Anyone know where I can find one of these?

[ardchoille]

The law here in Seattle states that a private citizen cannot carry, on his/her person, any blade in which the blade portion exceeds 3 inches. Being that I am the type of person who always wishes to comply with the law, I'm looking for a sgian dubh which is compliant with Seattle law. I've looked and looked and I see many beautiful pieces but their blades are always 3.5 inches or longer.

Does anyone know where I can find a sgian dubh in which the blade portion is shorter than 3 inches? I'm not really interested in a "sgian don't".

[Panache]

Check some of the threads from X Markers O'Neille, Rab Gordon, and Raptor (though the later two don't post very often). All three make sgian dubhs and might be able to set you up with a custom knife if all the standard blades sold by most vendors are too long for your needs.

Cheers

Jamie

[ardchoille]

Check some of the threads from X Markers O'Neille, Rab Gordon, and Raptor (though the later two don't post very often). All three make sgian dubhs and might be able to set you up with a custom knife if all the standard blades sold by most vendors are too long for your needs.

Cheers

Jamie

Ah, yes, I was thinking I would have to commission the creation of such an item. Thanks for the info Jamie

[James MacMillan]

I think the easiest way would be to take a current blade and just grind it down to size.

[O'Neille]

I think the easiest way would be to take a current blade and just grind it down to size.

That's what I was thinking. I don't have the code sitting in front of me but somtimes it's the sharp part of the blade so you can still have a blade that is 3.5" with only 3" sharp.

[Streetcar]

I've got some good news and some bad news.

The good news is the allowed blade length is 3 1/2 inches, which is fairly consistant with many sgians.

The bad news is that under Seattle Law, no fixed blade knife of any length is lawful.

"SMC 12A.14.080 Unlawful use of weapons.

It is unlawful for a person knowingly to:...B. Carry concealed or unconcealed on his or her person any dangerous knife..."

SMC 12A.14.010 defines a "Dangerous knife" as "any fixed-blade knife and any other knife having a blade more than three and one-half inches (3 1/2") in length."


That is the letter of Seattle Law.

However,
In practicality, it will depend a lot on the situation and the officer in question. As long as there are no complaints and no other extenuating circumstances, if an officer even bothers to talk to you he/she will likely just warn you to put it away.

**DISCLAIMER - I'm not advising you, or anyone else to break the law, nor should my comments be seen as "permission" to violate any Seattle ordinance.**

[auld argonian]

SMC 12A.14.010 defines a "Dangerous knife" as "any fixed-blade knife and any other knife having a blade more than three and one-half inches (3 1/2") in length."

Is this like the famous comma in the Second Ammendment..."and" as opposed to "or"?

(I certainly don't mean this as a wise-*** comment...I'm sure that there must be some legal distinction there.)

I asked about the same question as Ardchoille a while back on the forum because I figured that there must be someone making sghians who has run into that three-inch-limit thing before. You'd figure that some enterprising person would get hip and make a shorter blade.


Best

AA

[ardchoille]

I've got some good news and some bad news.

The good news is the allowed blade length is 3 1/2 inches, which is fairly consistant with many sgians.

The bad news is that under Seattle Law, no fixed blade knife of any length is lawful.

"SMC 12A.14.080 Unlawful use of weapons.

It is unlawful for a person knowingly to:...B. Carry concealed or unconcealed on his or her person any dangerous knife..."

SMC 12A.14.010 defines a "Dangerous knife" as "any fixed-blade knife and any other knife having a blade more than three and one-half inches (3 1/2") in length."


That is the letter of Seattle Law.

However,
In practicality, it will depend a lot on the situation and the officer in question. As long as there are no complaints and no other extenuating circumstances, if an officer even bothers to talk to you he/she will likely just warn you to put it away.

**DISCLAIMER - I'm not advising you, or anyone else to break the law, nor should my comments be seen as "permission" to violate any Seattle ordinance.**

Thank you very much for that info. I guess I don't really need any type of knife anyway.

[ardchoille]

I think the easiest way would be to take a current blade and just grind it down to size.

From what I understand, though, grinding creates heat in the metal and that can significantly weaken the overall blade.

That's what I was thinking. I don't have the code sitting in front of me but somtimes it's the sharp part of the blade so you can still have a blade that is 3.5" with only 3" sharp.

Whoa, I never even thought about that. I'll have to look into this a bit more, I may be able to use your info on current sgians. Thanks for the idea.

[bigdad1]

As has been pointed out it appears that any blade in Seattle is against the law. As fas as grinding an existing blade down there are a couple of things to consider. First if you grind slowly and only take off small areas at a time the metal will not get hot enough to change the metallurgy. Should the blade get too hot dipping it in cold water immediately will hold the temper. Just grind slowly and grind the entire length of the blade to avoid build up in one area. Lastly since the blade is decorative only and you aren't planning to go into battle with it in your fist it doesn't really matter is the temper changes since it should always be tucked into your hose anyway.