Michigan Knife Laws

Lawful with conditions · read 2026-09-04

Michigan permits most edged steel, but attaches conditions that catch buyers out. Automatics lawful since 2017; concealed double-edged blades restricted.

Michigan 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 Michigan. Sheathed, visible and plainly for work or display is the safest posture anywhere in the union.

Michigan does not preempt local ordinance. Cities and counties may — and do — write stricter law than the capital, so the town you are standing in matters as much as the state.

What Michigan says, pattern by pattern

Automatic (switchblade)Lawful

Balisong (butterfly)Lawful

Gravity or ballistic knifeBarred

Dirk, stiletto or double-edgedRestricted

Concealed blade-length ceilingNo statewide ceiling

Open-carry blade-length ceilingNo statewide ceiling

Cities may write stricter lawYes

Towns in Michigan that are stricter

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

Detroit
The city restricts concealed blades over 3in.
Detroit Code §38-8-2

Can this house ship steel to Michigan?

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 Michigan

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This reading is drawn from published Michigan 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.