Knife Laws by State: Blade Length, Carry and Automatic Knife Rules for All 50 States

This page is a state by state summary of the knife carry rules that matter most to someone who owns, or is about to buy, a serious blade: whether the state sets a blade length limit for carry, whether a fixed blade can be carried concealed, how automatic knives are treated, and whether the state stops cities from writing their own stricter rules. It covers all fifty states and the District of Columbia in one table.

Read it as a starting point, not as legal advice. Every row was checked against the state statute or the American Knife and Tool Institute (AKTI) summary in the first week of September 2026, and the source is linked in the last column. Laws change, courts reinterpret them, and in states without preemption a city or county can be stricter than the state. If you plan to carry a knife, read the statute for your state and your city before you do. Where the sources were unclear or disagreed, the cell says so rather than guessing.

How to read the table

Blade length limit. The blade length, if any, at which state law starts to treat a knife differently for carry. “None statewide” means the state sets no number. Many states with no number still restrict named types such as dirks or daggers regardless of length, so read the next column too.

Concealed fixed blade. Whether carrying a fixed blade knife hidden on your person is restricted. “Not restricted” means the state does not make concealment an offense for an adult who is not otherwise barred from carrying. “Restricted” means the statute names fixed blade types (bowie, dirk, dagger and so on) that cannot be concealed, or requires a permit.

Automatic knives. The status of switchblades and other knives that open by a button or spring. Assisted openers are a separate question in several states and are noted where the source raised it.

Preemption. A state has preemption when a state statute says local governments cannot regulate knives more strictly than the state does. With preemption, one set of rules applies everywhere in the state. Without it, a city such as Chicago, Denver, Seattle or New York City can and often does set its own blade limits, and the table can only warn you that local rules exist.

Section numbers in the cells refer to the state code. The Source column links to the page checked. Blade lengths are in inches, written as “in”.

Knife laws by state

Table checked in the first week of September 2026. AKTI pages carry their own “last updated” date, and several are older than the statutes they summarize; where a newer primary source was found, it is linked first.

What this means when you buy a large fixed blade, an axe or a sword online

Almost everything in the table is about carrying. Buying a knife, owning it at home, keeping it in a collection and having it shipped to you are a different matter, and in the large majority of states none of that is restricted for an adult. The exceptions are narrow and mostly about automatic knives: Minnesota, New Mexico and the District of Columbia still restrict possession of switchblades, and Maryland bars their sale. Ballistic knives are banned almost everywhere. Ordinary fixed blades, Damascus hunting and camp knives, Viking style seaxes, axes and display swords are not banned from ownership in any state we checked.

The carry rules start to matter the moment the piece leaves the house. A 9 in blade on a Damascus bowie is a fine thing to own in Texas, but it is a “location-restricted knife” the moment you walk into a bar or a courthouse with it. The same bowie cannot be carried concealed in North Carolina, Virginia or Mississippi, and in Rhode Island anything over 3 in has to be carried openly. If you are buying for the wall, the kitchen or the campsite, this is rarely an issue. If you plan to wear it, read your row and then read the statute.

Axes and hatchets sit outside most knife statutes. A few states fold them into a general “dangerous instrument” definition when used to harm someone, and some school and courthouse rules cover any blade, but no state in the table names an axe in its carry statute. A Viking bearded axe is treated much like any other tool: fine to own, fine to transport in a bag or a vehicle, and a bad idea to carry down a city street in your hand.

Swords are named in a handful of states (Arkansas, North Dakota, Rhode Island for sword canes, Oregon by case law, Hawaii until 2024) and are covered by the general concealed carry language in most others. Nobody conceals a sword, so in practice the rule is the same as for axes: own it, transport it cased, and do not carry it in public without a reason a police officer would accept.

The buyer is responsible for knowing the rules where they live. We check the law in Tennessee, where the shop is based, but we cannot check it for every city our customers live in, and city ordinances are exactly where the surprises are in states without preemption.

Where we ship

Ransack Viking is a US company in Memphis, Tennessee. Every piece is handmade in the Czech Republic, then inspected and shipped from Memphis. We ship within the United States. We do not sell automatic knives, ballistic knives, undetectable knives or disguised knives of any kind, so the items with the tightest possession rules are not in the catalogue. Almost everything in the Viking knife range, the Damascus range and the axe range is a fixed blade, a manual folder or a hand tool. The two exceptions are the butterfly knives and the throwing knife sets: both are legal to own in most states, but a balisong is treated as a gravity or automatic knife in a few (New Mexico and California among them), so check the Automatic knives column for your state before ordering one.

Shop the range

Stagcarry Hand Forged Damascus Folding Pocket Knife with Stag Horn Handle & Cowhide Leather Sheath | Gentlemans Everyday Carry Gift | RK-428

$99.00 – $189.00Price range: $99.00 through $189.00

Bluegrain Hand Forged Damascus Folding Pocket Knife with Blue Hardwood Handle & Cowhide Leather Sheath | Gentlemans Everyday Carry Gift | RK-382

$89.00 – $99.00Price range: $89.00 through $99.00

Olivescramasax Hand Forged High Carbon Steel Viking Seax Knife with Olive Wood Handle & Leather Sheath | Norse Reenactment Gift | RK-605

$199.00