Before you can be convicted for violating Penal Code 21510 PC, the prosecutor must prove that: you knew you had a switchblade on your person or in your vehicle, AND you knew it had the characteristics of a switchblade. The prosecutor does not need to prove that you used – or intended to use – the switchblade as a weapon. If you knowingly have a switchblade on your person – or in the interior cabin of a motor vehicle – you violate Penal Code 21510, even if you had no intention of using it as a weapon.