Knife law in Massachusetts?

January 24th, 2010 by Leave a reply »

What are the laws regarding the carrying of a pocket knife when not committing any other crime?
I’d like to know about blade length, concealment, and age requirements.
I think i found the ‘official law’ online here:
http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/ma.txt
From the long paragraph i thought it said a normal folding locking pocket knife (no assisted opening) could not have a blade longer than 1.5 inches. Did i understand this correctly, and if so do police enforce this, because i don’t know many knives that short.

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1 comment

  1. glistam3 says:

    I believe you misunderstood. The grammar is appalling on that statute so it is understandable (law teachers use this statute on how NOT to write a law).

    It is only switchblades that are restricted to 1.5 inch blades. Regular folding pocket knives have no length limit or age restriction under MA law. You cannot carry a dagger (double edged) but you can own them at home. And in a strange irony, butterfly knives are legal.

    There are some cities in MA that tighten the restrictions down. Like in Boston, pocket knives have to be under 2.5 inches.

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