A Direct Question to Sal Glesser

R

RickJ

Joined
Mar 2, 2003
Messages
3,381
Mr. Glesser,

I am a new and happy owner of the Autonomy 2. In your 2018 mid-year catalog it is listed as a 3.5 inch blade, knife websites list it as 3.5 inch blade. I measured it and get 3.5 inches. The Question is why does the 2019 catalog list it as 3.61 inches in blade length? So what is the actual blade length of the Autonomy 2?



Thanks,
Rick
 
Hi RickJ,

Interesting observation. I designed the knife to be 3.5" blade length. That's a new line that many cities are adopting for legal blade length limit, like Denver. When Mike Janich measured the knife for the catalog specs, he must have measured a production piece. I just measured my production piece and it measures 3.61". Thanx for noticing. I'll call it to management's attention.

sal
 
Just measured mine again and it is a production piece at 3.5, I just want to make sure I am not measuring the blade wrong and yes the specs per the website were different from 2018 mid year and the 2019 catalog. I was also making sure a change to the knife did not take place during that time. The reason for all to know like Horizon7 is that I live in Colorado and the legal limit is 3.5 for a concealed knife. Go above that and you either don't carry or risk an issue. Yes I know chances are there will be no issue but you never know. Either way mine shows 3.5 so I am carrying it and enjoying it. Mr. Glesser you did and outstanding job on this knife. I am really liking the very pointy LC200N Blade, very sharp and after watching some testing of LC200N on youtube I am in AWE!
 
If it's any help, I believe I read somewhere that most authorities will use the manufacturer's specifications for legality, so if Spyderco lists it at 3.5" they should use that.
 
The legality of carrying an knife (whether auto or not) which exceeds the legal length in any state or locality will ONLY arise if you are reported to have been brandishing the knife in public, use it to harm someone (whether in self-defense or not) and/or are stopped and frisked in connection w/a lawful stop and/or arrest in connection with some other matter.

In other words, unless you have some contact w/a LEO which results in the inspection and/or seizure of your knife, the length and design of the knife is irrelevant. So, the best course of action is to avoid any LEO contact whenever there is any doubt as to the "legality" of your knife OR, better yet, only carry a knife that you are absolutely certain meets legal guidelines.

So, if you live in a state/locality which permits carrying an automatic knife and 3.5" is the allowable length and your blade measures 3.6", as is apparently the case w/the Autonomy 2, I would suggest that you do NOT carry that knife to avoid any doubt as to its legality in that jurisdiction.
 
dkolds said:
The police are not there to harass honest citizens. If you treat the cop with respect you have nothing to worry about.
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As a retired LEO, I'd say that this is generally true but, if an LEO has stopped you and/or is investigating a crime in which you are believed to be involved, s/he will not necessarily assume that you are an "honest" person and being in possession of a knife that is illegal w/in the LEO's jurisdiction will be proof to the LEO that there is good reason to believe that you are someone to regard w/suspicion. It's the nature of the job.
 
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sgt1372 said:
The legality of carrying an knife (whether auto or not) which exceeds the legal length in any state or locality will ONLY arise if you are reported to have been brandishing the knife in public, use it to harm someone (whether in self-defense or not) and/or are stopped and frisked in connection w/a lawful stop and/or arrest in connection with some other matter.

In other words, unless you have some contact w/a LEO which results in the inspection and/or seizure of your knife, the length and design of the knife is irrelevant. So, the best course of action is to avoid any LEO contact whenever there is any doubt as to the "legality" of your knife OR, better yet, only carry a knife that you are absolutely certain meets legal guidelines.

So, if you live in a state/locality which permits carrying an automatic knife and 3.5" is the allowable length and your blade measures 3.6", as is apparently the case w/the Autonomy 2, I would suggest that you do NOT carry that knife to avoid any doubt as to its legality in that jurisdiction.
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My Knife is 3.5 and the initial specs giver were 3.5 but in the new 2019 catalog it said 3.61 even Sal Glesser said he designed the knife to have a 3.5 inch blade for local blade length. So the issue I brought up to him comes down to some longer blades were produced and measured and now the length issue came up. Bottom line is the knife was designed to have a 3.5 inch blade, the initial specs showed 3.5 inch blade and online dealers show 3.5 inch blade for the specs so say a person buys the knife with the thought of carrying it were a 3.5 inch auto is legal but the length comes out to be longer and it becomes an issue at some point for some person, you see were I am going with this.
 
lieferung said:
If it's any help, I believe I read somewhere that most authorities will use the manufacturer's specifications for legality, so if Spyderco lists it at 3.5" they should use that.
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Your statement is the issue I have been trying to convey. The 2018 mid year catalog listed it at 3.5 and all online dealers that I have checked list it at 3.5 but when the new 2019 year catalog came out it listed it at 3.61 so say someone has an issue with LE and a judge says lets go online and check the specs and he goes to the 2019 catalog and it shows 3.61 inch blade. I live in an area that only allows a blade 3.5 or under to be concealed on your body. So a knife that was suppose to be 3.5 inch blade, is now longer. Like I have said I purchased mine after reading the 2018 mid year specs because it met my legal requirement and online stores show 3.5 inch blade and mine is a 3.5 inch blade but it looks like that some are longer and the official specs changed.
 
dkolds said:
The police are not there to harass honest citizens. If you treat the cop with respect you have nothing to worry about.
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That may save you from contact but being nice doesn’t change whether or not you broke the law.

Here in Texas, if you’re walking around with a gun in your waistband, in public and don’t have a LTC then you’re going to jail.

Law enforcement has a very narrow role in discretionary enforcement of the law as it is written, sometimes they have to arrest people even in situations where discretion might have caused them to decide otherwise, things like a specific blade length is one of the cases.

A few years ago, a well known member of a major gun forum was arrested in our state capital for carrying a 6” fixed blade, his handgun and the simple carry of a knife were fine but it’s size (5.5” at the time was the legal limit) got him an overnight stay courtesy of Travis County.
 
lieferung said:
At risk of sounding political (though mostly pro knives): if you follow Knife Rights you know this is not necessarily true, and especially untrue in NYC.
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That’s definitely a problem in NYC, and to a lesser extent in NY period. Knife rights has done a lot to help change laws in many places and is currently waging a (mostly unsuccessful) battle with NYC over this, maybe one day it will change. They’re definitely trying to help change things for the better, it’s sad they have so much tie in with the NRA but I can understand the practical ($) side of it too.

I believe the # of auto legal to carry states has grown by at least double in the last year or two.
 
lieferung said:
If it's any help, I believe I read somewhere that most authorities will use the manufacturer's specifications for legality, so if Spyderco lists it at 3.5" they should use that.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but this is not true. If there is any doubt as the length of a knife, an LEO will simply measure it w/a ruler.

The only thing you could try to argue about would be how it is measured. Should you measure the entire length of the blade or just the length of cutting edge? That's where some ambiguity in the law resides but, if in doubt, I'd believe most LEOs would go w/the length of the entire blade and, if that exceeds the legal limit, you're done.
 
sgt1372 said:
I'm sorry but this is not true. If there is any doubt as the length of a knife, an LEO will simply measure it w/a ruler.

The only thing you could try to argue about would be how it is measured. Should you measure the entire length of the blade or just the length of cutting edge? That's where some ambiguity in the law resides but, if in doubt, I'd believe most LEOs would go w/the length of the entire blade and, if that exceeds the legal limit, you're done.
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My comment was more on the court ruling, LEO may use whatever methods to throw the book at you but the manufacturer's specs would probably hold up in court, or so I've heard.
 
lieferung said:
My comment was more on the court ruling, LEO may use whatever methods to throw the book at you but the manufacturer's specs would probably hold up in court, or so I've heard.
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I'd rather stay on the correct side of the law. Once you reach the courtroom you've already spent a day or more in lockup. And now you're paying a lawyer to defend you. You've already most likely paid to get your car out of police impound.

Know the law and follow it.
 
lieferung said:
My comment was more on the court ruling, LEO may use whatever methods to throw the book at you but the manufacturer's specs would probably hold up in court, or so I've heard.
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I don't believe this would be the case either.

A court relies on factual evidence. If Spyderco's statement regarding the length of the blade is inconsistent with an actual measurement, the court will rely on the actual measurement of the blade not Spyderco's statement which will have thereby been proven faulty.

PS: In addition to being a retired LEO, I am also a retired and inactive attorney still licensed to practice law in 2 jurisdictions and was a civil litigation attorney at one time.
 
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sgt1372 said:
I'm sorry but this is not true. If there is any doubt as the length of a knife, an LEO will simply measure it w/a ruler.

The only thing you could try to argue about would be how it is measured. Should you measure the entire length of the blade or just the length of cutting edge? That's where some ambiguity in the law resides but, if in doubt, I'd believe most LEOs would go w/the length of the entire blade and, if that exceeds the legal limit, you're done.
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I read through California law a few years ago on knives to check this out. Don't quote me on this or take it as legal advice, I believe it is measure from tip of the handle to tip of the blade. It specified specifically in simple easy to understand language to describe how it was to be measured.

Quite a few of my professors in college were cops and we're teaching on the side because they wanted to. We're taught a few things, don't admit anything, two cops are not your friends, they can lie to try to get info, and don't trust them for starters. But also knowingly carrying a knife that's illegal is a bad idea, if you get caught up in something you now have an illegal weapon. Life just got a whole lot harder for you. And it's a bad idea to rely on being friendly to a cop to stay out of trouble, it's better to just keep it legal from the get go.
 
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