[cracked butt]

I saw a Canadian just asked a legal question about butterfly knives...


What is the current law in the United States?
The reason I asked is that I recently read somewhere that Spyderco started making a really nice butterfly knife, came into some sort of conflict with US laws and promptly recalled them from their distributors, and is now only selling them to law enforcement and military.

Does anyone know more about this storyu or if there has been changes in the laws?

[Fosbery]

Spyderco imported butterfly knife components made in Taiwan through California and into Colorado where they are based. This was illegal. They paid a massive fine and had their shipments seized. I believe butterfly knives were somehow said to meet the criteria for the legal definition of a switchblade and so Spyderco was forced to agree not to make or import them anymore.

I wonder if we'll see the Byrdfly any time soon? :p

Regardless, butterfly knives are legal to own, sell and manufacture in the US but some states ban some or all of these things.

[hso]

A U.S. OEM manufacturer is working on them right now. I'll try to get a sneak peak for you when they're finished.

Customs seized them since they interpreted them as a violation of the gravity knife inclusion in the switchblade prohibition.

Interstate commerce is regulated by a different gvt. entity and they haven't banned them.

State by state the laws are different. Some prohibit them and some don't.

[DogBonz]

Some allow you to own and carry them, some to own but not carry, and I am pretty sure that in my ridiculous state and a few others that they are verboten.

I know that Benchmade still makes them:

http://www.benchmade.com/products/product_list.aspx?category=8