Pocket knives are legal to own and generally legal to carry—both openly and concealed—for most adults in Alabama, but certain restrictions, especially regarding local laws, intent, and location, must be understood and observed.
Under Alabama state law, nearly all types of knives, including folding knives (pocket knives), butterfly knives (balisongs), switchblades, gravity knives, and even out-the-front (OTF) knives, are legal to possess and carry. There is no statewide restriction on blade length, and no specific state prohibition on either open or concealed carry of pocket knives for ordinary use by adults, as long as the knife is not being carried with intent to commit a crime or in a restricted location such as a school.
However, significant local variation exists: several municipalities impose stricter rules, including blade length limits—Montgomery, for example, limits knives to blades of three inches or less, and Birmingham sets the limit at four inches for public carry. It is the responsibility of the carrier to check local city or county ordinances before carrying a knife, as police can enforce these local restrictions even though state law is permissive…