In Maryland, it is against the law to carry a dangerous concealed weapon on your person. You can learn more about the weapons that are classified as dangerous by reading §4-101.
The weapons that are listed as dangerous here include star knives, sandclubs, nunchaku, razors, metal knuckles, switchblade knives, and bowie knives.
It is specified that penknives that don’t contain a switchblade are fine.
It is against the law for people to carry a dangerous weapon with them when they are out, whether that weapon is concealed or carried openly.
People cannot wear or carry dangerous weapons or objects like pepper mace and tear gas openly if their intent is to injure someone in a way that is against the law.
To sum things up, the only type of knife that it is legal for you to carry concealed is a penknife. There is a lot of information about what qualifies as a penknife from the Court of Appeals of Maryland.
If you are going to be carrying a penknife with you, you should be able to demonstrate that the knife is a penknife. For example, you should be able to provide a product description or packaging that shows that it is being sold as a penknife. As mentioned above, the knife itself cannot contain a switchblade. The knife can be either small or large, and the blade can be locked or unlocked. It can be carried concealed or carried openly. What matters is that it is a penknife.
This is according to Bacon v. State of Maryland, 586 A. 2d 18, a 1991 court ruling.
It is also illegal to sell switchblades in Maryland.
You cannot transfer items like a switchblade or a shooting knife from one person to another.
You cannot display these items with the intent to barter or sell them.
It is also prohibited to sell any kind of penknife that has a switch blade.
There is no statewide pre-emption.
Minors cannot carry any kind of dangerous weapon between sunset and sunrise unless there are in a specified rural county. It does not matter whether or not the knife is concealed. The only exception to this is if the minor is using a knife for hunting.
Knives are banned on public school grounds.
There are several cities in Maryland with knife ordinances on the book, including Baltimore, which has rules against switchblade.
Folding knives that are not spring-activated can be carried.
This information that is presented as a brief description of the laws and not as any kind of legal advice. aStraightArrow will not and cannot be a legal service provider. The use of the site does not create any sort of client/lawyer relationship. The knife laws are interpreted differently by prosecuting attorneys, enforcement officers, and judges. aStraightArrow suggests you consult legal counsel for further guidance.