Yesterday’s feature, it seems, got most of a complicated and fairly nuanced story right. OK, New York passed the law doing away with their outdated knife prohibitions…but…one item where I got a little too-presumptuous could cause a visitor to NYC to wind up in very hot water with the NYPD.
Seems my presumption that “assisted opening knives” would now be copacetic in NYC is, well, wrong. Thankfully, Knife Rights’ Doug Ritter has supplied us with this clarification:
“This (assisted opening knives) is where you, unfortunately, got it incorrect, perhaps dangerously so if they think they can now safely carry assisted-openers. While “assisted opening” knives were part of the issue, they weren’t the actual issue. Worse, a recent ruling has, essentially, turned assisted-opening knives into switchblades, which are still illegal for the most part in NY State. Details at: https://kniferights.org/legislative-update/ny-assisted-openers-switchblades/.
The issue was never assisted-openers, alone, or even only one-hand openers. It was that any folding knife with a locking blade (“lock blade folder”) that could be so-called ”wrist flicked” open by a cop or prosecutor was considered an illegal gravity knife. Didn’t matter if you or anyone you knew couldn’t open it that way. One-hand openers, including assisted-openers, are, indeed, the most common pocket knives in America. Adding in all lock blade folders and it’s an even large proportion of folding knives in America. Hence or use of the term “common folding knife” in the lawsuit.”
Hate corrections, but I hate someone getting in trouble for my generalization even more. Now you have the complete clarification. Net/net on this one: I’m not going to carry a pocket knife in NYC- if, for some unknown reason I have to go to NYC.
There are other things happening around the industry, and not all of them are what we could call wins like Knife Rights’ campaign to get New York’s outdated knife laws remedied.
Meanwhile, as frustration about details regarding the bankruptcy of United SportCoHoldings/UnitedSporting/Ellett Brothers/et al build, it seems there are deals to be had on the remaining inventory.
According to dealers I’ve spoken with, the company’s offering “incredible” pricing on remaining inventory. But that’s not without its own attendant problems. The heavy discounting, heavy call volumes and heavy orders are apparently overrunning the inventory management system. That means not every dealer will get everything they might expect, but they’ll only pay for what they do receive.
One industry consultant I spoke with yesterday told me he was glad hear about the sell-off. “It’s good for dealers,” he said, “they get product at a cheap price -and the can pass the bargains on to their customers.”
Having watched more than a few bankruptcies over the years, and barring some sort of special circumstance, it would seem likely that everything ordered -and received (a key point)- will be non-returnable. It’s the nature of “fire-selling” -and a risk bargain-hungry consumers will likely jump on.
Meanwhile, I’m also hearing reports that at least one other distributor is cutting prices in an attempt to woo former customers. It’s one of those stories that is not good news in the broader picture, but there’s potential for some consumers to benefit.
The drop in sales of guns and ammunition is decidedly bad news if you’re a wildlife agency. When sales of guns and ammo drop, Pittman-Robertson funding (under the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act) drops as well. That’s very bad news for state agencies already straining to make budgets work.
In 2018, Pittman-Robertson generated over a billion dollars for conservation and recreation projects. This year, numbers are trailing -significantly- meaning considerably fewer dollars for conservation and wildlife agencies.
There are several other companies teetering on the brink, and it remains to be seen whether they’ll survive. Barring some sort of upturn in sales, there will be some major realignment in how the gun business is done in the future. Right now, it seems the longstanding business models aren’t working.
—Jim Shepherd
