A gravity knife is one with a retractable blade that uses inertia and a quick hand motion to deploy, but they’re banned across the United States.
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The knife is one of mankind’s oldest and most versatile tools, with origins that go back more than 2 million years. Metal blades appeared about 10,000 years ago, and various types of knives are now used for household tasks, to harvest and prepare food, perform surgery, and cut and shape building materials. Similar to how some states have strange laws regarding driving, regulations for knives vary as you travel around the United States. One notable exception are gravity knives, which are banned by federal law in the U.S. Unlike switchblade knives that use a spring system to release the blade with the push of a button or flick of a lever, gravity knives harness inertia to allow users to deploy the blade with one hand. Although they’re sub-categorized by opening style and blade type, many gravity knives can be deployed with just a flick of the wrist.
Gravity knives were banned by the Federal Switchblade Act of 1958, which prohibits knives that open «(1) by hand pressure applied to a button or other device in the handle of the knife, or (2) by operation of inertia, gravity, or both.
