stuff, and live in the area, do they have a delivery driver like Domino's does? I wouldn't mind tipping Pam for the delivery.

Quoted: Ha.. Actually I ended up delayed, then hopped back on 355 and drove down to Plainfield where I ended up buying a gun I'd been wanting for a long time, today just seemed to be the day.

So what did you pick up?  Is MegaSports still in Plainfield?  It's been a wile since I've been down to the area.

Quoted: Quoted: Ha.. Actually I ended up delayed, then hopped back on 355 and drove down to Plainfield where I ended up buying a gun I'd been wanting for a long time, today just seemed to be the day. So what did you pick up?  Is MegaSports still in Plainfield?  It's been a wile since I've been down to the area.

I'd been wanting a single action revolver for years.
I'm now the proud owner of a Uberti 1873 Single Action Cattleman in .357 magnum. It has the antiqued, Old West, unfinished metal look. I'm working all weekend so I'll pick it up Monday.
Photo's too big to post, so here's a link to it.
www.uberti.com/firearms/images/large-355130.jpg