Switchblade

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For other uses, see Switchblade (disambiguation).
A switchblade, fully extended. These particular switchblades appeared in the 1950s, and throughout the 1960s
A switchblade, fully extended. These particular switchblades appeared in the 1950s, and throughout the 1960s

A switchblade (also known as automatic knife, switch, or, in British English flick knife) is a type of knife with a folding blade that springs out of the grip when a button or lever on the grip is pressed. Switchblades are illegal weapons in many jurisdictions.

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[edit] Overview of designs

There are two basic types of switchblades, side-opening[1] and out-the-front (OTF). A side-opening knife's blade pivots out of the side of the handle (in the same manner as an ordinary folding knife).[2] An out-the-front knife's blade slides directly forward, out of the tip of the handle. There are two types of OTF (out the front) knives: double action and single action.

Double action OTFs allow the user to extend or retract the blade with the press of a sliding button. Spring tension in these knives is actually provided by the movement of the button, which makes them much safer to carry since they will not open accidentally. However, the extra force the spring requires can also make intentional opening more difficult.

Single action OTFs[3] require the user to retract the blade manually and compress the spring. Because they often use a lever to compress the spring, stronger springs can be used. This makes them open more vigorously than the double-action type[4], and allows them to achieve tighter lock-up.

The word stiletto may sometimes be used in American English to refer to a switchblade whose blade comes out of one end of the handle. However, the side-opening switchblade should not be confused with the butterfly knife (balisong), assisted-opening knife, or the non-automatic stiletto.

Switchblades are often cheaply made; however, there are a fair number of knife companies and custom makers who build high-quality automatic knives for military, emergency personnel, and for knife collectors. Some famous automatic knife manufacturers include Microtech[5], Protech[6], Benchmade[7], Dalton[8], and Piranha[9] and then of course Italian manufacturers such as Frank Beltrame, whose family has been making automatics for over 50 years.

Because they are illegal in some places, one variation of the switchblade is a dual-action design that allows the user to manually open the knife as though it were a manual (and legal) folding knife. Often, the trigger for such knives is hidden in a grip panel, requires the user to squeeze or twist the handle in a certain fashion, or is hidden in some other manner.

[edit] Legality

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Many countries have laws which cover switchblades. These generally restrict one or more of the following: manufacture, export, importation, sale, possession, or carrying in a public place. Regardless of any such specific legislation, in common law countries, switchblades are likely to be considered as offensive weapons and carrying them in public "without lawful authority or reasonable excuse" is illegal.

Switchblade knives or Automatic knives are rarely used as weapons but are mostly used by police, firefighters, rescue personnel and the military.[10] Some US Customs stations use automatic knives in their duties, one of which is ensuring that switchblade knives are not imported into the US.

Most high quality automatic knives are produced in the USA.[11]

Switchblades are legal for citizens of 29 states in one fashion or another (buy, sell, possess or carry concealed or unconcealed), [12]. They are legal in all 50 states for specified individuals, e.g. Police, Firefighers, Rescue, EMTs, government agencies and military personnel.

There are claims that racial motivation was behind the ban on switchblades after movies like West Side Story[13] glorified the "switchblade" as the preferred weapons of ethnic gangs. This seems plausible considering that, logically, a knife deployed by a spring is no more or less dangerous than any other kind of "legal" knife.

[edit] Australia

In Australia switchblades are banned as concealable weapons.

[edit] Canada

In Canada, Section III of Bill C68 bans switchblades and knives that one can flip open by swinging or snapping the knife in a circular motion.

[edit] Germany

Most switchblades are illegal to own, import or export. However, if the blade is side-opening, max. 8.5 cm long, the broadness is min. 20% of length, and it's not double-edged, they are legal.

[edit] New Zealand

The Customs Import Prohibition Order 2002 prohibits the importation of "any knife having a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring, or other device in or attached to the handle of the knife (sometimes known as a “flick-knife” or “flick gun”)". The Summary Offences Act 1981 and the Crimes Act 1961 section 202A(4)(a) make it an offence to possess any weapon in a public place without reasonable excuse.

[edit] United Kingdom

In the UK switchblades are illegal to "Manufacture, import, sale or hire, or offer of sale or hire, or lending or giving to any other person" under the The Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act (1959). Technically it is not illegal to possess such a knife so long as it is held within the home, although the knife would have to be pre-1959 vintage or its acquisition would be illegal.

Later legislation adds similar restrictions for a wider range of other knives and weapons: The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment) Order 2004, Criminal Justice Act 1988 / Statutory Instrument 1988 No. 2019 and The Knives Act (1997).[14] In Scotland the details differ, but the overall effect is similar.[15]

[edit] United States

Each individual state (and sometimes individual counties, cities, and towns) may, and often do, have laws restricting weapons including knives and often specifically mentioning switchblades. These state laws differ greatly,[16] but as an example, in California:

653k. Every person who possesses in the passenger's or driver's area of any motor vehicle in any public place or place open to the public, carries upon his or her person, and every person who sells, offers for sale, exposes for sale, loans, transfers, or gives to any other person a switchblade knife having a blade two or more inches in length is guilty of a misdemeanor. For the purposes of this section, "switchblade knife" means a knife having the appearance of a pocketknife, and includes a spring-blade knife, snap-blade knife, gravity knife or any other similar type knife, the blade or blades of which are two or more inches in length and which can be released automatically by a flick of a button, pressure on the handle, flip of the wrist or other mechanical device, or is released by the weight of the blade or by any type of mechanism whatsoever. "Switchblade knife" does not include a knife that opens with one hand utilizing thumb pressure applied solely to the blade of the knife or a thumb stud attached to the blade, provided that the knife has a detent or other mechanism that provides resistance that must be overcome in opening the blade, or that biases the blade back toward its closed position. For purposes of this section, "passenger's or driver's area" means that part of a motor vehicle which is designed to carry the driver and passengers, including any interior compartment or space therein.

Federal laws also apply but generally restrict only the import, export and interstate transportation. The Switchblade Act, (public law 85-623, enacted on August 12, 1958, and codified in 15 USC 1241-1245), prohibits the manufacture or transportation of switchblade knives in interstate commerce. It provides exceptions for government agencies, members of the Armed Forces, and for one-armed persons.[17] The act was amended in 1986 to also restrict ballistic knives. 18 USC 1716 further restricts sending switchblade knives through the United States Postal Service, with a few exceptions.

[edit] Florida

In 2003, Governor Jeb Bush over turned a questionable law stating "No one shall carry a self propelled knife". The law was cleared up to allow Florida residents to use so called switchblade knives. (Portion of 790.225, F.S) also banned in Michigan

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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