Spderco/Gravity knife

[Kim MacCartney]

I was the proud owner of a Spyderco Delica with a stainless handle that I used in my work as a marine surveyor. My son borrowed it. He was stopped by the police and they confiscated it, first claiming it was a switch blade. When I complained they changed their complaint to gravity knife. Has anyone ever heard of a Spyderco being declared a "gravity knife?"

Spydercos have a very obvious mechanism on the blade that requires users to manually push open the blade through the entire distance to lock it open(almost all one-handers regardless of brand have the potential to be 'flicked' open though). If you are willing to do the research, I recommend you look up the penal code/weapons restrictions in the area this happened(specifically 'definitions' of what consitutes switch/gravity knife) and then go 'above' the officers you spoke to and clear this up with their superiors.

my personal view:
I think the officers in question saw a young guy that didn't know the exact rights he's entitled to and a knife they wanted and knew he wouldn't put up resistance. They could've told him the Delica was considered a boxcutter and they would have to confiscate it, both parties knowing that it isn't true and that he wouldn't want a confrontation over it.
When an adult questioned them on their call, they scrambled for a more appropriate/technical arguement(which I don't think will hold up in the long run regardless). IMO

Ken

Oh, and welcome to the forums. Sorry your first post was about legal hassles.

Ken

[Lt.Hawkins]

first our guns, now our (legal) knives? <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

maybe spyderco should start making folding baseball bats: The Babe Ruth, the McGuire, and the Pocket Nightstick <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>

[The Stare]

Calling any lockback knife in working order a gravity knife is plain horses&amp;*t. I think you should demand that the arresting officers demonstrate to you that they can just flick your knife open.

That is, of course, dependent upon what the reason for stopping your son was. If there was no appropriate reason for the stop, then you might wish to file some sort of complaint with the city attorney or county prosecutor. Sound to me like some cop just wanted a nice new knife.

One of the frequent problem in such situations is that the cops ask a &quot;trick&quot; question. They ask the detainee if he/she has any weapons on them. If the person responds with yes, I have a knife, then there is a problem. Since knives are tools, the honest, appropriate answer is no, I have no weapons on me. If a citizen himself/herself labels the knife they are carrying as a weapon, then they have established their intent to use the tool as a weapon. And, carrying any weapon is usually illegal.

By the way, welcome to the forum!

Stare

[fisherman]

way to go The Stare and KenN!
I agree that the police were trying to take advantage of the situation, how NICE OF THEM. It is refreshing to me to see some people that stand for something and dont just molify everything! Welcome Kim MacCartney
fisherman

[vampyrewolf]

I would like to point something out here...

Frank at Cutting Edge can flip open just about any knife out there. He plays with them all day. The ONLY brand he can't flip completely open without his wrist is Spyderco.

It's funny watching him show customers a knife. They try to flip it open like him and cut themselves.

I Agree, the cops just saw a knife they liked, and a vulnerable user.

We all start with 10 fingers. Those with Spydies have 9 to spare, Still need a thumb. Good thing I still have 8 to spare...

[dePaul]

This is sheer nonsence. I tried to flick open my own Delica this way and I have to tell you that it is almost impossible. In order to open it I would have to flick it so hard, that I&#180;d probably damage it.

The point is that the blade is too lightweight. Now, if you&#180;d say Military, then it&#180;s another matter. The Mil&#180;s heavier blade and size makes it a superb flicker.

[Michael Janich]

Dear Kim:

The unfortunate bottom line is that knife laws are notoriously ambiguous and open to broad interpretation. As such, it is very easy for law enforcement officers to confiscate knives using a convenient premise like calling it a gravity knife. They know that, given the choice of surrendering a knife or going to jail, most people will simply give up the knife. The officer feels safer, his knife collection grows a bit, and the &quot;offender&quot; is free to go.

From a practical standpoint, the surrender of a $70.00 knife is still less expensive than even one hour of an attorney's time. Unfortunately, unless this haphazard interpretation of the laws is officially challenged in court, there are no good legal precedents to protect our knife rights.

For the record, it is possible to inertially open just about any folding knife. However, in most cases, this is a matter of skill rather than a matter of deliberate knife design. The analogy I use is that an accomplished shooter can fire a rapid string of rounds from a revolver at nearly the same speed as a full-auto weapon. That doesn't make a revolver a machine gun, it just means that the shooter has practiced hard enough so that he can do extraordinary things with ordinary tools.

Stay safe,

mike j

[CalypsoKid]

dePaul, don't hold the handle when you flick, hold the blade with your thumb and forefinger in the hole and then flick the handle. A flick of the wrist, and a little practice is all it takes. I can do this with my Cal Jr. and Harpy. It works quite well.

[Mancer]

mmmmmmm, Now that just sux, disgusting that the ones who are there to serve and protect seem to only serve themselves.
Unfortunetly Im sure people would rather giveup the knife and let it lie, as they are scared to make a stand against the &quot;almighty policeman&quot;.

What a pathetic display on the cops side, no wonder there is so much hate for them around, the few good ones are always overshadowed by the idiots.

Good luck on this, Id stand up for my rights in this case, make a schene and dont let them get away with it.

MaNcEr

It's Time To Kick @$$ 'N Chew Bubble Gum

[Colinz]

dePaul,

No need to hold the blade when you flip it. Just make sure it&#180;s properly lubricated. Smith honing oil worked best. Teflon coating worked also, until I gave the knife away to a friend. He managed to flip it open too.

/Colinz

[Tightwad]

All the post agree......this type of police action is NOT in the publics interest. Posting support in a
forum such as this serves to alert the public, it is much like preaching to the choir. WE know that
this kind of thing goes on but how many of the readers write to their state representatives to express
their anger and really speak as &quot;the public&quot; to them? If you feel this wrong is wrong write , protest
do anything but be silent. That's how our freedoms disapppear...one bite at a time.

[Lt.Hawkins]

i don't know about jersey, but in NY penal code, a gravity knife is defined as:

&quot;5. &quot;Gravity knife&quot; means any knife which has a blade which is released from the handle or sheath thereof by the force of gravity or the application of centrifugal force which, when released, is locked in place by means of a button, spring, lever or other device.&quot;

now, anyone who knows physics is aware that there is no such thing as centrifugal force. (centripetal force, however, is the correct term.) IANNAL, but given how precisely and ridiculously concrete the laws are written (usually not understandableby an average person), would an error like this be exploitable in court?
&quot;Your honor, i can prove that my clients knife cannot be openned by the application of centrifugal force, because such a force does not exist.&quot;

http://www.physlink.com/ae150.cfm (for a semi-decent explaination)

any lawyers here?

[dePaul]

<b>CalypsoKid </b> , I see what you mean. However, I do not find this way any swifter than the common one regarding small knives like Delica. I am sure that it is very useful when using bigger knives, like the Military. IIRC, Sal calls this opening method &quot;drop-clear&quot;.

<b>Colinz </b> , where do you buy those lubricates in Sweden? I suppose that you are reffering to the sort of Teflon that leaves a dry coating and not the smeary one?