Butterfly knives...

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • Indy_Guy_77

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    16   0   0
    Apr 30, 2008
    16,576
    48
    Had a feller tell me the other week that carrying a butterfly knife was illegal...

    And I called him on it "The Indiana Code makes no provisions for, or against, possession or carrying of any knives but automatics."

    He told me that they were legal to possess, but not legal to carry.

    I say "BS"

    What say you?

    -J-

    PS, this was a small (and very new) gunshop owner in Ft. Wayne (in a shopping center near Jefferson and Getz...found it by going around construction on Getz)
     

    ATM

    will argue for sammiches.
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    30   0   0
    Jul 29, 2008
    21,019
    83
    Crawfordsville
    Everything is:bs: until proven. If they can't prove it and it ends up being correct, it was still :bs: when they first said it. That makes them a BSer who gets lucky sometimes, at best.

    BSers hope you don't check the facts because they didn't either.

    I think this is:bs:but haven't checked my facts yet:):
     
    Last edited:

    slacker

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 26, 2008
    1,725
    48
    Indianapols, IN
    I don't know why they would be illegal. they seem to take longer to open than a regular folder with a thumb stud. unless the blade length plays into it somehow.
     

    Indy_Guy_77

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    16   0   0
    Apr 30, 2008
    16,576
    48
    He also had a selection of "automatic" knives for sale...but, as he said, only to those disabled...who were therefore allowed to have them (kind of like deer hunting with a crossbow)

    He wouldn't let another customer even handle one

    -J-
     

    SavageEagle

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Apr 27, 2008
    19,568
    38
    They were only outlawed because of the flashy "wha, wha, wha, wha" way people open them. There was no reason they should have been made illegal. As far as if they still are, I'd say no as I can't find a single law in IN code that prohibits them let alone carrying the damn things. Unless the blade is too long i'd say go for it. If you feel like meing a test case for us, that is! :D
     

    bigcraig

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Mar 18, 2008
    3,162
    38
    Indy
    I am aware of no suck law regarding the legal status of butterfly knives in IN.

    That being said, butterfly knives suck anyway for real world applications, they are however fun to play with.
     

    rkba_net

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Mar 26, 2008
    94
    6
    He also had a selection of "automatic" knives for sale...but, as he said, only to those disabled...who were therefore allowed to have them (kind of like deer hunting with a crossbow)

    He wouldn't let another customer even handle one

    -J-

    FEDERAL LAW states that it is legal only for LEO's, the handicapped etc to recieve automatic knives via interstate commerce. HOWEVER STATE LAWS STILL APPLY... and in Indiana automatic knives are illegal for EVERYONE... even LEO's.... there are NO EXCEPTIONS.


    IC 35-47-5-2
    Knife with blade that opens automatically or may be propelled
    Sec. 2. It is a Class B misdemeanor for a person to manufacture, possess, display, offer, sell, lend, give away, or purchase any knife with a blade that:
    (1) opens automatically; or
    (2) may be propelled;
    by hand pressure applied to a button, device containing gas, spring, or other device in the handle of the knife.
    As added by P.L.311-1983, SEC.32. Amended by P.L.70-2000, SEC.2.
     

    fpdshooter

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    18   0   0
    Sep 4, 2008
    417
    18
    Fishers
    I just checked the 2007 edition (the latest available) of my Indiana Criminal and Traffic Law Manual.

    Under Title 35, Section 47, Chapter 5 "Prohibited Weapons and Other Instruments of Violence" there is nothing mentioning butterfly knves.

    I do believe that at one point they were outlawed, but that has since been repealed.
     

    G McBride

    Expert
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 1, 2008
    937
    18
    Centerville
    I never saw much use for them anyway. They were used in a lot of martial arts movies for show but I never did like them. Slower than my Gerber also.
     

    Indy_Guy_77

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    16   0   0
    Apr 30, 2008
    16,576
    48
    FEDERAL LAW states that it is legal only for LEO's, the handicapped etc to recieve automatic knives via interstate commerce. HOWEVER STATE LAWS STILL APPLY... and in Indiana automatic knives are illegal for EVERYONE... even LEO's.... there are NO EXCEPTIONS.


    IC 35-47-5-2
    Knife with blade that opens automatically or may be propelled
    Sec. 2. It is a Class B misdemeanor for a person to manufacture, possess, display, offer, sell, lend, give away, or purchase any knife with a blade that:
    (1) opens automatically; or
    (2) may be propelled;
    by hand pressure applied to a button, device containing gas, spring, or other device in the handle of the knife.
    As added by P.L.311-1983, SEC.32. Amended by P.L.70-2000, SEC.2.


    That's pretty much what I thought... I'm not defending nor persecuting this guy (other than for his lack of knowledge about butterfly knives being illegal to carry).

    But I'm mixed on this one, personally... On one hand, a prohibition on "automatic knives" is assinine. No other word to describe it...assinine. On the other hand, (besides having more fingers), I'm a rule follower by nature. And it really bothers me that this shop/guy, ostensibly on "OUR" side, is breaking the law.

    Moral quandry...

    -J-
     

    Bubbajms

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    20   0   0
    Sep 3, 2008
    2,532
    38
    Delphi, IN
    I remember when I moved here, I looked at several websites that summerized the knife laws of all of the states and saw (at least at that point) butterfly knifes and automatic knives were outlawed. I can't find a writeup on butterfly knives anymore, though, so it looks like that part (if it was ever really there in the first place) is gone.

    I think an automatic knife is quite handy for a public safety official - it's way easier to press a button to deploy a blade when you're cutting off a seatbelt with gloves on, for example. I can operate my knife (a non-auto) with nitrile gloves on, but not latex - the knife tends to tear the latex on the thumb, negating the point of wearing the gloves in the first place. In reality, I can open my non-auto faster than a spring bladed knife every time. Been there, tried it, did it on time-lapse video. "Switchblade" laws are stupid..
     
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jul 3, 2008
    3,619
    63
    central indiana
    Perhaps you are thinking of the law against "Chinese" throwing stars.
    stars & throwing knives were banned around the same time..
    i will look for an old copy of the code.. Purdue's electronic records only go back to 1997...

    this is in my memory because i owned butterfly knives & stars at the time ...
     

    Bubbajms

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    20   0   0
    Sep 3, 2008
    2,532
    38
    Delphi, IN
    There's another one I don't quite get.. Throwing Stars?? Honestly?? Other than in a ninja movie, I've yet to see anybody hurt anybody with a throwing star. James Bond could hit somebody with a knife, but the majority of those out there that try and throw a knife end up with a clean target and a broken knife. I've met one guy in all my years that could throw a knife, and he carried a long-barreled .44, ala Dirty Harry. Knives were the least of my worries with this guy :P
     

    Scutter01

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Mar 21, 2008
    23,750
    48
    Blue%20raja.jpg


    Would like a word...
     
    Top Bottom