Cold Steel - Are you ever going to produce an automatic knife?

[Thomas Linton]

I have memory problems too.

1. Balisongs are "switchblades"

2. "The term ''interstate commerce'' means commerce between any State, Territory, possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and any place outside thereof.and "interstate commerce" includes importing from a foreign country."

3. Spyderco mailed the parts from California to Colorado - again "interstate commerce.

From the Spyderco Forums back in 2008 (and left there by the mods):

What all of the above means to all the “knife people” on this forum is that Spyderco is complying with rulings and opinions handed down in the 10th Circuit, District of Colorado. As the District of Colorado is treating balisongs as automatic knives (switchblades), it is illegal for Spyderco to introduce into interstate commerce (i.e. to sell or ship such items outside of the state of Colorado) balisongs and automatic knives unless such knives are being sold to a distributor or dealer which has agreed to sell such items only to law enforcement or the military, or Spyderco sells the knives directly to the military or law enforcement officers. Spyderco distributors have signed agreements with Spyderco regarding this practice. If Spyderco discovers some distributor/dealer is not honoring their agreement, Spyderco will discontinue doing business with said dealer.
...

For those who have obtained the Spyderco balisongs or automatic knives and who are not law enforcement/emergency response or military, you are illegally in possession of such knives. Now, as in the peer-to-peer music and file sharing realm, where sometimes a person who had just downloaded a few songs was prosecuted, you are putting yourself at risk by posting about your illegality on a public forum. You can be sure that Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement is watching to make sure that Spyderco honors its agreements. If ICE or another federal agency decides to proceed with a criminal investigation, it would take merely a couple of subpoenas to get your IP and email addresses from Spyderco, and then your name and other identifying information from your email or Internet service provider. Some people may be charged “as an example” or sample group to show the “extent of the problem.” Do I know if this is being planned? No, and if I did I sure would not disclose it. Could this happen? Yes, I have seen similar tactics used in other investigations. Please note that, if you can’t legally possess a Spyderco balisong or automatic knife and are crowing about your ownership of such a knife on a public forum, all you are doing is putting Spyderco in the cross-hairs of another potential federal investigation and are possibly inviting yourself along for the ride. In addition, you put every federal law enforcement agent on the forum who has jurisdiction in regard to U.S. Code Title 15, Chapter 29, Section 1241 in an awkward position. Does such an officer report you to ICE, initiate his or her own investigation, or what? As for me, I will get a few of the restricted items as I am federal law enforcement. I don’t plan to be in this section of the forum much. I do hope that everyone plays nice over here. I would hate to see more bad stuff go out toward Golden for no good reason. For the record, if you have a Spyderco balisong or automatic knife and bought it in violation of the law I encourage you to dispose of it properly. Now, as Johnny Storm would say “Flame On” for I am sure to be blasted for this one.

Spyderco contract language:

By completing this Form, I hereby attest that I am a "bona fide" dealer as described in 18 U.S.C. Section 1716(g)(2)(1-4) and as
such represent and state that sales of Spyderco automatic knives will not be made to the general public, but will only be made to those
individuals and entities described in 18 U.S.C. Section 1716(g)(2)(1-4) and 15 U.S.C. Section 1244(2-4) and as allowed under the laws
of the state in which I shall sell such knives. I further hereby attest that I am authorized and legally able to purchase, have shipped to
me, and possess an automatic knife according to the above federal regulations and any applicable state laws and I am in compliance
with all local, state, and federal laws, statutes, and regulations related to the purchase, shipping and possession of automatic knives. I
accept all legal responsibility and liability associated with the purchase and/or possession of an automatic knife and will indemnify and
hold Spyderco, Inc. harmless for any civil or criminal liability I and/or Spyderco, Inc. may incur as a result of the purchase and/or
possession of this/these automatic knive(s). I will not intentionally solicit the purchase of any Spyderco knifes that include an
automatic blade-opening feature to any consumer who is not part of a legal market or advertise such knives in a consumer publication
that is not at least in part intended to reach a legal market, as determined by Spyderco, Inc. Further, I have read this Form in its
entirety, qualify under its terms, and agree to all its contents.

MILITARY/LEO/GOVERNMENT:
By completing this Form, I hereby attest that I am authorized and legally able to purchase, have shipped to me, and possess an
automatic knife according to 18 U.S.C. Section 1716(g)(2)(1-4), 15 U.S.C. Section 1244(2-4) and any applicable state laws and I am in
compliance with all local, state, and federal laws, statutes, and regulations related to the purchase, shipping and possession of
automatic knives. I accept all legal responsibility and liability associated with the purchase and/or possession of an automatic knife and
will indemnify and hold Spyderco, Inc. harmless for any civil or criminal liability I and/or Spyderco, Inc. may incur as a result of the
purchase and/or possession of this/these automatic knive(s). Further, I have read this Form in its entirety, qualify under its terms, and
agree to all its contents.

 

[Gaston444]

I'm a fan of Cold Steel knives and have always appreciated how they seem to have every market covered. No matter where my tastes and budget takes me, there's a Cold Steel product that I want. Unsurprisingly, I have pretty much always had at least one Cold Steel knife since 2012.

The only place where I'm not covered is Automatics, which is honestly just weird to me.

I would really like to see some automatic variants of existing knives, like the Counter Point series or the Recon series, but I would also be interested to see what kind of brand new designs would come out to showcase the automatic feature instead of shoehorning it into existing models.

They never came out with a serious hollow handle...

And no I don't consider the Bushman a serious hollow handle.

This is almost weird as they date back straight to the heydays of the 1980s.

In general I love Kraton handles, but Cold Steel, who basically introduced them, were always almost the only ones who did them wrong: Their ends are usually not capped in metal, with ugly Kraton guards (which almost no one else does), or capped in a way that doesn't protect them, and the handle's high points are often sharp or checkered, which exposes them to unsightly wear.

The Trailmaster's handle is so narrow, it probably robs the blade of close to half its potential chopping power...

Some of their excellent folders are not produced very long for some reason, like the Pro-Lite folders. Their current bigger folders are often a bit gaudy...

One of the few Cold Steels I like is their Tai Pan dagger: A great design, and I even like the leather sheath.

Gaston

 

[MountainPeek]

They have the Survival Edge, which is hollow handle with waterproof compartment.

But yes, I would love a CS auto. My state just got rid of our switchblade ban, so now they are fair game.

 

[cbxer55]

They have the Survival Edge, which is hollow handle with waterproof compartment.

But yes, I would love a CS auto. My state just got rid of our switchblade ban, so now they are fair game.

My state did as well. But. it's still against federal law for anyone to ship autos across state lines. The only truly legal way to acquire an automatic knife is for the auto to be produced in the state you live in. I wonder how all the gun shops in my state manage to get a bunch of them to sell? They get some kind of exemption because they only sell them to LEO's? I would never buy one from a brick and mortar anyways, they are WAY over priced.