I was trying to find some info on a couple of different knife shows and came across this site:
A Sharper Future = Essential Tools Essential Rights
Knife Rights.org is a site that everyone of use should visit, read the info and maybe even join...Why? You ask…
Blade Magazine had a recent article on the liner lock knives being considered “gravity knives” by New York state and are trying to railroad through possession arrests…
State Court Says LinerLocks are Gravity Knives
January 04, 2008
by Joe Szilaski, Field Editor
Usually in this column I am asked knifemaking questions that I try my best to answer. But the reason I am writing this is to remind all knife enthusiasts of a most serious situation within the world of knives.
This article is not very exciting. It will not thrill you like the stories of a hunter who survives a vicious grizzly attack and kills the bear with his hunting knife, of some unfortunate hiker who is forced to amputate his arm in order to survive, or a grandmother who chases a burglar out of her home with a kitchen knife.
While what I am about to tell you is not what you want to hear, it is about a situation that did happen, and continues to happen right here in the land of the free—in this case, the state of New York. And do not kid yourselves, it could happen anywhere.
I am pretty sure most folks remember the movie West Side Story. Soon after the movie’s release, new rules and regulations outlawed switchblades in most states. The switchblade laws of the 1950s also made butterfly and gravity knives illegal.
I am afraid that another knife is making its way to the list of illegal-to-carry items.
While knifemakers—and I count myself among them—strive to perfect mankind’s oldest tools, there are some politicians and organizations that have been working overtime to chip away another piece of the rights of all Americans. I am just going to tell you my story as it happened without any polishing. Here it is in a nutshell.
During the past eight or nine months, I have received several phone calls from attorneys asking me to help them out. The first call was from a lawyer asking if I would be willing to be an expert witness in a knife-related case he was defending. Naturally I said yes; if I could help, I would be more than happy to do so.
In this particular case—which occurred in a small town about 90 miles north of New York City—a young man was arrested for possession of a gravity knife. I assumed we were talking about some World War II paratrooper’s knife or a replica of that style of knife. But assuming is not a good idea. A few minutes into our conversation about how the knife opens and closes, I realized that the knife we were talking about is nothing more than a LinerLock™ folder, the design made famous by Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer© Michael Walker. I explained to the attorney the differences between a LinerLock folder and a gravity knife. I sent him all the information I could on the subject, including some pictures and illustrations showing the differences in construction and operation of the knives.
The lawyer obviously did his homework, because a week or so later he called to let me know that the district attorney had dropped all charges against his client. Naturally, I was very happy to hear the news and that the man’s knife rights had been restored. Though it meant I would not be needed to appear in court nor compensated for the time I spent with the attorney, I was happier to hear of such a beneficial outcome than to receive any money.
cont.....Blade Magazine
