THESE STATES DO NOT PROHIBIT AUTOMATIC OPENING KNIVES (WE WILL SHIP AUTOS TO)
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California (Maximum 2″ blade length limitation)
Colorado (Concealed carry maximum length 3-1/2″)
Connecticut (Maximum 1-1/2″ blade length limitation)
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois (Must have valid Firearms Owner’s Identification Card FOID)
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky (must be 21 years of age)
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland (legal to own and open carry / illegal to conceal carry)
Massachusetts (maximum 1-1/2″ blade length limitation)
Michigan (out-the-front, double-edged automatics still prohibited)
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
North Carolina (concealed carry not recommended)
North Dakota (maximum 5″ blade length limitation)
Ohio (Became legal 4/12/21)
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont (maximum 3″ blade length limitation)
Washington (manufacture allowed, carry limited to law enforcement and emergency personnel)
West Virginia (must be 21 years of age)
Wisconsin
Wyoming
THESE STATES/AREAS DO PROHIBIT AUTOMATIC KNIVES (WE CANNOT SHIP AUTOS TO)
Chicago, IL
Delaware
District of Columbia
Hawaii
Los Angeles, CA
Minnesota
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York (LE/MIL & hunting/fishing exemption)
Pennsylvania
San Francisco, CA
Virginia
We also cannot ship automatic knives outside the US or to any US territories.
- Automatic knives are legal in 40 states.
- Commercial sale of automatic knives across state lines is restricted.
- If an auto is legal to possess in your state, you should be able to buy the legal knife you want.
The only United States law regarding auto-open (automatic) knives is referred to as the Federal Switchblade Act. The act regulates the manufacture and introducing of switchblades into interstate (crossing state lines) commerce. It has NO application to individual consumers, or most merchants who sell knives. It has NO application to laws WITHIN a state.
The legislation (Public Law 85-623) was passed August 12, 1958 and incorporated into law in two sections. The first section prohibits importation and interstate commerce of switchblades or gravity knives and the second section prohibits automatics from being mailed through the U.S. Postal Service (with some exceptions – See U.S. Title 18 below).
- There is no federal restriction on ownership, possession or carrying of a switchblade knife. There are some states that have enacted laws regarding switchblades. The majority of states allow auto-open knives.
- There is no Federal restriction on the sale of auto-open knives within the 50 states. There are some state laws with restrictions regarding selling switchblades.
- There are no Federal restrictions on other carriers such as UPS or FedEx regarding automatic knives. The Federal Switchblade Act only prohibits sending automatics through the U.S. Postal Service.
Interstate and Commerce
According to 18 USCS § 921 the term “interstate or foreign commerce” includes commerce between any place in a State and any place outside of that State, or within any possession of the United States (not including the Canal Zone) or the District of Columbia, but such term does not include commerce between places within the same State but through any place outside of that State. The term “State” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the possessions of the United States (not including the Canal Zone).
Commerce is defined as “the exchange or buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place.” [emphasis added] Merriam Webster Dictionary
Automatic Knife Laws & Assisted Knife Laws. The Switchblade Act, (Pub.L. 85-623, 72 Stat. 562, enacted on August 12, 1958, and codified in 15 U.S.C. § 1241–1245), as may be amended, (the “Act”) prohibits shipment of automatic knives across state lines, with the following exceptions:
(a) to civilian or Armed Forces supply or procurement officers and employees of the Federal Government ordering, procuring, or purchasing such knives in connection with the activities of the Federal Government;
(b) to supply or procurement officers of the National Guard, the Air National guard, or militia of a state, territory or the District of Columbia ordering, procuring, or purchasing such knives in the connection with the activities of such organization;
(c) to supply or procurement officers or employees of the municipal government of the District of Columbia or the government of any State or Territory, or any county, city or other political subdivision of a State or Territory;
(d) to manufacturers of such knives or bona fide dealers therein in connection with any shipment made pursuant of an order from any person designated in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c).
Sections 1242 and 1243 of the Act shall not apply to:
(e) any common carrier or contract carrier, with respect to any switchblade knife shipped, transported, or delivered for shipment in interstate commerce in the ordinary course of business;
(f) the manufacture, sale, transportation, distribution, possession, or introduction into interstate commerce, of switchblade knives pursuant to contract with the Armed Forces.
(g) the Armed Forces or any member or employee thereof acting in the performance of his duty;
(h) 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; or
(i) a knife that contains a spring, detent, or other mechanism designed to create a bias toward closure of the blade and that requires exertion applied to the blade by hand wrist, or arm to overcome the bias toward closure to assist in opening the knife.