Switchblades in Maryland

[Kharn]

So why're the Microtechs and Benchmade automatics so expensive? I wouldnt mind a D/A OTF just for shits and giggles but $300+ is hard to swallow.

 

[Simon Yu]

So why're the Microtechs and Benchmade automatics so expensive? I wouldnt mind a D/A OTF just for shits and giggles but $300+ is hard to swallow.

Not as much experience with BM folders, but the construction and machining on MTs is just really top notch. Very tight tolerances while still operating smoothly and high quality materials most companies don't use. Zytel scales surrounding a steel liner make a perfectly good and functional knife of course, but it's hard to not admire the engineering behind an aluminum alloy body with rubber inserts and a spring assisted ceramic bar replacing what normally is a steel flat spring.

Definitely for the more serious collector though. As I said, the more basic stuff can work really well and I'm as likely to have a Spyderco on me as a Microtech folder.

 

[rrrrrrkevin]

I have a benchmade and I love it but it costed me quite a bit, I think the reason theyre so expensive is because they target govt agencies more than private owners. I got mine while I was in Iraq and I did buy it myself but alot of guys actually get issued them if they have a good reason to need one and it seems like lately the army is goin to benchmade and gerber for any kinda little utility knives and safety knives like seatbelt cutters and stuff and gerbers because if you break it you can send it back and they send you back a brand new one for free and also because they weigh nothing and are very sharp and good quality. Once you have owned a Benchmade knife they are alot like a Gerber multi tool, you regret spending the money until its shipped but from the day you get it in the mail you dont know how you could have lived without it. once they break in they only get easier to use too so rather than wearing out they just continuously break in until it goes(if that ever happens) then you just ship it in for a replacement
I actually snapped the tip off the blade of mine because I tried to use it as a screwdriver,but that happens when you do dumb stuff...

 

[rrrrrrkevin]

ive never used or seen a microtech before,do they compare with benchmades in quality?

 

[garber38]

Here you go.

What model is that?

http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/s...n OTF Assisted Openers&srch=bwSKUdatarq=swotf

 

[CLIFF566]

SWITCHBLADES, if you own one and keep it in your home you fine, no other answers are correct. I have been in several trials ie court cases and that has been the rule. I know everyone has a what if-that does not work, once you find yourself arrested and in court, all these opinions from would be lawyers are down the drain, because its you and here comes da judge. one judge can send to jail, another can give you a PBJ, the third can tell to take your knife and keep in your home.
cliff

 

[K Train]

ive never used or seen a microtech before,do they compare with benchmades in quality?

hell to the yes.

 

[rrrrrrkevin]

Actually cliff there is another correct answer, a HUGE chunk of this board is Military or Law Enforcement and I'm not a would be lawyer but there are times when I,like many other people on this board can legally carry a switchblade

 

[novus collectus]

SWITCHBLADES, if you own one and keep it in your home you fine, no other answers are correct. I have been in several trials ie court cases and that has been the rule. I know everyone has a what if-that does not work, once you find yourself arrested and in court, all these opinions from would be lawyers are down the drain, because its you and here comes da judge. one judge can send to jail, another can give you a PBJ, the third can tell to take your knife and keep in your home.
cliff

The MD appeals courts have decided already, so a conviction would have to stand up against established precedence when appealed.
However, there are some local laws too and there is no state precedent for knives that I know of, so in places like the city of Baltimore where they have a switchblade possession law even in the home, all bets are off (however, the maximum penalty may be only six months max and it would only be a misdemeanor).

I am not a lawyer.

 

[ToneGrail]

I actually prefer assisted openers to full autos. They have less of a tendency to close on your fingers. I tried out a couple of auto knives and the open button also acted as the unlock button when opened. I can see this as being very dangerous because you could accidentally hit the button while using it causing it to close on your fingers.

Italian style stilettos have the unlock mechanism in finger guard, which is better, but they still have the tendency to open in your pocket if the safety is disengaged. Not so with the assisted openers, which have spring tension keeping them closed as opposed to constant spring tension trying to force the blade open on an auto. Hence, no need for a safety on an assisted opener.

All the assisted openers I have seen are liner-locks, which you can't accidentally unlock because the liner is flush with the handle. That difference aside, I don't see any advantage to carrying a full auto over an assisted opener. The only difference is that you could get arrested for a knife that could possibly close on your fingers or open in your pocket. No thanks. I'll take the Speed Safe instead.

 

[boricuamaximus]

Those ballet dancing and showtune singing Latino gang members sure are scary with their switchblades.

I see how it is... We can scare you with knives but if we have guns we dont scare you.

It's ok. I'm gonna invent a Brady Gun Knife to really scare you! It will shoot piercing ammo and gun regulations.

 

[ssjones]

Two tables were selling these at the Timonium show. One guy had them at $55, the other (Asian guys), in the center had them at over $100 (maybe $125?). I came that close to buying one, but left empty handed.

I bought this at the last gun show. They told me it was legal and I went to the Westminster State Police barracks and was told they are legal. Nice unit.

 

[ToneGrail]

Two tables were selling these at the Timonium show. One guy had them at $55, the other (Asian guys), in the center had them at over $100 (maybe $125?). I came that close to buying one, but left empty handed.

The Asian guy actually had them for $50. I ended up not buying it because there was some play in the blade. The blade also seemed a little flimsy. I ended up buying a couple of assisted side opener knives that were much more solid from the stand in the corner for only 10 bucks each.

 

[ssjones]

The Asian guy actually had them for $50. I ended up not buying it because there was some play in the blade. The blade also seemed a little flimsy. I ended up buying a couple of assisted side opener knives that were much more solid from the stand in the corner for only 10 bucks each.

Found them here for $34 (plus shipping).
http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/s...n OTF Assisted Openers&srch=bwSKUdatarq=swotf

 

[boothdoc]

I bought three of them for 38 each. 50+

 

[ssjones]

I bought three of them for 38 each. 50+

I ordered one this morning ($40 shipped). But, at the conclusion of the order a form came up for automatic knives. I couldn't open the document (html or pdf) and when closed I couldn't locate on their site. I thought since this knife was legally "assisted opening", I wouldn't need LEO/EMT documentation. Guess I'll find out.

 

[ssjones]

I bought three of them for 38 each. 50+

Well, my Smith & Wesson OTF Bayonet Blade knife (SWOTFB) came today. From the link above, Knife Center of the Internet (oddly enough based in College Park MD). What a disappointment and waste of $42.94 shipped. I could barely get the blade out and had a heck of a time getting it back in using the release. The S&W knife I looked at at the Gun Show snapped right out like after a nudge of the blade. The blade opening was very forceful and in less than a fraction of a second. The knife I rec'd will not go out under it's own power. I'm calling the "Knife Center" and get an explanation and possibly return.

Update:
I just called the Knife Center in College Park. The response from the sales guy was a little odd. When I mentioned the knife didn't open or close correctly he chuckled and said bascially only one in ten snaps out under it's own power. I told him I saw two at the Timonium Show that came right out, in fact forcefully. I asked if I could return it by mail. I volunteered that I lived in MD and could come by to get one that works correctly. He said they didn't have any more, but will order more. What a hassle, guess I should have bought the one at the show. Any one around College Park want to slip by and check these folks out before I make the drive from Hagerstown? I'm curious as to what the storefront of the "Knife Center of the Internet" looks like. They are at:
5111 Berwyn Rd, Suite 110
College Park, MD 20740

 

[Marshallbrew]

The Ken Onion Speedsafes from Kershaw pretty much act like a switchblade, but are legal to own due to the manual effort needed to initiate the assisted blade opening. May fit what you need without all the legal hassles.

I have a few Ken Onion knives and they are awesome. Nearly like a switchblade.

 

[ssjones]

Update and Thumbs up to a local vendor - The Internet Knife Center in College Park, MD
http://www.knifecenter.com/indexes.html

After my last post, above, I exchanged some emails with one of the owners about either exchanging or returning the knife. I decided to drive down (heading that way anyway) and do the exchange in person. It seems these Smith & Wesson knifes are not of the best quality (you get what you pay for). My bayonet style knife was definitely not functioning correctly. I exchanged it for the same knife, drop-point style and it works great. The store is for real, but a bit hard to find in an industrial complex. The two owners were quite pleasant. They said they just rec'd an email this morning from a dealer in Sweden who ordered 10 of the bayonet knives and only two worked properly. I acknowledged this knife is more of a novelty for me and I didn't expect it to be of Benchmade, etc. tolerances. After I sharpen the blade and put some oil on the slide, it should be fine for occasional use and generally scaring my family and friends, which was the intended purpose...

I would definitely recommend these folks for more expensive knife purchases. They do carry all the expensive automatic knives for purchase with ID proof for LEO or active military.

 

[Simon Yu]

It seems these Smith & Wesson knifes are not of the best quality (you get what you pay for).

You learned what I did the first time I bought a knife. It was only a few months after my purchase that I learned that S&W just licenses their name to a cheap maker who then jacks up the price due to having the name.