legal to carry a pocket knife

BigDaddy

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Jan 16, 2005
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Hi i live in Puerto Plata my friends here are telling me it is illegal to have a pocket knife here. I find it hard to believe that people can walk around with Machettes but the police would be concerned about a pocket knife. I have never ever taken it out of my pocket or threatened anyone. Do people need a permit to have a knife on their person. My friends that told me this carry a nine mill pistol around with them. Please could someone who knows advise me on this. My culture all men have a pocket knife starting at adolence and it so common no would give it a second thought. This knife is to cut apples or open boxes and it is only 3 inch blade and it is not a threat to anyone.:cross-eye
 
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J D Sauser

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Nov 20, 2004
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Hi i live in Puerto Plata my friends here are telling me it is illegal to have a pocket knife here. I find it hard to believe that people can walk around with Machettes but the police would be concerned about a pocket knife. I have never ever taken it out of my pocket or threatened anyone. Do people need a permit to have a knife on their person. My friends that told me this carry a nine mill pistol around with them. Please could someone who knows advise me on this. My culture all men have a pocket knife starting at adolence and it so common no would give it a second thought. This knife is to cut apples or open boxes and it is only 3 inch blade and it is not a threat to anyone.:cross-eye

Actually, you can kill somebody in one strike with a 3" blade.
But that not really being the subject, I carry a machete in my car... in the cabin. Police have told me to tell any officers at a check point that I have a Finca to justify it's presence at hand. Actually, my car has been checked several times by the army for concealed unregistered firearms and the machete was visible and never had to face any remarks.
I've seen the PN beat up and then question a kid (they obviously knew from previous incidents) after they found him carrying (concealed) a knife with an 8" blade during Carnaval one street parallel off the Malecon (where all the action was). So, it may depend on who you are, what you look like, as what you're know and where you are and the mood of the police officer (?).


... J-D,
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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I always have my Swiss Army knife with me...never in 4+ decades have I had a problem.

Don't sweat it and find some new friends, you do not need "friends" that are packing heat...

HB
 
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TheHun

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May 4, 2008
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Hmm, That is a good question and I'd like to know the answer also.
The law might consider it as a concealed weapon??
Back in NC you can carry a pistol openly, and as long as it visible, you do not need a license, however you can not conceal it without a license.
I do carry a pocket knife since I have to open many boxes during my work, however I don't want to get screwed by some $hithead cop.

The Hun
 

MikeFisher

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Hi i live in Puerto Plata my friends here are telling me it is illegal to have a pocket knife here. I find it hard to believe that people can walk around with Machettes but the police would be concerned about a pocket knife. I have never ever taken it out of my pocket or threatened anyone. Do people need a permit to have a knife on their person. My friends that told me this carry a nine mill pistol around with them. Please could someone who knows advise me on this. My culture all men have a pocket knife starting at adolence and it so common no would give it a second thought. This knife is to cut apples or open boxes and it is only 3 inch blade and it is not a threat to anyone.:cross-eye

friends with a 9mm caring about a poicket knife?
get new friends.
i don't know what the law says about "armas blancas" in details, yes, there are laws and what is allowed to have handy and what not is written there. but a lil pocket knife should never bring you in any trouble just because you have it in the pocket. don't show it around like others do with their 9mm and nobody will know or care.
Machetes are a working tool as long as you dont's have one handy 2AM at the bar of a city car wash, in case you are at a campo carwash you would have equal minded company, lol.
the thrad made me thinking about the arma blanca theme, will see what i can digg out.
or does somebody have a link to a site where that's described?
i guess my japanese 'sports'blades would not count as machetes?
Mike
 

Lambada

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Don't sweat it and find some new friends, you do not need "friends" that are packing heat...HB

And if they are packing heat illegally & do not have a licence to carry and BigDaddy is in their company & the police do a roundup, then even his little pocket knife will put him in the at risk category (not because of the knife but because of the friends). And if he's the only gringo in that group, the police could see big $$ signs.

There are all sorts of things which could be used as weapons which it is perfectly legal to carry - knitting needles, crochet hooks, wire coat hangars, meat tenderisers etc :). You won't get arrested for carrying these unless you get caught in the act of a bank heist or disembowelling someone.
 

MikeFisher

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yeap Ginnie.
and i searched like crazy for the exact law about the armas blancas,
didn't find a shi$.
but i sent a request about it to DrLaws.com,
hope to get an answer.
there has to be a law about it.
nite
Mike
 
B

BettyDiamond

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bar b q prawn skewers ? some look quite intimidating, perhaps you can only use them while in an eating establishment
 

socuban

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Nov 24, 2002
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or strange but true.
Went into the gov't office bldg where you are to check your weapon. I raised my arms to show I was not carrying a handgun. I had forgotton about the other weapons. No one said a word. Private(watchman)Guard and army at the checkpoint (door).

Funny, same thing happened to me last week at JCE. Walked through the metal detector with 3-4 serious looking militares on the other side. Had my tanto blade neck knife hanging as usual. As I walked away from the metal detector, I looked back and it seemed not to be connected to anything. Maybe there was no luz at the moment:surprised
 

MikeFisher

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while in those official buildings no kind of weapon or as weapon usual equipment is allowed, the checks are very 'lax/simple', yeap, they mostly just search for firearms and even that not very detailed. sure they would most likely detect a big machete, a pocket knife or such most likely not.
and interesting:
DrLaws.com answered me that they work on my request about dominican armas blancas laws and that they would send me the requested info or links to the info as soon as they digg something up.
so it looks like such research on that law is not very common, usually they answer with the requested info about laws very quick, the most stuff you find anyways yourself with the search box on their site.
or maybe there is really no law about that?
let's wait.
Mike
 

MikeFisher

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Funny, same thing happened to me last week at JCE. Walked through the metal detector with 3-4 serious looking militares on the other side. Had my tanto blade neck knife hanging as usual. As I walked away from the metal detector, I looked back and it seemed not to be connected to anything. Maybe there was no luz at the moment:surprised

he he,
earlier on this year i've been on several ocassions at the secretaria de interior y policia, where firearms permits are given and guns get deposited, they also have that detector at the entrance.
on some ocassions i watched that it beeped on everybody passing it but nobody cared, and on other ocassions it did not make any beep for nothing, neither when i walked throu with the pistol of a friend in my hands, together with the official who guards you to the back office where you hand over that weapon, but that official been armed and i myself had a pistol in my hands and that detector did not piep a thing.
Mike
 

Aguayo

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Oct 11, 2003
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Just the other day I purchased a 3.5 inches automatic pocked knife and a friend and old Puerto Plata resident, seeing it told me that police made problems for her once because she had an small Victoxinox Pocket knife.
Police told her that to be legal, the knife has to be small and not concealed.

They suggested that using a pocked knife attached to the key ring was legal because it was visible...

Anyway, police was only an annoyance (as usual) but they did not take her knife.

Anyway, I don't think that if you look respectable there is too much chance of a body search. And if it happens and they confiscate (steal for themselves) your knife, a pocket knife is not expensive, so you do not risk much.