Question About Buying Weapons

[ghunter94]

Alright, this is probably a stupid question, but it is one that I would like answered.

First of all, is buying an automatic knife or otf knife illegal to do over the internet? And can you buy balisongs and brass knuckles safely online too?
I live in PA, and would like to collect knives. I would only be keeping them at my house.

I'm asking this because I do not want the police to track down my order, and fine me or whatever they have to do. Is it even possible for them to do that?

Thanks

 

[GWashington1732]

Yes they can track you through your internet movements, they probably won't, but they can.

Oops, I was wrong:

I would suggest looking for something other than autos to collect, or else you could get slammed with a huge fine in the event that you're caught with them.

I believe it is illegal to even own an automatic in Pa.

 

[freedoom]

I'm also from PA. It's legal in PA to own automatic knives but it's not legal to carry them. Balisongs are also legal to own, state law says they are legal to carry but local laws may vary. Brass knuckles are illegal to sell as a weapon in most of the united states, however selling them as a novelty or paperweight it's legal to purchase or own them.

I know of a at least one knife store on the philadelphia side of the state that sells balisongs, and another one of which i have seen brass paperweights at.

The local authorities have better things to do than track online purchases and pursue each one of them. However if they have any other reason to look into you this might be something they will track.

Don't forget that cutlerylover on youtube is also from PA, he owns knuckles, autos and balisongs.

 

[Phade]

^
Beat me to it.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I suspect this thread will be 'relocated' to the 'Knife Laws' forum soon.

The Federal Switchblade Act prohibits shipping automatic knives across state lines, unless it can be documented that they're specifically for military or law enforcement use. And I think U.S. Postal regulations prohibit the shipment of automatic knives by U.S. Mail (regardless of whom they're for).

If it so happens that you're lucky enough to live in a state where it's legal to own one, AND you're buying from a company WITHIN that same state, who can LEGALLY ship it to you ENTIRELY within that state's borders, then you (might) be OK. But, then again, there's always local jurisdictions to consider too. City/county ordinances might be more restrictive than state law (they often are).

Bottom line, find your state's laws & read 'em (again and again and again).

 

[link2derek]

Depends on the law of your state. You can check your state's statutes here:

http://home.netcom.com/~brlevine/sta-law.htm

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Depends on the law of your state. You can check your state's statutes here:

http://home.netcom.com/~brlevine/sta-law.htm

From the above-referenced site:

'Research was conducted in September 1996; new laws or
amendments may have been passed since then. I have
included later updates and revisions for many states,
but not all. See notes for each state.'

This site's a decent general reference for informational use, but make sure to go to your own state's government sites, to find the most current law. Some info on the above-referenced site is out of date.

To the OP, for Pennsylvania state laws, I'd look here FIRST:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/

 

[ghunter94]

well, im getting mixed answers.

cutlerylover has a bunch of autos, balisongs, and a few brass knucks.
like freedom was saying, wouldn't he have gotten in trouble?

 

[link2derek]

It is certainly always the best thing is to check your local state's compiled laws annotated. The above link appears to be fully up to date -- it's just edited for relevance to knives and blades only.

If the OP is truly concerned, or has trouble understanding the laws of his state, he should contact an attorney licensed in that jurisdiction.

From the above-referenced site:

'Research was conducted in September 1996; new laws or
amendments may have been passed since then. I have
included later updates and revisions for many states,
but not all. See notes for each state.'

This site's a decent general reference for informational use, but make sure to go to your own state's government sites, to find the most current law. Some info on the above-referenced site is out of date.

To the OP, for Pennsylvania state laws, I'd look here FIRST:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/

 

[sambo.]

Alright, this is probably a stupid question, but it is one that I would like answered.

this is the sort of question that you need to direct towards people who know exactly what they are talking about (which EXCLUDES 99.999% of Internet users).

i'd ask people who know a thing or three about PA law. if there is a Public Defender at your local courthouse, make an appointment and ask them.

if you have (or know) a lawyer: ask them.

this is one of those kinds of queries where taking advice from random peeps in the 1n74rW38Z is very dangerous and can get you in a world of trouble.

 

[mdauben]

First of all, is buying an automatic knife or otf knife illegal to do over the internet?

While it is true that specific knife laws vary from state to state regarding autos, it is against FEDERAL law to sell knives across state line so unless you are living in the same state as the seller, then yes it would be illegal at the least on the sellers part. That said, enforcement seems to be pretty lacking, as there are a number of on-line retailers who will sell automatic knives of all kinds to customers anywhere, with little or no background checking.

And can you buy balisongs and brass knuckles safely online too?

I don't know if either of these are covered under Federal law, although they are banned for carry or even possesion in some states. I know some retailers try to get around any restrictions on Brass Knuckles by selling them as belt buckles with an easy to remove pin.

I live in PA, and would like to collect knives. I would only be keeping them at my house.

From my reading of PA law, I believe possesion of both Automatic Knives and Brass Knuckles is illegal in PA except for collectors. Not sure what you have to do to prove you are just a collector, though. The law seems to make selling such things illegal, but it does not mention buying them as being illegal.

 

[tom19176]

PA has a curio exclusion for owning switchblades in your house. Collectors who live in PA and dealers there state you need to get a letter from your local police department stateing you are a collector and they are aware of it before you get caught with them. There is no basis for this in the written law, but it maybe the fact. I deal with the Philly PD often for work, and they are totally anti any knife, so beware there. I do know of a delaer at a show getting arrested for selling switchblades in PA ( he lives there too), and when he went to court the judge dropped the charges and returned his knives. Please note this occured about ten years ago, so things may have changed, The state police made that arrest.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

It is certainly always the best thing is to check your local state's compiled laws annotated. The above link appears to be fully up to date -- it's just edited for relevance to knives and blades only.

If the OP is truly concerned, or has trouble understanding the laws of his state, he should contact an attorney licensed in that jurisdiction.

It isn't fully up to date. For example:

1.) It took about 5 seconds to see the discrepancy in the description of Texas' law (I just moved out of Texas after having been there about 20 years). The write-up on that site didn't take into account the change in wording related to assisted knives, which was signed into law in the last year or so.

2.) The Federal Switchblade Act of 1958 (which prohibits shipment of automatic knives across state lines) was recently amended to more accurately define what a switchblade is (specifically, it makes clear that assisted-openers aren't switchblades). That hasn't been updated on the site either. And several other states have also made similar changes recently, many of which relied upon (and copied verbatim) the 'accepted' definition of 'switchblade' in the Federal Switchblade Act.

3.) Quite notably, New Hampshire just made some HUGE changes to their knife laws (essentially did away with most restrictions). That's also not reflected in the above-referenced site.

The above examples are just what I've looked up so far, in a few minutes' time.

Weapons laws have been changing A LOT in recent years. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for the admins of one particular site to keep up with it all. They'd do better to provide direct links to the states' relevant legislative sites, as opposed to summarizing and/or excerpting text from whatever they looked up, however long ago.

I'd still recommend going to the bonafide, true legal sources first.

 

[link2derek]

Always good advice to go to your state's legislature to see the actual statutes. But above, we were talking about PA (not TX or NH), and it appears that in the case of PA, it's up to date.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Always good advice to go to your state's legislature to see the actual statutes. But above, we were talking about PA (not TX or NH), and it appears that in the case of PA, it's up to date.

That's the problem. A 'reference' like this loses most of it's credibility when it's only 'partly' up to date (and there's no indication of which parts are current; no revision dates, nothing).

Problem is, for someone who's completely new to looking into such things, there's no way to know for sure what is/isn't current, without directly comparing to the true, legit source. That's why it really doesn't make sense to me to refer to these other sites with any degree of confidence. And for those who're unfortunate enough to go astray of the law, these 'legal references' won't hold any sway in court when they find themselves standing in front of the judge on sentencing day.

 

[Rich S]

While it may be "illegal", there are numerous sites on the 'net including Smokey Mountain Knife Works and Knifecenter, just to mention a couple, that sell autos and assisted knives and will ship most anywhere. I'm not a collector or user of autos; simple thumb stud openers I find quite adequate.

Rich