assisted openers on the way out??

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paulwesley

Joined
Sep 5, 2005
Messages
655
I think the next step of big brother is going to make assisted openers illegal. I was talking to a cop and asked him openly if they were legal and he said " for now". From what I understand they are already banned in some places. Right when I wanted to get a Random Leek too. I guess i'll probably still be looking at them but I bet in the future they will be banned made in the USA or not. Waddya think yall???
 
Honestly, they're just closing a loop-hole that Kershaw and others found in the "automatic" law. Its basically that they just took the button away from an automatic knife. It didn't fit the definition of an auto in most laws because lawmakers never thought about something like the speedsafe. Is it necessary to ban them? no. Is it right? no. Will it happen? yes. Since when did our elected "representatives" ever ask us what we wanted??

If they CAN ban it, they WILL. Its just the way things go.

-Anthony
 
Whats the reason for the intolerance anyway? You can open almost any knife with a spyderco hole or thumbstud as fast as an auto.

Regards, vC
 
At this point, "everyone" thinks autos should be illegal.

Heck, a huge number of people think carrying any knife should be illegal. Years of indoctrination, starting in school (zero tolerance programs) is having its effect.

Logical to ban tools intead of punishing adverse behavior? No.

Will it happen? Probably. Apathy + "Mama Gov" = restriction + banning
 
van Christie said:
Whats the reason for the intolerance anyway? You can open almost any knife with a spyderco hole or thumbstud as fast as an auto.

Regards, vC
Click to expand...
no reason. Just politicians trying to make themselves look like they're doing something.

I for one don't think that AO will be banned anytime soon.

They have their uses, for people who have arthritis, emergency rescue (where one hand might be unavailable), or people with weak dexterity in general.

With the aging of our population, assisted openers have a very compelling reason for utility.
 
"You can open almost any knife with a spyderco hole or thumbstud as fast as an auto."

========================

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
 
I think the issue years ago was not the speed with which a pocket knife could be opened but the fact that it could be opened with one hand.

A person could be holding one behind his back and open it while shaking hands with another person.

If indeed the issue is one-handed opening and not speed of opening then all the folders with holes and thumb studs might also be considered "illegal".

Some knives are illegal in certain jurisdictions because of their blade length limitations even though they are not assisted or automatic.

It would be interesting to hear from some folks knowledgeable about the laws forbidding automatic knives and "THE REASONS BEHIND THE LAWS " (what the legislators motive was in passing them). My grandfather who was a steel worker in the midwest said many of his co-workers had automatic knives they used for work (one handed openers) until they became illegal. He thinks this was sometime after WWII.
 
I believe that the reason automatics came to be banned was their perceived association with teenage gangs, starting in the fifties. It was media fueled. Every time they were portrayed, they were involved in a street fight or in threatening behavior.

We knife people tend to be of a practical bent, and we forget that sometimes perception is more important than fact, because perception is what causes people to form opinions and to take political action. That is why our reasoned, rational arguments on gun control, knife carry, etc., often falls on deaf ears.
 
At the time most AO knives were made illegal, they were associated with youths in gangs, while respectable businessmen carried handguns.
 
MikeH said:
I believe that the reason automatics came to be banned was their perceived association with teenage gangs, starting in the fifties. It was media fueled. Every time they were portrayed, they were involved in a street fight or in threatening behavior.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Balis were also banned in many jurisdictions for the same reasons--associated with teen gangs and "negative" activity. Those of us with some knife knowledge realize the incredible practice and skill levels required to manipulate a bali. The average gang member would have no idea what to do with a bali--besides they all use 9mm semi-autos today.:eek:

As far as assisted openers, I sure hope they leave them alone, legally, but I also have deep concerns that the powers that be need to show they are "doing something" about crime.:rolleyes:
 
Next thing, people will realize that a fixed blade opens quicker than any auto or AO blade; and will ban those too. Prepare to cut your food with a blunt non-pointy object! :rolleyes:

Seriously - asking one LEO his opinion doesn't mean there will be a sudden change in law. It's an opinion, he's entitled to it. As has been discussed ad infinitum here, many police officers may not be aware of what the current knife laws are in there area. Besides, the worst a police officer can do is arrest you. Whether or not criminal charges are pressed for possessing a knife, it's ultimately determined by the court system. A LEO is looking to protect himself and others (by enforcing the law) first and foremost.

When a LEO deals with a suspect, I would say that intent tends to be the rule. Obviously, if you are booked for assault and are carrying a blade there may be a question; but a traffic stop it would be a non-issue - except for carrying an extraordinarily large fantasy bowie, or a sword!

Unless you are making an obvious spectacle with your knife (standing on a table in the mall food court, yelling "Whoop whoop whoop" and waving your Emerson Commander over your head) you aren't likely to be hauled off for carrying a knife. At the same time, without endorsing the behavior, I'm sure there are plenty of honest people who carry "tools" that they shouldn't be according to their local legislation (I'm just repeating the "it's only illegal if you get caught" mindset! Again, not my personal opinion).
 
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The way the knife law is worded in Wisconsin, they are probably already illeagal, if the officer / DA wants to be a prick about it. Just kind of overlooked at this point.

here it is:

Wisconsin - 941.24. Possession of switchblade knife. (1)
Whoever manufactures, sells or offers to sell, transports,
purchases, possesses or goes armed with any knife having a
blade which opens by pressing a button, spring or other
device in the handle or by gravity or by a thrust or
movement is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor...

that prety much encompasses any knife that can be opened one handed if they want it to.

But they sell assited opening knives everywahere. I personally don't even really worry about the laws. I have never been searched, and pretty much just figure that the knife i carry should be one that I can afford to get taken away. So I don't usually carry autos or bali's, but its more do to the price than to worriying about getting in trouble.
 
I have actaully read that before. Seems kind of like a double edged sword. The law is so vague, that they can charge you with almost any modern "tactical" knife as it being illegal, but it would also seem that it is easily defendable. who knows really.

I think my plan will just be to not get in trouble with my knives, and not worry about it. Maybe if I ever happen to get in trouble I will have to give this guy a call.
 
I've always wondered...if I make knives, can I carry most anything that I make, and if questioned, say its for work, since technically, the knives ARE work?
 
Though technically legal in Canada, we are already finding that depending on the Customs Agent, assisted opening knives are being confiscated as they come into the country. Mind you, some Canadian Customs Agents will confiscate folders if they can be flicked open.
 
Assisted openers hold their legal status on the fact that you push the blade thumb stud, or trigger portion of the blade and not a button in the handle, and that you have to overcome some mild resisitance to make the knife open, therefore not truly automatic. I think as these knives grow popular, (and there are several made in China copies out there that wholesale for $2....) they will become the target of an adjustment in the law to ban them, or case law will dictate they are switchblades as happened in Ill. The more expense ones carried by law abiding people, will fall victim to the cheap knock offs that are all over the place now, which will eventually be use in crimes ....
 
I don't see AOs being banned anytime soon. For a knife to be banned it really needs to have a rash of Hollywood movies showing "bad guys" using them. This was true in the 50s with true autos and in the early 80s with balisongs.

Plus, the knife industry as a whole is very willing to put ALOT of money into lobbying efforts to stop such laws from going into effect.
 
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