Michigan Knife Laws: The Double-Edge Felony, the Vehicle Trap, and Switchblades Since 2017

The Short Version

Michigan's knife law comes down to one sentence in MCL 750.227(1): a person "shall not carry a dagger, dirk, stiletto, a double-edged nonfolding stabbing instrument of any length, or any other dangerous weapon, except a hunting knife adapted and carried as such, concealed on or about his or her person, or whether concealed or otherwise in any vehicle operated or occupied by the person," outside the person's home, business or land. Everything important is in that sentence. The named knives are the double-edged ones. "Any other dangerous weapon" has been read by the Supreme Court to mean a knife you intend to use as a weapon, not any knife that could hurt someone. And the vehicle clause is the trap: a double-edged knife in a car is a felony whether it is hidden or sitting on the seat.

There is no blade length for ordinary carry, no banned knife, no permit, and since October 11, 2017, no switchblade law. For a TEKTO customer the rule is simple: every single-edged knife we make, including the OTF automatics, is legal to carry in Michigan open or concealed, and the double-edged ones, the A7 Zastava and the double-edge Spry, are knives to own at home and not to put in a pocket or a car.

The Concealed Weapons Statute: 750.227

Section 750.227 is Michigan's concealed weapons statute, and subsection (1) is the knife half of it. It names three knives, dagger, dirk and stiletto, none of them defined. Adds "a double-edged nonfolding stabbing instrument of any length," inserted in 1986 to give the three old words an objective meaning. Adds "any other dangerous weapon". Carves out "a hunting knife adapted and carried as such". Then applies the whole thing in two settings, "concealed on or about his or her person" and "whether concealed or otherwise in any vehicle operated or occupied by the person." The only places exempt are "his or her dwelling house, place of business or on other land possessed by the person." Subsection (3) makes a violation "a felony, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or by a fine of not more than $2,500.00."

750.231 exempts peace officers, corrections officers and members of the armed forces and reserves on duty or traveling to drill. There is no exemption for a concealed pistol license holder as to knives. The CPL covers pistols, and a dagger under a coat is the same felony with or without it.

Dagger, Dirk, Stiletto and the Double Edge

Three decisions explain how the named knives work. In People v Smith (1975) the Supreme Court held that "dagger, dirk, stiletto" are stabbing weapons and that "any other dangerous weapon," read alongside them, is limited to stabbing weapons of the same kind. In People v Brown (1979) it reversed a conviction over a machete, holding that a pointed instrument's "great potential as a dangerous weapon does not render it a dangerous weapon per se," and that the prosecution must prove the defendant carried it as a weapon. And in People v Payne (1989), decided after the 1986 amendment, the Court of Appeals confirmed that a double-edged non-folding knife, there a five-inch homemade one ground on both edges, is a dangerous weapon per se: no intent, no explanation, the knife itself is the crime once it is concealed or in a car.

The threshold for "double-edged stabbing instrument" is low. In People v Lynn (1998) the Supreme Court held that a throwing knife, a game-of-skill item with no real cutting edge, qualified. The safe reading is the one AKTI gives: any blade sharpened or pointed on both sides is in the class, and the word "nonfolding" is the only thing keeping a double-edged folder out of it. An OTF automatic does not fold, which is why we treat a double-edged OTF as a dagger in this state and do not recommend one for Michigan carry.

The Vehicle Trap

Most states that restrict a knife restrict concealing it. Michigan also restricts having it in a vehicle, "whether concealed or otherwise," and makes no provision for transport. A dagger locked in the trunk, boxed from the store, on the way to a hunting camp, is inside the statute's words, and the only places exempt are your dwelling, your business and land you possess. AKTI points out the absurd result, that a person may own a dagger at home and at a shop across town but may lawfully move it between them only on foot, carried openly, and argues the rule is vulnerable after Bruen (2022). Until a court says so, the practical rule is that a double-edged fixed blade in Michigan is a knife for the house and the land you own, and that a visit to the store to buy one is the last ride it should take.

The Hunting Knife Exception

The statute exempts "a hunting knife adapted and carried as such," and the question is what that modifies. Payne held that it does not save a double-edged knife: a dagger carried for hunting is still a dagger, and the court declined to read the clause as "knives adapted and carried for hunting." That leaves the exception doing modest work, confirming that a single-edged fixed blade in a sheath under a coat, carried for hunting, is not "any other dangerous weapon." For a single-edged hunting knife the exception is comfortable. For a double-edged one, the only lawful way to hunt with it in Michigan is to carry it openly and to get it to the woods without a vehicle, unless the woods are land you possess.

Switchblades: Legal Since October 11, 2017

For sixty-five years MCL 750.226a made it a misdemeanor to carry or possess "a pocket knife opened by mechanical device," Michigan's name for the switchblade, with an exception for one-armed persons. 2017 Public Act 96 repealed the section, effective October 11, 2017. The statute page now reads only "Repealed." Nothing replaced it, so an automatic knife is governed by 750.227 like any other knife: legal to own, buy and sell, legal to carry open or concealed if it is single-edged, and a per se problem only if its blade is sharpened on both sides. The one place the old definition survives is the School Code, where a "pocket knife opened by a mechanical device" is still a "dangerous weapon" for expulsion purposes. More on that below.

Armed With Intent: 750.226 and the 3-Inch Line

MCL 750.226(1) is the statute behind the "3-inch rule" that appears on every Michigan knife summary. It provides that a person shall not, "with intent to use the same unlawfully against the person of another, go armed with a pistol or other firearm, or a pneumatic gun, dagger, dirk, razor, stiletto, or knife having a blade over 3 inches in length, or any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument." A violation is a felony, up to five years or $2,500. The 3 inches is not a carry limit. It is the length at which a knife joins the list of things you cannot go armed with when you intend harm. Concealment is not an element, and under People v Mitchell (2013) "going armed" means leaving one place for another with the weapon and the intent. A 3.5-inch folder in a pocket on an ordinary day is lawful. The same folder carried to a confrontation is a five-year felony before it is drawn.

Where You Cannot Carry

• Weapon-free school zonesSchool property and school buses. Possessing a weapon there is a misdemeanor, up to 93 days, 100 hours of community service and $2,000, with exceptions for security staff, peace officers and holders of a concealed weapon license. For students, 380.1313 defines a dangerous weapon as "a firearm, dagger, dirk, stiletto, knife with a blade over 3 inches in length, pocket knife opened by a mechanical device, iron bar, or brass knuckles," and a pupil found with one is reported to police and faces expulsion under 380.1311.
  750.237a
• CourthousesMichigan courts bar weapons from court facilities under administrative orders of the chief judge, with screening at the entrance. Leave it in the car.
  Court rules
• Detroit and LansingBoth cities have knife ordinances that state law does not preempt. Detroit's has long restricted knives with blades over 3 inches in public. Read the city code before carrying there, and keep the blade short.
  AKTI
• Airports and federal propertyNo knives past the checkpoint at Detroit Metro or Grand Rapids under federal rules, and none in a federal building or courthouse under 18 U.S.C. 930.
  TSA
• 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

Minors and Local Rules

Michigan has no minimum age to buy, own or carry a knife and no youth-specific knife statute. 750.227 and 750.226 apply to a minor exactly as to an adult, and the School Code supplies the rest for students. The Legislature passed a knife preemption bill in 2021 that would have voided local ordinances, and Governor Whitmer vetoed it, so Michigan remains a state where a city may regulate knives. AKTI names Detroit and Lansing as cities that do. If you carry in either, the city code governs on top of everything above.

Penalties

Both felonies are five-year offenses with no minimum, which in practice means probation for a first offense and a felony record that does not go away. The school-zone offense is the only misdemeanor in the set.

What the Internet Gets Wrong

Three things. First, that Michigan has a 3-inch blade limit. It does not. 3 inches appears in 750.226, which needs unlawful intent, and in the School Code. An ordinary 4-inch folder in a pocket is lawful statewide, Detroit aside. Second, that switchblades are illegal. They were until October 11, 2017, and the statute that banned them now reads "Repealed." Third, that a double-edged knife is fine as long as it is in a sheath or a case in the car. Michigan is the one state where the car is the problem: "whether concealed or otherwise in any vehicle" means a dagger in a locked trunk is the same felony as a dagger under a coat. The one real surprise in the other direction is that the same dagger on a belt, in plain view, walking down the street, is legal.

TEKTO Knives for Michigan

Michigan rewards the single edge. The A5 Spry in drop point or tanto and the A2 Badger are the OTF automatics we would carry here, both legal since 2017 and both single-edged. Skip the double-edge Spry and the A7 Zastava for this state, and the A4 as well, because a double-edged OTF is a double-edged non-folding stabbing instrument the moment it goes in a pocket or a car. The F2 Bravo and the rest of the F-series are folders and outside the statute entirely. The X1 Atlas is a single-edged fixed blade with a Kydex sheath, legal on a belt, in a pack or in the truck, and it is the hunting knife the statute's exception has in mind. In Detroit, keep whichever one you carry under 3 inches or check the city code first.