Bad law for knife owners and makers
To The Honorable Sherry Appleton,
Concerning house bill 1006
I have been a custom artist knife maker for the past 35 years of which the past 20 years or so has been full time.
I have made a wide variety of knives from hunting, fishing, every day carry EDC, Bowies, folders, swords and etc.
I have also taught many would be artist how to make a knife the proper way so that they would be able to carry the fine craft and tradition forward.
I have attended many knife "art" shows over the years and have seen the artistic bar raised to exhilarating heights. I have also promoted a couple of knife shows and I started the Professional Knifemakers Association over 20 years ago.
Although I can understand, to a small degree, of what you might be trying to accomplish with this bill, I can also see great harm in passing a bill with such a broad and sweeping spectrum.
I can assure you that in the past 35 years of making and selling fine knives of all types, none of the knives that I have ever sold were used in any commission of a crime or even been owned by some criminal.
I can also assure you that the millions of knives made and sold by reputable manufacturers in the United States and overseas have seen wide use and acceptance with very little misuse by the general public. Your broad scope with this bill would affect millions of knives that are now widely accepted by the general public and would render a great hardship on manufacturers, makers, retail stores and the general citizenry of this country.
It would make no sense for someone of bad ilk to purchase an expensive knife to use for some criminal offense when there are so many other options at the criminal's disposal such as a (sharpened screw driver or nail, etc.) and I will further assess that those who do make, collect and use knives of quality are among the finest people on the face of the earth and I personally know a great number of them.
I have spent the past 5 years or so developing a new series of folding knives based on a new patented locking system. The Xross Bar locking system was developed, by me and my engineering partner Dan Perreault of Thinking Blade, for the specific purpose of making the worlds strongest and safest folding knives.
Although most of the knives designed around this lock are of the EDC or collectors corner, one of the knives developed is a tactical version and it is intended for the collector, the service man and the police force. Most models are intended for the sportsman and the everyday carry pocket knife and were designed for one handed opening operation. Today any knife that requires both hands to open is not sought after by anyone and will not sell to the general public.
The way that the vast majority of modern folding knives are designed and made today makes them prone and inclusive to your broad and sweeping description of a gravity, assisted opening or inertia knife. Are you suggesting that the state of Washington make the vast majority of manufactured knives illegal in order to try and curb crime that would be committed by the use of some other weapon anyway?
Your bill could render the past five years of work and the money spent on securing the patents a complete waste and place my business in jeopardy and at my age it would mean disaster for my family. If you would take the time, you will find many other folks like me making knives in the state of Washington and across the country.
Please reconsider this bill and think about all of the knife maker artists in the state of Washington before you make such a dreadful mistake.
Please think about the general public and the effect this will have on everyone and their freedom.
Please we have little freedom left and we would like to retain as much of it as we can. Criminals will always find a way to get what they need and will not heed your shiny new law, after all, they are criminals.
The one thing that your bill would do if passed would be to create more criminals. We have enough now.
Sincerely Yours
C. Lyle Brunckhorst
Concerning house bill 1006
I have been a custom artist knife maker for the past 35 years of which the past 20 years or so has been full time.
I have made a wide variety of knives from hunting, fishing, every day carry EDC, Bowies, folders, swords and etc.
I have also taught many would be artist how to make a knife the proper way so that they would be able to carry the fine craft and tradition forward.
I have attended many knife "art" shows over the years and have seen the artistic bar raised to exhilarating heights. I have also promoted a couple of knife shows and I started the Professional Knifemakers Association over 20 years ago.
Although I can understand, to a small degree, of what you might be trying to accomplish with this bill, I can also see great harm in passing a bill with such a broad and sweeping spectrum.
I can assure you that in the past 35 years of making and selling fine knives of all types, none of the knives that I have ever sold were used in any commission of a crime or even been owned by some criminal.
I can also assure you that the millions of knives made and sold by reputable manufacturers in the United States and overseas have seen wide use and acceptance with very little misuse by the general public. Your broad scope with this bill would affect millions of knives that are now widely accepted by the general public and would render a great hardship on manufacturers, makers, retail stores and the general citizenry of this country.
It would make no sense for someone of bad ilk to purchase an expensive knife to use for some criminal offense when there are so many other options at the criminal's disposal such as a (sharpened screw driver or nail, etc.) and I will further assess that those who do make, collect and use knives of quality are among the finest people on the face of the earth and I personally know a great number of them.
I have spent the past 5 years or so developing a new series of folding knives based on a new patented locking system. The Xross Bar locking system was developed, by me and my engineering partner Dan Perreault of Thinking Blade, for the specific purpose of making the worlds strongest and safest folding knives.
Although most of the knives designed around this lock are of the EDC or collectors corner, one of the knives developed is a tactical version and it is intended for the collector, the service man and the police force. Most models are intended for the sportsman and the everyday carry pocket knife and were designed for one handed opening operation. Today any knife that requires both hands to open is not sought after by anyone and will not sell to the general public.
The way that the vast majority of modern folding knives are designed and made today makes them prone and inclusive to your broad and sweeping description of a gravity, assisted opening or inertia knife. Are you suggesting that the state of Washington make the vast majority of manufactured knives illegal in order to try and curb crime that would be committed by the use of some other weapon anyway?
Your bill could render the past five years of work and the money spent on securing the patents a complete waste and place my business in jeopardy and at my age it would mean disaster for my family. If you would take the time, you will find many other folks like me making knives in the state of Washington and across the country.
Please reconsider this bill and think about all of the knife maker artists in the state of Washington before you make such a dreadful mistake.
Please think about the general public and the effect this will have on everyone and their freedom.
Please we have little freedom left and we would like to retain as much of it as we can. Criminals will always find a way to get what they need and will not heed your shiny new law, after all, they are criminals.
The one thing that your bill would do if passed would be to create more criminals. We have enough now.
Sincerely Yours
C. Lyle Brunckhorst
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