Bee Dubya I don't know about among the Renn Faire crowd, but in the SCA there is an apocraphyl story about the first female knight in the SCA getting held up in New York after and SCA event. She was wearing a cloak over her costume, and the guys demanded her money she refused. One took out a knife, and she pulled out her sword and said "I'll see your six and raise you 39" It would be neat if it were true, I don't know if it is or not, but it sounds awfully similar to your story.

Bunn you carry those swords around in a bag don't you? I figure if the cops stop you for some other reason and decide they really don't like you you might get in trouble, but I can't imagine them stopping you on the possibility that there might be swords in your bag. It seems pretty absurd that a knife crime law is affecting swords, couldn't they right in some kind of exception? I've never heard of swords used in street crime, murder with swords. They're just too hard to hide.

Swords can be concealed weapons. They have really strict concealed weapons laws in California, and some of the swords you can't buy because of it are umbrella swords, cane swords, and katana with no hand gaurd, which in my opinion still looks like a katana but apperently you might somehow think it was just a stick I guess.