US Customs Proposed Pocket Knife Ban

[Bill Harsey]

For general notice:
US Customs and Border Protection is proposing a ban on the import of any folding knife that has assisted opening.
An assisted opening folder is one where the spring holds the blade closed until the blade is manually opened then the spring assists in rotating the blade to the full open and locked position.
The reason for this is simply utility of use and this type of folding knife is estimated to be owned by 35 million United States citizens.

The way the proposed rule change is written this could effectively ban the import of any pocket knife that can be opened with one hand, IE a thumbstud or Spyderco with opening in the blade for thumb.
Many knives designed and sold by United States knife and tool manufacturers are produced in Europe, Taiwan and China. No matter what ones opinion of Chinese manufacturing, this is a fact of life and is how many affordable pocket knives are produced for the mass market and other outlets including AAFES.

Here is where it gets better, many states base their state law on US Customs law and said knives could become illegal to own, carry or transport interstate.

In Atlanta for Blade Show earlier this month I attended a meeting of the CEO's and owners of all the major United States knife and tool manufacturers.
The proposed US Customs rule change was the single topic on the table.
The rule change is written in a broad and non specific manner and could be used to define any pocket knife that can somehow be opened with one hand as illegal.

US Customs allowed only the minium thirty day period for comments and emails were not being accepted. By the time industry found out about this issue, one week was gone. US Customs denied the multiple requests by industry and lawmakers for an extension of the comment period.

Here is a recent article on the topic: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009...-with-critics/

Please know that myself and others in the greater knife and tool industry have great respect for the difficulty and importance of the work done by US Customs and Border Protection. We do however have a serious concern about this proposed rule change and the effect it would have on the legal ownership of pocket knives for United States citizens.

If you have an interest in this issue, please see the thread on this same topic in the knife area here.

Thank you.

[Warrior-Mentor]

Ridiculous. What a waste of time, energy and money.

Airports make sense.

As for our borders, we can't stop the illegal drugs or aliens,
how are we going to stop the dreaded Boy Scout pocket knife?









.

[echoes]

Originally Posted by Bill Harsey

For general notice:
US Customs and Border Protection is proposing a ban on the import of any folding knife that has assisted opening.
An assisted opening folder is one where the spring holds the blade closed until the blade is manually opened then the spring assists in rotating the blade to the full open and locked position.
The reason for this is simply utility of use and this type of folding knife is estimated to be owned by 35 million United States citizens.

The way the proposed rule change is written this could effectively ban the import of any pocket knife that can be opened with one hand, IE a thumbstud or Spyderco with opening in the blade for thumb.
Many knives designed and sold by United States knife and tool manufacturers are produced in Europe, Taiwan and China. No matter what ones opinion of Chinese manufacturing, this is a fact of life and is how many affordable pocket knives are produced for the mass market and other outlets including AAFES.

Here is where it gets better, many states base their state law on US Customs law and said knives could become illegal to own, carry or transport interstate.

In Atlanta for Blade Show earlier this month I attended a meeting of the CEO's and owners of all the major United States knife and tool manufacturers.
The proposed US Customs rule change was the single topic on the table.
The rule change is written in a broad and non specific manner and could be used to define any pocket knife that can somehow be opened with one hand as illegal.

US Customs allowed only the minium thirty day period for comments and emails were not being accepted. By the time industry found out about this issue, one week was gone. US Customs denied the multiple requests by industry and lawmakers for an extension of the comment period.

Here is a recent article on the topic: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009...-with-critics/

Please know that myself and others in the greater knife and tool industry have great respect for the difficulty and importance of the work done by US Customs and Border Protection. We do however have a serious concern about this proposed rule change and the effect it would have on the legal ownership of pocket knives for United States citizens.

If you have an interest in this issue, please see the thread on this same topic in the knife area here.

Thank you.

Mr. Harsey,

Interesting that when I first told my father about this, (after reading in the other thread,) He told me that I must have my facts wrong, and that this was, " a comical joke obviously just spread as such on the net."

Sadly, I informed him of the reality of this issue from the available data here.

Then, He just shook his head...as I am sure many of his generation, and our generation must feel

Holly

[bluebb]

Stop complaining and build them here, thats not illegal.

Blue.

[Utah Bob]

Originally Posted by bluebb

Stop complaining and build them here, thats not illegal.

Blue.

Depends on the state.

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by bluebb

Stop complaining and build them here, thats not illegal.

Blue.

My understanding of the decision was that interstate commerce in these knives would be regulated, as well as state and local laws changing to reflect the new Federal position.

Have we had a recent unnoticed batch of auto-opening knife attacks?

What is this decision intended to remedy?

Who made this decision?

Do our Customs agents have sufficient control of WMD and smuggling that we can focus on seeming non-existent problems like this?

TR

[7624U]

I will be breaking the law everyday if this gets passed .... Piss on it they will find out how stupid this is after they arrest millions and millions.

[Utah Bob]

The whole switchblade furor, sparked largely by the movie "The BlackBoard Jungle" is just reactionary foolishness. And Ernest Borgnine looked pretty scary in "From Here to Eternity".

OOH! That knife has a spring in it! It must be much more dangerous that other knives. It even makes an evil "sssnick" noise when you open it! Lets ban it!
And now just a one handed opener, spring or not, is a tool of mass destruction according to Customs. Hell, they import enough defective Chinese kid's toys to kill more people in a year than pocket knives ever have.
Coming soon: The Machete Control Act.
Why not?
And don't forget those credit cards that can be sharpened!

[mojaveman]

I don't know what the hecks going on in this country.

When I was living in Europe a friend of mine pulled out a switchblade one night and used it to open a beer bottle. I told him that those types of knives were forbidden in the US and he looked at me in a funny way and said, "you can't own a knife such as this but you can own a firearm there? That is crazy!"

I agreed with him for some reason.

[koz]

This is good news.
------
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Fe...d.aspx?id=5043

Late Thursday, the Senate unanimously passed an amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act as part of the Homeland Security appropriations bill. The amendment, authored by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), changes the federal law under which one agency had tried to redefine many common knives as switchblades.

The measure would exempt assisted-opening knives that can only be opened with "exertion applied to the blade by hand, wrist or arm" from a federal law that criminalizes commerce in switchblades. Assisted opening knives are highly desired by hunters, anglers, farmers, ranchers, firefighters, law enforcement and emergency personnel and others who may need to open a knife with only one hand.

"The Senate sent a strong message and made clear that the 35 million Americans who own pocketknives are free to continue using them without the threat of federal agency intrusion," Sen. Cornyn said in a statement today. "While U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) proposed changing that, my colleagues joined in a unanimous, bipartisan effort to ensure assisted-opening pocketknives are protected by the law. What's more, the CBP reversal would have inflicted serious economic harm to sporting goods manufacturers and retailers."

In the same statement, Sen. Hatch said, "Without this amendment, there is a real danger that 80 percent of the pocketknives sold in the U.S. could be classified as illegal switchblades, which would hurt knife and tool manufacturers across the nation. The unintended consequences of the CBP's definition could be that state and federal criminal courts could construe Leatherman-type multi-tools equipped with one-hand opening features, as well as folding utility knives with studs on the blunt portions of the blade to assist with opening, to be illegal. That is absurd."

Thursday's Senate action puts us one step closer to passing this common-sense measure into law. The measure now heads to a House-Senate Conference Committee.

To view the amendment, please click here: http://www.KnifeRights.org/SAmdt%201447.pdf