Ballistic Knife: The Most Illegal Knife in America

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Ballistic Knife: The Most Illegal Knife in America
A ballistic knife is essentially a blade attached to a hollow handle that fits inside of another outer hollow handle, which contains a coil spring.

Editor’s note: This article is an excerpt from the KNIVES 2004 book, but the information is still relevant.

Switchblades, or automatic knives, might attract the most attention, but reforms in recent years have relaxed restrictions in most U.S. states. The most banned knife in the country remains the ballistic knife.

Here’s a look at what ballistic knives are, how they became banned and why those bans should be repealed.

What Is a Ballistic Knife?

Federal law defines a ballistic knife as follows:

United States Code, Title 15 Section 1245
(d) “Ballistic knife” defined. As used in this section, the term “ballistic knife” means a knife with a detachable blade that is propelled by a spring-operated mechanism.
Pub. L. 85-623, Sec. 7, Oct. 27, 1986. Amended Nov. 18, 1988.

In plain English, a ballistic knife is essentially a blade attached to a hollow handle that fits inside of another outer hollow handle, which contains a coil spring. The coil spring compresses inside the handle, and a latch holds the knife blade down against the spring pressure. When the latch is released, the knife and attached inner handle launch and “go ballistic.”

The federal law on ballistic knives is very similar to federal law on switchblades, except that the switchblade law exception for “the possession, and transportation upon his person, of any switchblade knife with a blade three inches or less in length by any individual who has only one arm” does not apply to ballistic knives.

That means one-armed individuals are forced by federal law to have to throw their knives by hand just like everyone else!

Hollywood and Ballistic Knives

¿Como esta?” asks Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1985 movie Commando, as he fires a ballistic knife into the chest of a bad guy, which amazingly causes immediate death. Hollywood never misses a chance to help fuel a misguided weapons ban, and the ballistic knife was no exception.

In May of 1986, Francis Ford Coppola’s son and Ryan O’Neal’s son were in an automobile accident in which Coppola’s son died. O’Neal’s son was charged with reckless driving and possession of a ballistic knife.

Hollywood elitism and hypocrisy is nothing new. What made the ballistic knife so frightening to career politicians, media talking heads and assorted hoplophobes (those who irrationally fear weapons) is that it’s a knife that shoots!

Why are Ballistic Knives Illegal? Hype and Politicians

Politically, the ballistic knife helped fill the gap between guns and knives. It enabled knife haters to join ranks with gun haters and both had a common, new, inanimate object to wail and screech about.

Sure enough, one year after Commando was released, the Ballistic Knife Prohibition Act of 1986 was signed into federal law by then-Republican President Ronald Reagan, as part of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986.

In addition to the ballistic knife being slandered and falsely linked to drug abuse, this was the newest national attack on knives since the 1958 Federal Switchblade Law.

Republican Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato held a news conference pushing for and spinning the proposed ban. He announced that a ballistic knife “is a favored weapon used by drug dealers.” He further proclaimed, “Ballistic knives are at least as dangerous as switchblade knives that have been banned since 1958.”

Ballistic Knife Poster
A vintage poster from the USSR showing parts of a ballistic knife. Note the firearm cartridge used to propel the blade. (image via RussianLegacy.com)

The hype surrounding ballistic knives did not help matters. The knives were advertised for sale in tactical magazines with the pitch “The Commies Had It. We Stole It. Now You Can Buy It!!!!” Ballistic knives were advertised as being able to “kill swiftly and silently.”

Sen. D’Amato claimed a ballistic knife to be a “dangerous weapon, a terrorist weapon.” He further declared, “Ballistic knives have no legitimate sporting purpose. They are sought by professional criminals because they are easily concealed and capable of penetrating a policeman’s bulletproof vest.”

Democratic Rep. Mario Biaggi (a well known anti-gun politician and a sponsor of the so called “Cop-Killer Bullet Ban”) appeared at a news conference and asserted that ballistic knives were the “latest in cop-killer technology,” and that the ballistic knife can “…fire its blade like a bullet” and “penetrate police bullet-resistant vests.”

He stated he had bought his ballistic knife via mail order from the Florida Knife Corp. by putting the $79.95 on his credit card. Biaggi stated, “…there were no questions asked. I could have been anybody. The ballistic knife is totally accessible to anyone who wants it.”

What is a ballistic knife
A button or switch in the handle, seen here in red, is usually used to release the blade. (By Jerryk50 at English Wikipedia)

At the news conference, the typical “dog and pony show” was conducted by a New York police officer who fired a ballistic knife from 30 feet at a silhouette target of a person. Of course, there were no known cases at that time of anybody ever being killed by a ballistic knife, no less any reported cases of a police officer being shot at by a “drug dealer or terrorist” (or anyone else for that matter) with a ballistic knife.

Furthermore, I could not find any official poll taken of drug dealers inquiring as to whether a ballistic knife was their “preferred weapon” of the 1980s, but somehow I doubt it considering the ready availability of cheaper and more effective black market firearms.

The Florida Knife Corp. issued a statement that their ballistic knives do NOT penetrate bulletproof vests, but noted that any ice pick could penetrate a bulletproof vest. Bulletproof vests are NOT ice pick-proof, however banning ice picks is not as politically correct or headline grabbing. A ballistic knife has as much “sporting purpose” as any throwing knife.

Since when is the “sporting purpose test” applied to knives, anyway? What sporting purpose does an 8-inch chef’s knife have? Then again, why should facts get in the way of a feel-good knife ban?

The Final Cut to the Ban: Throwing Knives

There are many books that deal with the subject of knife throwing for both fun and combat. A knife can be thrown with substantially more power and accuracy than can be achieved by firing a ballistic knife. This fact alone makes the ballistic knife ban patently absurd and useless.

Any decent fixed blade knife can be thrown (although throwing your handmade, damascus, ivory-handled bowie is not recommended). But why should facts and logic stand in the way of any headline-grabbing politician pushing a weapons ban and holding news conferences?

So What? Who Needs a Ballistic Knife Anyway?

Okay, the law is ridiculous, so what’s the problem? Who needs to own a ballistic knife anyway, right?

Well, here is the problem: the ballistic knife ban is a KNIFE BAN, and just because it isn’t your ox being gored does not mean you should ignore it. This ban paves the way for more knife bans. The politicians see our knife rights as “easy pickin’s.” They can look like they are doing something about crime, terrorism or drug dealing, when in reality it’s just another hit on our knife rights.

Ballistic knife bans lay the groundwork for further knife bans and for activist courts to be judicially dishonest and to prohibit other lawful knives and weapons that are not ballistic knives. Don’t believe it? Then you have obviously not read State of Florida, Appellant, v. Pariya Darynani, Appellee, 4th District, Case No. 4D99-4172.

In this case, the Florida Court banned formerly lawful automatic/switchblade knives under the guise of Florida’s ballistic knife ban. The case is a classic example of anti-knife bias and the abuse of our knife rights that a wrongful knife ban can cause.

Broadhead
Modern broadheads used for archery remain legal, even though they function similarly to ballistic knives. (Wikimedia image)

New Jersey’s ballistic knife ban has even more potential for abuse. The New Jersey ballistic knife ban was signed into law by then Republican Gov. Thomas Kean, who stated, “We have to restrict the flow of knives that serve no useful or lawful purpose.” I

f the “bunny huggers” wanted to push it, New Jersey’s ballistic knife law is so overbroad that archery and bow hunting are threatened and could be banned.

Chapter 39 Of New Jersey Criminal Code Firearms And Weapons 2C: 39-1.
   u. “Ballistic knife” means any weapon or other device capable of lethal use and which can propel a knife blade.

Bows and crossbows can all shoot broadhead arrows. Broadheads are and/or contain razor-sharp knife blades. Is a compound bow with a broadhead arrow a “weapon or other device capable of lethal use and which can propel a knife blade?” Of course it is!

Sure, it was not the intent of the New Jersey Legislature to ban archery and bow hunting, but it was not the intent of the Florida Legislature to ban switchblades/automatics, either, and yet the Darynani court did just that!

Stay Vigilant

Unfortunately, knife aficionados were not organized, prepared or ready for the ballistic knife fight in the mid-1980s. We were never warned about the future effect and ramifications of ballistic knife bans on our knife rights. We dramatically lost on the ballistic knife issue and are now paying a price.

Awesome Automatics:


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26 COMMENTS

  1. The funny thing is, switchblade knives are not illegal to own/carry/possess by an individual, or sell within the same State is was manufactured. Only a few States have stupid laws concerning them, but not the 1958 Federal law.

  2. I don’t know why, and I can’t explain it. BUT when gubmint tells me I can’t have something… I want. Maybe a mini “pocket crossbow” is the solution? I never even heard of a ballistic knife before. Seems pretty pointless as an offensive weapon, single use. LoL target survives, almost certainly, and is now armed with YOUR knife. However I can see a sporting use, similar to a throwing knife.

  3. Wow, this article started with the liberal gun hating snowflake ronald reagan banning the ballistic knife, and anither one of them florida reoublucan governors banning it. Then these comments about sheep and trump haters being the root of all evil. Lol

  4. IMO the dumbest people on this planet are the drones who make up close to half of the USA. They are total sheep who watch the news, and don’t bother questioning at all any of the ridiculous lies, and being unable to process logical thought, are easily manipulated. This is made very obvious by the fact that they STILL won’t shut up about Trump. It’s really sad and pathetic the way they were all trained so easily to hate the guy, without actually having any real reason. The training has worked so well that 2 1/2 years later you still just can’t help yourself, can you? You certainly should not be commenting on anyone’s mental capacity, being a person who doesn’t even know how to use his own brain, and depends on the media to inject opinions into you just so you will have one, while not actually having a clue about how or why you do. THAT, sir, is the epitome of stupidity.

  5. I have no problem with ballistic knives being banned. They are definitely NOT a type of knife I need or want. I like knives, and I collect them (I have about 150 high-end folding knives), but I am specifically opposed to using knives for violence, and ballistic knives are NOT intended for carving, camping or EDC now, are they? They are intended as weapons, and the only time I approve of a knife being used as a weapon would be for self defense, if one is attacked. That is a very rare occurrence, in my experience. Knives that are designed and intended for combat, and I believe that is the case with ballistic knives, can and should be prohibited. We don’t need knives that SHOOT out of their handles! I believe that most people who want ballistic knives want them as toys, to mess around with, however, THEY ARE NOT TOYS! Sorry guys, but that’s what I believe.

    • Just because You don’t want or need one does not mean the millions of Americans out there do not.

  6. The Horror. Surely the slingshot is on the “hit list”. When slingshots are outlawed only outlaws will have slingshots. I shot a marble in the air it fell to earth and hit a queer.

  7. i think these knives are so cool. I would love to own one, but unfortunately they seem impossible to find. I have no use for it but it is just a cool piece of engineering.

  8. Another great addition to the best kitchen knives is the new Boning Knife Company product line. The company introduced a collection of chef cutlery in January of 2021. Unlike some chef knife companies that release a new knife just once a year, the Boning Knife Company releases new products every six months.

  9. Ballistic knives are terrible weapons, terrible knives, and have no real use. Honestly who cares if a “shooty knife thing” gets banned when it is of no use to anyone. Evan Nappen is an absolute wingnut lawyer from NJ, I would sooner represent myself than trust his opinion on laws. Obviously a broadhead is not a knife, obviously it has a lawful purpose for bow hunting! Why would anyone make such a convoluted argument? Also why would a lawyer use the phrase “activist courts”? Such rhetoric is used by those that have no respect for the judicial system, a system which a lawyer is both familiar with and basing their whole career on.

  10. Regarding Soviet Poster: It is not Ballistic knife propelled by cartridge. It is a knife with a single shot pistol in the handle. For special ops only, not general issue. Special SP-4 Cartridge, 7.62mm caliber, self-sealing for “Silent” and “No-flash” shot.

  11. Nice post. I discover something more difficult on different blogs every day. It will always be stimulating to learn to read content from other writers and use something from their websites. I would prefer to use some while using content in my small blog whether or not you don’t mind. Naturally, I’ll provide a link in your web blog. Thanks for sharing

  12. This is the most redneck article I’ve ever read. Calm your titties down and realise that straw man logic isn’t the best way to convince people about your ‘rights’ lol. I like knives as much as the next guy, but there’s definitely some anger issues here.

  13. This is one angry ass article, lmao. It’s a knife that shoots out its blade, it seems more like a gimmick than a self defense tool.

      • You are obviously some sort of tool that most people, including your family, actively try and avoid. Calling people “snowflakes” is not only childish and immature, it also proves that you have the intellect of a Trump, or even worse, a Trump supporter. They are certainly the dumbest and most laughable people on the planet. I’m sure that is who you identify with, given your rudimentary comments. Read a book.

        • IMO the dumbest people on this planet are the drones who make up close to half of the USA. They are total sheep who watch the news, and don’t bother questioning at all any of the ridiculous lies, and being unable to process logical thought, are easily manipulated. This is made very obvious by the fact that they STILL won’t shut up about Trump. It’s really sad and pathetic the way they were all trained so easily to hate the guy, without actually having any real reason. The training has worked so well that 2 1/2 years later you still just can’t help yourself, can you? You certainly should not be commenting on anyone’s mental capacity, being a person who doesn’t even know how to use his own brain, and depends on the media to inject opinions into you just so you will have one, while not actually having a clue about how or why you do. THAT, sir, is the epitome of stupidity. I can think of several books you definitely NEED to read. Unfortunately you are one of those typical liberals who bathe in hypocrisy and likely have never actually read a book that you weren’t required to write an essay about.

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