US Customs Proposed Law Banning Folders

**Bill Harsey** · 06-09-2009, 09:59

At Blade Show in Atlanta I attended a meeting with the owners and CEO's of all the major knife companies.

We face a significant problem of the United States Customs broadening the definition of auto opening knives to include any folding knife that can be opened with one hand.

Any knife that can be opened with one hand would be banned from import into the United States. The result, as I'm told, could also ban the sale of said knife types from one state to another within the United States.

A link:http://www.kniferights.org/index.php...iew&id=81&Item

Edited to add: US Customs and Border Protection do a critical, important and very difficult job. I'm in no way banging on US Customs in general, however I have a disagreement with the current proposed rule change.

**Bill Harsey** · 06-09-2009, 10:10

Here is another important link on same topic from the American Knife and Tool Institute also known as ATKI: http://www.akti.org/

AKTI is made up from members of the knife and tool manufacturing industry.

**Pete** · 06-09-2009, 10:11

While the story mentions the Boy Scout knife, my Swiss Army can be opened with one hand.

True, I just tried it and it was a little hard but I've seen one armed people with practice do a number of "hard" things - all it takes is practice.

**Bill Harsey** · 06-09-2009, 10:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete

While the story mentions the Boy Scout knife, my Swiss Army can be opened with one hand.

True, I just tried it and it was a little hard but I've seen one armed people with practice do a number of "hard" things - all it takes is practice.

Yep, with most traditional slip joint folders one can pinch the blade and use the weight of the handle to rotate the blade to full open position. Under the US Customs proposed law change this would now be a switch blade knife because it could be "inertia" opened.

PSM · 06-09-2009, 10:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete

one armed people

This can be defeated by invoking the ADA!

Pat

BryanK · 06-09-2009, 10:25

Thank you Mr. Harsey for bringing this to light. Letters are on the way, as well as some phone calls. Whats next, are they going to take away my butter knives to make this country a "safer" place? May as well outlaw trees for having sticks that people can beat eachother to death with. Who breeds these people?

They need to be sterilized. Apologize for the rant. Thanks again.

mcarey · 06-09-2009, 11:28

If your congressman or senator is on the commerce or homeland security commitees, please write, email and call them to get the US Customs to repeal their definition and intent. I beleive that if enough rep / senators in congress call Customs, this will disappear quickly.

Scimitar · 06-09-2009, 12:21

So knives aren’t covered by the 2nd amendment?

What am I missing here that they think they can ban knives but wont ban some of the fully auto jobs out there that 'people' hate so much.

Confused?

Sean

x SF med · 06-09-2009, 13:32

It is utterly astounding to me that the US Customs Service is going to make every Boy Scout, recreational sailor, hiker, backpacker, rock climber, lumberman, construction worker, farmhand, police officer, and military person a criminal because they carry a tool with them.

Kinder, gentler pc BS...

Trip_Wire (RIP) · 06-09-2009, 14:05

What a bunch of CRAP! Let's stop this in it's tracks!

Defender968 · 06-09-2009, 14:51

For those who want the source document on this, it took a little looking but here is the policy that's the basis for this post, it starts on page 5 of the pdf.

http://www.customs.gov/linkhandler/c.../43genno21.pdf

I would love to get to sit down with the egg headed moron who came up with this retarded idea, I don't know if it's Andrew M. Langreich, Intellectual Property and Restricted Merchandise Branch, at (202)325–0089 who is the listed POC, but with all the issues facing our nation that are in C & BP's lane, the fact that they're wasting the time to try to further disarm ordinary citizens really torques me.

How many individuals have been stabbed with auto openers really? I know in my last 3 years as an LEO I didn't see 1, not 1, now I have seen stabbings, but more often than not they were with kitchen knives or box cutters, a few with folding pocket knives, but not one was an auto opener.

Maybe, just maybe those freaking dips*(&s running C&BP could focus on something that's really an issue, like I don't know the 30 million illegal aliens residing in our country violating federal law and crippling our school and medical systems instead of worrying about who's carrying a knives that opens just a little too quickly. Next thing you know they'll try to ban hammers, afterall a couple of folks got killed with those last year!

**Bill Harsey** · 06-09-2009, 16:00

Thanks for all the reading and comments.

What concerns me is that under the "old" importation of switchblades act is that knives that are not switchblades get caught up in it.

The proposed rule change broadening the definition of "switchblade"has the potential to sweep up many more folding knives if not all.
This would affect interstate commerce also. My fear is that we are close to becoming like England.

A Hawaii State Senator tried to ban all pocket knives in Hawaii recently. The dots on the chart are changing direction fast.

Frank Trzaska · 06-10-2009, 19:06

While we are on the banning subject. As reported in the Washington Times today.

"SWORDLESS SAILORS
Graduating midshipmen of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis are being told in writing to leave at home or in their vehicles all "ceremonial swords" and anything else "that might be considered a weapon or a threat by screeners" for Friday's outdoor commencement ceremonies featuring an address by President Barack Obama."

All the best
Frank Trzaska

Kit Carson · 06-10-2009, 19:12

Thanks for posting this, Bill.

As Bill and others have said, this is a serious issue. Send the links to everyone you know, especially those that carries a knife.

This could get bad for me. All my collaborations are AO or flipper type knives. Getting too old to start making fixed blades again, and too old to come back in the Army...

**Bill Harsey** · 06-12-2009, 09:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kit Carson

Thanks for posting this, Bill.

As Bill and others have said, this is a serious issue. Send the links to everyone you know, especially those that carries a knife.

This could get bad for me. All my collaborations are AO or flipper type knives. Getting too old to start making fixed blades again, and too old to come back in the Army...

Your welcome Kit.
Looks like this just got more serious, got word from Doug Ritter from Equipped To Survive and KnifeRights.org that US Customs has denied the request for extension to consider this issue and the deadline for comments remains 21 June 2009.
Said request was made by the US knife and tool manufacturers via AKTI (American Knife and Tool Institute) and KnifeRights.org

My guess is US Customs mind is made up and this continues on the fast track to passing.