California-Switchblades & "Flipping"

[James & Toni Mattis]

Today I had a chance to talk to Buck Knives' legal counsel, who has been
helping guide AB 3314 (the bill that says their Crosslock and other
thumb-opening knives aren't switchblades here, and I brought up the
"flipping" issue raised by other postings on the subject.

For those who haven't read the other postings, most lock-blade pocket
knives, whose blades are held in the handle by spring tension and
friction, can be opened by Newton's laws, with practice, at least
sometimes. This argument is as old as the switchblade laws.

She said that, in her experience, the problem is mainly theoretical, at
least in the U.S.A., and that she would know it if Buck's customers were
complaining of being turned into petty criminals by their products that
way. Question - has anybody out there actually lost a knife to a cop,
or even gone downtown, because his a cop managed to flip open his or her
lockblade folder?

Or does that trick only work on suspects who are feeling guilty about
something and are glad to get by only losing the knife?

She said that Canada is another matter. They don't ship their single
blade Crosslock there any more, because Canadian cops were busting
people who had knives that could be flipped open. They hired a lawyer
there and took the case up on appeal, arguing that the knife wasn't
designed to open that way, didn't open reliably that way, etcetera, and
the Canadian courts said, in effect, "If anybody can flip it, it's a
switchblade and contraband here."

A lot of things that are legal here, in the rebel colonies, are
contraband in Canada. We know there's no Second Amendment there. Also,
their "decency" laws are much stricter than ours, for example, because
there's no First Amendment there either.

- James K. Mattis

"Love work, hate domination, and do not let your name come to the
attention of the ruling powers." - Talmud/Sayings of the Fathers

[Patrick Lee]

James & Toni Mattis wrote:

> She said that Canada is another matter. They don't ship their single
> blade Crosslock there any more, because Canadian cops were busting
> people who had knives that could be flipped open. They hired a lawyer
> there and took the case up on appeal, arguing that the knife wasn't
> designed to open that way, didn't open reliably that way, etcetera, and
> the Canadian courts said, in effect, "If anybody can flip it, it's a
> switchblade and contraband here."

Ahhhhh.. I was wondering why. I was at a knife store in Vancouver
BC, and they said they didn't carry the Crosslock solitaires anymore
for some odd reason they didn't know why. Kinda silly since they
sell spydercos and benchmades that are MUCH easier to flip open.

On another note, I've been converted from flipping to using
the thumb stud. Less wear and tear, and it's actually just as
fast. These days I at least open the knife partway before giving it
a flip (it's much easier on the knife, and MUCH more reliable anyway)

-Pat