Show us your Switchblades

[Guttersnipe]

So they are illegal for looks and by association? That seems a bit cockeyed.

Well, switchblades were pretty much the #1 deadly weapon of choice for youth gangs throughout the 40's and 50's. A friend of mine owns a beautiful one from the late 30's that belonged to his grandpa - who was actually an LAPD detective in the 40's and 50's lol - the story goes he carried it in a special holster he had made for it on his belt.

 

[St.Ignatz]

My understanding s that out the front switchblades are illegal, would someone please tell me why?
And I used to have a spring assisted knife until my friend lost it...

Wouldn't that make it a Stiletto or is that term for a double edged blade?
Tom D.

 

[Mav]

Wouldn't that make it a Stiletto or is that term for a double edged blade?
Tom D.

Everyone has taken to calling a certain blade style a "stiletto," but technically a stiletto opens out the front.

Now you guys have got me shopping for one of these things. They're pricey.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Everyone has taken to calling a certain blade style a "stiletto," but technically a stiletto opens out the front.

Now you guys have got me shopping for one of these things. They're pricey.

Actually, stiletto refers to blade type, Otf, or out the front release, would be the proper term.
The first knife pictured is most likely from the 50s, the classic picklock type switchblade, didn't appear here until Latama imported them around 1950.

I have a few oldies, but my computers are in the shop so I'm having to post via iPhone.

 

[Cane Rod Maker]

OTF Blade

Mav,
Share a link to what you're looking at.
Thanks.:eusa_clap

Everyone has taken to calling a certain blade style a "stiletto," but technically a stiletto opens out the front.

Now you guys have got me shopping for one of these things. They're pricey.

 

[Mav]

Mav,
Share a link to what you're looking at.
Thanks.:eusa_clap

Damn. I found a great site, but didn't bookmark it, and now I can't find it. Google "switchblades"; there are a bunch of sellers out there. I've seen a simple blade with an olivewood handle that goes for about 80 bucks. Low key but elegant- I'm thinking one of these could be kept in your sock, if you're wearing garters.

 

[Cane Rod Maker]

Google links....

Wow....I only kicked around on one site for a while. I saw some really attractive looking SB's / Unique Blade was the site. You're right, man the prices of some of these are really up there. The low price stuff is likely junk; but the high end; these blades are sweet. I saw one that really caught my eve with a Damascus blade...I think it was 17.5 inches.

I never even thought to look on line....Mav...now you got me thinking....JEEZE..

Damn. I found a great site, but didn't bookmark it, and now I can't find it. Google "switchblades"; there are a bunch of sellers out there. I've seen a simple blade with an olivewood handle that goes for about 80 bucks. Low key but elegant- I'm thinking one of these could be kept in your sock, if you're wearing garters.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Google "Trapdoor OTF" switchblade, 90% of the rest of OTF's are junk.

You need to find the book , Switchblades of Italy.
All of your questions will be answered.

Visit Latama.net

 

[Mav]

I never even thought to look on line....Mav...now you got me thinking....JEEZE..

It's payback for you guys forcing me to spend my hardearned income on freaking hats.lol lol lol

 

[Edward]

So they are illegal for looks and by association? That seems a bit cockeyed.

No doubt that's part of it. The other big factor, at least over here, was that they can be slipped down a sock, or in a pocket, or anywhere, really, carried as easily as any other closed knife, but they can then also suddenly be opened. making them a very effective concealed weapon. The Teddy Boy weapon of choice, supposedly, was the cutthroat razor - an offensive weapon, but one it was at least legal to own.

Not sure why an OTF would be illegal when a regular switchblade isn't... I don't see why one would be more dangerous than the other? [huh]

 

[dhermann1]

So lethal, so cool . . . .
The moment I started reading this thread, you know what song started bopping in my head:

Youre never alone, you're never disconnected . . .

 

[Fletch]

Ernest Borgnine as S/Sgt. "Fatso" Judson in From Here to Eternity, 1953.
The little guy, the street thug, with all the authority of the United States Government behind him and the power of life and death over every mother's son.

 

[Harp]

Ernest Borgnine as S/Sgt. "Fatso" Judson in From Here to Eternity, 1953.
The little guy, the street thug, with all the authority of the United States Government behind him and the power of life and death over every mother's son.

An IRS agent assigned to Schofield Barracks. :whip:

 

[Highlander]

I have a few switchblades, I'll try and post them later. None of mine are actually out front out of the handle blades, but "automatic" knives.

Realistically though, I've seen some cops/ex-military that are soo fast with stuff like the Emerson Karambit and those knives, they are faster and more deadly than the old switchblades.

Knife fighting... You are gonna get bloody even if you win... I think I'll stay home and watch the stuff on TV

 

[Edward]

Knife fighting... You are gonna get bloody even if you win... I think I'll stay home and watch the stuff on TV

Oh yeah, it's not something of which I have direct experience, but given my druthers I'd choose a ranged weapon every time. To get close enough to your opponent with a blade that small, you're putting yourself in quite a vulnerable position. I have always been told, too, that those untrained in knife fighting can be easily disarmed, and are therefore as likely to be the one on the receiving end of their own knife.

 

[Dav]

I've always thought if you are going to use a knife just pull it and use it, the moment you start waving it around threatening someone you've lost the advantage.
I must add that I have never and hopefully will never have to do that.

 

[Harp]

I've always thought if you are going to use a knife just pull it and use it...

The quick and the dead.
A knife is more suited for silent fast kill/deliberate close quarter.

 

[Highlander]

Dav, I think you are 100% right. It's a matter of deliberation, just like a gun. If you feel you need to use it USE IT! If you aren't going to be shooting when you pull it, leave it in the holster.

 

[Highlander]

A few of my blades that were handy, (top to bottom): 1. Marked Stilleto, a cheap "Saturday Night Special" type; 2. Kissing Crane Lock Back (not an automatic), but with stag grips, 3. Walther P99 (my favorite, I have two, one that I carry and one that I keep, and while it's not an automatic, it's fast); 4. Smith & Wesson ExtremeOps, a nice knife, an automatic, but there is no lock on the blade and it can easily be deployed accidentally. I am not sure how well I like this knife.

 

[Alan-Eby]

Switchblade

I have a spring assisted knife that looks very much like an old style switchblade. Yet its legal to carry the spring assisted not the actual switchblade, this is ridiculous as mine opens as fast as any switchblade I've ever seen.