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A ballistic knife

A ballistic knife is a knife with a detachable blade that can be expelled from the handle/frame as a projectile by means of a spring-operated or gas-driven mechanism. These knives have been banned nationwide in the United States since 1986.

[edit] Uses

Ballistic knives, manufactured by the USSR company Ostblock, were supplied in large numbers to the Soviet special forces group Spetsnaz throughout the 1980s.

Ballistic knives are used as covert "stealth" weapons when a firearm is not appropriate. The Russian Spetznaz ballistic knife is a metal tube with a powerful spring to deploy the blade. The blade can be deployed and remain attached to the handle for use as an "Out The Front" automatic knife, or released from the handle as projectile by pulling a pin then pressing a button. The spring in these knives is powerful enough to propel the blade about 20 feet at 63 km/h. As tested on deadliest warrior, this weapon can kill an enemy from a stationary position.

[edit] Legality

Unlike conventional automatic knives, which are legal to possess in over 30 US states,^[1] ballistic knives are illegal throughout the United States of America. After the sales of ballistic knives in the U.S.A. were halted by federal statute in 1986, the launching handle was made available with a small grappling hook or an aluminum baton.

[edit] Uses in Media and Popular Culture

• In Commando (1985), John Matrix kills a guard with one of these while infiltrating the enemy base.

• In the 2004 movie, The Punisher, Frank Castle uses a knife similar in action to the ballistic knife to kill an enemy. While lying on the ground he pulls out the knife with a gun pulled to his face. His attacker then taunts him for bringing a knife to a gun fight, and Frank then shoots him in the neck with the propelled blade.

• In the 2009 docu-series Deadliest Warrior, the Spetsnaz ballistic knife was compared to the Green Beret E-tool. The ballistic knife won the weapon comparison due to deception and being a midranged projectile.

[edit] See also

• Switchblade

[edit] References

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