Announcing United States Knife & Tool Association

Critter

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United States Knife & Tool Association
www.uskta.org

The recent Wall Street Journal article titled, "How New, Deadly Pocketknives Became a $1 Billion Business," has served as a wake up call to knife owners everywhere who see in this a desire by "anti-everything" forces to quite literally take away our knives ( see article reprint here as WSJ is subscriber only )

A knife is our most fundamental tool besides our brain. We want knives with locking blades and ergonomic handles and one-hand opening because they only make sense. They want to take these tools away.

Regardless of the errors and bias in this article, it was in one of the most respected and widely read newspapers in the nation. It has credibility that raises this issue from the back burner to the front. It is now on the wire services and being picked up by smaller newspapers and TV news.

The United States Knife & Tool Association (USKTA) is proposed to serve knife and tool owners as their advocate against restrictions on knife and tool ownership and carry. Many industry insiders believe that knife owners are too apathetic, that until they see local or state laws proposed to restrict their freedoms, they won't do anything; that this effort is doomed to failure. They may be right. What I know is that if we don't try, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I believe that this article is a call to arms for knife owners and we need to organize to prevent the ridiculous restrictions faced by owners in places like England and Australia, where most knives we take for granted here in the U.S are illegal, where thousands of knives have been confiscated, where simply carrying a legal knife is itself illegal unless you have a "good reason" to be carrying it, a determination that's almost entirely up to the local cop, and where using a knife in self defense is usually illegal.

Right now we are simply looking to see if there is support for this advocacy organization from knife owners. If we only get a few hundred interested, then the naysayers are right and we'll drop the whole idea. If we get a few thousand to sign up, then we know we're on the right track. That is entirely up to you. Please encourage your fellow knife owners to drop by this page. The success or failure of USKTA rests almost entirely on you spreading the word and engaging your friends and colleagues.

www.uskta.org
 
How is this different than AKTI? I thought this was the reason AKTI was formed.

Phil
 
Joined, I'll see what I can do locally. TCU seems very okay with knives.

I wish we could piggy back on something that's already influential. I guess in my fantasy world, we could roll back a lot of hte insane knife laws we already have, like bali restrictions...
 
This was probably the thread I should have asked this question in. Are you interested in having people from other countries sign up. or just those from the US. I realize that my concerns would not carry any weight with US lawmakers.
 
phatch said:
How is this different than AKTI? I thought this was the reason AKTI was formed.

Phil

My thoughts exactly. (Will there now be TWO organizations with an almost identical focus competing for our support? I don't get it. :confused: )
 
-akti is set up more for the knife companies than individuals-
this one is for us and will work side by side with akti-
in todays washington the more lobbyists you have the better
 
95% I'll join when you guys start that up! I gave you my info already since I support your mission. Hopefully, the price will be towards the low end of the provided spectrum, since I don't usually spend more $25 for my gun rights assn. memberships (ie NRA).
 
phatch said:
How is this different than AKTI? I thought this was the reason AKTI was formed.

Phil

Well said...

AKTI was formed for exactly the same purpose; and have been becoming more active in the political field each year.

Please check them out at http://www.akti.org/ to see some of the programs they have been involved with.

They could use every knife owners support, instead of starting another organization with practically the same goals.
 
I too wish I could have listened to the show. Would someone provide more detail if there is more to add? I have signed up also
 
I did not like the AKTI policy of only allowing companies to vote on matters concerning the organization.

Has this since changed?

Would the new organization be ran in a similar manner?
 
I remember just a few years ago a swordsmith got blindsided by a "news reporter" who wanted to create some sort of hysteria because his workshop was a few blocks away from a local high school. It is my understanding the smith was asked to do an interview with a tv news reporter, but he didn't realize the slant the story was going to take.

The implication was that this artisan was a local menace because his $600 and up collector's pieces, which were sold stricly online or mail order, would be purchased by high school kids to cause trouble in their school and in the neighborhood. :jerkit:

As a result of this news report, the knifemaker/swordsmith had to move out of his home, possibley due to a zoning violation.

However, the article also raised a furor on one of the other forums, enough that quite a few folks sent emails to the tv station that aired the report. The report was even pulled off their website, IMO, due to the amount of negative email they received because of it.

Is there an online "Letters to the Editor" section for the WSJ where we can express our opinion?
 
m_calingo said:
I remember just a few years ago a swordsmith got blindsided by a "news reporter" who wanted to create some sort of hysteria because his workshop was a few blocks away from a local high school.

[...]

Is there an online "Letters to the Editor" section for the WSJ where we can express our opinion?
The swordsmith/knifemaker is Steve Licata, here in New Jersey. He shows up at the New York knife shows with an awesome array of fantasy pieces.

Here's an old thread on the story: Will our kids be able to follow in our foot steps? CBS investigation on Steven Licata

---

From the WSJ:
If you are responding to an article that has appeared in the Journal, please send your comments to Ned Crabb, the letters editor, [...] at this email: wsj.ltrs@wsj.com.
 
cockroachfarm said:
My thoughts exactly. (Will there now be TWO organizations with an almost identical focus competing for our support? I don't get it. :confused: )

It's really quite simple, though I certainly expect there will be some who disagree. Thinking that this is simply a duplication of effort flies in the face of the reality that is politics.

Every threatened sport or product in this country has an advocacy group that represents the industry and also an advocacy group that serves the end users. For firearms, the NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) represents industry for the most part and the NRA is primarily viewed as representing individual gun owners. In general aviation, GAMA (General Aviation Manufacturers Association) represents the industry and AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) represents the owners and pilots. In recreational boating, NMMA (National Marine Manufacturers Association) represents the industry and BoatUS represents boat owners and operators. In all these areas, industry supports both because they realize how essential both are.

Even though there is tremendous overlap both in membership and financial support, these groups are complementary, not competitive. The two organizations work closely to be more successful than either alone could ever hope to be. The difference between an industry group and a end user group is a very critical distinction to politicians and bureaucrats. The end users more pointedly represent voters to those who are often only responsive to whatever they feel may aid them in the polls, and for whom reason and rational thought are often of little consequence.

AKTI was originally formed to represent the entire knife community including manufacturers, retailers, owners. For a lot of reasons it simply hasn't turned out to be much of a knife owners' organization. It is the manufacturers that contribute the vast majority of its financial backing and who control the organization. AKTI has done a pretty good job to date at its primary mission, preventing adverse legislation by educating lawmakers. In that respect, it certainly does represent us. I certainly appreciate their efforts and will continue to support them.

But any organization must concentrate on its primary constituency if it is to prosper. So no matter how much ATKI may profess to want to represent the individual knife owner, it simply cannot do it as well as an organization dedicated to that owner. AKTI isn't geared to support or service the individual knife owner and it hasn't the resources or organization to provide the individual member the benefits they deserve. It just doesn't have the appeal that a dedicated knife owners organization would have and therefore will never attract the critical mass of individuals required to make a difference. It's numbers that count. Ask the NRA.

There's a reason that virtually every industry, sport, what have you, has both an industry organization (or two or three) and an owners organization. They are different constituencies and require different care and feeding. While there is some duplication of effort and expense, in the long run it's a win-win situation for both industry and the owners. They are complementary and together can accomplish more than either could alone.

Politicians and bureaucrats only understand the force of numbers. By emphasizing individuals and catering to them and building up a large membership, the most critical difference that USKTA could offer is the ability to organize owners into a force to be reckoned with. Groups like the NRA and AOPA have incredible political clout for the very simple reason that they represent votes--lots and lots of votes. In the end it is votes that politicians listen to, not reason. When NRA, with nearly 3 million members, or AOPA, with over 400,000 members, issue a call to arms to their members to write letters either opposing or supporting some particular legislation, it is the tens of thousands of letters and emails pouring into their office that gets the politicians' attention. And, every politician knows that for every person writing in there are dozen or hundreds more that will vote that same way if they don't listen. In addition, the Political Action Committees associated with these advocacy organizations represent enough voters and enough money that they can make a difference. The Anti's already have their organizations in place and without a similarly mobilized force on our side, they will be increasingly difficult to counter.

You only get this clout with a large organization and you only get a large organization by being responsive to members wants and needs. Thinking otherwise is penny wise and pound foolish, in my opinion. YMMV.

From the narrow perspective of AKTI, this new organization will in many ways be another arrow in its quiver. An army of individuals able to get the politicians when education and reason fail to get the point across.without that ability, AKTI is entering the battle with one hand tied behind its back. We can't afford that.
 
Terry Newton said:
Would the new organization be ran in a similar manner?

While we are still fleshing out how USKTA will be organized, it will be an knife OWNERS organization and it will be run BY and FOR the knife OWNERS.
 
Jay_Wyatt said:
I too wish I could have listened to the show. Would someone provide more detail if there is more to add? I have signed up also

Thanks for signing up! You can listen to the show yourself, if you want:

Hour One - Guests Les DeAsis - Benchmade Knives (benchmade.com) and Doug Ritter - United States Knife and Tool Association (uskta.org)

http://www.programarchive.com/guntalk/july_2006/060730guntalkA.mp3

Hour Two - Guest Doug Ritter - United States Knife and Tool Association (uskta.org)

http://www.programarchive.com/guntalk/july_2006/060730guntalkB.mp3

Hour Three - Bob Morrison - Taurus Firearms (taurususa.com) and Open Lines (Bob also addressed the issue of Knife Control during his conversation with Tom and other callers also called about the topic.)

http://www.programarchive.com/guntalk/july_2006/060730guntalkC.mp3
 
rosconey2 said:
-akti is set up more for the knife companies than individuals-
this one is for us and will work side by side with akti-
in todays washington the more lobbyists you have the better

It's not just lobbyists, but how many votes you can show are behind those lobbyists. The only votes that they count are those that they can see are organized by belonging to an organization with a reputation for advocacy and getting their people to respond. USKTA will be that organization.
 
You just missed out on a great acronym :D

United States Knife And Tool Association : US KATA
 
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