Kershaw speedsafe knives

[fingfootball]

I have carried these knives for years. Top quality knife IMO. A buddy of mine got in a little DWI trouble the other day and had one of these knives (that I gave him for a B-Day present) on him. On top of the DWI charge that he got the police charged him with having an "automatic" knife too. I bought my knives in a store in Missouri, I never thought about the legality of them. But I dont have run-ins with the police either. Guess my question is, does anyone know if these knives are illegal?

[fingfootball]

BTW, I contacted Kershaw about it and this is what they sent me.

 

 

Thank you for contacting our company. Our patented speed safe knife is equipped with a torsion bar which creates a bias toward closed position. A user must overcome the resistance created by the torsion bar in order to open the blade. Therefore our speed safe knife is distinctively different from a switchblade. Please remember even though we believe a speed safe knife is legal in Missouri but there are places where carrying a knife is prohibited such as on school grounds or in government buildings. Also law enforcement officers are sometimes keen to charge a speed safe knife as a switchblade (even though it is technically wrong) if the knife was found during the commission of an infraction or a violation of law. I am also attaching the legal analyses we have done on your state for your reference.

Sincerely,

 

The Missouri statute 571 states:

Missouri - Chapter 571, Weapons Offenses [excerpts].

 

 

- 571.010. Definitions...

 

(10) "Knife" means any dagger, dirk, stiletto, or bladed hand instrument that is readily capable of inflicting serious physical injury or death by cutting or stabbing a person. For purposes of this chapter, "knife" does not include any ordinary pocketknife with no blade more than four inches in length;

 

(11) "Knuckles" means any instrument that consists of finger rings or guards made of a hard substance that is designed or adapted for the purpose of inflicting serious physical injury or death by striking a person with a fist enclosed in the knuckles;

 

(18) "Switchblade knife" means any knife which has a blade that folds or closes into the handle or sheath, and

(a) That opens automatically by pressure applied to a button or other device located on the handle; or

( That opens or releases from the handle or sheath by the force of gravity or by the application of centrifugal force.

Edited May 15, 2012 by fingfootball

[fingfootball]

I dont think that it should fall under the right to bear arms even. It's a pocket knife. To folks around here a pocket knife is a tool, not unlike a wrench or a pair of pliers.

[DMD]

This is one of my favorite rants. Switchblades are illegal. I can buy a sword, machete, pistol up to a .50 cal Magnum, rifle up to a .50 cal, a cannon or a shotgun. I can get a 30 round clip for my rifle . One of my pistols holds 33 rounds. And yet a knife is illegal because the little blade flips out, saving the user maybe a whole half second. The only reason it is against the law is because in the 1950's there were motorcycle/Hell Angels movies where bad guys had switchblades so they outlawed them. Now that we know that is stupid, no one cares to go back and change it. Seriously - what difference does it make that a blade flips out? You can carry a fixed blade knife and not even need to open it.

 

Just stupid.

[detlef]

This is one of my favorite rants. Switchblades are illegal. I can buy a sword, machete, pistol up to a .50 cal Magnum, rifle up to a .50 cal, a cannon or a shotgun. I can get a 30 round clip for my rifle . One of my pistols holds 33 rounds. And yet a knife is illegal because the little blade flips out, saving the user maybe a whole half second. The only reason it is against the law is because in the 1950's there were motorcycle/Hell Angels movies where bad guys had switchblades so they outlawed them. Now that we know that is stupid, no one cares to go back and change it. Seriously - what difference does it make that a blade flips out? You can carry a fixed blade knife and not even need to open it.

 

Just stupid.

That is pretty stupid.

 

Somewhat unrelated, my kershaw wine tool is effing amazing, has lasted for years, effortlessly opens bottles without the knuckle so many now have that does help but wears out, and has this pimp, single thumb action to pull out the foil cutter. I'm wondering if this makes it an "automatic knife"

Edited May 16, 2012 by detlef

[peepinmofo]

I bought a couple from Woot a few months back. In the comments on the item, people discussed the legality of them, and everything I read stated they were in fact legal.

[Clubfoothead]

Being charged and being convicetd are two different animals. If you are drunk and driving down the road, I don't mind the cop making the decision to go ahead and charge the person assuming the lawyers will sort it out later. I can see where it would be a reasonable argument to call it a switchblade anyways - not that I would.

 

I guess the lesson to be learned is that if you are going to be driving drunk, make sure you don't have any weapons on you.

[Rebellab]

I carry one everyday to work and on the weekends around the yard etc. I also know many farmers and even a guy that I work with carries a pliers everyday. I agree, it is not a weapon and is only a tool.

[detlef]

One thing that should be kept in mind is that plenty of places are really, really cracking down on drunk drivers. Hard to blame them, actually. With that in mind, I could see a movement towards cops pushing the boundaries as far as they can in terms of encroaching on the rights of those pulled over and blowing the legal limit. As in, taking away dude's super nice knife because, technically, it could be a weapon. Something that I would imagine would not happen if dude had been sober and simply been 10 miles over the speed limit or some such.

 

A kick in the other nut, if you will.

 

That said, I still agree with DMD's point about the silly definition.