" I was just wondering if they have a right to just stop check it out ... especially if I happened to not want them to."

The short answer for my area in my state is "yes" they have a right to stop and talk to you, the same right anyone else walking down the street or driving by has. You don't have to talk to them and "NO" they can't relieve you of your pistol just to look at it or run checks on it. That may not be the best thing to do, but it is your right.
If you are open carry, you are waiving a flag. It is probably not something that everyone around you is doing so you "stand out in the crowd". "Out of sight, out of mind". Will every LEO respond to the flag, probably not. Will a few, you bet. Heck, some of those guys are probably gun "nuts" or collectors like I am and are more curious about what you have than they are about why you have it.

Again, as with firearms, knife regulation is a state or local thing so you have to pay attention to the laws that affect your area. There are some buildings and places where no knives are allowed.
In Oregon, "Unlawfull Possession of a Firearm" is what you are charged with if you are carrying a concealed gun without a permit or where you shouldn't be (in the open or concealed). Open carry is allowed in most areas of the state, but there are exceptions, some of which I outlined in the above post. If you are in one of those areas it has to be unloaded and locked in the trunk. (Area not readily accessible.)
"Carrying a Concealed Weapon" is the charge that applies to all other weapons, including knives, carried in an unlawful manor.

In Oregon, any folding knife not considered to be of the size of a normal pocket knife has to be in full view. Dirks, daggers, stilletos, switch blades, sprung knifes etc., etc, are just flat illegal. So, if you have your 3" buck folding knife in your pocket, you are O.K.. If you have your 10" Rambo survival knife, a 3 or 4" fixed blade single edge knife or grandpa's favorite 5" hunting knife under your shirt, "Crocodile Dundee" style, or down your pants leg............well, just tell the judge you were going snipe hunting. He will be laughing so hard that if he doesn't commit you, he'll just let you off with a fine.............the first time.

I would suggest you stop by the S.O. and talk to some of the folks there, the ones with the stripes on their sleeves if possible. They can probably give you all the information you need that is germane to your area.

Whatever you carry, KNOW how to use it and KNOW how to protect it. Also remember that God made feet that can move pretty darn fast in an adrenalin fueled "tactical" withdrawal. We always taught, and still teach the Oregon LEO's that at some particular point in a bad situation that has gone to He#$, GTFO can be the best tactical decision ever made if that avenue presents itself.

Here is a link to a sad and tragic situation that happened in Oregon just over a year ago. A small town that never had more than one officer on duty at any one time with backup usually too far away. Before this incident, this town was considered somewhat of a "Mayberry RFD" type of town. A town where everyone knows everyone. The Chief was shot with his own service weapon.
Rainier mourns police chief killed in shooting | kgw.com Portland

 

Thank you Jim for the great advice. Did I read something in past posts that you were a LEO? It sure sounds like you were. If yes, then thank you for putting your life on the line every day for us.

I think it's funny that in some states you get to have a weapon in your vehicle but it has to be unloaded and locked in your trunk. That's makes as much sense as buying a bucket with a hole in it and I truly don't know how a law like that could pass. You'd think they'd be laughing too hard to vote on it.

 

we have alittle town like that in my county...5 officers on staff one on duty at a time, sometimes 2 on duty on the weekends and holidays. The police station is a doublewide. No Lie. They work closely with the county though and a deputy and a state trooper or even a game and fish officer ar almost always nearby

 

I'm a retired LEO now. I still do "time" as a part time firearms instructor at the state academy. Outside of that I spend my time in "hot persuit" of the felonious Elk or Salmon. (Pan fish are misdemeanors, but fill in the gaps.)
Weapons laws are a contentious, political hotbed especially in Oregon where us rural folks have a tendancy to "cling to guns and religion and want to be left alone".
In Oregon, so many "local" areas as well as state agencies (by way of "administrative rules") were convoluting and confusing the issue so badly that a few years ago the state legislature stepped in and essentially took "local" control away from everyone and reserved it strictly to the State Legislature. Property owners, of course, reserve the right to ban weapons on their property. It was getting to the point that you could leave your house and be legal, drive down the road 5 miles and be in trouble for having the gun. 5 miles after that you were legal again. A bit of an exageration, but not by much.
Unfortunately, the Portland Metro area legislators have enough "horse power" they were able to grandfather some of their local ordinances. In Oregon if Portland, Eugene or Medford want a law or something else, they usually get it - in a state wide election. They have a harder time "getting their way" when they are equally matched in the State Legislature, but they do have a lot of clout and it sometimes takes quite a bit of concerted effort to sit them back down. We rural types sometimes refer to Oregon as "the State of Portland". But, I'm sure all of the states face this kind of dilema.


My home area, and where I started my LEO career in the early 70's had a 4 man office. We could not mount a 24/7 coverage and used reserves to fill in the open shift so we each got 2 days off a week and could go on vacation once in a while. In our area, they contract with the S.O. for resident deputies. There is no City Police Department. They have a little office in the back of City Hall which was a train depot back in the dark ages. In the "early" days, even with 100 watt linear amps in the trunks of the patrol cars, radio coverage was spotty at best. We would drive into the local town where there was a red light mounted on a power pole in front of the local bar. If the light was on, we knew we had to call the dispatch center for a call or we were over due for a check in. That improved and the red light went away after they got the "High Heaven" repeater on line, but even with that we still had dead spots. Then I got a latteral transfer to a "big city" area. Population 20,000. Because of the rural nature of the area and being over 90 miles from a really "big" city, they estimated it would swell to a peak of 200,000 service area (including the interstate count) during a normal week day. I was ready, the times were changing and I was glad to retire and move back home.

There are still large areas of Oregon, especially Eastern Oregon (Western Oregon not so much), where they could probably go for a year and not see a LEO, unless they called them.

 

For the year that I lived in Ludow VT I only saw one LEO, but the town was tiny. Where I live now, between White Sands NM and El Paso TX, the Dona Ana side only as one Sheriff on each shift now and the Otero side has two. They are down sizing on the Dona Ana size. We used to have three each shift. Now when they need back up they have to call Otero to help out. Our sub station, which was just recently upgraded and filled with computers and such, used to have four rooms filled with Deputies with, and without stripes. Now we only have one drift in once in a while. It's as if we are being forgotten out here even though we are growing with each day. Once in a while I'll see more then one Deputy, but they have to be called in from Anthony, and Las Cruces NM. It's really sad.

Thank you for your service, Jim, and have fun chasing those felonious Elk or Salmon.