Where in the USA can you legally buy a switchblade knife?

Purchasing a Switchblade

Here is advice on buying a switchblade from other WikiAnswers Contributors:

• HAVE YOU LOOKED UP SWITCH BLADES ON THE WEB? YOU WILL FIND A FEW PLACES THAT SELL THEM WITH A WAIVER. AS FAR AS LEGAL ISSUES, EVERY STATE HAS ITS OWN LAWS ON THEM. I KNOW IN N.Y.S. YOU MUST BE A LAW OFFICER OF SOME TYPE, AND SOME MILITARY CAN HAVE THEM AS IT IS IN THE N.Y.STATE PENAL CODE #400.

• Buy them on eBay! Need to check the laws of your state to determine if you are legally permitted to own or buy this kind of knife. However, they are available on eBay and I have purchased a few of good quality via that venue.

• Browse around, I've found sites with a good selection and prices.

• Laws vary from State to state and even city to city. The best thing to do is simply contact your local police department to see what their take is on the laws where you live. I have purchased several knives online with no problems at all.

• A loop hole exists pertaining to switchblades purchased in kit form. As seperate parts they are not illegal, only in their assembled form. Try your local gun and knife show and ask if they sell kit knives, they usually do. Since they are illegal in their assembled form they usually won't have them on display so you usually have to ask for them. Switchblades are known as automatics in the knife world. It is quite true that most states have their own laws regarding them. Without being military or police or a licensed knife dealer, it is a felony to carry an auto around with you. However one can still own such a knife as a collector without a special license. You cannot carry it around with you. Find and read your local laws.
• the flea market

Thanks to the dorky James Dean movies with toughs brandishing cheap autos in the movies years ago, many states moved to make these knives illegal for no other reason than they look dangerous. Ironically, todays knives that use a thumb tab or some such device to open the knife are actually much faster than the auto. Benchmade Knives make some fine knives with auto's among them but they made a knife called the Rollox that had a blade set into a hard abs handle that pulled the blade free when it was pulled from its matching belt case. The blade was set on ball bearing in the handle and rolled straight from the handle as it exited the case. Very fast. Very legal. Point is, auto's may be facinating and sooner or later you will find one to buy but the risk is not worth it. As for cost..the Italians I think still make a decent knife that is more what you are thinking of and cost less than $50. An American made auto would run at least $200 and up I believe.

• TEXAS :)

First answer by ID2560844931. Last edit by Whitnaayyyy. Contributor trust: 15 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 188 [recommend question]