Are assisted openers= switch blades??

here is the relevant penal code section in california:

653k. Every person who possesses in the passenger's or driver's
area of any motor vehicle in any public place or place open to the
public, carries upon his or her person, and every person who sells,
offers for sale, exposes for sale, loans, transfers, or gives to any
other person a switchblade knife having a blade two or more inches in
length is guilty of a misdemeanor.
For the purposes of this section, "switchblade knife" means a
knife having the appearance of a pocketknife and includes a
spring-blade knife, snap-blade knife, gravity knife or any other
similar type knife, the blade or blades of which are two or more
inches in length and which can be released automatically by a flick
of a button, pressure on the handle, flip of the wrist or other
mechanical device, or is released by the weight of the blade or by
any type of mechanism whatsoever.

"Switchblade knife" does not include a knife that opens with one hand utilizing thumb pressure applied solely to the blade of the knife or a thumb stud attached to the blade, provided that the knife has a detent or other mechanism that provides resistance that must be overcome in opening the blade, or that biases the blade back toward its closed position.

For purposes of this section, "passenger's or driver's area" means
that part of a motor vehicle which is designed to carry the driver
and passengers, including any interior compartment or space therein.

this section was written prior to the introduction of assisted openers, however i have highlighted in red the language that could be applied.

the portion in blue, i believe, would not exempt, necessarily, an assisted opener. the problem being that pressure on the thumbstud is not the only "mechanism" used to open the knife.

imo, this section could be applied, though i would not. as already mentioned, it becomes subjective in matters where a knife is not specifically defined or exempted.
 
^^ great find

at that point it is if you follow what the cop tells you to do and dont piss them off its ok, if your a prick then your in trouble
-matt
 
SR_matt said:
^^ great find

at that point it is if you follow what the cop tells you to do and dont piss them off its ok, if your a prick then your in trouble
-matt
Click to expand...

that is a possibility.

however, some officers will arrest if they feel they can in most instances, regardless of the attitude presented.

of course, being polite is a better approach, as being rude will more likely result in arrest.

keep in mind that most cops are not knife nuts, or gun nuts for that matter. they are simply tools of the trade. and there is no guarantee that the officer who stops you is as familiar with a given section as it pertains to a specific knife, or does not pertain for that matter.

i would not be surprised if in the near future california ammends this section to specifically include ao's and perhaps even features like the wave. but as far as i can tell, knife laws are not a particularly high priority for legislators, and though we often like to complain about restrictions, california law is fairly lenient.
 
i think some new kershaws have a on/off switch so you can turn off the AO..havent got to play with one yet but ide like to know how it works. and i have to agree with PURPLEDC about kershaw being the best "assisted opener" knives but ill go even further and say they are the best knives period...pocket knives or kitchen, the shun is preferred buy alot of chefs
 
MORIMOTOM said:
that is a possibility.

however, some officers will arrest if they feel they can in most instances, regardless of the attitude presented.

of course, being polite is a better approach, as being rude will more likely result in arrest.

keep in mind that most cops are not knife nuts, or gun nuts for that matter. they are simply tools of the trade. and there is no guarantee that the officer who stops you is as familiar with a given section as it pertains to a specific knife, or does not pertain for that matter.

i would not be surprised if in the near future california ammends this section to specifically include ao's and perhaps even features like the wave. but as far as i can tell, knife laws are not a particularly high priority for legislators, and though we often like to complain about restrictions, california law is fairly lenient.
Click to expand...

ya i see your point and do agree but i think it also varies from area to are in just what the cops look at and go "you cant do that" or "thats fine, sketchy, but fine". here in VA i doubt ever having an issue where as in cali i wouldnt be surprised with issues arising from it.

-matt
 
If you recall the guy that was charged in Wichita, their definition of a switchblade is any knife that opens via mechanical contrivance (or something to that extent), which the officers interpreted as including AO's. While AO's are not autos in mecanical terms, they could be in legal terms- it all depends on the exact verbiage in a given jurisdictionn and how it is interpreted.
 
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