From: sheldon@XXXXXXXXsopris.net   
      
    wrote in message   
   news:58eau5lmdtbn41h05i47v0njvi9l9gh16k@4ax.com...   
   > Are switchblade knives illegal in most jurisdictions?   Did they used   
   > to be?   On TV, they advertise things that work something like   
   > switchblades but don't look like them.  One is short and fat like a   
   > sunfish, but seems to spring out.  And the others look more like   
   > knives, but open differently, it seems from the tv.    Are they likely   
   > to be legal in Maryland, or other states I might go to?   
   >   
   >   
   > Details: When I was in college, I lost my jacket, but found it a day   
   > or two later, in the dorm's piano room, where I had probably left it.   
   > Except, in the pocket was a switchblade.  I wonder how that happened.   
   >   
   > It didn't open all the way when the lever was pulled, so I oiled it a   
   > bit, and then it opened all the way and bounced back without latching.   
   > Still I could have fixed that.   
   >   
   > But I thought switchblades were illegal in Illinois, and I wondered if   
   > mine had been used in a crime**, so I gave it to the manager of the   
   > dormitory.   
   >   
   > **Didn't seem likely that both of us would forget the jacket in the   
   > piano room, so maybe he lost it on purpose.   
   >   
   > I've also heard that gravity knives are illegal.  Everywhere.  Yet I   
   > think they are state laws.   
   >   
   > In Arizona where everyone can get a gun carry permit, do they have   
   > illegal knives?   
   >   
   > But sometimes, when there have been a lot of scary stories on tv, news   
   > or dramas, I feel like it might help to have a knive, and one that   
   > takes 2 hands to open wouldn't help.  I used to carry a penknife and   
   > often found uses for it.  There has only been one mugging around here   
   > in 25 years, but once in a while, I wish i had some "protection".   
      
   Many of the fast opening knives you see on those TV commercials are actually   
   called fast open knives.  You push a stud that's mounted to the blade   
   forward with your thumb, and past a certain point a spring will take over   
   making the presentation as fast or faster than a switchblade.  Since the   
   blade is not initially propelled by a spring and a push button these fast   
   open knives are still legal in most states, but the Feds are at it again   
   trying to outlaw them.  It looks like this won't happen, as it is   
   discriminatory to people with one arm.  Seriously.  The protests are coming   
   from one-armed people and people who work with knives on a daily basis and   
   only have one free hand to open them.   
      
   As for knife laws, each state has their own, usually consisting of blade   
   length, and telling you you may not own a knife who's blade opens   
   automatically or with gravity, like a switchblade or butterfly knife.  But,   
   keep in mind that many of these laws do not govern ownership, only public   
   carry.  So, you can have a blade as long as you want in your kitchen, but   
   you cannot carry a folding knife with a blade that long in public.  Also,   
   most police and agencies take a look at carry and how a "weapon" is stored.   
   A switchblade behind glass or a sword on your mantle won't draw much   
   attention, but during a search if you have a folding knife over the limit in   
   your pocket it will be held against you.  I don't think there are special   
   licenses for knife collectors like there are for gun owners who have   
   silencers and machine guns.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)