No gravity knives?

[snuffle]

I have an Exo. I'm not much of a fidget-device person, but it is entirely too easy to be *that guy*, compulsively playing with it.

Still not terrifically practical, though. For reasonable carry in your pocket, it really needs a detent holding it closed. Which would ruin a lot of the fidgety fun.

 

[Mal2]

A gravity knife locks both open AND closed, which is why knives with a normal button lock or Axis Lock (or any other mainstream lock) aren't gravity knives. The Button Lock Elementum locks closed (you can't open it without pushing the button) so it's a gravity knife, but a regular button lock like the Malibu can be easily opened using the flipper tab and without touching the button, so it's not a gravity knife.

My understanding of the history of these laws is that your reference to "broken spring automatic" knives is part of how the definition of a gravity knife developed. If you ban the sale of switchblades, it's not hard to take that same knife and remove the spring, letting gravity do the work instead. The specific definition of "gravity knife" was created, at least in part, to avoid having an easy workaround (sell the knife without a spring and let the buyer install one) or a functionally similar product.

The logic behind that escapes me. Push the button on a closed (detent) button lock knife and it behaves just like the Elementum; gravity opens the knife. Additionally give it a good flick and NO other action is needed. It would certainly seem to me that the Elementum would be far less intimidating to the lawmakers.

I understand your reference to making an automatic without the spring but I suspect too much credit is given to lawmakers in their understanding of knife mechanics. Certainly the NY law's definition (recently struck down) as confirmed in case law didn't care. It only validated gravity ONLY as being the means of deployment defining the title of gravity knife; gravity far in excess of 1G.

Interesting discussion but there is no real answer other than what those in power decide and, even then, only on a case by case basis.