Virginia Knife Laws: Dirks and Bowie Knives, What Concealed Means, and Switchblades Since 2023

The Short Version

Virginia's knife law is a concealed weapons law. Code section 18.2-308(A) makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to carry "about his person, hidden from common observation" any "dirk, bowie knife, stiletto knife, ballistic knife, machete, razor" or "any weapon of like kind." Nothing on the list is illegal to own, nothing is illegal to carry openly, and no statute sets a blade length for an adult outside a school. For years the list also said "switchblade knife". The General Assembly repealed the switchblade possession and sale ban effective July 1, 2022, and struck the word from the concealed list effective July 1, 2023, so an automatic knife is now an ordinary knife in Virginia.

The questions that matter are therefore which knives are dirks and bowie knives, what "of like kind" means, and what counts as concealed. The Supreme Court of Virginia has answered all three. For a TEKTO customer the result is that every folder and single-edged OTF we make is legal to carry concealed, the X1 Atlas is a utility fixed blade rather than a bowie, and the double-edged knives, the A7 Zastava and the double-edge Spry, are dirks under the court's definition and belong on a belt in plain view or at home.

The Concealed Weapons Statute: 18.2-308

Subsection A names the weapons in five clauses: firearms. The knives and blunt weapons, "any dirk, bowie knife, stiletto knife, ballistic knife, machete, razor, sling bow, spring stick, metal knucks, or blackjack". Nunchaku and fighting chains. Throwing stars. "any weapon of like kind as those enumerated in this subsection." A first offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor. A second, or a conviction after one under "any substantially similar ordinance of any county, city, or town," is a Class 6 felony, and a third is a Class 5 felony. Subsection B exempts "his own place of abode or the curtilage thereof," the house and the yard immediately around it, and subsection C exempts a person's own place of business, officers, and a person "carrying such weapons between his place of abode and a place of purchase or repair, provided the weapons are unloaded and securely wrapped while being transported." A concealed handgun permit is a defense for a handgun only. It does nothing for a knife.

The statute also tells you what concealed means: a weapon is "hidden from common observation when it is observable but is of such deceptive appearance as to disguise the weapon's true nature," which is aimed at cane swords and belt-buckle knives, and the courts have supplied the rest.

Dirk, Bowie Knife and "Weapon of Like Kind"

The statute defines none of its knives except the ballistic knife, so in Thompson v. Commonwealth (2009) the Supreme Court of Virginia took definitions from Webster's Third: a "dirk" is "a long straight-bladed dagger or a short sword," a "bowie knife" is "a large hunting knife adapted especially for knife-fighting" with a blade of "10 to 15 inches," and a "switchblade knife" was "a pocketknife having the blade spring-operated." Thompson had a butterfly knife, and the Court of Appeals had upheld his conviction on the theory that it was a weapon of like kind to a dirk. The Supreme Court reversed: a weapon of like kind must be "substantially similar" to one of the named weapons, and a balisong is not substantially similar to a dagger. AKTI draws the two-part test out of Thompson and the earlier Farrakhan decision: the knife must be designed for fighting or commonly understood to be a weapon, and it must be substantially similar to a listed one.

Ten months later, in McMillan v. Commonwealth (2009), the Court of Appeals reversed a conviction over a knife kept in a sheath riveted inside a car door, even though the defendant said he carried it "for protection," because "the purpose for which an individual carries a knife" cannot decide "whether that knife is either designed for fighting purposes or commonly understood to be a weapon." The knife's design is what counts. A locking folder, an OTF with a drop point and a 3-inch utility fixed blade are tools under that test. A double-edged dagger is a dirk by definition, and a very large single-edged fixed blade is close enough to a bowie knife that we would not conceal it.

What Counts as Concealed

"About his person" includes a handbag, and by extension a backpack or briefcase, under Schaaf v. Commonwealth (1979). The test is whether the weapon is available for prompt and immediate use. "Hidden from common observation" is a question of fact. In Richards v. Commonwealth (1994) a knife "sticking one-half to three-quarters of an inch out of" a back pocket, recognizable as a knife, was not concealed. In Main v. Commonwealth (1995), a handgun case, a grip protruding from a rear pocket was concealed because a duffel bag strap draped over it. AKTI draws the right lesson for pocket clips: a clip and a quarter inch of handle showing is open carry until a jacket hem or a bag strap covers it, and then it is not. For a knife on the 18.2-308 list that distinction is the whole case. For a folder or a single-edged OTF it does not matter, because the knife is not on the list.

Switchblades: 2022 and 2023

Virginia repealed its switchblade law in two steps. Legislation effective July 1, 2022, removed the switchblade from 18.2-311, which had made it a Class 4 misdemeanor to sell, barter, give, furnish or possess one. The section now covers blackjacks, metal knucks and ballistic knives. Then 2023 Chapter 611, effective July 1, 2023, struck "switchblade knife" from the concealed weapons list in 18.2-308(A). Since that date an automatic knife, OTF or side-opening, is legal to own, buy, sell and carry concealed in Virginia, and is judged like any other knife: a single-edged automatic is a tool, a double-edged one is a dirk. The one place the word survives is 18.2-309, which still makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to furnish "a dirk, switchblade knife or bowie knife" to a minor.

Where You Cannot Carry

• School property, school buses and school events18.2-308.1(A) bars any knife "except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches" on the grounds of any child day center, preschool, elementary, middle or high school, on a school bus, and on public property while it is being used exclusively for a school function. Open or concealed, Class 1 misdemeanor. Subsection E exempts knives used for food preparation or a trade and certain items locked in a vehicle.
  18.2-308.1
• CourthousesNo weapon listed in 18.2-308(A) and no "other dangerous weapon" may be possessed in or transported into any courthouse. Class 1 misdemeanor. Court security screens every bag and refuses every knife.
  18.2-283.1
• Airport terminalsThe same rule for any air carrier airport terminal, with exceptions for a weapon checked as baggage and for on-duty officers. This is the one knife rule Virginia makes uniform statewide.
  18.2-287.01
• Places of worship during a serviceNo "bowie knife, dagger or other dangerous weapon, without good and sufficient reason," while a religious meeting is being held. Class 4 misdemeanor. An ordinary pocketknife is not a dangerous weapon under this section as the courts read it, but the safe course is to leave the fixed blade in the car.
  18.2-283
• Federal propertyNo knives in a federal building or courthouse under 18 U.S.C. 930, and none past the TSA checkpoint at Dulles, Reagan National, Richmond or Norfolk.
  18 U.S.C. 930
• 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

Virginia sets no minimum age for owning or carrying a knife and has no youth-specific carry statute. The adult rules and the school rule do the work. What it regulates is supply: under 18.2-309(A), furnishing "a dirk, switchblade knife or bowie knife" to a minor, or to a person you have "good cause to believe" is a minor, is a Class 1 misdemeanor. A parent handing a sixteen-year-old a folding knife is outside it. A shop selling that sixteen-year-old an OTF is not. Virginia is a state where the seller, not the young buyer, is the one charged.

On local law: Virginia has no general knife preemption statute, and 18.2-308(A) assumes localities have "substantially similar" ordinances by counting a conviction under one toward the felony enhancement. A city or county may therefore have its own knife ordinance, and some may. The one uniform rule is the airport terminal statute. Check the local code where you live, and treat the state rules on this page as the floor.

Penalties

Misdemeanor penalties are set by 18.2-11: Class 1, confinement up to twelve months and a fine up to $2,500, either or both. Class 4, a fine up to $250. A weapon carried in violation of 18.2-308 is also subject to forfeiture under 19.2-386.28.

What the Internet Gets Wrong

Four things. First, that Virginia bans switchblades. It did, in two statutes, and repealed both: the possession and sale ban on July 1, 2022, and the concealed carry listing on July 1, 2023. Second, that Virginia has a 3-inch limit. It has one on school property, for the pocket knife exception, and nowhere else. An adult with a 4-inch folder on a sidewalk is within the law. Third, that a butterfly knife is a dirk. The Supreme Court said it is not, in Thompson. Fourth, that carrying a knife "for protection" makes it a weapon. McMillan says the opposite: the knife's design decides, and what you meant does not. The thing that actually sends people to court in Virginia is a double-edged fixed blade in a bag, because a dagger is a dirk, a bag is "about his person," and the knife's good purpose is not a defense.

TEKTO Knives for Virginia

Virginia is a single-edge state for concealed carry. The A5 Spry in drop point or tanto is legal in a pocket since 2023 and is the OTF we would carry here. Choose the single-edged blade, because the double-edge Spry and the A7 Zastava are dirks under Thompson and should ride on a belt in the open or stay home. The F2 Bravo and F4 Echo are folders and outside the statute. The X1 Atlas at 3.30 inches is a utility fixed blade, nowhere near the 10-inch bowie the court described, and is fine in a pack or on a belt. None of them goes to school, a courthouse or an airport terminal.