Has carrying a sgian dubh ever caused anyone problems?

[Phil]

With the new knife laws in The UK. it is not worth wearing a sgian dubh on a day to day basis, I only wear mine on formal occassions. I dont even wear a plastic one now.

I have never had any problem. The knife laws David talks about specifically exempt these traditional weapons i.e. a sgian dhubh and probably a dirk as well. I'm surprised at USA attitudes - OK to pack a Smith & Wesson there but heaven help you if you have a tiddly knife in your sock. How do Sikh people manage over there as I believe their customs involve carrying some quite serious knives.

[Cawdorian]

IMHO the sgian dubh in this day and age is a dress ornament or accessory, I wear mine most of the time when dressed in full highland dress and have never experienced any problems because of it. I have wondered at times what would happen if you were pulled over for speeding or or another traffic offense while dressed in full highland regalia. I've also wondered if a sporran flask with some single malt in it could create problems for you because of the open container laws.

Being a law abiding fellow, I tend to err on the side of caution.

[davedove]

I don't think you would have any problems, as long as you stay away from the "sensitive" areas: airports, schools, etc. My advice is that if you think someone might give you a hard time someplace, don't wear it there. It's a purely optional piece of ornamentation.

A lot of states have the 3" inch rule, and most sgian dubh's fall under that blade length.

[Archangel]

I have never had any problem. The knife laws David talks about specifically exempt these traditional weapons i.e. a sgian dhubh and probably a dirk as well. I'm surprised at USA attitudes - OK to pack a Smith & Wesson there but heaven help you if you have a tiddly knife in your sock. How do Sikh people manage over there as I believe their customs involve carrying some quite serious knives.

Phil: we're strangers in a strange land so we'll be polite and let the mods relax. For the Americans, understand that the gun culture is really foreign to us. You live there, you don't see it. The end of my comments on that.

The Sikh in Canada just won the right to carry Kirpans in schools, adults had been allowed to wear them in court. It's an interesting study and lesson for us both in terms of rights and media manipulation. How do we reconcile religion with zero tolerance? The young man in the Canadian case had, with his religious leaders guidance, already agreed to carry a Kirpan without an edge; in a sealed wooden box/sheath; wrapped in a cloth bag; under a cummerband type belt; and would be accountable at any time to show this to the principal or the vice-principal. It went to court when the school raised the ante to having to show any teacher that asked. He won.

Obviously, courts and cultures recognize limitation. The media, of course, portrays it as a teenager with a giant curved blade in the classroom.
(Disclaimer: I've kept it brief, court case is here.

The British Parliament debate over skean dhus and the knife law is a lot of fun to read. There's good, witty, tongue-in-cheek dialogue. Here and here.

Note to Mods: I'm trying real hard not to stir things up, not my intention. These are informative links but the bottom line to the thread is in the original poster's local laws, and his mom (who is the LAW).

[Mr. MacDougall]

I'm surprised at USA attitudes - OK to pack a Smith & Wesson there but heaven help you if you have a tiddly knife in your sock.

The thing you have to remember is that the USA is not a monolithic culture. We're the third largest nation in the world in terms of land area, behind only Russia and Canada, and the third largest nation in the world in terms of population, behind only China and India. We're made up of fifty individual states, many of which are larger than most European nations. Each of those states is made up of several counties -- and again, in Arizona, many of our counties are larger than some European nations... and I'm not talking about Monaco. Each of the counties has towns and cities. And at each level of administration, national, state, county, and municipal, there are laws and ordinences regarding carrying weapons of whatever kind.

The laws which someone in the Borough of Manhattan, in New York City, Queens County, New York has to observe are likely to be completely different from those someone in Flagstaff, Coconino County, Arizona must obey.

So you have to know what your local laws are, and how your local officers of the law enforce them. If you're uncertain, ask a cop... most of them would be happy to discuss the matter with you.

[Monkey@Arms]

The laws which someone in the Borough of Manhattan, in New York City, Queens County, New York has to observe are likely to be completely different from those someone in Flagstaff, Coconino County, Arizona must obey.

So you have to know what your local laws are, and how your local officers of the law enforce them. If you're uncertain, ask a cop... most of them would be happy to discuss the matter with you.

I agree with everything Mr. MacDougall said except for two small points. First, Manhattan (what is commonly thought of as New York City) is in New York County, not Queens (I only found this out last week), and two, asking a cop about knife laws. Sadly, public safety officers are often ill-informed as to the actual state of the law where edged tools are involved, but that is another story.

Best regards,

Jake