Federal and state laws can sometimes seem contradictory to each other. In the knife world, we see that clearly with automatic knives. But gravity knives – which aren’t always simple to define – can take the legal incongruity to another level.
Attorney and knife expert Tony Sculimbrene takes a deep look at what gravity knives are and how federal and state laws apply to ownership of them. Having multiple, sometimes conflicting, definitions of a gravity knife could have long-term consequences.
His article “What is a Gravity Knife” first appeared in the April 2026 edition of Knife Magazine.