Editing Switchblade (section)

== History ==
Switchblades date from the mid-18th century.<ref name="ME">Erickson, Mark (2004). ''Antique American Switchblades''. Krause Publications, 0873497534, 9780873497534</ref>  The development of the first automatic knife was made possible by the invention of small tempered springs by the clockmaker [[Benjamin Huntsman]] in 1742.<ref name="ZI">Zinser, Tim, Fuller, Dan, and Punchard, Neal, ''Switchblades of Italy'', Nashville, TN: Turner Publishing Co. (2003), ISBN 1-56311933-1, pp. 7,9-11</ref>

The first spring-fired switchblade that can be authenticated appeared in the late 1700s, probably constructed by a craftsman in Italy.<ref name="ZI"/> After 1816, no automatic knives were produced in Italy for 50 years due to laws passed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.<ref name="ZI"/> By 1900, Italy had resumed production of automatic knives of the [[stiletto]] pattern, all hand-crafted by individual cutlers or small knife forges.  Most of these knifemakers were concentrated in the towns of Maniago, Frosolone, Campobasso, and Scarperia.

Unknown artisans  developed an automatic folding spike bayonet for use on [[flintlock]] pistols and [[coach gun]]s.<ref name="BE"/><ref name="ME"/> Examples of steel automatic folding knives from [[Sheffield]] in England have crown markings that date to 1840.<ref name="ME"/> Cutlery makers such as Tillotson, A. Davey, Beever, Hobson, Ibbotson and others produced automatic-opening knives.<ref name="ME"/> Some have simple iron bolsters and wooden handles, while others feature ornate, embossed silver alloy bolsters and stag handles.<ref name="ME"/> English-made knives often incorporate a "pen release" instead of a central handle button, whereby the main spring activated larger blade is released by pressing down on the closed smaller pen blade.<ref name="ME"/>

In France, 19th-century folding knives marked ''Châtellerault'' were available in both automatic and manually opened versions in several sizes and lengths.<ref name="ME"/> ''Châtellerault'' switchblades have recognizable features such as S-shaped cross guards, picklock type mechanisms and engraved decorative pearl and ivory handles.<ref name="ME"/> In Spain, Admiral D'Estaing is attributed with a type of folding naval dirk that doubled as an eating utensil.<ref name="ME"/> In closed (folded) position, the blade tip would extend beyond the handle to be used at the dining table. It could be spring activated to full length if needed as a side arm, by pressing a lever instead of a handle button.<ref name="ME"/> By 1850, at least one American company offered a .22 rimfire single-shot pistol equipped with a spring-operated knife.<ref name="BE"/> After the American Civil War (1865), knife production became industrialized.<ref name="ME"/> The oldest American made mass-production automatic knife is the ''Korn Patent Knife'', which used a rocking bolster release.<ref name="ME"/>

The advent of mass production methods enabled folding knives with multiple components to be produced in large numbers at lower cost.<ref name="BE"/> By 1890, US knife sales of all types were on the increase, buoyed by catalog mail order sales as well as mass marketing campaigns utilizing advertisements in periodicals and newspapers. In consequence, knife manufacturers began marketing new and much more affordable automatic knives to the general public. In Europe as well as the United States, automatic knife sales were never more than a fraction of sales generated by conventional folding knives, yet the type enjoyed consistent if modest sales from year to year.<ref name="BE"/>

In 1892, George [[Imperial Schrade|Schrade]], a toolmaker and machinist from [[New York City]] developed and patented the first of several practical automatic knife designs.<ref name="BE"/><ref name = "RL">{{cite book | last = Langston | first = Richard | title = Collector's Guide to Switchblade Knives: An Illustrated Historical and Price Reference | publisher = Paladin Press | year = 2001 | location = Boulder, Colorado | pages = 224 | isbn = 1-58160-283-9 }}</ref><ref name="SC">Schrade, George M. (1982). ''George Schrade and his accomplishments to the Knife Industry''. George Schrade Knife Co., ASIN B00072P8NU</ref> The following year, Schrade founded the New York Press Button Knife Company to manufacture his switchblade knife pattern, which had a unique release button mounted in the knife bolster.<ref name="SH"/> Schrade's company operated out of a small workshop in New York City and employed about a dozen workmen.<ref name="SH"/><ref name="SC"/>

===1900–1945===
Swordmakers in [[Toledo, Spain]], developed a market in the 1920s for gold plated automatic leverlock knives with pearl handles and enamel inlaid blades. Italian knifemakers had their own style of knives including both pushbutton and leverlock styles, some bearing design characteristics similar to the early French ''Châtellerault'' knife.<ref name="ZF"/> Prior to World War II, hand crafted automatic knives marked ''Campobasso'' or ''Frosolone'' were often called ''Flat Guards'' because of the two-piece top bolster design.<ref name="ZF"/> Some Italian switchblades incorporated a bayonet-type blade equipped with a blade lock release activated by prying up a locking flange at the hinge end, and were known as ''picklock'' models. These knives were later supplanted by newer designs which incorporated the blade lock release into a tilting bolster.<ref name="ZF"/>

In Italy, increased production of automatic knives resulted from the actions of German businessman Albert Marx, who owned two cutlery manufacturing concerns in Solingen, Germany.<ref name="ZI"/> After a trip to Maniago in 1907, Marx was convinced of the appeal of Italian style automatic knives, and duly took note of attempts by Maniago knifemakers to increase productivity using powered cutting tools.<ref name="ZI"/> Marx promptly introduced the Solingen methods of semi-mass production to the Maniago knife industry, increasing output and lowering individual costs.<ref name="ZI"/>  While Italian automatic knives would remain hand-assembled and to some extent hand-crafted products, Marx's innovations did increase production, enabling exports to other parts of Italy and eventually throughout Europe and abroad.<ref name="ZI"/><ref>''History of Maniago, Italy'', antiqueswitchbladeknives.com [http://antiqueswitchbladeknives.com/Italy.html], retrieved 28 March 2022</ref>  Over time, Maniago became the central hub of automatic knife production in Italy.

In the United States, commercial development of the switchblade knife was primarily dominated by the inventions of George Schrade and his ''New York Press Button Knife Company'',<ref name="BE"/><ref name="SC"/> though ''[[W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co.|W.R. Case]]'', ''[[KA-BAR|Union Cutlery]]'', ''[[Camillus Cutlery]]'', and other U.S. knife manufacturers also marketed automatic knives of their own design.<ref name="BE"/> Most of Schrade's switchblade patterns were automatic versions of utilitarian jackknives and [[pocket knives]], as well as smaller penknife models designed to appeal to women buyers.<ref name="ME"/> In 1903, Schrade sold his interest in the New York Press Button Knife Co. to the Walden Knife Co., and moved to Walden, New York, where he opened a new factory.<ref name="SH"/><ref name="SC"/> There Schrade became the company's production superintendent, establishing a production line to manufacture several patterns of Schrade-designed switchblade knives, ranging from a large folding hunter to a small pocket knife.<ref name="SC"/> Walden Knife Co. would go on to sell thousands of copies of Schrade's original bolster button design.<ref name="SH"/><ref name="SC"/>

The advertising campaigns of the day by Schrade and other automatic knife manufacturers focused on marketing to farmers, ranchers, hunters, or outdoors men who needed a compact [[pocket knife]] that could be quickly brought into action when needed.<ref name="BE"/> In rural areas of America, these campaigns were partially successful, particularly with younger buyers, who aspired to own the most modern tools at a time when new labor-saving inventions were constantly appearing on the market.<ref name="BE"/> Most American-made switchblades made after 1900 were patterned after standard utilitarian pocketknives, though a few larger ''Bowie'' or ''Folding Hunter'' patterns were produced with blade shapes and lengths that could be considered useful as [[knife fight|fighting knives]]. Most had flat or sabre-ground clip or spear-point blade profiles and single-sharpened edges.<ref name="SH"/> Blade lengths rarely exceeded {{convert|5|in|cm|abbr=on}}.<ref name="ME"/> A few manufacturers introduced the double switchblade, featuring two blades that could be automatically opened and locked with the push of a button.<ref name="SC"/>

At the low end of the market, ''Shapleigh Hardware Company'' of St. Louis, Missouri contracted thousands of switchblades under the trademark ''Diamond Edge'' for distribution to dealers across the United States and Canada.<ref name="BE"/> Most of these knives were novelty items, assembled at the lowest possible cost. Sold off display cards in countless hardware and general stores, many low-end ''Diamond Edge'' switchblades failed to last more than a few months in actual use.<ref name="BE"/><ref>Shackleford, p. 152: The name ''Diamond Edge'' would live on after Shapleigh Hardware went into bankruptcy in 1960. Its trademarks were purchased by Imperial Cutlery Company, who used the ''Diamond Edge'' trademark on a variety of knives.</ref> Other companies such as Imperial Knife and Remington Arms paid royalties to Schrade in order to produce automatic "contract knives" for rebranding and sale by large mail-order catalog retailers such as [[Sears, Roebuck & Co]].<ref name="BE"/><ref name="ME"/>

In 1904, in combination with his brothers Louis and William, George Schrade formed the Schrade Cutlery Co. in Walden, and began developing a new series of switchblades, which he patented in 1906–07.<ref name="SH"/> Schrade's new ''Safety Pushbutton Knives'' incorporated several design improvements over his earlier work, and featured a handle-mounted operating button with a sliding safety switch.<ref name="SC"/> A multi-blade operating button allowed the knife to operate with up to four automatic blades.<ref name="SC"/> In successive patents from 1906 through 1916 Schrade would steadily improve this design, which would later become known as the ''Presto'' series.<ref name="SH"/> With the ''Presto'' line, Schrade would largely dominate the automatic knife market in the United States for the next forty years. Schrade would go on to manufacture thousands of contract switchblade knives under several trademarks and brands, including ''E. Weck'', ''Wade & Butcher'', and ''Case XX'', while other companies used Schrade's patent as the basis for their own switchblade patterns. Among these were pocket and folding hunter pattern switchblades bearing the name ''[[Keen Kutter]]'', a trademark owned by E.C. Simmons Hardware Co. (later purchased by the Shapleigh Hardware Co.).

Having earned a handsome return from his work, Schrade traveled to Europe in 1911, first to [[Sheffield, England]], where he assisted ''Thomas Turner & Company'' in expediting a wartime order from the British Navy.<ref name="SC"/> He next moved to the knifemaking center of Solingen, Germany.<ref name="SH"/><ref name="SC"/> Schrade was aware of Solingen's reputation for having the best cutlery steel in Europe, and he opened a factory to produce his safety pushbutton switchblade knife there. In 1915 or 1916 Schrade sold his Solingen holdings (some sources state they were seized by the German government)<ref name="SH"/> and returned to the United States.<ref name="SH"/><ref name="SC"/>

In 1918, Captain [[Rupert Hughes]] of the U.S. Army submitted a patent application for a specialized automatic-opening [[trench knife]] of his own design, the ''Hughes Trench Knife''.<ref>Hughes, Rupert. ''[http://patents.google.com/patents?id=v-VbAAAAEBAJ&printsec=drawing&zoom=4#v=onepage&q&f=false Letters Patent No. 1,315,503 issued September 9, 1919] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406042115/https://patents.google.com/patents?id=v-VbAAAAEBAJ&printsec=drawing&zoom=4#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=April 6, 2017 }}'', Washington, D.C.: United States Patent Office</ref> This was a curious device consisting of a folding spring-loaded knife blade attached to a handle which fastened to the back of the hand and was secured by a leather strap, leaving the palm and fingers free for grasping other objects.<ref name="ReferenceB">Hughes, Rupert, ''Letters Patent No. 1,315,503 issued September 9, 1919'', Washington, D.C.: United States Patent Office</ref> Pressing a button on the handle automatically extended a knife blade into an open position and locked position, allowing the knife to be used as a stabbing weapon.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> The ''Hughes Trench Knife'' was evaluated as a potential military arm by a panel of U.S. Army officers from the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in June 1918.<ref>Crowell, Benedict (1919), ''America's Munitions 1917–1918, Report of Benedict Crowell, Assistant Secretary of War (Director of Munitions)'', U.S. War Department, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, pp. 88, 228</ref> After testing the board found the ''Hughes'' design to be of no value, and it was never adopted.<ref>''Military affairs: journal of the American Military Institute'', American Military History Foundation, American Military Institute, Kansas State University, Dept. of History (1937) Vol. I, p. 153</ref> Hughes went on to patent his automatic trench knife in 1919, though Hughes appears to have been unsuccessful in persuading a knife manufacturing company to produce his design.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

From 1923 to 1951, the ''Union Cutlery Co.'' of Olean, New York produced a series of lever-operated switchblades designed for the mid and upper end of the market, featuring celluloid, stag, or jigged bone handles, a bolster-mounted push-button, all featuring the company's ''[[KA-BAR]]'' trademark on the blade tang.<ref name="ME"/> The line included the ''KA-BAR Grizzly'', ''KA-BAR Baby Grizzly'', and ''KA-BAR Model 6110 Lever Release'' knives.<ref>Erickson, Mark, ''Antique American Switchblades, Chapter 22: KA-BAR, a trademark of Union Cutlery Co., Olean, NY'', Krause Publications, {{ISBN|0-87349-753-8}} (2004)</ref> The largest model was ''KA-BAR Grizzly'', a folding hunter pattern with a broad bowie-type clip point blade.

[[File:Flylock pocket knife with two blades.jpg|thumb|Pocket knife made by Flylock Knife Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut with two spring-loaded, button activated blades. Scales are made of horn. Measures 3 3/8" (86mm) closed. These were manufactured from 1918 to 1929.]]
Upon returning to the United States, Schrade made a final improvement to his ''Presto'' series of switchblades, filing his patent application on June 6, 1916.<ref name="SC"/> The next year, Schrade licensed a new flylock switchblade design to the ''Challenge Cutlery Company'', which he then joined.<ref name="SH"/> Under the trademark of ''Flylock Knife Co.'', Challenge made several patterns of the flylock switchblade, including a large {{convert|5|in|cm|abbr=on}} folding hunter model with hinged floating guard and a small pen knife model designed to appeal to women buyers.<ref name="BE"/><ref name="SC"/> A Challenge Cutlery advertisement of the day depicted a female hand operating a fly-lock automatic pen knife, accompanied by a caption urging women to buy one for their sewing kit so as not to break a nail while attempting to open a normal pen knife.<ref name="BE"/><ref name="ME"/> Schrade pursued his knifemaking interests at both Challenge and at Schrade, where his brother George now managed one of the company's factories.<ref name="SH"/>

With a few ex-Challenge employees Schrade formed a second company, the ''Geo. Schrade Knife Company'', primarily to manufacture his ''Presto'' series of switchblade knives.<ref name="SH"/> In 1937, Schrade came out with two more low-cost switchblade knives designed to appeal to youth, the ''Flying Jack'' and the ''Pull-Ball Knife''.<ref name="SC"/> The ''Flying Jack'' had a sliding operating latch and could be produced with one or more automatically opening blades. The ''Pull-Ball'' opened by pulling a ball located on the butt end of the handle.<ref name="Benson, pp. 49-50">Benson, pp. 49-50</ref> Schrade would later manufacture alternative configurations to the ball operating handle, including dice, rings, eight balls, or different colors.<ref name="SC"/> The ''Pull-Ball'' required two hands to open, removing much of the switchblade's utility as a one-handed knife.<ref name="Benson, pp. 49-50"/> As the blade catch mechanism required a good deal of space within the handle, the knife's blade length was short relative to its handle length.<ref name="Benson, pp. 49-50"/> Schrade manufactured many pull-ball knives for sale under other brands, including Remington, Case, and the "J.C.N. Co." (''Jewelry Cutlery Novelty Company'' of North Attleboro, Massachusetts)<ref name="SC"/> Always looking for a new way to appeal to customers, Schrade continued to experiment with new forms of switchblade designs up to the time of his death in 1940.

In the late 1930s the German [[Luftwaffe]] began training a ''Fallschirmjäger'' or paratroop force, and as part of this effort developed specialized equipment for the airborne soldier, including the ''[[Gravity knife|Fallschirmjäger-Messer]]'' (paratrooper's knife), which used a gravity-operated mechanism to deploy its sliding spearpoint blade from the handle. The German paratrooper knife, which featured a [[marlinspike]] in addition to the cutting blade, was used to cut rigging and unknot lines, though it could be employed as a weapon in an emergency. The U.S. Army in 1940 tasked the ''Geo. Schrade Knife Co.'' to produce a small single-edge switchblade for U.S. airborne troops, to be used similarly to the ''Fallschirmjäger-Messer''.<ref name="SC"/> The knife was not intended primarily as a fighting knife, but rather as a utility tool, to enable a paratrooper to rapidly cut himself out of his lines and harness in the event he could not escape them after landing.

The company's submission was approved by the U.S. Army Materiel Command in December 1940 as the ''Knife, Pocket, M2''.<ref name="BE"/> The M2 had a {{convert|3.125|in|cm|abbr=on}} clip-point blade<ref>Some M2 knives featured a hawkbill blade</ref> and featured a carrying bail. Except for the bail, the M2 was for all intents and purposes a copy of George Schrade's popular ''Presto'' safety-button civilian model. The M-2 was issued primarily to U.S. Army paratroopers during the war, though some knives appear to have been distributed to crews and members of the [[Office of Strategic Services]]. When issued to paratroopers, the M2 was normally carried in the dual-zippered knife pocket on the upper chest of the [[M42 jacket|M42 jump]] uniform jacket. After the war, the M2 was manufactured by Schrade (now ''Schrade-Walden, Inc.'') as the ''Parachutist's Snap Blade Knife'' (MIL-K-10043) under a postwar military contract. In addition, other companies such as the ''Colonial Knife Co.'' made civilian versions of the M2 after the war.

===Postwar usage and the Italian stiletto===
[[File:2014 Nóż sprężynowy.jpg|thumb|left|Italian stiletto]]
From the end of World War II until 1958, most U.S.-manufactured switchblades were manufactured by Schrade (now ''Schrade-Walden, Inc.'', a division of ''Imperial Knife Co.''), and the Colonial Knife Co.

Schrade-Walden Inc. made knives under the ''Schrade-Walden'' trademark, while Colonial made a number of mass-produced switchblade patterns during the 1950s under the trademark ''Shur Snap''. Designed to a price point, ''Shur Snap'' switchblades feature stamped plated sheet-metal bolsters and plastic scales.

In 1956, the U.S. Air Force requested development for a new aircrew knife with several requirements, including the ability to be opened with one hand. The final result was the ''MC-1 Aircrew Survival Knife''. A development of the WW2-era M2 Parachutist Snap Blade knife, the MC-1 featured twin blades, The main blade was a blunt line-cutting blade with a protected sharpened inside edge for severing parachute lines, while the secondary blade opened automatically with a push button in the event the crew member could use only one hand.<ref>Trzaska, Frank, ''Misunderstood Switchblade'', Tactical Knives (July 2013)</ref> First issued in 1958, the MC-1 was restricted to U.S. military sales only, and was produced by the Camillus Cutlery Co., Logan/Smyth of Venice Florida, and Schrade-Walden Inc.. The last production contract for the MC-1 was cancelled in 1993.

After 1945, American soldiers returning home from Europe brought along individually purchased examples of the Italian style of stiletto pattern switchblade produced in Maniago and other cutlery towns.<ref name="ZF">Zinser, Fuller(2003) "Switchblades of Italy", Turner Publishing. {{ISBN|1-56311-933-1}}</ref> Though undeniably limited in practical usefulness, the style and beauty of the so-called stiletto switchblade was a revelation to US buyers accustomed to the utilitarian nature of most U.S.-made automatic knives such as the Schrade ''Presto'' pocketknife.<ref name="ZF"/>  Consumer demand for more of these knives resulted in the importation of large numbers of side-opening and [[Sliding knife|telescoping blade]] switchblades, primarily from Italy. In the case of the switchblade, the name stiletto derives from the blade design, since most Italian designs incorporated a long, slender blade tapering to a needle-like point, together with a slim-profile handle and vestigial cross-guard reminiscent of the medieval weapon. The majority of these stiletto pattern switchblade knives used a now-iconic slender [[bayonet]]-style blade with a single sabre-ground edge and an opposing false edge.  Other blade styles included the double-edged [[dagger]] and the curved-edge [[kris]].  Some were flimsy souvenirs made for tourists or novelty purchasers, while others were made with solid materials and workmanship.<ref name="BE"/><ref name="ZF"/>  Eventually, many thousands of Italian switchblades were exported to the US. Around this time, the traditional Italian switchblade 'picklock' method of blade release was largely replaced by the tilt bolster mechanism, ending the "Golden Age" of hand-crafted Italian switchblades.<ref name="ZF"/>

As with the medieval stiletto upon which it was based, the so-called stiletto switchblade was intended to be a concealable weapon optimized for thrusting rather than cutting or slashing (many imported stiletto switchblades had no sharpened cutting edge at all). These knives ranged in blade length from {{convert|2|to|18|in|cm|abbr=on}}.<ref name="BE"/> As a weapon, the stiletto switchblade was much less effective than most fixed-blade hunting and military knives commonly available in the US, including the [[Bowie knife]] and dagger, which could inflict deep slashing cuts as well as stab wounds.  However, its peculiar properties of easy concealment and rapid blade deployment appealed to some, and as with any other knife, the stiletto switchblade could inflict a severe wound, given sufficient blade length.

===1950s gang usage and controversy===
In 1950, an article titled ''The Toy That Kills'' appeared in the ''[[Woman's Home Companion]]'', a widely read U.S. periodical of the day. The article sparked a storm of controversy and a nationwide campaign that would eventually result in state and federal laws criminalizing the importation, sale, and possession of automatic-opening knives. In the article, author Jack Harrison Pollack assured the reader that the growing switchblade "menace" could have deadly consequence "as any crook can tell you".<ref name="ReferenceA">Pollack, Jack H., ''The Toy That Kills'', 77 Women's Home Companion Magazine 38, November 1950</ref> Pollack, a former aide to Democratic Senator [[Harley M. Kilgore]] and a [[ghostwriter]] for then-President [[Harry S Truman]], had authored a series of melodramatic magazine articles calling for new laws to address a variety of social ills. In ''The Toy That Kills'', Pollack wrote that the switchblade was "Designed for violence, deadly as a revolver - that's the switchblade, the 'toy' youngsters all over the country are taking up as a fad. Press the button on this new version of the pocketknife and the blade darts out like a snake's tongue. Action against this killer should be taken now".<ref name="ReferenceA"/> To back up his charges, Pollack quoted an unnamed juvenile court judge as saying: "It's only a short step from carrying a switchblade to gang warfare".<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

During the 1950s, established U.S. newspapers as well as the sensationalist tabloid press joined forces in promoting the image of a young delinquent with a stiletto switchblade or flick knife. While the press focused on the switchblade as a symbol of youthful evil intent, the American public's attention was attracted by lurid stories of urban youth gang warfare and the fact that many gangs were composed of lower class youth and/or racial minorities.<ref name="EN"/><ref>Siler, Wes, ''[https://gizmodo.com/why-switchblades-are-banned-1704050416 Why Switchblades Are Banned]'', Gizmodo</ref> The purported offensive nature of the stiletto switchblade combined with reports of knife fights, robberies, and stabbings by youth gangs and other criminal elements in urban areas of the United States generated continuing demands from newspaper editorial rooms and the public for new laws restricting the lawful possession and/or use of switchblade knives - with particular emphasis on racial minorities, especially African-American and Hispanic teens.<ref name="EN"/><ref>Levine, Bernard, ''Switchblade Legacy'', Knife World (August 1990), p. 24</ref> In 1954, the state of New York passed the first law banning the sale or distribution of switchblade knives in hopes of reducing gang violence. That same year, Democratic Rep. [[James J. Delaney]] of New York authored the first bill submitted to the U.S. Congress banning the manufacture and sale of switchblades.

Some U.S. congressmen saw the switchblade controversy as a political opportunity to capitalize on constant negative accounts of the switchblade knife and its connection to violence and youth gangs. This coverage included not only magazine articles but also highly popular films of the late 1950s including ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'' (1955), ''[[Blackboard Jungle]]'' (1955), ''[[Crime in the Streets]]'' (1956), ''[[12 Angry Men (1957 film)|12 Angry Men]]'' (1957), ''[[The Delinquents (1957 film)|The Delinquents]]'' (1957), ''[[High School Confidential (film)|High School Confidential]]'' (1958), and the 1957 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical ''[[West Side Story (musical)|West Side Story]]''.  Hollywood's fixation on the switchblade as the symbol of youth violence, sex, and delinquency resulted in renewed demands from the public and Congress to control the sale and possession of such knives.<ref name="TWFK">{{Citation | surname=Dick | given=Steven| title=The Working Folding Knife | year=1997| publisher= Stoeger Publishing Company |isbn= 978-0-88317-210-0 }}</ref><ref name="LEV">Levine, Bernard R., ''[http://www.knife-expert.com/schr-pb.txt The Switchblade Menace]'', OKCA Newsletter (1993): Rep. [[Sidney R. Yates]] (D) of Illinois was convinced of a sadistic connection, proclaiming that "vicious fantasies of omnipotence, idolatry...barbaric and sadistic atrocities, and monstrous violations of accepted values spring from [switchblades]&nbsp;... Minus switchblade knives and the distorted feeling of power they beget—power that is swaggering, reckless, and itching to express itself in violence—our delinquent adolescents would be shorn of one of their most potent means of incitement to crime".</ref> State laws restricting or criminalizing switchblade possession and use were adopted by an increasing number of state legislatures.

In 1957, Senator [[Estes Kefauver]] (D) of Tennessee attempted unsuccessfully to pass a law restricting the importation and possession of switchblade knives. Opposition to the bill from the U.S. knife making industry was muted, with the exception of the ''Colonial Knife Co.'' and ''Schrade-Walden Inc.'', which were still manufacturing small quantities of pocket switchblades for the U.S. market.<ref name="BE"/> Some in the industry even supported the legislation, hoping to gain market share at the expense of Colonial and Schrade.<ref name="BE"/> However, the legislation failed to receive expected support from the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Justice, which considered the legislation unenforceable and an unwarranted intrusion into lawful sales in interstate commerce.<ref name="BE"/><ref name="EN"/>

While Kefauver's bill failed, a new U.S. Senate bill prohibiting the importation or possession of switchblade knives in interstate commerce was introduced the following year by Democratic Senator [[Peter F. Mack Jr.]] of Illinois in an attempt to reduce gang violence in Chicago and other urban centers in the state. With youth violence and delinquency aggravated by the severe economic [[Recession of 1958|recession]], Mack's bill was enacted by Congress and signed into law as the Switchblade Knife Act of 1958.

The melodrama created by US media towards the stiletto switchblade had its effect in Canada and the United Kingdom.  The US Switchblade Knife Act was closely followed by the UK Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act of 1959.<ref name="EN">Nappen, Evan(2003), "Are Switchblades Sporting Knives", Sporting Knives 2003: 60-65, {{ISBN|0-87349-430-X}}</ref> In Canada,  Parliament amended the [[Criminal Code (Canada)|Criminal Code]] in 1959 to include all new-production automatic knives as prohibited weapons - banned from importation, sale or possession within that country.

The new laws treated all automatic-opening knives as a prohibited class, even knives with utility or general-purpose blades not generally used by criminals. Curiously, the sale and possession of stilettos and other 'offensive' knives with fixed or lockback blades were not prohibited. In other U.S. states, the sale and possession of switchblade knives remained legal, particularly in rural states where a significant proportion of the population possessed firearms.  As late as 1968, Jack Pollack was still writing lurid articles demanding further federal legislation prohibiting the purchase or possession of switchblade knives. That same year, New York congressman [[Lester L. Wolff]] (D) even read one of Pollack's articles into the U.S. Congressional Record while introducing legislation to further restrict the sale and transportation of switchblades, arguing that 'switchblade knives have no redeeming social value and are restricted almost solely to violence'.<ref>Pollack, Jackson. "We Must Stop The Sale Of Switchblade Knives". ''Parade Magazine''. May 26, 1968: "It could happen to you or any member of your family, any time, anywhere...Tempers flare. Suddenly a hand streaks toward a pocket. There Is a swift click. A hidden, dagger-tipped blade darts out like a snake's tongue. Clutched In a fist is a murderous "switchblade ... "</ref><ref>Wolff, Lester L., Speech to the House of Representatives, U.S. Congressional Record (House), May 27, 1968</ref><ref>UPI, ''The Salinas Californian'', Salinas, CA: 27 May 1968: Rep. Lester L. Wolff, D-N. Y., said today he would introduce legislation shortly to restrict both the manufacture and sale of switchblade knives and similar weapons.</ref><ref>Wolff, Lester R., Prohibited Knife Act, HR8612, HR8613, HR8198, U.S. Congress, 1968, 1973-1974: In his bill's declaration, Rep. Wolff stated flatly that 'switchblade knives have no redeeming social value and are restricted almost solely to violence'.  Wolff would continue his legislative attempts to ban switchblade sales and ownership until 1974.</ref>

As an anti-violence measure, legislation against switchblade sales or use clearly failed in the United States, as youth street gangs increasingly turned from bats and knives to handguns, [[MAC-10]]s, and [[AK-47]]s to settle their disputes over territory as well as income from prostitution, extortion, and illicit drug sales.<ref>Moore, Joan W., ''Going Down to the Barrio: Homeboys and Homegirls in Change'', Philadelphia PA: Temple University Press, {{ISBN|0-87722-855-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-87722-855-4}} (1991), pp. 40, 59-60</ref><ref>McCorkle, Richard C. and Miethe, Terance D. (2001). ''Panic: The Social Construction of the Street Gang Problem''. New York: Prentice-Hall. pp. 54, 214. {{ISBN|0-13-094458-0}}, {{ISBN|978-0-13-094458-0}}</ref><ref>Schneider, Eric C. (2001). ''Vampires, Dragons, and Egyptian Kings: Youth Gangs in Postwar New York''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, p. 242. {{ISBN|0-691-07454-2}}</ref> In fact, the U.S. murder rate using cutting or stabbing instruments of all types declined from 23% of all murders in 1965 to just 12% in 2012.<ref>Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, ''Uniform Crime Reports for the United States, 1965; Crime in the United States (2012)''</ref>

====1970-2000====
By the late 1960s, new production of switchblades in the United States was largely limited to military contract automatic knives such as the MC-1.<ref name="ME"/>

In Italy, switchblades known among collectors as "Transitionals" were made with a mix of modern parts and leftover old style parts.<ref name="ZF"/>

Switchblade knives continued to be sold and collected in those states in which possession remained legal. In the 1980s, automatic knife imports to the U.S. resumed with the concept of kit knives, allowing the user to assemble a working switchblade from a parts kit with the addition of a mainspring or other key part (often sold separately). Since no law prohibited importation of switchblade parts or unassembled kits, all risk of prosecution was assumed by the assembling purchaser, not the importer. This loophole was eventually closed by new federal regulations.<ref>U.S. 19 CFR 12.95 (1990) ''Definitions'': ''A 'switchblade knife' means any imported knife, or components thereof, or any class of imported knife...which has one or more of the following characteristics or identities: (3) Unassembled knife kits or knife handles without blades which, when fully assembled with added blades, springs, or other parts, are knives which open automatically by hand pressure applied to a button or device in the handle of the knife or by operation of inertia, gravity, or both.''</ref>

====Present day====
The ability to purchase or carry switchblades or automatic knives continues to be heavily restricted or prohibited throughout much of Europe, with some notable exceptions. In Britain, the folding type of switchblade is commonly referred to as a flick knife. In the UK, knives with an automated opening system are nearly impossible to acquire or carry legally; although they can legally be owned, it is illegal to manufacture, sell, hire, give, lend, or import such knives. This definition would nominally restrict lawful ownership to 'grandfathered' automatic knives already in possession by their owner prior to the enactment of the applicable law in 1959. Even when such a knife is legally owned, carrying it in public without good reason or lawful authority is also illegal under current UK laws.

Under US federal laws, switchblades remain illegal to import from abroad or to purchase through interstate commerce since 1958 under the old Switchblade Knife Act (15 U.S.C. §§1241-1245).  In recent years, many U.S. states have repealed laws prohibiting the purchase or possession of automatic or switchblade knives in their entirety.

====Modern-day Switchblade Development====
Despite federal law, there are still a number of U.S. knife companies and custom makers who build automatic knives, primarily for use by the military and emergency personnel.<ref name="EN"/> Some well known present-day automatic knife manufacturers include ''[[Buck Knives]]'', ''Colonial Knife Co.'', ''[[Microtech Knives]]'', ''[[Benchmade]]'', ''Severtech'', ''[[Gerber Legendary Blades]]'', ''Mikov'', ''Pro-Tech Knives'', ''Dalton'', ''[[Böker]]'', ''[[Spyderco]]'', ''[[Kershaw Knives]]'', and ''Piranha''.<ref name="EN"/> Colonial currently manufactures the M724 Automatic Rescue Knife, which is currently being issued for use in all U.S. military aircraft ejection seat survival kits.

The classic Italian-style stiletto switchblade continues to be produced in Italy, Taiwan, and China. Automatic knife manufacture in Italy consists predominantly as a cottage industry of family-oriented businesses. These include ''Frank Beltrame'' and ''AGA Campolin'', who have been making automatic knives using hand assembly techniques for more than half a century.<ref name="ZF"/> Since the late 1990s, the nations of Taiwan and China have emerged as large-scale producers of automatic knives.

Automatic or switchblade knives have been produced in the following countries: Argentina, China, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Korea, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and U.S.A..{{Citation needed|reason=reliable source needed|date=March 2014}}