Kentucky Knife Laws: Deadly Weapons, the Ordinary Pocket Knife, and Carry at 21

The Short Version

Kentucky's knife law turns on one definition and one date. The definition is in KRS 500.080(4): a "deadly weapon" includes "any knife other than an ordinary pocket knife or hunting knife." The date is June 27, 2019, when KRS 237.109 took effect and allowed "persons age twenty-one (21) or older, and otherwise able to lawfully possess a firearm," to "carry concealed firearms or other concealed deadly weapons without a license." Put together: an adult of 21 or older may carry any knife in Kentucky, openly or concealed, and no knife is banned. Under 21, KRS 527.020 still makes it a Class A misdemeanor to carry a deadly weapon concealed, so the concealed knife has to be an ordinary pocket knife or a hunting knife, and the courts have refused to say exactly what those words mean.

The rule that matters most is the school rule. KRS 527.070 makes possession of a deadly weapon on K-12 school property a Class D felony, up to five years, and a non-ordinary knife is a deadly weapon. For a TEKTO customer: every knife we make is legal to own and carry in Kentucky from 21 on, including the OTF automatics and the double-edged A7 Zastava. Under 21, carry the automatics and fixed blades openly, and nothing we sell goes near a school.

The Deadly Weapon Definition

Kentucky does not list banned knives or restrict daggers, switchblades or blade lengths by name. It does something simpler and broader: 500.080(4) defines "deadly weapon" as a weapon of mass destruction, any weapon that fires a shot, "any knife other than an ordinary pocket knife or hunting knife," a billy, nightstick or club, a blackjack or slapjack, nunchaku, a shuriken or death star, and artificial knuckles. Every statute that uses the term, the concealed carry section, the school section, the places list for license holders, the forfeiture section, then applies to every knife that is not an ordinary pocket knife or a hunting knife. An OTF is a deadly weapon. So is a dagger, a balisong, a large locking folder, and, on the facts of one case, a five-inch locking folder. None of that means any of them is illegal. It means the age rule and the place rules attach to them.

What Is an Ordinary Pocket Knife

Neither term is defined, and the Court of Appeals has gone out of its way not to define them. In White v. Commonwealth (2004) it upheld a conviction over three of nine knives, "the butterfly knife, the lockblade tactical knife that could be opened with one hand, and the tactical knife with the seven-inch blade," and marked the opinion not to be published. In Crabtree v. Commonwealth (2014) it upheld a jury's finding that a folder "with a five to six-inch blade" was not an ordinary pocket knife, while declining "to hold that as a matter of law a pocket knife with any particular blade length is or is not an ordinary pocket knife," and marked that one not to be published either. Crumes v. Commonwealth (2005) in the Supreme Court was the same. AKTI concludes that it cannot give reliable guidance, and neither can we: for anyone under 21 the question of whether a concealed knife was "ordinary" goes to a jury. Our reading of the cases is that a small, slipjoint or modest locking folder is ordinary and that one-hand opening, a long blade, a double edge and anything sold as a fighting knife push a knife out of the category.

Carrying at 21 and Over: 237.109 Since 2019

Before 2019, carrying a non-ordinary knife concealed required a concealed deadly weapon license under KRS 237.110, available at 21. The 2019 permitless carry act added 237.109, which lets persons 21 or older who may lawfully possess a firearm "carry concealed firearms or other concealed deadly weapons without a license in the same locations as persons with valid licenses." Subsection (4) of 527.020 confirms it: persons carrying under 237.109 or licensed under 237.110 "may carry a concealed firearm or other concealed deadly weapon on or about their persons at all times within the Commonwealth," and "no criminal penalty shall attach to carrying a concealed firearm or other deadly weapon at any location at which an unconcealed firearm or other deadly weapon may be constitutionally carried." The same subsection bars any person or organization, public or private, from prohibiting a deadly weapon kept in your vehicle in compliance with those sections. The phrase "in the same locations as" license holders matters: the places list in 237.110(16) applies to you, and that is the next section but one.

Under 21: 527.020 and What Concealed Means

Under 21, 527.020(1) governs: "A person is guilty of carrying a concealed weapon when he or she carries concealed a firearm or other deadly weapon on or about his or her person in violation of this section." A Class A misdemeanor, up to twelve months and $500, and a Class D felony if you have a prior felony involving a deadly weapon. There is no intent element and no statutory definition of concealed. Kentucky courts, restating the rule in Sykes v. Commonwealth (2018), hold a weapon concealed "when so placed that it cannot be readily seen under ordinary observation," and in Sykes a handgun in a waistband became a concealed weapon when a shirt fell over it. AKTI draws the obvious lesson for a clipped folder: a clip and a half inch of handle showing is open carry until a jacket hem covers it. For an eighteen-year-old with an OTF, that is the whole case, which is why the under-21 advice is to carry the automatic openly, on the belt or clipped outside, and keep the concealed knife ordinary.

Schools: A Class D Felony

KRS 527.070 makes it a Class D felony to knowingly deposit, possess or carry "any firearm or other deadly weapon," openly or concealed, on school property, which includes school buildings, buses, campuses, grounds, recreation areas and athletic fields of any public or private K-12 school. Postsecondary institutions are excluded. Every school must post a sign saying so, and the sign states the stakes: up to five years and $10,000. The exemptions cover peace officers, the military, ROTC and school-sanctioned teams, approved gun and knife shows, lawful hunting on school land open to it, and an adult who is not a pupil keeping a firearm in a vehicle on school property, and none of the exemptions allows a concealed weapon inside an elementary or secondary school building. Because the statute uses "deadly weapon," an ordinary pocket knife is outside it on the statute's own terms. Every district's code of conduct closes that gap for students, and we would not test it as an adult either.

Where You Cannot Carry

• K-12 school property, buses and athletic fieldsAny deadly weapon, open or concealed: Class D felony. Ordinary pocket knives are outside the statute but inside every school policy.
  527.070
• Police stations, jails, courthouses and court facilitiesListed in 237.110(16) as places where a license holder, and so a 237.109 carrier, may not carry a concealed deadly weapon.
  237.110(16)
• Meetings of a governing body and government buildingsConcealed deadly weapons are barred from meetings of the General Assembly and local governing bodies under 237.110(16), and under 237.115 and 237.104(2) a local government may bar them from its own offices and facilities.
  237.115
• The bar area of a restaurant, and barsNo concealed deadly weapon in any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcohol that is primarily devoted to that purpose.
  237.110(16)
• Child care facilities and the secured areas of airportsBoth are on the 237.110(16) list, and federal rules bar knives past the TSA checkpoint at Louisville, Lexington and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky regardless.
  237.110(16)
• Private propertyAn owner may prohibit concealed deadly weapons on the premises under 237.115. The remedy is being asked to leave, then trespass. A vehicle in the parking lot is protected by 527.020(4).
  237.115

Minors and Local Rules

Kentucky sets no minimum age to buy, own or carry a knife, and no youth statute other than the under-21 concealment rule and the school felony. On local law, the state preempts firearm ordinances under KRS 65.870, but knives are not included, and AKTI names two city ordinances, Lexington section 14-19.4 and Louisville section 41.02, that restrict knives. Two other statutes limit what a city can do: KRS 82.082 confines local power to what does not conflict with state law, and 237.104(1) provides that "no person, unit of government, or governmental organization shall ... impair the validity of the right of any person to purchase, transfer, loan, own, possess, carry, or use ... any deadly weapon or dangerous instrument." Whether that voids the Lexington and Louisville rules has not been decided. Read the city code before carrying a large knife in either, and treat the state rules on this page as the floor.

Penalties

Misdemeanor terms are set by 532.090 (Class A, up to twelve months) and fines by 534.040 (Class A, up to $500). Class D felony terms by 532.060 (one to five years) and fines by 534.030 ($1,000 to $10,000).

What the Internet Gets Wrong

Three things. First, that Kentucky requires a license to carry a knife concealed. It did, for non-ordinary knives, until June 27, 2019. From 21 on, it does not. Second, that "deadly weapon" means banned. Nothing on Kentucky's list is banned. The term decides who may carry it concealed and where. Third, that a hunting knife has to be used for hunting to qualify. The definition excludes a "hunting knife" by its nature, with no condition. The real trap is the one the courts refuse to define: an eighteen-year-old with a clipped, one-hand-opening folder under a jacket has a jury question about whether it was "ordinary," and Crabtree says a long blade loses that argument.

TEKTO Knives for Kentucky

From 21 on, every TEKTO knife is a Kentucky knife. The A5 Spry in any blade style and the A2 Badger are the OTF automatics we would carry concealed here. Both are deadly weapons under 500.080, which from 21 on is a label and nothing more. The F2 Bravo is a 3.30-inch folder that we would call an ordinary pocket knife, but a prosecutor might not, so under 21 clip it outside the pocket. The X1 Atlas is a 3.30-inch MagnaCut fixed blade with a Kydex sheath, and a hunting knife by any reading, which makes it the one TEKTO knife a Kentuckian of any age can carry concealed without a thought. None of them goes to school, a courthouse or a bar.