Understanding Kentucky’s Knife Laws: What You Need to Know

When it comes to knife laws, Kentucky is probably the most friendly state in America. There is no illegal knife, so you can carry any knife you want.

As long as the knife is not considered a dangerous weapon according to Kentucky knife laws, you can carry it open or concealed.

If the knife falls under a dangerous weapon category and you are aged under 21 years, you will need a permit to carry it concealed.

Interestingly, every other knife is considered a dangerous weapon in Kentucky, except for hunting and pocket knives.

There is more to it than just that. Not to mention age also plays a vital factor in the legality of carrying a knife.

To learn every nook and cranny of Knife laws in Kentucky, read this article till the end.

Quick Facts

• Illegal Knives: No knife type is illegal.
• Concealed Carry: Concealed carry of any knife is allowed. Unless the knife falls under the dangerous weapon category and the individual is younger than 21 years of age.
• Statewide Preemption: Does not have statewide preemption.
• School Grounds: Knife is not allowed on school property.
• Critical Dimension: No critical dimension is stated by Kentucky knife law.

Illegal Knives In Kentucky

There are no illegal knives in Kentucky thanks to the statute “Constitutional Carry” that the state received on 6/27/2019. It legalizes every possible knife in the state.

Now, there are a lot of knives that Kentucky declared dangerous weapons; we’ll find out on which basis it’s done in the article later.

But remember, even if some knives are not illegal to carry, you may need a permit from the state to carry them concealed if you are underage.

Illegality Based On Different Factors

Is knife laws in Kentucky so simple? Or, is there anything hidden? To make sure there’s nothing hidden, we will check out the illegality of knives in the state from different perspectives.

Illegality In Certain Areas

Although you can carry a knife pretty much anywhere freely in the state, there are places where you will need a permit, even if the knife is legal.

In Kentucky, any kind of knife is considered a dangerous weapon on private or public school grounds, according to KRS 527.070. You can not carry any knife to school, school bus, school field, or any area that the school owns. In order to carry a knife in such a place, you will need prior authorization from the authority.

However, this restriction only applies to k to 12 standards; this law won’t be applicable to post-secondary schools. Besides, this law mentions exceptions to whom the law won’t be applied.

Illegality In Local Governments

There is no statewide preemption in this state. So the local government can establish different laws and can restrict knife carry in government facilities and offices.

Illegality Based On Concealed And Open Knives

You can open and conceal carry any knife you want; there is no problem with that. However, when it comes to concealed carry, you can only conceal carry knives that are not dangerous weapons if you are underaged.

In Kentucky, only pocket knives and hunting knives are not considered dangerous weapons. So you can carry only these two knives concealed without any worry as an underaged individual.

Any other type of knife falls into the dangerous weapon category. Hence you will need a permit to carry them concealed, according to KRS 237.110.

Illegality Of Carrying, Possession, Selling, Manufacturing, Importing, Trading

You can carry, sell, trade, possess, manufacture or import any knife you want; there is no restriction here.

Illegality To The Degree Of Significance, Such As The Impact On Interstate Commerce

There is no restriction on interstate commerce as long as the other states don’t have restrictions against that knife.

Illegality Based On Size

What size knife is legal to carry in Kentucky? There is no size limit for a knife to be legal. You can carry any size knife without any restriction.

List Of Legal Knives

As we have mentioned before, there is no illegal knife in Kentucky as long as you open carry it. Still, many people get confused as some knives are illegal in many states in America. And they think it is probably illegal in Kentucky too.

For those who have doubts about certain knives, here we will give a list of legal knives that are mostly banned in other states:

• Bowies knives
• Switchblades
• Ballistic Knives
• Balisong Knives
• Any type of automatic knives
• Drik & Daggers
• Undetectable knives
• Disguised Knives

Deadly Knife According To Kentucky

Kentucky declares nightsticks, guns, or any weapon of mass destruction to be deadly weapons, and yes, knives also fall into this category.

Hunter knives and pocket knives are the only two knives that are not dangerous, according to §500.080(4).

Penalties & Punishment

We have elaborated on the penalties and punishment for breaking Kentucky knife laws below.

If you cause physical harm to someone with a knife that is legal, you will face a charge of class C felony. The punishment for this crime could be 5 to 10 years of imprisonment.

If you cause physical harm using a knife that is considered a dangerous weapon, you will face a charge of class B felony. The punishment for this crime could be 10 to 20 years of imprisonment.

Kentucky law forbids any knife on school grounds without prior authorization. Breaking this law will get you a charge of class D felony.

Exception In Knife Laws

There is some exception to knife laws that we discussed below:

Carrying a knife that is considered a dangerous weapon in a car will not require a permit. Just keeping the knife in a container, seat pocket, glove compartment, or such is good enough, and you won’t need a permit for that.

Adults or youngsters can conceal carry knives that are considered deadly weapons without a permit on the location where the permits are issued, according to KRS 237.110.

List of Relevant Statutes

Here you can take a look at all the relevant knife statutes of Kentucky, so that you can maintain them:

Conclusion

Well, that’s all there is to it, folks. Kentucky is very friendly when it comes to knife laws. You can carry any knife, open or concealed.

You will need a permit to conceal carry only the knives that are considered dangerous.

Just dont use a knife to cause harm to anyone, conceal carry without a permit while being underaged, or bring a knife to school property, and you will be fine.

Yeah, it is that simple when it comes to Kentucky knife laws! So enjoy the knife liberty if you are stationed in this lovely state.