Talk:Switchblade

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[edit] Terminology

Is a flick-knife a switchblade or a gravity knife? That is to say, is it a "flick" knife because it flicks out when the button is pushed (implies switchblade), or because you need to give it a flick to make it work (implies gravity knife)? I am grateful that I have no direct knowledge of this subject: can any experts here clarify which is the correct term? -- Karada 23:58, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I'm certainly no expert but to me as a speaker of British English a flick-knife is a knife which opens by means of a spring released by pressing a button, intended as a weapon. OED is perhaps ambiguous but Merriam-Webster, Collins, Chambers and Longman all agree with the above. Harry 02:20, 10 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I would like to point out that "Switchblade" is a perjorative term for an automatic opening knife. That is the actual term for these types of knives, in the spirit of accuracy this article should probalby have its title changed to Automatic Opening knife, with Switchblade redirecting to it and being noted as a perjorative term.

[edit] Legality

Shouldn't there be something here about the legality of switchblades? I'm not sure what the actual laws are, but it's worth noting. Eldamorie 01:29, 1 May 2005 (UTC)

I agree. I had thought three was something at Knife, but it's just "Automatic knives (switchblades) are almost universally banned from civilian carry if not possession" which is better than nothing and sufficient for the entry Knife, but it would be good to have something more detailed at this more specific headword (Switchblade). Flapdragon 20:15, 1 May 2005 (UTC)

I'm working on an add on of the legality of switchblades in the U.S on a state by state basis: Do you all think that it would be appropriate to include in this article?

ThegunsofNevada

I think that including the legality of switchblades in the US by state would be a great idea! If possible, find out the legality in other countries as well. Have at it! Boneheadmx 02:57, 31 December 2005 (UTC)


California Penal Code states that switchblades of length 2" and less are legal, however all swithcblades are banned from import, and must be fabricated in California. Also, perhaps include information on how assisted-opening folding knives (such as knives that use S.O.G.'s SAT technology) are not considered to be switchblades? There's plenty of information here: http://www.equalccw.com/knifelaw.html#SECTION%20ONE 05:03, 17 March 2006 (UTC)


I've corrected the section on UK knife law. The maximum legal for a (folding, non-locking) knife to be legal to carry in public is 3", not 4". Wardog

"And also all knifes over 1 inch are taken out of the hands of the people as well as all blowuns and firearms.(totaly unfair)" - From the Australian legality section, really should be removed.


In the UK section it reads "although the knife would have to be pre-1959 vintage or its acquisition would be illegal." I note that neither the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959, nor the CJA 1988 explicitly outlaws the buying (or borrowing) of such a knife. How would its aquisition be illegal? I guess that buying such a knife could be regarded as the offence of inciting another person to illegally sell it...

Also, I am not sure I agree 100% with "as long as it is held within the home". Certainly there are very few "reasonable excuses" for carring one in public, given that (under UK law) such knives are generally regarded as having no purpose other than as a weapon. But if you happen to own one, there are some circumstances when it might be reasonable (and therefore legal) to take it outside your home (some examples: moving house; putting your possessions into storage; transporting the knife to the police for destruction). But maybe these situations are to obscure to bother with... I agree that in general it would be a serious offence to have such a knife in a public place. TomH 01:39, 6 August 2007 (UTC)


I have made some minor changes to the links to UK laws. The links are now mostly to the actual legislation itself (on a government website) rather than to a third-party website which attempts to "explain" the law. I have removed the reference to the Knives Act 1997, which does not "ban" anything (it just restricts the way in which knives may be marketed). TomH 02:03, 6 August 2007 (UTC)


Section on legality in Canada was wrong, I have corrected this and provided a link to the criminal code (however I'm not able to get the exact section and definitions to work). Nor do I wish to clutter up this article with detailed explanations as to why something is illegal. http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-46 (Every person commits an offence who carries or possesses a weapon, an imitation of a weapon, a prohibited device or any ammunition or prohibited ammunition for a purpose dangerous to the public peace or for the purpose of committing an offence.

and

"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;


"In the UK section it reads "although the knife would have to be pre-1959 vintage or its acquisition would be illegal." I note that neither the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959, nor the CJA 1988 explicitly outlaws the buying (or borrowing) of such a knife. How would its aquisition be illegal? I guess that buying such a knife could be regarded as the offence of inciting another person to illegally sell it... Also, I am not sure I agree 100% with "as long as it is held within the home". Certainly there are very few "reasonable excuses" for carring one in public, given that (under UK law) such knives are generally regarded as having no purpose other than as a weapon. But if you happen to own one, there are some circumstances when it might be reasonable (and therefore legal) to take it outside your home (some examples: moving house; putting your possessions into storage; transporting the knife to the police for destruction). But maybe these situations are to obscure to bother with... I agree that in general it would be a serious offence to have such a knife in a public place. TomH 01:39, 6 August 2007 (UTC"


It does however outlaw the sale which effectively prohibits acquiring one in a legal circumstance after 1959. Perhaps it could be possible if inherited but having not looked into that angle I couldn't give any useful comment.

Ah!, another good point. That would be dependent upon whether possession in a public place is an absolute offence, which is something else which requires conformation . WallyLG (talk) 05:50, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Connecticut

The Connecticut law that is mentioned in the article says in no uncertain terms that switchblades are illegal to carry. The table then lists Connecticut as a state in which both possession and carrying are legal. There is something wrong, either the law is out of date or the table is wrong, I don't know which. Draganta 19:16, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Second this. [1] appears to indicate that it is illegal. Jochenroth 17:26, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pennsylvania

I have updated Pennsylvania's possession column in the State table to reflect that automatic knives are legal if owned solely as curios per PCS Title 18, Chapter 9, Section 908 (Prohibited Offensive Weapons):

"It is a defense under this section for the defendant to prove by a preponderance of evidence that he possessed or dealt with the weapon solely as a curio or in a dramatic performance..."

[edit] Florida

Thanks to Jeb Bush and Floirda staute 790.225, F.S., Florida allows for people to carry switchblades.

[edit] Why So Controlled?

Why are switch blades so controlled and in many cases illegal in the United States? A country where it is legal to purchase guns (some states are even okay wit the purchase of automatic rifles), it seems a bit strange to me. I live in California and own a 45 inch sword (with a 35 inch blade). Why would a switchblade knife be illegal when a gun and sword are fulyl legal? This makes no sense. 04:47, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

I guess it's because switchblades are easily hidden, unlike a sword. Unlike a gun, you don't need to load them(giving people the chance to react). But it is pretty dumb that they don't allow switchblades. I tried to buy one when I was 13(as a collector's item, not to kill someone, don't worry), and they wouldn't let me. 08:26, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Well in that case they should ban folding knives since most folding knives are easily hidden. Smaller fixed blades are easy to conceal as well. Zachorious 21:41, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

---> The main reason switchblades are so restricted in the United States is for juvenile crime prevention. Look at films such as "The Outsiders," for example. It terrifies some (mostly elderly) hoplophobes to think that there are young people who own and would like to own such things. The mindset involved in restricting such items is similar to the mindset involved in regulating the dreaded "assault weapons."


why are switchblades illegel when there are people who carry boot knives wich are easily concealed also and some have the same spring action as a switchblade i should know i have two i'm an avid knife collector and i carry a neck knife (legel)wich is just as dangerous but it's legel? how is that fair i have six switchblades but i have to keep them in a case on a shelf and also guns can be concealed a lot of ways under a shirt in a waistband in an ankle holster in a purse i could keep going and going i think they should be legel in all 50 states,if people are so afraid why not just restrict the sale of switchblaades to certaint age group like 18 or 21? agl243


It doesn't matter that the laws are poorly worded, leaving functionally identical or superior items availible. Look at assisted opening knives, and study why the "assault weapons ban" was such a failure.

It allows politicians to appear tough on crime, and in most cases, that's all that matters.

That's it, essentially. Switchblade laws in the US almost uniformly originate in the "juvenile delinquency" scares of the 1950's (automatic knives have been in this country since the mid 19th Century, at latest, and were originally marketed as "ladies' knives", because they could be opened without damaging one's manicure). Movies depicted the classic Italian stiletto as the preferred weapon of the juvenile delinquent, and massive public opinion led to a well-meaning but ultimately absurd federal law prohibiting the import or interstate traffic in automatic knives, and most states passed their own bans on ownership or carrying (not all--it's still legal to carry autos in Florida, for example). In most US states, a private citizen with no criminal record and a clean mental health record can not only own, but also carry a handgun, but even licensed handgun carriers can't carry automatic knives. Very few people pretend this makes sense.
If you want the official rationale, I've been told that police groups support switchblade bans because they don't want criminals to be able to quickly open a palmed knife when the cops order them to put their hands up. In addition, we often have laws intended to restrict access to _cheap_ weapons (see the handful of US laws intended to curb sales of "Saturday night specials"), and a cheap switchblade costs less than a cheap gun. These arguments don't look very persuasive when you consider that criminals still sometimes use expensive automatic pistols (plus the black market markup), and the fact that non-automatic one-handed knives are legal to carry almost everywhere, but remember that these laws are based on fear; weapon prohibitions rarely make sense once you get past the fear.216.52.69.217 15:33, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
The Outsiders are a gang, and it was the '60s and THAT is inspired by an event, and, switchblades are VERY sharp, and are used to kill people, and they may be collectors items, but they may get into the rong hands. My dad owned a few, they were legal then before they were for cutting. Ace Fighter 01:10, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
You're an idiot. Whether or not a knife is a switchblade is defined by the mechanism that opens it. They're not necessarily "VERY sharp." The Outsiders were not a gang contemporary with the beginnings of restrictions on switchblades in 1959. 74.78.98.109 (talk) 07:20, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

68.53.202.156 18:09, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Use for them

What are switchblades used for besides killing people ?

Switchblades are a general term, there are weapons, and non weapons. American military switchblades are not weapons, and are used to cut parachute lines if only one hand is free. And the womens sewing kit automatic is based on 1920's newspaper advertisements by the schrade knife company.71.126.33.251 (talk) 10:44, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

USES: Many handicaped people rely on them because they lack the dexterity to open a normal pocket knife. They also have uses in sports like parachuting. My brothers best buddy's chute got tanged so he pulled out his swichblade and cut the chute free as he was falling to the ground. If he had to manualy open it he said he would not have lived to tell about it. Mountain climbers and rapellers also find them handy.--68.207.206.69 07:27, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Actually, they were invented so women could open a knife without breaking their fingernails. It was movies like West Side story that cast them in a negative light and lead hoplophobes in Congress to ban them. --Mike Searson 05:32, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Oh, why isn't that in the article as "Uses", and what would a women do with a switchblade, I think it would be self-defence, get the dirt out of the underneath of their nails? I think it was used like a pocket knife, and i kind of blew the kiling people thing out of proportion. Ace Fighter 19:35, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Ace,

I'll put that in the article once I get the exact source. The earliest switchblades were remington type pen knives and the button was so women with long fingernails in the 1920's didn't have to mess with the "nail nicks" common on "Swiss Army Knives" or "Scout Knives" at the time.


People carry knives for many reasons, at one time many more people carried them than they do in this politically correct world we now live in. As switchblades became bigger they were used by the military as chute knives, etc.

Still most people use knives to cut their food, open boxes, cut rope, etc. I even used a Strider folder the other day as a pen knife to fix a MontBlanc Fountain pen for someone! --Mike Searson 05:55, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Nice! thanks for that. hey I have a pocket kinfe, similar to a swiss army knife only a cheaper make, I use it to cut paper, slice an apple, open bottles. Ace Fighter 16:57, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I carry mine everywhere. Ace Fighter 16:59, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Collection. The italian ones are art, similar to the way a good japanese katana is art, I only wish it was protected under law like japanese swords made in the traditional way are.

They are also used by some in the military as a combat knife. Some companies now make larger side-opening ones with better steel.

[edit] Legality Section needs Encyclopedic tone

Legality section seems to be written in the first person, and needs a more formal encyclopedic tone of voice. Gryffon 01:58, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Colorado???

Only 49 states? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 206.53.16.70 (talk) 04:54, 12 May 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Is this a wikipedia entry about Switchblade legality or switchblades?

Over 80% of this article has nothing to do with switchblades other than discussing the history of their legality. What about when it was invented? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.88.195.51 (talk) 20:22, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

Or how they work? I'm curious to know how they work (particularly double action out-the-front switchblades) and a decent search of the Internet has yielded no results for me. I ended up buying one to disassemble and study, and I'll put my findings in the article. 69.115.160.94 (talk) 00:21, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

ANSWER- How they work is a big can of worms, if someone adds a paragraph describing a DA-OTF mechanism (there are two, top button and side button), then you have to show a single action side cock, single action tail cock,single action trap door, a lever action, a lockback, a picklock, a button lock, a press button, a flylock, it would get way way complicated.

Before you add this stuff to this article, consider a spin off article for each mechanism.Jerryk50 (talk) 08:43, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Added article on OTF knives in general: Sliding knife

The Gravity knife article was getting pretty dense and rambly, so I cut out all segues from there that really covered OTF/telescoping/sliding knives and dumped them into a new article (with links back to this article for OTF autos). I'm totally open to re-naming the article if someone thinks another term (OTF or whatever) is more appropriate.

This article (and the Sliding knife) article could really use a good pic of a Microtech, to demonstrate the difference between front and side-shooters. —Preceding unsigned comment added by MatthewVanitas (talk • contribs) 13:21, 5 April 2008

answer- gravity, OTF'S, switchblades are all intermingled, you can't detail one, and ignore the other, everyone want to detail their favorite, and they forget the general definition. I added illustrations to gravity, and OTF knife. listing ten types of variants is a bit much, but showing 4 basic alternatives is not a "Segue".Jerryk50 (talk) 06:22, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] LOLWUT

A switchblade (also known as automatic knife, switch, or in British English flick knife) is a type of knife[citation needed]

Wait what? How is citation needed for the fact that it is a knife?Taineyah (talk) 11:25, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] History of the Switchblade

This section really needs a rewrite. Having a link in the section heading seems to be against proper format, and the overall wording of the section is too conversational. Also, the link at the bottom of the section is yelling at me. If no one else can do it, I guess I can bash something out. --Farfromhere (talk) 03:47, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

  • This article appears to have been injected with many links to a few websites in particular, suggesting some sort of spamming. I definitely recommend excising all of those. --Kinu t/c 19:36, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

I added to the history from 1700's to 1920, and tried to sound factual, not conversational, I hope to add illustrations of toledo knife, D'Estang knife and Campobasso knife, I edited the part about "switchblade bad reputation" to sound more encyclopedic. I took out one sales site link, but did not double check all other links..Jerryk50 (talk) 08:36, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

I added Figure A,B,C,D, I expect to have a Coach Gun image later, (E)Korn Patent Knife, (F)Press button, then way in the future, images of a (G)Campobasso, (H)wasp waist flatguard 50's picklock there are lots of photos, and videos and modern pizzaz images, I'm kinda going for a retro 1930's encyclopedia illustration look.Jerryk50 (talk) 23:56, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] collectors terms

I added collectors terms to be specific for switchblade collectors, & UNIDENTIFIED, added ATS34 steel, damascus, teflon which are steel types, not specific to switchblades, and also added an offsite link to a sales site which I removed. which was bragging about ATS34 steel, (common 300 series cheap stainless) not the best knife steel. ATS-34 Japanese made trade name stainless considered the equal of 154CM) Its great for you to contribute, but watch the sales hype, it's supposed to be encyclopedic. if you want to know about knife steels, do not redirect to a sales site, reference a good site, like Engnaths http://www.engnath.com/public/manframe.htm Jerryk50 (talk) 05:47, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Title 15 USC 1244 US Law

Someone wrote a bad summary, it is still not changed, they said switchblades (USC 1244) CAN be shipped by common carrier. This is not correct, it implies commerce, the section USC (1244)says you can not send via U.S.Postal service, that there are penalties for people trying to mail though the U.S.Postal service, and penalty exceptions will be made for common carriers during the course of normal business. (summary) a Fedex or UPS employee wont be arrested if he has a truck full of automatics. although shipping to an authorized dealer is permissable, the article is slightly misleading, as if anyone can mail order via common carrier.Jerryk50 (talk) 12:47, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] collectors terms found missing

I -Jerryk50- logged on, june 8, found a section removed by Thumperward and and I did not understand his explanation found in the edit history (QuoteThumperward, "multiple issues. rm a wholly OR section on alternative names. tidy endnotes". So I -Jerryk50- tried to find where it was moved to, but could not . I will not re-insert it into the article, if someone removed it, but I will add a link to another page where collectors terms, which may or may not be limited to -alternative names- Jerryk50 (talk) 22:06, 8 June 2008 (UTC).