West Virginia Knife Laws: The 3.5-Inch Pocket Knife, Carry at 21, and the School Felony

The Short Version

West Virginia's knife law is Article 7 of Chapter 61, "Dangerous Weapons," and it begins with definitions. 61-7-2(9) defines "knife" as "an instrument, intended to be used or readily adaptable to be used as a weapon, consisting of a sharp-edged or sharp-pointed blade, usually made of steel, attached to a handle which is capable of inflicting cutting, stabbing, or tearing wounds," and says the term includes "any dagger, dirk, poniard, or stiletto, with a blade over three and one-half inches in length, any switchblade knife or gravity knife and any other instrument capable of inflicting cutting, stabbing, or tearing wounds," while a pocket knife "with a blade three and one-half inches or less in length," a hunting or fishing knife "carried for hunting, fishing, sports or other recreational uses," and a knife "designed for use as a tool or household implement" are not knives under the definition. A knife is a "deadly weapon." The rest of the article attaches to that term by age: at 21 or older, 61-7-7 lets anyone who is not a prohibited person carry a concealed deadly weapon with no license. From 18 to 20, 61-7-3 makes concealing one without a provisional license a misdemeanor. Under 18, 61-7-8 bars possessing one at all.

Then there are the places. 61-7-11a makes any knife on public school or court premises a felony, two to ten years, and for that section alone it counts even the small pocket knife. Since 2020 the state preempts municipal knife ordinances. For a TEKTO customer of 21 or older who may lawfully own a firearm, every knife we make is a West Virginia knife, OTF automatics and the double-edged A7 Zastava included. Under 21, the F-series folders at 3.5 inches or less are the knives the definition leaves alone.

The Definitions: Knife, Deadly Weapon and Concealed

Three defined terms do the work. "Knife" is quoted above. Its two halves are a list of what is in, headed by the four stabbing knives over 3.5 inches and the switchblade and gravity knife at any length, and a list of what is out, the short pocket knife, the hunting or fishing knife carried for recreation, and the tool, each of which comes back in if the knife "is knowingly used or intended to be used to produce serious bodily injury or death." AKTI notes that the recreational and tool exclusions function as affirmative defenses, with the burden on the person carrying the knife. "Deadly weapon," in 61-7-2(5), is "an instrument which is designed to be used to produce serious bodily injury or death or is readily adaptable to such use," including a knife, and for the school and court section it expands to include "a knife ... with a blade of three and one-half inches or less in length." "Concealed" means "hidden from ordinary observation so as to prevent disclosure or recognition," and AKTI argues, untested, that a visible pocket clip takes a knife out of that definition.

The switchblade and gravity knife definitions in subdivisions (15) and (8) are the familiar ones: a blade that "opens automatically when pressure is applied to a button, catch, or other release device in the handle," and a blade released "by the force of gravity or the application of centrifugal force" that locks in place. An OTF is a switchblade, and a 1.85-inch OTF is a knife and a deadly weapon, because the 3.5-inch exclusion is for a "pocket knife," which the automatic clause is written to override.

Carry at 21 and Over: 61-7-7

West Virginia's permitless carry act, House Bill 4145 of 2016, is written in 61-7-7, which lists the prohibited persons, felons, fugitives, people under domestic violence orders and the rest, and then provides that any person who is not prohibited "and who is twenty-one years of age or older may carry a concealed deadly weapon without a license." The right covers knives as fully as handguns. A 21-year-old may carry a dagger, an OTF, a bowie knife or a balisong concealed anywhere the place rules do not forbid, and the concealed handgun license, which still exists, adds reciprocity in other states and nothing in this one. Open carry has never been restricted at any adult age.

Ages 18 to 20: 61-7-3 and the Provisional License

Section 61-7-3 makes it a misdemeanor for a person under 21 to carry a concealed deadly weapon "without a state license or other lawful authorization established under the provisions of this code," with a fine of "not less than $100 nor more than $1,000" and up to twelve months in jail. The 2016 act created a provisional license for 18-to-20-year-olds, issued by the sheriff after a background check and training, and it authorizes concealed carry of deadly weapons. Without one, an 18-year-old's options are the knives the definition excludes, a pocket knife of 3.5 inches or less, a hunting or fishing knife carried for recreation, a tool, or open carry of anything. AKTI puts it plainly: an 18-to-20-year-old who carries "only fixed or manual folding knives with blades of 3.5 inches or less" is compliant even concealed, and a longer blade or an automatic should ride openly until 21 or until the license arrives.

Under 18: 61-7-8

Section 61-7-8 provides that a person under 18 "shall not possess a deadly weapon" unless married or otherwise emancipated, a misdemeanor, with exceptions for firearms used under adult supervision in hunting and sport. The section reaches the deadly-weapon knives, a dagger over 3.5 inches, a switchblade, a gravity knife, and does not reach a pocket knife of 3.5 inches or less, a hunting knife carried for hunting, or a tool, because none of those is a "knife" under the definition. A fifteen-year-old with a 3-inch folder is within the law. The same fifteen-year-old with an OTF is not, and the statute makes no exception for parental permission.

Schools and Courts: 61-7-11a

Section 61-7-11a is the serious statute in the article. It makes it a felony, "imprisoned in a state correctional facility for a definite term of years of not less than two nor more than ten years, or fined not more than $5,000, or both," to possess a deadly weapon on the premises of any public primary or secondary school, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored function, and on the premises of any court of law. For this section the definition of deadly weapon expands to include a knife with a blade of 3.5 inches or less, so the pocket knife that is lawful everywhere else in the state is a felony at the school door. The exceptions are law enforcement, a weapon in a locked motor vehicle, a parent or guardian dropping off or picking up a student without displaying the weapon, and, by name, the Mountaineer and Parkersburg South Patriot mascots while performing. Private schools may opt out in writing. Most do not. Nothing else in West Virginia knife law carries a mandatory two-year floor.

Preemption and Brandishing

Section 8-12-5a bars municipalities from regulating "the purchase, possession, transfer, ownership, carrying, transport, sale, or storage" of deadly weapons, and the 2020 amendment that took effect May 31, 2020 extended it from firearms to all deadly weapons, knives included. AKTI notes that municipal knife ordinances were common before then. They are unenforceable now, though some city codes still print them. Section 61-7-11 is the brandishing statute: it is a misdemeanor to carry, expose or brandish a deadly weapon "in a way or manner to cause, or threaten, a breach of the peace," with a fine of $50 to $1,000 and up to a year. A knife in a pocket is not a breach of the peace. A knife waved in an argument is.

Where You Cannot Carry

• Public school property, school buses and school-sponsored functionsAny knife, down to the smallest pocket knife. Felony, two to ten years. A knife in a locked vehicle, or a parent at pickup who does not display it, is excepted.
  61-7-11a
• Court premisesAny knife. The same felony. Leave it in the car.
  61-7-11a
• Airports and federal propertyNo knives past the checkpoint at Yeager or any other airport under federal rules, and none in a federal building or courthouse under 18 U.S.C. 930.
  TSA
• State Capitol and public buildings that postThe Capitol complex screens for weapons. Other public buildings may bar them under their own security rules.
  Security rules
• 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

The school and court statute is the only knife felony in the article, and it is the only one with a minimum term.

What the Internet Gets Wrong

Three things. First, that West Virginia has a 3.5-inch blade limit. It has a 3.5-inch definition: below it a pocket knife is not a knife at all, above it a dagger is a deadly weapon, and from 21 on the distinction does not restrict carry. Second, that switchblades are illegal. They are deadly weapons, lawful for anyone 21 or older to carry concealed, and lawful for anyone 18 or older to carry openly. Third, that the school rule is the same 3.5-inch rule. It is not. For schools and courts the definition expands to every knife, and the penalty is a felony with a two-year floor. That is the rule people miss, usually a parent with a 3-inch folder at a basketball game.

TEKTO Knives for West Virginia

From 21 on, every TEKTO knife is a West Virginia knife, and the A5 Spry in any blade style is the OTF we would carry concealed here. From 18 to 20, without a provisional license, the knives the definition leaves alone are the ones to pocket: the F2 Bravo at 3.30 inches and the F4 Echo at 3.40 are pocket knives under 3.5 inches, and the X1 Atlas is a hunting knife at 3.30 inches with a Kydex sheath, carried for the woods and the river. The Spry, the Spry Mini and the A2 Badger are switchblades at any length, which means open carry until 21 and not at all under 18. Nothing, not even the Badger, goes onto school or court premises.