Knife fight

Washington Times:

Hunters, whittlers and Boy Scouts, beware - your knives may soon be on the government's chopping block.

The Obama administration wants to expand the 50-year-old ban on importing "switchblades" to include folding knives that can be opened with one hand, stirring fears the government may on the path to outlawing most pocket knives.

Critics, including U.S. knife manufacturers and collectors, the National Rifle Association, sportsmen's groups and a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, say the rule change proposed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would rewrite U.S. law defining what constitutes a switchblade and potentially make de facto criminals of the estimated 35 million Americans who use folding knives.

"Boy Scout knives, Swiss Army knives - the most basic of knives can be opened one-handed if you know what you are doing," said Doug Ritter, executive director of Knife Rights, an advocacy group fighting to defeat the measure.

"The outrage is gaining steam," he said.

...

The great knife fight is probably going to grow. The UK which has banned ownership of hand guns is working itself toward a ban of knives that can be carried as a weapon. Since knives have multiple uses from opening packages to carving as well as prying it will be more difficult to make the case for banning them. The Custom Border protection ban is just for imported knives and does not effect domestic production.

I have seen a few switch blade knives and most of the older ones seem to have a rather limited usefulness. Other than opening quickly they have no advantage over other knives and their handles make them less useful for most knife uses. If someone was interested in a knife as a stabbing weapon they would probably choose a K bar like those issued to the Marines. While it falls into the hunting knife category, it is still a work of art.