Mnemon: Re: Legality - for those not in France - wiki summary is here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_knife#Legal_status [I was just curious, but might save anyone else the typing into google :) ].
CharlesGrey: Any particular reason why these are illegal? What about other knives?
Mnemon: See section at the start of that wikipedia article. Reactive legislation that doesn't seem to be
entirely, just partially, rational :)
Interesting list, thanks for sharing. It's fascinating how much the laws on these vary, depending on the country or state you live in. Everything, from entirely legal, to completely prohibited, to the point where even the mere possession of such a knife is a criminal offense.
I was mostly puzzled about what makes this type of knife so special, to require its own laws, aside from being easier to carry around and conceal. I figure they should just have the same laws for all knives exceeding a certain size, regardless of the design or specific features. There's any number of kitchen tools which could easily be just as deadly.