People’s Republic of China Tracks Knife Purchases with QR Codes

At least in some parts of the People’s Republic of China, authorities are matching knives to consumers with QR codes as part of an anti-terrorism initiative. What could go wrong? About everything you could expect from something as punitive as this. From Fast Company:

A knife shop owner in the midwestern city of Aksu told the Journal he had to spend thousands of dollars on a machine that turns every “customer’s ID card number, photo, ethnicity and address,” encodes the data as a QR code and lasers it into the blades of even the kitchen knives they buy. The Aksu policy, which was previously reported by Radio Free Asia, is intended to trace a knife back to its owner in the event it’s used to commit acts of violence.

And from Twitter comes this disturbing report from a Wall Street Journal reporter:

In Aksu, we interviewed a salesman at a knife shop that had to spend thousands of dollars on a machine that turns a customer’s ID card data into a QR code and laser-etches it into every knife they sell. pic.twitter.com/T1FMkhdnHR

— Josh Chin 李肇华 (@joshchin) December 19, 2017

If this doesn’t sound terrifying to you, you need to sit down and think about it some more.

Nothing similar to this is on the table in the United States, but the general technique is not unfounded. California’s “bullet stamping” initiative is one example.

Bill Loosening Switchblade Restrictions Introduced in Ohio

And now for something completely different.

Ohio law allows for the carry and possession of switchblades, but not the sale or manufacture of them. This quirk could soon be corrected, per Knife Rights:

Ohio State Senator Frank LaRose today introduced, Senate Bill 242, Knife Rights’ bill to repeal Ohio’s irrational ban on the manufacture and sale of “switchblade, springblade, and gravity knives.” Ohio statutes allow for the possession and carry of these knives, but they cannot be manufactured or sold in the state. Ohio loses out on jobs and tax revenue as Ohioans spend their money outside the state’s borders. Co-sponsors include Senate President Larry Obhof and Senators Joe Uecker, John Eklund and Kris Jordan.

Read more about this proposal here from Knife Rights.

Read the bill as written on the Ohio Legislature’s official site here. 

Why are So Many Bladesmiths from Arkansas?

It’s not your imagination. Many of the most renowned knifemakers call Arkansas home. The Magnolia Reporter went to find out why with a profile on Jerry Fisk.

According to Fisk, 10 percent of the world’s recognized master bladesmiths are Arkansans. “The first bladesmithing school (Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing) was started here in 1987,” he said. “People from all over the world would come here to learn the basics and get inspired as they do to this day.”

Good point. Read the full article here.

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