Summary
For more background about the proposed knife ban, click here.

To learn what you can do about the push to take your knives away, click here.

Click here to discuss your knife rights on the forum.

Phase Two of Operation Switch Hunt: Refuting the Refuters

Some have questioned whether the knife ban proposed by United States Customs and Border Protection (Customs) actually applies to all one-handed operation knives. They are right to think critically about the situation, but incorrect about the scope of the ban.

The Customs proposal (19 CFR Part 177) does not explicitly refer to all one-handed operation knives. It says it wants to overturn four cases where certain knives were found to not be illegal switchblades. This translates into banning assisted openers and “release-assisted” knives, per this paragraph:

In HQ 116315, HQ W116730, HQ H016666, and HQ H032255,
CBP determined that certain knives with spring- or release-assisted
opening mechanisms were admissible pursuant to the Switchblade
Knife Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1241–1245 and the CBP Regulations pro-
mulgated pursuant thereto and set forth in 19 CFR §§ 12.95–
12.103. Based on our recent review and reconsideration of HQ
116315, HQ W116730, HQ H016666, and HQ H032255, and reexami-
nation of several of the knives therein at issue, we have determined
that the admissibility determination in the aforementioned rulings
is incorrect. It is now CBP’s position that knives incorporating
spring- and release-assisted opening mechanisms are prohibited
from entry into the United States pursuant to the Switchblade Knife
Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1241–1245.

What constitutes an assisted opener is pretty clear in the knife industry, but what counts as a release-assisted knife? Well, one of the knife types described in the first case Customs wants to overturn is defined this way:

 (Exhibit A) is a folding blade knife made in
Taiwan. The knife is made of metal and includes a pocket clip on the
side of the handle. The knife has the visual appearance of a jackknife or
pocketknife. The knife measures 4 1⁄4 inches long when closed. When ex-
tended, the blade of the knife measures 3 inches total. The blade has a
serrated section measuring 1 1⁄4 inches. The overall length of the knife,
when extended, is 7 1⁄inches. There is a 3/16 inch thumb stud on each
side of the unsharpened edge near the base of the blade used for pulling
the blade open. The blade has a single edge and can be locked into an
open position by the use of a safety device. The same safety device is
used to lock the knife in the closed position. This device does not act to
open or close the knife – its sole function is to keep the knife locked in
the knife’s then-existing position. The knife also has a lock mechanism
that must be released to close the knife once the knife is open. This
mechanism is not engaged in any way to open the knife. Release as-
sisted knife, part number 22–07162 (Exhibit B), is identical in descrip-
tion to part number 22–07161 (Exhibit A), except that it has a fine edge,
not a serrated blade.

Therefore, a knife with a thumb stub will be considered “release-assisted.” And if a thumb stud is considered “release-assisted,” one could logically make the leap to include all one-hand operation knives as being “release-assisted.” That leap is confirmed in the description of another knife in a case Customs would overturn:

A search of the CRKT website (last visited on January 13, 2009) reveals
the following information regarding the ‘‘Outburst’’ mechanism and each of
the models described above: the Koji Hara Ichi is equipped with ‘‘an ambi-
dextrous thumb disk allows easy one-hand opening,’’ and ‘‘is available in
conventional non-assisted opening models, or with our patented OutBurstTM
assisted opening mechanism, which instantly springs the blade fully open
after you have opened the blade approximately 30 degrees.’’

Since the knives described would be illegal if the cases are overturned, all knives of similar design would be illegal, too. Assisted openers, “release-assisted” knives and one-handed operation models would be illegal.

If there are still doubts, this paragraph from the proposal sums up how Customs views knives:

Knives with a primary (constructively or practically vs. tactically,
lethally or primarily as a weapon) utilitarian design and purpose that are
not captured by the definition of switchblades are admissible pursuant to
the Switchblade Knife Act. Thus, for example, pocketknives, tradesman’s
knives and other folding knives for a certain specific use remain generally
admissible, with such determinations being made, by necessity, on a
case-by-case basis. Further, the opening mechanisms of imported knives must
be considered and those that open instantly subjected to strict scrutiny in
order to determine admissibility.

In other words, Customs would have the power to determine on its own and on a "case-by-case basis" whether any folding knife “opens instantly” and meets the definition of switchblade. This opens the door for Customs to consider including ANY folding knife as a switchblade.