Georgia Knife Laws

Lawful with conditions · read 2026-09-04

Georgia permits most edged steel, but attaches conditions that catch buyers out. Blades over 12in are restricted without a weapons licence.

Concealed carry in Georgia is capped at 12 inches of blade. A blade over that ceiling carried out of sight is an offence regardless of why it was carried.

Open carry carries no statewide length ceiling in Georgia. Sheathed, visible and plainly for work or display is the safest posture anywhere in the union.

Georgia preempts local ordinance. One rule governs the whole province, and a city may not write a stricter one.

What Georgia says, pattern by pattern

Automatic (switchblade)Lawful

Balisong (butterfly)Lawful

Gravity or ballistic knifeLawful

Dirk, stiletto or double-edgedRestricted

Concealed blade-length ceiling12 in

Open-carry blade-length ceilingNo statewide ceiling

Cities may write stricter lawNo — statewide preemption

Towns in Georgia that are stricter

Municipal code read 2026-09-04. A town ordinance may only tighten the state's rule, never loosen it.

Atlanta
Georgia preempts local knife law; the state's 12in licence threshold governs.
O.C.G.A. §16-11-127.1; preemption

Can this house ship steel to Georgia?

Shipping is possession, not carry — most provinces permit ownership of what they forbid on the street. Warborn Blades ships to buyers of age in the United States and Canada, and the counter refuses a barred road before a card is ever touched.

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Steel that is lawful to own in Georgia

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This reading is drawn from published Georgia statute as it stood on 2026-09-04. Law changes. It is offered freely as a reading of law and is not legal counsel. Where your carry matters, ask a lawyer in your own province.