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Most places in the US have at least a nominal ban on carrying "automatic" knives such a slingblades and stillettoes, and it's quasi-illegal to import brass-framed Balisongs from the Phillipines. The Balisongs got a nasty reputation back in the 70s because the brass frame, unlike steel or aluminum, is extremely quiet. They're also VERY fast to open; not like in the movies with all the rattling about, but just letting gravity do the work for you and flicking them open.
Slingblades got banned in the early 60s ( I think it was ) because of their "gangland" image, and because the silly myth got started that the spring that powered the blade could drive the blade into someone...utter nonsense, when you consider that the outside edge of a slingblade is dulled to prevent cutting the users hand. I own a fair number of slingblades and Balisongs ( brought in before the ban ) myself, and they're quite a lot of fun, but do NOT get caught carrying one of these things! Most cops can't tell a Balisong from a street-corner butterfly, but an "automatic" knife will get you in shit up to your eyebrows in most places.
I agree, BTW, that these bans are utter nonsense. "Automatic" knives are extremely popular in the rest of the world, especially ( irony of ironies ) among cops and EMS people, because their one-handed opening makes them easier to use in an emergency or in tight quarters. Bokker's slingblades are GI to many German police units and EMTs, but are illegal here in the US.
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