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If a police officer asks you to allow them to search you, say "No". That is your right under the 4th Amendment.

If a police officer asks you whether you are carrying a weapon, say "No".
Do not say "Yes, for self defense." Even a pencil can be a weapon if you say it is and once you declare something is a weapon, you are guilty and can be arrested!

Many times a police officer will not recognize a Monkey Fist and therefore unless you tell them it is a self-defense weapon they will not consider it one. Especially if it looks decorative.

Monkey’s fist are illegal in states like California (California Penal Code Section 1 12020) and Oklahoma (Oklahoma Statutes Title 21). In states like Nevada (Revised Statutes 202.350), Washington, and Minnesota it’s a misdemeanor to even carry one. Each state has a different approach on the regulation of this knot. I suggest you look into your state’s official website and search up statutes on this. As of 2016, Monkey’s fist are legal in Florida.

For more details and history on Monkey’s fist, see Is a Monkey’s Fist Illegal: Mostly, Find Out Why.

From BladeForums they discuss in more detail.

A very good case law to read on this matter is People of California v Fannin (2001).

In that case Mr. Fannin was waiting at a bus stop. A cop thought he looked suspicious, approached Mr. Fannin, asked him some questions, and asked him if he would consent to a search. Mr. Fannin did consent to the search (his first mistake).

Upon searching Mr. Fannin the cop found a length of chain with a padlock attached. Mr. Fannin originally told the officer that it was for his bicycle back home, but he eventually told the officer that he was carrying the item for self-defense (his second mistake). Mr. Fannin was arrested and charged with carrying a slungshot.

Mr. Fannin was convicted of that charge and appealed his conviction arguing that the item did not qualify as a weapon because it had a legitimate purpose (locking his bicycle, which was at home), and that the item was neither designed nor modified in any way to make it a weapon.

But since Mr. Fannin said that he was carrying the chain and padlock for self-defense, that statement was seen by the court as an admission that the item was being carried as a weapon, and Mr. Fannin's conviction was upheld.

Mr. Fannin convicted himself with his own words by saying that he was carrying the item for self-defense. Unlike Mr. Golden in People v Golden, where Mr. Golden was originally convicted of possessing a "slungshot", but his conviction was overturned on appeal because he made no mention of the item being a weapon. Instead he said that he merely found the item in question and put it in his car.

Although an item may have ordinary, legitimate, and innocent uses, the state of mind of the person carrying/possessing the item can cause that item to be regarded as a "weapon" in court. To say "I'm carrying it for self-defense" indicates ones state of mind. Likewise, if an LEO asks you "Are you carrying any weapons?", and if in your attempt to be honest and forthright you say "Yes, I have this right here", then whatever this is WILL be regarded as a "weapon" in court. And if that "weapon" falls under the definition or description of an "illegal" weapon, then you are screwed.

Mr. Fannin also screwed himself by waiving his 4th Amendment rights and consenting to a search.

There are many cases in California where people were carrying ordinary items, but were convicted of weapons offenses because they admitted that they were carrying/possessing them for "self-defense".

This is why many people, like myself, advise others to NEVER tell an LEO that you are carrying an item for "protection" or "self-defense". Carrying a "monkey's fist" is not illegal in and of itself in California, but if you were to tell an LEO that you were carrying it for self-defense, you would be confessing to a felony, and you could wind up in prison.