Canadian gravity knife laws & toggle knives

S

Skytorn

Joined
Jan 22, 2010
Messages
110
Hi,

As I understand it,gravity lock knives in Canada are illegal for possession. In youtube videos demonstrating the Kershaw ET it clearly shows that the knife can be opened with a flicking motion while held in the hand--and that's not to say nothing about the toggle mechanism itself. That would make it illegal wouldn't it?

While we're on the topic, can someone explain to me what loophole toggle knives exploited to not be classified a switchblade?

Thanks!
 
Canadian law lumps switchblades and gravity knives together. The relevant statute goes thus:

A knife that has a blade that opens automatically by gravity or centrifugal force or by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the handle of the knife.
Click to expand...

Such knives are illegal to possess or deal in.

Whether "flipping" a normal folding knife by simply swinging it hard enough counts as this; that is a controversial matter that varies interpretation, at least in the US. How it has been ruled on in the past in Canada, that I don't know.

However the Kershaw ET is a peculiar case

Be warned that just because the manufacturer thinks it falls within a legal loophole does not in any way mean the police or the courts will agree. I can therefore only speculate as to the logic applied. My suspicion is that because it lacks a any sort of spring or torsion, and relies entire upon the strength of the finger. You will note that the Canadian legal definition above requires no such thing, only that it open "automatically...by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the handle" It seems to me very likely this knife would be illegal in Canada on that grounds alone.

Frankly it seems like a near-useless gimmick, and even if legal I would skip this one.
 
I would say that because the mechanism is part of the handle, springs, or not, it would be illegal, even if sold in canada. take a BM550 griptilling, loosen the pivot, and it becomes illegal as well, but under the centrifugal force part. Something like a SOG trident, or twitch gets a pass because you cannot swing one open by centrifugal force, or by a button on the handle, because you actually push on the blade to open it, it is therefor OK.

Or so I understand, I have been wrong before.

and personally that ET has "cop magnet" written all over it in my eyes.
 
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