Delaware Knife Laws: The 3.75-Inch Pocketknife, the 2025 Switchblade Repeal and the One Felony That Is Left

The Short Version

Delaware has one knife-carry offense, and everything on this page is about whether it reaches you. Section 1442 of Title 11 makes it a class G felony to carry "concealed a deadly weapon upon or about the person without a license." Open carry of any knife is not an offense. "Deadly weapon" is defined in section 222(6), and the definition does two things to knives: it includes "a knife of any sort, other than an ordinary pocketknife carried in a closed position," and it lists "a switchblade knife" as a deadly weapon on its own line. An ordinary pocketknife is "a knife having a blade not more than 3.75 inches in length," a figure that was 3 inches until Senate Bill 108 took effect on July 30, 2025. The same bill repealed section 1446, the 1953 statute that made it an offense to sell or possess any knife "the blade of which is released by a spring mechanism or by gravity," so switchblades, OTFs and gravity knives are now legal to own, buy, sell and carry openly. They remain deadly weapons, which means carrying one concealed without a license is the same felony as a concealed dagger. Three kinds of knife are still banned outright: undetectable knives, knuckle knives and throwing stars. A person under 18 and a person with a felony conviction may not possess any deadly weapon, which for knives means anything but an ordinary pocketknife. Delaware preempts local firearm regulation and not knife regulation, so Wilmington, Dover and Newark can have rules of their own.

What Changed on July 30, 2025

Senate Bill 108 of the 153rd General Assembly was signed by Governor Meyer on July 30, 2025 and took effect that day as Chapter 119 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware. Its synopsis says it "removes prohibitions in Title 11 of the Delaware Code related to owning or possessing certain types of knives that may be opened by one hand," and that such knives "would still subject them to prosecution for deadly weapons-related offenses" when used in an attack. It did two things. Section 1 rewrote the ordinary pocketknife definition in 222(6)b from "a folding knife having a blade not more than 3 inches in length" to "a knife having a blade not more than 3.75 inches in length," raising the line by three quarters of an inch and dropping the word "folding." Section 2 repealed section 1446, unlawfully dealing with a switchblade knife, which had been on the books since 1953 and made selling, offering for sale or possessing a spring- or gravity-released knife an unclassified misdemeanor. What the bill did not do is remove "a switchblade knife" from the list of deadly weapons in 222(6)a, so the repeal legalized owning and open carry of an automatic and left concealed carry of one where it was. The old version of this page was written for the law before the bill: it said automatic knives were illegal to own and that the pocketknife line was 3 inches. Both were true until July 29, 2025 and neither is true now.

Deadly Weapon, Ordinary Pocketknife and the 3.75-Inch Line

Section 222(6)a lists fourteen kinds of deadly weapon. Two concern knives: item 3, "a knife of any sort, other than an ordinary pocketknife carried in a closed position," and item 4, "a switchblade knife." Item 13 adds "a dangerous instrument, which is used, or attempted to be used, to cause death or serious physical injury," which is how an ordinary pocketknife becomes a deadly weapon the moment it is used as one. Paragraph (6)b supplies the exception: "for the purpose of this definition, 'ordinary pocketknife' means a knife having a blade not more than 3.75 inches in length." Three things follow. First, the exception has two conditions, length and "carried in a closed position," so a 3-inch folder carried open in a pocket is, on the words, a deadly weapon. Second, since the 2025 amendment deleted "folding," a small fixed blade in a sheath has a claim to be an ordinary pocketknife on length, but it cannot be "carried in a closed position," and no court has read the new text. The safe reading is that a fixed blade of any length is a deadly weapon when concealed. Third, blade length is measured the way the Superior Court measured it in State v. Harmon, 800 A.2d 1289 (2002): the blade is the whole part that extends from the handle, sharpened or not, so a knife with a 3.5-inch edge and a 3.9-inch blade is over the line. The manufacturer's listed blade length is usually the right number, but it is the one to check.

Concealed Carry: Section 1442, the License and the Cases

Section 1442(a) reads: "A person is guilty of carrying a concealed deadly weapon when the person carries concealed a deadly weapon upon or about the person without a license to do so as provided by section 1441 of this title." For a knife the offense is a class G felony, up to 2 years. For a firearm it is a class D felony. The license in section 1441 is Delaware's concealed deadly weapon license, issued by the Superior Court after an application to the Prothonotary, a certificate from five "respectable citizens" of the county, publication of the applicant's name, and, before the first license issues, a firearms training course with 100 rounds of live fire. The license covers deadly weapons generally, so a holder may carry a knife of any length concealed, and the statute makes a lapsed license a defense while a timely renewal is pending. Three cases give the words their meaning. Robertson v. State, 704 A.2d 267 (1997), adopted the ordinary test for "concealed": hidden from the ordinary sight of another person. Gallman v. State (2011), following Dubin v. State, 397 A.2d 132 (1979), holds that a weapon is "about the person" when it is immediately available and accessible, judged by whether the person would have to change position appreciably to reach it, whether it could be reached while driving, and how long reaching it would take. A knife under a sweatshirt on the floor by your feet qualifies, a knife locked in the trunk does not. And in Griffin v. State (2012) the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a conviction for a steak knife carried concealed inside the defendant's own home, holding that Article I, Section 20 of the Delaware Constitution, "the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and State," protects carrying a concealed knife at home for a lawful purpose. The court said the right is not absolute and that the balance shifts once police ask about the weapon, so the protection is for the home and not the porch.

Switchblades, OTFs and Butterfly Knives

Since July 30, 2025 there is no Delaware statute against owning, buying, selling or carrying an automatic knife. The repealed section 1446 described one as a knife "the blade of which is released by a spring mechanism or by gravity," which covered side-opening automatics, OTFs and gravity knives. Section 222 lists "a switchblade knife" without defining it, and a court would likely borrow the same description. The part of the law that survived is the list. Because a switchblade is a deadly weapon in its own right under 222(6)a.4, and the ordinary pocketknife exception is written into item 3 and not item 4, the cautious reading is that an automatic carried concealed is a deadly weapon whatever its blade length, and that an OTF with a 3.5-inch blade clipped inside a pocket is a class G felony for anyone without a license. The synopsis of Senate Bill 108 points the same way: the bill removed the prohibitions on "owning or possessing" one-hand-opening knives and left the deadly-weapon offenses in place. A court could read the pocketknife exception to cover a short automatic. Nothing in the text or the cases says it does. Carried openly, on a belt sheath or clipped with the handle in plain view, an automatic is lawful for an adult who is not a person prohibited. Assisted-opening knives are a closer case: the blade is started by hand, so the old description, "released by a spring mechanism," arguably never fit them, and a 3.5-inch assisted folder carried closed has the better argument for the pocketknife exception. A butterfly knife opens by hand with no spring and no gravity release, so it was never a switchblade under section 1446 and is not one now. It follows the general rule, legal to own and carry openly, a deadly weapon when concealed unless the blade is 3.75 inches or less and it is carried closed.

Knives That Are Still Banned

Three statutes still make possession of a knife an offense by type. Section 1446A makes it a class G felony to commercially manufacture, import for sale, offer for sale "or possess any undetectable knife," meaning a knife "commercially manufactured to be used as a weapon" that a metal detector cannot find because no detectable material is permanently affixed. A knife with a steel blade is never one, and a ceramic or composite blade sold as a cutting tool rather than as a weapon is outside the words. Section 1452 makes it a class B misdemeanor to sell or possess a knuckles-combination knife, "a knife, the blade of which is supported by a knuckle ring grip handle." Section 1453 does the same for "a sharp metal throwing star." Each of these is an underlying offense for the Safe Recreation Zone enhancement in section 1457, which raises a class B misdemeanor to class A and a class G felony to class F when the offense happens in a recreation center, athletic field or stadium.

Where You Cannot Carry

• Recreation centers, athletic fields and sports stadiumsSection 1457 defines a "Safe Recreation Zone" as any building or structure owned or leased by the State, a county, a municipality or a private organization "which is utilized as a recreation center, athletic field or sports stadium," and makes a list of underlying offenses one grade worse there: carrying a concealed deadly weapon becomes a class F felony, possession by a person prohibited becomes class E, and the knuckle-knife and throwing-star misdemeanors become class A. Not knowing you were in a zone is no defense. An ordinary pocketknife carried closed is not a deadly weapon and the section does not reach it.
  1457
• SchoolsDelaware's school-zone statute, section 1457A, covers firearms and projectile weapons and does not mention knives. The 2023 and 2024 amendments split the old "Safe School and Recreation Zone" into a firearms rule for schools and the recreation-zone enhancement above. A knife on school grounds is governed by the general rules, concealed carry and persons prohibited, and by the school's conduct code, which under the Department of Education's uniform definitions treats possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument as an expellable offense. For a student under 18, any knife over 3.75 inches is a felony anywhere, school included.
  1457A
• Courthouses and state buildingsDelaware courts screen everyone at the door and will take any knife. Capitol Police do the same at Legislative Hall. The rule is the building's, not a statute, and a concealed deadly weapon inside is still a section 1442 felony.
  Court security
• Airports and federal propertyNo knives past the checkpoint at Wilmington or Philadelphia International under federal rules, and none in a federal building or courthouse under 18 U.S.C. 930.
  TSA
• Posted private property and workplacesDelaware has no statute giving a "no weapons" sign criminal force for knives. A posted rule is enforced by asking you to leave, then trespass, and an employer's policy by the employer.
  Trespass

Minors and Persons Prohibited

Section 1448(a) lists the people who may not purchase, own, possess or control "a deadly weapon or ammunition for a firearm" in Delaware: anyone convicted of a felony or of a crime of violence involving physical injury. Anyone involuntarily committed or found not guilty by reason of insanity. Anyone convicted of a narcotics or controlled-substance offense. A juvenile adjudicated for felony conduct, until 25. Anyone under 21. Anyone subject to a protection-from-abuse order or a lethal violence protective order. Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. A felony fugitive. The under-21 rule has an exception in (a)(5)a.3 for "deadly weapons, including projectile weapons other than firearms if the person is 18 years of age or older," which is the whole of Delaware's knife rule for young people: at 18 you may own any knife, and under 18 you may own only an ordinary pocketknife, because every switchblade and every knife over 3.75 inches is a deadly weapon. The statute writes exceptions for a minor hunting or target shooting with a firearm under adult supervision. It writes none for a knife, so a 16-year-old with a 4-inch fixed blade on a camping trip is, on the words, a person prohibited in possession of a deadly weapon. That is a class F felony under 1448(c), and paragraph (f) adds a six-month minimum for a 15-to-17-year-old prohibited under (a)(5). We found no reported case applying either provision to a knife, and the practical rule for a parent is simple: until 18, folders of 3.75 inches or less, carried closed. For a person with a felony conviction the same definition applies for life, unless the conviction was for a non-felony offense, in which case the bar lifts after five years. A person prohibited cannot hold the section 1441 license, so the concealed-carry question never arises. The possession question does, and it reaches a bowie in a kitchen drawer as surely as one on a belt.

Wilmington, Dover and Local Rules

Delaware's preemption statutes, 22 Del. C. 111 for municipalities and 9 Del. C. 330 for counties, reserve "the regulation of firearms" to the General Assembly. They say nothing about knives, and the American Knife and Tool Institute lists Delaware's statewide knife preemption as "none." Wilmington, Dover, Newark and the beach towns may therefore have weapons ordinances that reach knives, and Wilmington in particular has long had its own offenses chapter. We did not read the city codes for this page and cannot tell you what they say today. The state rules here are the floor. If you carry anything beyond an ordinary pocketknife in Wilmington or on the Rehoboth boardwalk, read the municipal code or ask the police department before you rely on the state line.

Penalties

What the Internet Gets Wrong

Five things, and the old version of this page had the first two. First, that switchblades and automatic knives are illegal to own in Delaware: they were, under section 1446, until July 30, 2025, and they are not now. Second, that the pocketknife line is 3 inches: it is 3.75 inches, and the amendment also dropped the word "folding." Third, the opposite error, now common on knife forums, that the repeal made automatics legal to carry any way you like: the bill did not touch the deadly-weapon list, a switchblade is still on it with no length exception, and concealed carry of one without a license is the same class G felony it always was. Fourth, that 3.75 inches is a blade limit: it is the boundary of the pocketknife exception, not a cap. A 5-inch folder and a 10-inch bowie are legal to own and carry openly at any age over 18. They are deadly weapons only for the concealed-carry and persons-prohibited rules. Fifth, that Delaware has no age rule for knives: it does, through section 1448, and it is stricter than most states. A person under 18 may not possess any deadly weapon, which puts every switchblade and every knife over 3.75 inches off limits to a minor, and the offense is a felony.

TEKTO Knives for Delaware

Every TEKTO knife is legal to own and carry openly in Delaware for an adult who is not a person prohibited. The question is the pocket. The F1 Alpha at 3.10 inches, the F2 Bravo at 3.30 and the F4 Echo at 3.40 are ordinary pocketknives under section 222: carried closed, they can go in a pocket, open or concealed, with no license. The F3 Charlie is 3.80 inches, five hundredths over the line, so in Delaware it is a deadly weapon when concealed. Carry it clipped with the handle in plain view, or get the section 1441 license. The OTFs, the A5 Spry, A5 Spry Mini, A2 Badger, A7 Zastava and A4, and the A3 Delta side-opener are legal to buy and own since July 30, 2025, and the safe way to carry one in Delaware is openly, because a switchblade is a deadly weapon on its own line of the definition whatever its blade length. The X1 Atlas is a 3.30-inch fixed blade: on the belt in its Kydex sheath it is open carry and lawful. Under a jacket it is a fixed blade that cannot be "carried in a closed position," and the pocketknife exception has not been tested on one. Keep every one of them away from anyone under 18 except the three folders, and if you drive with a Charlie or an OTF loose in the console, move it to the trunk before you cross the Delaware line.