Connecticut Knife Laws: The 4-Inch Edge, the 1.5-Inch Automatic, and the Vehicle Felony

The Short Version

Connecticut's knife law is one list, written twice. Section 53-206(a) makes it a class E felony to carry on the person "any dirk knife or switch knife, any knife having an automatic spring release device for opening the blade of which the blade is over one and one-half inches in length, any stiletto, any knife the edged portion of the blade of which is four inches or more in length," along with blackjacks, knuckles, batons, martial arts weapons and "any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument." Section 29-38 repeats the same list for weapons "in any vehicle" and makes that a class D felony. Neither statute mentions concealment, and nothing in Connecticut law bans owning any knife at home.

The practical rules are therefore about length and type. A single-edged knife whose sharpened edge is under 4 inches is lawful to carry anywhere the exceptions do not forbid, open or concealed. An automatic knife is lawful only with a blade of 1.5 inches or less, which rules out every OTF we make. A dirk knife or stiletto is not lawful to carry at all, though the Supreme Court held in State v. DeCiccio (2014) that moving one between your homes is protected. For a TEKTO customer that leaves the F-series folders and the X1 Atlas, all with edges well under 4 inches, and none of the automatics.

The Statute: 53-206 and the Two Lengths

Section 53-206 is Connecticut's dangerous weapons statute, and knives appear in it four ways. "Dirk knife or switch knife" and "stiletto" are named without a length. The automatic knife clause reaches "any knife having an automatic spring release device for opening the blade of which the blade is over one and one-half inches in length," so an automatic at or under that length is outside it. The general clause reaches "any knife the edged portion of the blade of which is four inches or more in length," which is the rule for every ordinary folder and fixed blade. And the catch-all, "any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument," reaches objects that are weapons by design or by the manner they are used. A violation is a class E felony, and "any weapon or weapons found upon the person of such person shall be forfeited to the municipality wherein such person was apprehended."

Subsection (b) supplies the exceptions, which AKTI notes are affirmative defenses the defendant must establish: peace officers, security guards with batons, and seven situations in which a person may carry a knife of 4 inches or more, covered below. There is no exception for a chef carrying a knife roll to work, a tradesman, or anyone carrying a long blade for self-defense. The 4-inch rule has no occupational carve-out.

How Connecticut Measures: The Edged Portion

Most states measure a blade from the handle to the tip. Connecticut measures "the edged portion of the blade," which is the sharpened edge, and no appellate decision has said exactly how. AKTI calls the method "not entirely clear," and the safe reading is the longer one: measure from where the sharpening starts to the point, along the edge, and keep the result under 4 inches. A folder sold as a 4-inch blade with a quarter inch of unsharpened choil is close enough to the line that we would not carry it here. The F3 Charlie at 3.80 inches overall has an edge comfortably under 4, and every other F-series knife and the X1 Atlas is shorter still.

Switchblades: 1.5 Inches, and Assisted Openers

Connecticut permits automatic knives with blades of 1.5 inches or less and forbids carrying any longer one, a rule it shares only with Massachusetts. The statute does not say "switchblade" in the automatic clause. It says "any knife having an automatic spring release device for opening the blade," which describes an OTF as well as a side-opener, and it separately lists "switch knife" by name. An OTF with a 1.85-inch blade, the smallest we make, is over the line. A 3.5-inch Spry is far over it. Carrying either on the person is a class E felony and keeping one in a car a class D, with no exception for transport to a knife show or repair, because the (b)(3) exceptions are written for knives of 4 inches or more, not for automatics. Owning one at home is not an offense under either statute.

Assisted openers are an open question. Connecticut has not adopted the bias-toward-closure language that states like Louisiana use to exclude them, and no appellate court has decided whether a spring that finishes an opening the thumb began is "an automatic spring release device." AKTI recommends avoiding them in Connecticut, and so do we. None of our folders is spring-assisted. The F1 Alpha and F2 Bravo open on bearings and the F3 Charlie and F4 Echo are button locks that open by hand.

Dirk Knives, Stilettos and State v. DeCiccio

"Dirk knife" and "stiletto" are named with no length and no definition. In ordinary usage a dirk is a double-edged dagger and a stiletto a narrow stabbing blade, and the Connecticut Supreme Court treated a dirk knife as a fixed-blade fighting knife of the Ka-Bar pattern in State v. DeCiccio, decided December 23, 2014. DeCiccio was moving from Connecticut to Massachusetts with a dirk knife and a police baton in his car. He was convicted under 29-38, and the Supreme Court reversed, holding that a dirk knife is an arm within the Second Amendment and that the statute, as applied to transporting a weapon between residences, was unconstitutional. The court compared the dirk to the Marine Ka-Bar, the Navy Mark 2 and the Army M3 trench knife and rejected the idea that such knives are dangerous and unusual. The holding is narrow: you may own a dirk knife and move it between your homes. Carrying one on the street remains a felony, and a double-edged fixed blade under 4 inches is close enough to the word that we would treat it the same way.

Knives in Vehicles: 29-38

Section 29-38(a) makes it a class D felony to knowingly have "in any vehicle owned, operated or occupied by such person" any weapon on the 53-206 list, including the same four knife categories, and lets the state use the presence of the weapon as evidence against the occupants. The exceptions in subsection (b) match 53-206: the military, merchandise and shows, moving, repair, licensed hunting, fishing and trapping, and reenactment, each for "a knife, the edged portion of the blade of which is four inches or more in length." A hunting knife in a truck during deer season with a license in the glove box is within the exception. The same knife in July is not. The vehicle statute is the one DeCiccio limited, and it is the one most Connecticut knife cases arise under, because the knife is found in a traffic stop.

The Exceptions

Both statutes excuse the carrying of a knife of 4 inches or more by: "(A) any member of the armed forces ... when on duty or going to or from duty, (B) any member of any military organization when on parade or when going to or from any place of assembly, (C) any person while transporting such knife as merchandise or for display at an authorized gun or knife show, (D) any person who is found with any such knife concealed upon one's person while lawfully removing such person's household goods or effects from one place to another, or from one residence to another, (E) any person while actually and peaceably engaged in carrying any such knife from such person's place of abode or business to a place or person where or by whom such knife is to be repaired, or while actually and peaceably returning ... after the same has been repaired, (F) any person holding a valid hunting, fishing, or trapping license ... or any saltwater fisherman carrying such knife for lawful hunting, fishing, or trapping activities, or (G) any person while participating in an authorized historic re-enactment." Note what is missing: work, camping, hiking and self-defense. A 4-inch blade for any of those is a felony in Connecticut, which is why the state's knife owners carry short.

Schools: 53a-217b

Section 53a-217b makes it a class D felony to possess "a firearm or deadly weapon" on "the real property comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school" or at a school-sponsored activity, knowing one is not licensed or privileged to do so. "Deadly weapon" is defined in 53a-3(6) as a firearm "or a switchblade knife, gravity knife, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, or metal knuckles," and the definition says expressly that it does not apply to 29-38 or 53-206. So on school grounds the felony reaches a switchblade or gravity knife of any length, and does not, on the statute's words, reach an ordinary folder. Every board of education's policy does, and a student with any knife is expelled under 10-233d before the definition is argued. The exceptions are for approved programs, agreements with school officials, peace officers and unloaded firearms carried across school land to hunt.

Where You Cannot Carry

• Anywhere, with a knife over the lineA 4-inch-plus edge, an automatic over 1.5 inches, a dirk knife or a stiletto: on the person a class E felony, in a vehicle a class D, outside the listed exceptions.
  53-206
• School grounds and school activitiesNo switchblade, gravity knife or other 53a-3 deadly weapon. Class D felony. School policies bar every knife.
  53a-217b
• CourthousesJudicial marshals screen every entrance and refuse knives of any size. Leave it in the car, in a vehicle-lawful form.
  Judicial Branch
• Airports and federal propertyNo knives past the checkpoint at Bradley International under federal rules, and none in a federal building or courthouse under 18 U.S.C. 930.
  TSA
• Tribal landFoxwoods and Mohegan Sun sit on tribal land with their own codes and security. Both bar weapons.
  Tribal codes
• Private property and workplacesAn owner may bar knives and an employer may set a policy. The remedy is being asked to leave or being disciplined, and after that, trespass.
  Trespass

Penalties

Felony classes are set by 53a-35a and fines by 53a-41. Connecticut has no misdemeanor knife offense. The choice is between a lawful knife and a felony, which is the reason to measure.

What the Internet Gets Wrong

Four things. First, that Connecticut has a 4-inch blade limit. It has a 4-inch edge limit, which is shorter, and the difference is the unsharpened part of the blade. Second, that switchblades are banned. They are permitted at 1.5 inches and under, which is a ban in practice for OTFs but not in law. Third, that DeCiccio legalized dirk knives. It held that owning one and moving it between homes is protected. Carrying one is still a felony. Fourth, that concealment matters. It does not. The statute reads the same for a knife on a belt and a knife in a pocket. The rule that catches people is the vehicle statute: a long hunting knife left in the truck out of season is a class D felony at the next traffic stop.

TEKTO Knives for Connecticut

Connecticut is a folder state for us. The F1 Alpha at 3.10 inches, the F2 Bravo at 3.30 and the F4 Echo at 3.40 all carry edges well under 4 inches and open by hand on bearings or a button, with no spring, which keeps them clear of the automatic clause and the assisted-opener question. The X1 Atlas is a 3.30-inch single-edged fixed blade with a Kydex sheath, lawful on a belt or in a pack and under the line in a vehicle. Our OTF automatics, the A5 Spry, Spry Mini, A2 Badger, A4 and A7 Zastava, and the side-opening A3 Delta, all have blades over 1.5 inches and cannot be carried or kept in a vehicle in Connecticut.