My $200 Bradley Alias is now useless ( I think)

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wizzard1717

Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Messages
284
Here is the issue, after a couple of months carring the Alais I decided to get a couple more. Well this order did not make it across the boarder due to the fact that these were classified (oops sorry considered) flick knives upon further review. Disapponiting yes, but not the end of the world, the lady I talked to at the prohibited items unit was very helpful and apologetic she informed me that because of a loose pivot screw she could flick it open after one try, and yes silly but they are not allowed to modify (tighten) the knife. She then proceeded to tell me that if the merchant would accept returns I could ship it back, get him to tighten the pivot and place them back in the mail and there should be no further issues. She knew that these are not designed as flick knives and that they are rather expensive pieces of cutlery as well as who makes them (wow knowledgeable how refreshing) and there was no wrong doing on anyones part. I get it the law is the law. and eventually I should get my knives although a bit more costly.

Now here is were it ties in to the title, after all this headache i decided to look at the one in my pocket. Holy crap I've been walking around with and illegal flick knife. I never noticed, because I dont hold the handle and flick my knives, occasionally i use the thumbstud to flick but more often just a slow opening.

Tried to tighten the pivot but wow the sweet spot is so tiny, turn a little bit one way can't open the knife, little bit other way flick knife. I think the root cause of the problem is a weak detent. I could adjust the pivot so it operates like glass but the detent won't keep the blade retained. What a shame because I really like the knife.

Anyways, if someone has suggestions I'm all ears. Is this a manufacture issue? Warranty issue? Did I just get 3 lemons? Is it worth trying to fix? I dont feel that I could do the work myself especially if it involves the detent or ball bearing. I would try if I knew what I was doing or had some guidence. Are there guys on here that would fix another manufactures product for a price of course.

BTW I might have a flick knife for sale:rolleyes:
 
If you ever have to kill somebody with the knife, just make sure you tighten the pivot before the police arrive. ;) Otherwise, I don't see why your knife will ever be an issue. Have you ever been stopped by the police to check your knife before? I can't imagine they would hassle you unless you were flicking it open around one, or if you were causing trouble. Why worry about it??
 
I have been to court 3 times to defend against prohibited weapons charges (spyderco police) all 3 of those charges dropped. every time I was stopped and charged was because I was carrying my knife when i was walking to get coffee. ok yes it was at 3 in the morning and yes serr. police does look menacing but i was not breaking any laws by carrying it. I work nights so my scheduale is a little different. And the last time i checked being out at night is not a reason to be searched . Now you can claim rights all you want but the standard LEO reply is you looked suspious and that floats as far as our courts are concerned.
Now I am also a firearms owner so could you imagition the consquences of a conviction for prohibited weapon (flick knife).
Christ it is literally the same charge as if I was in possesion of a machine gun, or silencer. So you can kinda see that it is worth worrying about. Now with all that said I have also been stopped and complimented by LEO on my knives as well then told to carry on and have a safe night. It is up to the LEO what they decide to do, keep in mind self defence is not a good enough excuse to carry a knife in Canada so ya got to be careful what you tell them,
 
They physically searched you or you had a clip hanging out of your pocket? If you had a clip hanging out of your pocket then the easy solution would be to carry it unclipped in your pocket. At least when you are out and about you should carry it unclipped. I've been carrying a knife in the same pocket for years and I've never been stopped or questioned no matter where I was and no matter what time it was. I guess I can chalk it up to luck, but I just always had the mindset that if I wan't doing anything to cause attention to myself then the police would have no reason to even look at me twice letalone approach me.
 
wizzard1717 said:
I have been to court 3 times to defend against prohibited weapons charges (spyderco police) all 3 of those charges dropped. every time I was stopped and charged was because I was carrying my knife when i was walking to get coffee...SNIP
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Wow, another reason I'm glad I'm an American.
 
Unfortunately from the way I understand the laws up here, not having a sheath or pocket clip showing constitutes a concealed weapon, which is a big no no. I've been carrying around my Mini Grip (Looks far less menacing than Spyderco Police) and haven't had an issue.

Reason for carrying a knife is what decides if you get charges laid on you or if get your knife back. I've always stated things like opening boxes/mail, cutting zip ties, eating fruit, etc and have never had an issue.
 
I think that the OP's experience is the exception rather than the rule. For almost 50 years, I have carried knives in pocket, clipped to a pocket or frequently on a belt sheath. Hell, I have even worn knives into a police station and around police, and have never had any knife related problem. Canada, in my experience, is quite knife friendly, FWIW.
 
there is no "flick knife law" the only laws we have in canada are:

“prohibited weapon” means

(a) a knife that has a blade that opens automatically by gravity or centrifugal force or by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the handle of the knife, or

(b) any weapon, other than a firearm, that is prescribed to be a prohibited weapon;
 
like Mr. Wizzard said it is really up to the LEO. and he is pretty luck on 3 dropped charges.
 
arcstarter said:
there is no "flick knife law" the only laws we have in canada are:

“prohibited weapon” means

(a) a knife that has a blade that opens automatically by gravity or centrifugal force or by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the handle of the knife, or

(b) any weapon, other than a firearm, that is prescribed to be a prohibited weapon;
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One of the ways to do the above is by "flicking" your wrist. I think that's were the OP is getting a "flick law". They purposely leave the law a bit vague and open to interpretation to allow the LEO or court lattitude to decide what they want to do with you. If you are clean cut, polite, and obviously not engaged in illegal activity, they can let you go. If you are not any of the above they can use it to hold your or pursue proscecution for anything they can come up with. Then there is the wildcard of a LEO or judge having a bad day, and then anything is possible.
 
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I agree it is fairly vague and is definitely up for interpretation. Which means it can easily be seen either way. Being that I've most got Benchmade, I have stopped myself from carrying a few, like the BM527, since when opened via pulling the axis lock back in the handle it pushes the blade open about 1/4 of the way. I also try to avoid anything tacticool looking as its just going to draw attention to yourself should they give you an extra look.

While I am sure your appearance has a lot to do with kind of attention you draw to yourself, being polite and respectful to a LEO goes a long way. While there are good and bad cops (just like every other profession), I believe that the majority are just trying to earn a living and keep everyone safe.
 
wizzard1717 said:
I have been to court 3 times to defend against prohibited weapons charges (spyderco police) all 3 of those charges dropped. every time I was stopped and charged was because I was carrying my knife when i was walking to get coffee.
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Wow, that really sucks man. Gotta love it when cops can't find anything better to do than harass citizens for carrying totally legal knives. :rolleyes:

Honestly, a few of my knives would qualify as 'flick knives' if some cop got bored enough to try to flick them, and there's no way I can see to rectify that. I wish I had some decent advice for you, but I don't really know how to solve your problem, man. :confused:
 
dasilvakev said:
Unfortunately from the way I understand the laws up here, not having a sheath or pocket clip showing constitutes a concealed weapon, which is a big no no. I've been carrying around my Mini Grip (Looks far less menacing than Spyderco Police) and haven't had an issue.

Reason for carrying a knife is what decides if you get charges laid on you or if get your knife back. I've always stated things like opening boxes/mail, cutting zip ties, eating fruit, etc and have never had an issue.
Click to expand...

Carrying a concealed knife is not illegal, unless your knife is a weapon. Is your knife a weapon? Having a clip showing is asking for trouble from the police.
 
Medic1210 said:
Wow, another reason I'm glad I'm an American.
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Well, from what I can see it varies greatly from state to state.
Here we have no length laws which is nice, but police discretion can be annoying if they decide they don't like you.
But I've never had any issues, and cops have seen the pocket clip enough times.
Tighten the pivot here and you're good to go pretty much...flicking is the one thing which I've heard issues with.
 
I've never had any issues either. The B&M knife shop that I go to is frequented by a lot of LEOs and we usually end up chatting and comparing notes on what we are carrying that day. I have also dealt with a lot of police officers in the course of my employment, they've seen knives on my desk and never made a single comment.
 
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