Is It Legal To Carry This Knife In Your Pocket In Florida Without A Concealed Weapons Permit

Is it illegal to carry a pocket knife in Florida? What are the penalties for such?

It is not illegal to carry pocket knife in the state of Florida,You can open carry any knife.Box cutters, multi-tools, and other work knives are legal to carry concealed.In most cases, conceal carry of a common pocket knife with a blade of less than 4 inches is legal.Anything outside of this has not been expressly banned or allowed : “ source: Knifeup.com”What the Law saysFla. Stat. § 790.01 (2012)§ 790.01. Carrying concealed weapons[A] person who carries a concealed weapon […] on or about his or her person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.“Concealed weapon” means any dirk, metallic knuckles, slungshot, billie, tear gas gun, chemical weapon or device, or other deadly weapon carried on or about a person in such a manner as to conceal the weapon from the ordinary sight of another person.“Weapon” means any dirk, knife, metallic knuckles, slungshot, billie, tear gas gun, chemical weapon or device, or other deadly weapon except a firearm or a common pocketknife, plastic knife, or blunt-bladed table knife.Let's dig it deeper!It is a crime to carry a concealed weapon. Concealed weapon means any deadly weapon that is outside of sight of others. Courts have found that deadly weapons are weapons that can cause death or grave bodily harm. So, what kinds of knives counts as deadly weapons? What is a “common pocket knife? Well, the law doesn’t say so it is up to the courts to determine.

If you have a concealed carry permit, does it allow you to also carry a concealed knife?

That's an excellent question. Everyone should carry a pocket knife, but knives have never been considered to be a part of the US RKBA.   Knife laws around the country are inconsistent, illogical and sometimes, downright bizarre.  And in other countries,  the standards can be anything or nothing. Most US jurisdictions ban you from carrying, or even owning, certain kinds of knives, usually switchblades, balisong, ballistic knives and sometimes Bowie knives, swords or stilettos (long, pointy, double-edged knives). In Florida, where I live, your Concealed Weapons Permit is just that -- a permit to carry concealed weapons, not just guns.  If you could conceal a katana, you should be OK.  It allows you to conceal switchblades, balisong and straight blades of any size.   But only in Florida.  The permit is honored in 35 other states -- but the laws of each individual state dictate whether you can carry the knives. And most don't allow it. And even in Florida you can't carry a ballistic knife, a slungshot or brass knuckles. OTOH, in Florida, you can carry a single-bladed folding knife in your pocket with a blade of up to four inches without a CCW permit, which is a very reasonable standard, in my opinion. Interestingly, this came about not as legislation, but through a decision of the state Supreme Court, deciding what constitutes a "common pocketknife." And open carry of most any knife is legal.Also, even though Florida has a pre-emption statute that takes gun legislation out of the hands of local governments and creates a single statewide standard, knives are not covered, and some local governments have passed more restrictive knife laws. Interestingly, Florida is one of the few places on the US where you can own and carry (with a CCW permit) a switchblade or a balisong.  Switchblades were banned not because they were particularly lethal, but because they became iconic weapons in  Hollywood movies like Rebel Without A Cause and 12 Angry Men.  The balisong was introduced to the American public through the movies in the 1970s, and started being banned within a few years.  Some of those bans have now been reversed. We really need a national knife law.