[Austin D.G. Hill]

hello,

i have a young friend who wants to get a sword, but i don't know if people under 18 are allowed to own swords in the U.S. he is really into historical swords, a real nice and mature guy. i know that some people let their kids own and use swords, but is this even legal?

[Adam Bohnstengel]

Mommy and daddy will probably have to buy / order it, but I don't think that there's anything against the kid having one. Taking it outside the house and down to the park would be a huge no-no though. I would suggest a blunt for your friend, and to sign up with ARMA or a similar group. It would be more fun and safer than a good sharp would be.

Also, I'd be really careful with a kid having a deadly weapon. I was considered a good kid that had his head on straight, and I still came damn close to killing myself a few times. Add in a deadly weapon, and.............................well, I don't want to think about it.

[Austin D.G. Hill]

i am kind of young too, almost 16, got the swords as gifts from dad.

[Austin D.G. Hill]

he was wanting a sword for re-enactment stuff, like the big viking events where people do fake fighting with larp and stage swords.

[T. Arndt]

[JE Sarge]

On another forum, there was a huge argument over if a sword was considered a weapon or not by various rules/regulations in regards to companies/individuals selling and/or sending a 15 year old kid on the forums sharpened swords. This was a couple years back, and though nothing became of it, it seemed that alot of common sense went out the window because the little fellow just happened to be highly active in the forums. Truth of the matter was, this did not change the law in his home state regarding such things.

In some states, it's outright illegal, and in other states, what is considered a deadly weapon designed for the purpose of offense or defense is left for the police officer to decide when someone makes a complaint (hey, my neighbor's kid is in the backyard swinging A SWORD) or if the sword is involved in an accident, injury, or crime. The viewpoint is to arrest/apprehend, or confisicate the item in question, and left the courts decide if a sword is really a weapon or not. Would the neignbors report you if they seen you cutting tatami/bottles? - this is a major factor, because once a call is made, the complaint must be cleared by a police officer who may or may not like swords. Also, you have to think, would a police officer, judge, jury consider a sword a deadly weapon or not in your area?

In my state, though swords are not specifically mentioned, a sword is considered a knife with a blade over 6" and ergo, is considered a deadly weapon by statute. I have seen a few cases in which swords were confisicated as deadly weapon, fitting into the same category as a firearm for all intensive legal purposes with big trouble resulting for the involved parties. A child, even 17 years old, cannot own or use a weapon without parent consent and supervision; there are several laws which to come into effect here.

I bought my son his first blunt when he was 15, and his first sharp when he turned 18. In the time in between, I educated him on the typology, instructed him in responsible swordsmanship, had him participate in my WMA group, and taught him the ropes of sword maintenence and customization. You and your friend should probably look at a similar route.

It's not that I don't think you are ready for a sharpened sword, it's just that you would carefully need to observe the rules and regulations in your area and do so with parental consent. One mistake could cut your interest in swords short and bring alot of problems to yourself and others otherwise.

[Jen Miilu]

I had my first toy sword at five, I turned 15 and my mother bought me a sharp wall hanger.
17-18 I started getting the "real" things.

Forgetting about the law, I had such fun killing trolls and zombies and all the other mean things that fantasy has to offer

I'd encourage this child to have one.. Just make sure he is not foolish about it and we can groom him to be another educated collector in the future.

J

[Chad Arnow]

Everyone should carefully research and carefully follow the laws of their country, state, city, school, etc. Internet forums are notoriously bad places to get legal advice, to say nothing about legal liability issues for the forum that could arise if laws are not followed.

[Tom King]

From personal experience, it seems completely alright for someone under 18 to have a sword. That being said it has to be a gift of your parents or "owned" by someone else. I'm 17 and in a high school reenactment group and we have never had problems swinging our blunts around in the park. As far as doing cut tests in your back yard a privacy fence is a good idea. and to not hang around long enough for the police to show up if you have a stupid neighbor. I've done everything from cut tests, to sparring, to doing archery practice in my yard and have never had a problem. The key may be to live in an area where the police don't have to come for random noncriminal calls or a place where they wont come in general So if your friend wants a sword a pretty crowbar of a deepeeka should do fine. Most areas have provision for unusual weapons such as swords. The Florida statutes consider them as a carry able non-weapon as long as they are not used as a weapon (IE drawn, used for their intended purpose etc.) and a blunt sword isn't even a weapon at all.

[Jean Thibodeau]

We occasionally trained in a local part 100 feet away from a police station and never had any trouble, but then we where not doing anything stupid or scaring people: Context is important to avoid complaints and much of the trouble one might get is complaints driven.

What helped was that we where a group, didn't look or dress like gang members, had our group's T-Shirt showing that we where a fencing club and had fencing masks on. ( The cops where used to seeing us there and we did a little P.R. with them first to let them know what we where doing and why and discussed first if it would be seen by them as a problem ).

There is a lot of psychology involved in what will cause people to feel threatened and make a complaint, like seeing someone wildly swinging a sword by themselves and no logical contexts to explain the actions i.e. looking like an insane person is never good ! Take the fencing masks for example, someone walking by seeing these will have a ready make explanation about what you are doing and why and not be alarmed.

( Obviously local laws may differ a great deal from place to place so don't take this as legal advice. )

Take another example where context matters:

Someone sees someone with a knife in their hand ! Without any context calling the police may be the thing to do, and many people afraid of knives might be very afraid ! Now, place the same knife in the hands of someone eating a steak with the knife at a restaurant.

Even the places that have size limits on knives won't arrest someone in a restaurant eating a steak with a 7" steak knife in a locale where above 6" a blade becomes illegal ...... at least I don't think it's very likely to happen even if in theory a police officer could choose to arrest the steak eater.

As to a young person owning a sword I think it would be better if the sword " officially " belonged to a parent at least until the " child " his old enough to be in legal possession of the sword where sword possession for an adult isn't a problem.

Avoid going out alone with it even in the back yard, don't do anything stupid or threatening with it even as a joke, don't cut yourself and respect any sharp object for the dangerous thing it can be.

[Patrick Kelly]

You should consult your local authorities for this information. The only thing more foolish than soliciting legal advice on the internet is giving legal advice on the internet.

[Nathan Robinson]

[Sean Flynt]

Please also keep in mind that "legal" and "wise" are not the same thing. Children are not small adults. That sounds obvious but it's shocking how many adults--in the face of considerable contrary evidence-- assume that children are capable of making logical, safe choices. With the parents' permission I gave my nephew a true blunt--no edge, no point--and made clear in writing that it is still at least as capable of killing and maiming as, say, a baseball bat. I wouldn't give a sharp to anyone under 16, and then only in consideration of the individual's demonstrated maturity. Of course, at 16 they're likely to be using a 2,000 lb weapon on a daily basis and the sword threat pales by comparison, statistically.

[Daniel Wallace]

i believe i got my first wall hanger when i was - 17, knives i got my first pocket knife when i was 9 and carried one until recently. Jean might like this, i had a stake at work that i brought from home, and at work that are no knives plastic etc so i used my pocket knife (i think it's over 6 in overall) someone at work saw me and reported i had a "weapon" as i got sent to the office like a little kid their attitude was just get if off the property. (turned out that i was actually reported by a friend of mine that i had a relationship with and this was one of the only ways she could find to get me in trouble when we started breaking up)

now on the other hand i have a second job at my local church as maintenance man, i have an old m1908 bayonet 16in over all that i use as a machete/ picker/ sometimes hammer. and it's usually on my tool belt when i'm using it. i'm in the middle of town and it's pretty clear when i'm carrying it - but i've never been stoped by police.

attitudes of knives and other bladed object are really getting a little more ridicules that what I believe they need to be. i always viewed a pocket knife as a part of dress and a tool, a sword a work of art and pice of history.

for instance if i have a permit to carry a concealed weapon (firearm) i'm still not allow to carry a pocket knife. and the times that i've know people that got their permit to carry a concealed weapon - when police are called they still have the weapon taken from them (i was never present for the situation so i can't tell if they were behaving out of the ordinary or not). granted that the country's recent history shows that someone crazy people are doing really crazy things and hurting people (virgina tech and so many others) and i think police aren't going to dare to take a chance anymore.

like patrick is posting consult with your authorities i'm only giving my experiences and my opinion over the matter.

[Austin D.G. Hill]

asked a cop and he said that if you are responsible and safe that it is OK (where i live at least).

[Johan Gemvik]

[T. Arndt]

[Glen A Cleeton]

[Bryce Felperin]

[Daniel Wallace]

i would second that idea as well, just asking a local officer may not be proficient. one officers attitude may be different from the other - or just as stated above they may misquote a requlation that was changed.

your local libarry or town hall should have documentation on all local and state laws that are up to date. it's always good to find something in writting other than taking someone's word for it.