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Kentucky Knife Laws

Broadly permissive · read 2026-09-04

Kentucky is one of the more permissive provinces in the union for edged steel. Concealed of anything but an ordinary pocketknife needs a licence.

Kentucky sets no statewide blade-length ceiling on concealed carry. That does not mean any blade may be concealed — intent, pattern and place still govern, and a court will read all three.

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

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

What Kentucky says, pattern by pattern

Automatic (switchblade)Lawful
Balisong (butterfly)Lawful
Gravity or ballistic knifeLawful
Dirk, stiletto or double-edgedRestricted
Concealed blade-length ceilingNo statewide ceiling
Open-carry blade-length ceilingNo statewide ceiling
Cities may write stricter lawNo — statewide preemption

Can this house ship steel to Kentucky?

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.

Read one piece to one address — free

Steel that is lawful to own in Kentucky

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This reading is drawn from published Kentucky 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.

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