Out The Front knife

I would like to get an OTF knife in some form; double action, single action or even fully manual sliding type.

What is they legalities of carrying one in AZ?

In help pointing me in the right direction is appreciated.

I'm thinking a small pocket size 2"-3" blade.....

There are many here more expert than I, but in my personal experience I've found "out-the-front" knives to be novelty items. Add a few to your collection for the curiosity factor, but side-action knives are made that are strong enough for general use.

Every time I do that, someone will prove me wrong.

Looks to be generally legal in Arizona, but in Phoenix it may not. Here is the text of some of the relevant laws http://knife-expert.com/az.txt

That said, I agree with shockwave, they're neat from a design aspect and for the novelty of owning one, but for the most part, they're designed to stab, not to cut. They don't lock up very tightly and they aren't very usable for EDC.

Arizona is one of the few states that does not have a specific prohibition on the sale, ownership and carry of switchblades. There is a general prohibition against the carrying of "deadly weapons" concealed with the exception of the undefined term "pocket knives" but there is no law against carrying them openly.

There are local city laws that may be more restrictive. Be wary of those.

I have been told, but I have not conclusively confirmed, that the Arizona concealed weapons permit applies to knives as well as guns. So that is another possible avenue.

Every time I do that, someone will prove me wrong.:evil:

The DKW Sandshark or MOD/Blackhawk Triton knives were demonstrated stabbing 55-gal drums (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEbKF-4yYao). Some of the Microtech OTFs like the Scarab are as durable. Of course, that just goes to show that you can make a quality OTF that is durable and usable if you're willing to put enough money into it.

The least expensive OTF of any quality is the German gravity knives. Try to order an Eikhorn. After that you're into a couple hundred dollars for anything of any quality.

The Rollock is sort of an interesting "sort of" OTF design, and I haven't had any problems with mine; it takes a bit of practice to manipulate it with one hand, though, which is why I prefer carrying my Spydercos or Benchmades.

I love my rollock! However, if you are in a very dirty environment, the sand will make the action rather gritty. That and my case trapper are two of my favorites for pocket carry.

There is an "assisted opener" OTF, with near-identical designs made by Schrade and Smith & Wesson. However like an automatic OTF I had over a decade ago, I personally found them to be a tad of a safety problem. "Accidental Discharge" can be an issue even with quality blades depending on the design.

Ultimately I took spring out of my S&W and I really like it much better now. It's also much more likely to pass legal problems in this format as the mechanism works just like a utility knife.

http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/glistam/SW-OTF-AO.jpg

Thanks everyone.

glistam, I take it the spring was easy to remove. Can you slide and get that to lock open in one hand pretty easy... as in inside your pocket?

I do have a AZ CCW permit.

...lock open in one hand pretty easy... as in inside your pocket?Are you saying that you want to open a knife while it's still inside your pocket?

LOL..... not really John.

I should have made made OP a little more clear.

I'm really just looking for a fairly inexpensive knife (under $100 for sure) that I can fairly easily open one handed with out "flipping" or "shaking"; as if your hand was confined with limited motion. (no butterfly action for ex)

This isn't really a defensive issue (I CC a M&P 9c) but would use it if I had to.

Its more of an EDC tool that I would mostly use on the job to poke and prod things and sometimes cut things. I'm more likely to lightly pry something then cut something with it.

I'm usually carrying a clip board or keys or something in one hand so I need one handed operation.

I don't have any knife training and consider myself a knife rookie. Cheaper folders is usually what Ive had (I cant open those 1 handed very well)

Ive used a retractable scratch-all but its a little too narrow/thin and it takes 2 hands. Its just cumbersome to use if my other hand is carrying something.

Something like that S&W that glistam posted or even some like http://www.bladehq.com/item--Smith-Wesson-Viper--3337 could work but I'm skeptical that it wont fold up on my hand (I'm always afraid of that even with decent expensive folders). That fear lead me to possibly OTF knifes (which I thought might be illegal.... my knife ignorance).

I'm not even very good with assisted folders only using 1 hand because I feel like I might drop it while opening it so I usually use 2 hands. So, I thought OTF may be the way to go.

If I take out the spring like he did.... then closing/retracting it becomes a surely a 1 handed op since I don't have to over come the spring tension... as long as my thumb can slide it far enough each way. :confused:

danez71,
Yeah pretty easy, just a matter of removing the screws and taking the back cover off. The spring is stretched between two hooks, so you just unhook it and take it out. Do this with the blade in the open position, or else you will be trying to fiddle with it under tension.

The knife opens (and closes) with one hand very easier by sliding that thing attached to the base of the blade with the two hex screws in it. Just like a lot of utility knives. It's quite fast. The small tab to the side of the slider is the lock, you just pull it back towards the pommel to unlock. There is a safety switch on the top edge that locks it closed, but since taking the spring out I no longer use it.

You could deliberately open it while still in your pocket I suppose, provided your pocket is roomy enough for you to get your hand far enough in there. Certainly could do that easier than a side folder. Only drawback I'd give this knife is (and nearly any other OTF) is that it is bulky speaking in terms of blade-size compared to handle-size.

I might do a short little YouTube of how it works, and maybe at some point, a how-to for the removal.

thanks glistam

Looky at what else I found that might work for me...http://www.bladeplay.com/cat--All-Items--1--1--search=guardfather?sort_by=price_each&qty_per_page=100 but I'll be back to not having an edge to cut with and no real option to remove the spring and make it completely manual and the 'blade' length to over all length is kind of poor.

But kinda cool none-the-less.

...that I can fairly easily open one handed with out "flipping" or "shaking"; as if your hand was confined with limited motion. Ok, that makes a lot more sense than what I had pictured in my head based on your post... :D

Just something to point out on the legal side of things, you shouldn't be running into any laws that ban them unless you walk into your local hardware store and can't find one of these:
http://ehousehub.com/store/images/uploads/stanley-knife.jpg

Microtech OTF's rule the roost in that regard for the most part.

$2-300 gets you a pretty fine knife that will be far more than a novelty item. I don't use
them due to a personal gripe, but they are very well designed and function like a good
knife with that kind of price should.

Have you looked at the spyderco, emersons, or SOG with the "wave" feature. They open by catching on your pocket when you pull them out.

My EDC is a Spyderco Endura with the "wave" feature. I can pull it out of work pants or coveralls one handed with leather gloves.

I didnt know what the wave was. I bought it cuz I thought it was a bottle opener.

There are German and Israeli surplus paratrooper knives, out the front gravity types. Very strong, but a tad big for pocket carry.

Benchmade Infidel. Works well in all of the enviorments its been through.