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Have a question for those with a better grasp on knife law than I have.

I own a Benchmade SOCP, stock picture below:



2 sides sharpened, it is obviously a dagger and therefore illegal to carry around in Texas. I understand that portion of the law and don't carry this knife in Texas.

But, I am flying to Arizona this weekend, where this knife is perfectly legal to carry.

I've read the Texas statutes on illegal knives and I believe I understand that you can only possess an "illegal knife" such as a dagger on your property or in your car....or in route to those areas.

If I put this knife in my checked baggage for the flight, will I get in trouble for transporting an illegal knife in my checked (NOT carry on) luggage? Once I get to Arizona there are no issues, but don't want my checked baggage to get X rayed and get busted for an "illegal knife" in Texas.

If it's in locked checked luggage I think you should be fine. I flew with a hunting knife that's too long to carry in Texas. It was in my rifle case but I don't think that makes a difference legally.

Thanks, bump for any more commentary.

Other option is to just stuff a cheap folder in there instead, but it would be nice to actually be able to carry this thing in a state that doesn't have restrictive knife laws.

74novaman wrote:Thanks, bump for any more commentary.

Other option is to just stuff a cheap folder in there instead, but it would be nice to actually be able to carry this thing in a state that doesn't have restrictive knife laws.

I usually take a cheap kershaw when going somewhere it might get lost or confiscated. I would never risk losing my Benchmade. I only have one, sadly, and I dearly love that knife.

You might read over the laws regarding transport of an illegal knife in Texas. You might not be covered for transporting it to the airport, so they might use that as an excuse to confiscate it if found, or even charge you with a crime if you get somebody who just feels like being a jerk. I'm not really sure. Usually you are okay transporting an illegal knife to and from somewhere it is legal for you to possess said knife, but that is just a generalization, and I don't remember the specific wording.

That knife is defective. It has a couple of holes in it. I'll give you ten bucks for it, no questions asked.