Have any recent laws been passed specifically targeting assisted openers?

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kozak6

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Dec 28, 2005
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I was looking at the assisted opening threads on the Spyderco forum, and it made me curious...

I know that in some areas assisted opening knives are banned because they meet the local definition of a switchblade and whatnot, but my question is this:

Have there been any laws passed with the specific point of cracking down on assisted openers? Or is it just a matter of time?
 
Not that I know of. But there are always new knife laws being made and old ones don't expire. I think it is a matter of time before most knives that we buy will be illegal to carry. I believe in Denmark, Spyderco has a knife with the hole filled in just enough so that it cannot be opened with one hand. I think the knife doesn't lock either. My favorite feature is the wave. It is my favorite feature because it opens the fastest. I surprised nobody has gone after that yet.
 
I don't think anyone has passed a law banning them by definition yet, but as you stated they maybe considered switchblades by some, and most can be opened by flicking the blade out, and are therefore a GRAVITY knife and become illegal in most place because of that....
 
I haven't heard of any new laws, either. But there's still a huge problem with what I call "definition creep": courts or PDs deciding that formerly legal knives now fit the definition of a prohibited knife. I good example is New York City, which bans switchblades and gravity knives; a few years ago, the definition of "gravity knife" was expanded to include ANY folding knife that could be opened by centrifugal force, i.e. fipping it open with great force. Overnight, untold thousands of formerly legal knives were contraband.
 
Gryffin....you are right as per Gravity knives, but that has been the NYS law since 1958. NYC added a 4" limit in 1988. The federal law also defines gravity knives in the same manner.
 
rifon2....that is what I meant...a 4" limit as in it must be under four inches.......
 
That's my point: the law hasn't changes. But up until recently, a "normal" folder wasn't a problem, but the NYPD and the DA have decided to change *their* definition. Due to a lack of case law (because they hadn't taken "normal" folder cases to court before), the law has *effectively* changed.
 
Gryffin....I have always seen arrest made for "Gravity" knives going back over 20 years. I think the new rookies who where not allowed to carry knives to school, and where not exposed to them as we where ( I was born in 59) have taken the letter of the law more seriously, and are therefore making arrest based on the definition in NYSPL 265 . They have even arrested a few store owners lately for selling Benchmade, and other high quailty knives that were gravity also......Since I am no longer a city employee I am careful that any knife I carry can not be flicked open....as silly as it sounds my firearms permit is clear as to my rights but knives are a open issue....Years ago you had to do something with a gravity knife to be charge with simple possession....not these days.
 
The interesting thing is that in many jurisdictions, Texas being one example, fixed blades are clearly legal for carry, and even concealed carry, while some prosecutors in those areas will consider an assisted opener to be a switchblade and therefore illegal. I actually prefer to thumb a folder's blade open so I can feel the lock engage, and will sometimes even try to move the blade with my thumb to be extra sure it is locked, or just use a fixed blade, so the asisted opening issue is not a worry to me. It is not my intention to cause thread drift, but to offer some perspective, because I have seen educated, white-collar type guys walking a perilous line with the law regarding automatic/switchblade knives, when a simpler, stronger, and faster sytem is quite legal.
 
Welll, in a conversation with the guy behind the knife counter at the Sportsman's Warehouse here in San Antonio who is both a knife enthusiast and a pre-law student, in SA and I think he said Bexar country, ANY fixed blade is illegal except if you have a hunting license, can reasonably prove you are going hunting, the blade is not over 4.5 inches and you are wearing it fully exposed. Also, all lockblades are illegal and assisted openers are considered auto knives.
Click to expand...

I posted this in another thread so it is easier to just quote myself that retype it. As you can see Texas is a good example of a place where you can be within the law in one place and as soon as you cross a city or county line you are now a lawbreaker.

I want to see someone who cuts themself when a blade folds unexpectedly on a non-locking knife go and sue the city/county for creating the dangerous situation by making knives with safety features such as locks and fixed blades illegal, thereby disallowing a person who wishes to obey the law the option of using safer tools.
 
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