This pen

I just got one today, and it's pretty awesome.

Balisongs are illegal in Australia, so I figured this would be good practice until my next trip to the Philippines.

I can already:

• open and close
• Reverse Grip open and close
• twirl it around in a couple of ways
• do a very simple aerial with a 50% success rate

Here's some information on the balisong, for the uninformed.

Hm, I must say, that's a pretty kickass-looking pen. Man, if I had the cash, I'd order for one in a heartbeat...

Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.

"by Spyderco"

Wait Spyderco? Don't they make actual balisongs? That's funny.

Congrats! You can now practice the art of flipping without fear of cutting or stabbing yourself. Not sure if that's a good thing....depends on the individual I guess.

Looks awesome, hope you have fun with it

edited 28th Mar '11 8:08:16 AM by ViralLamb

Power corrupts. Knowledge is Power. Study hard. Be evil.

Wait... why are they illegal in Australia?

The thing about making witty signature lines is that it first needs to actually be witty.

Great, but is it mightier than a sword?

Edit: whoops, deleted the wrong word.

edited 28th Mar '11 2:13:40 PM by Medinoc

And now all I can think about is the "This Chair" meme and "OMG SO RIPTIDE REALLY COULD EXIST?!!?! FANGIRL MOMENT!!!!!!!!!".

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

I just learned to do that thing The Spy does. And I can speak French too, and own a blue suit.

Butterfly knives are illegal in other countries and several US states, because they're quick to get into a ready position, possibly deadly, and overall nasty shit. Also, fun is illegal in Australia.

edited 28th Mar '11 10:17:38 PM by Tzetze

[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.

@Angah: You speak French?

Sometimes, I kinda think this is true.

Not fluently, but well enough to translate.

And yeah, fun is basically outlawed. The only way to legally get a balisong is to join a reputable knife collector's association, then fill out a special application, wait for customs to approve it and allow a single knife past the border, and even then you're not allowed to use it.

edited 28th Mar '11 10:50:50 PM by AngryScientist

Ah, that would explain their deal with small breasts...

Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.

Well, yeah, it's 'concealable weapons' that aren't allowed, isn't it?

Be not afraid...

It is illegal to have a knife in a public place, unless for lawful, "reasonable" use in one's occupation, or lawful recreation activity.

Self-defense is not a reasonable excuse.

Double-edged knives or swedged*

knives are illegal. Thrown bladed weapons are illegal. Gravity-fed and spring-loaded knives are all illegal and won't even be allowed past the border.

edited 29th Mar '11 12:29:48 AM by AngryScientist

...you can't even carry a small knife for practical purposes? You know just everyday shit. Not something for a job.

............

edited 29th Mar '11 12:33:15 AM by Aondeug

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

I guess it could be argued as a reasonable use. I certainly carry one, but it would be very stupid of me to whip it out in public. I think there's a limit on the length.

List of weapons you can't have

edited 29th Mar '11 12:37:16 AM by AngryScientist

I'm sure if you have a reasonable use for the weapon you're allowed to have it. Like, if you're going fishing or something. Or even something like a swiss army knife.

Be not afraid...

... I don't follow. How can body armor vests be considered a weapon?

Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.

You could smother someone with it. Then again you could do that with normal clothes.

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

They aren't weapons. They're just prohibited.

Australian law is like that.

Should I be saying this? We don't actually have free speech, you know. Just the illusion of it.

edited 29th Mar '11 12:44:28 AM by AngryScientist

I think a (pocket) knife counts as weapon when it has a blocking mechanism (because that allows stabbing). At least that's the case in France (though they aren't outlawed, they may count as evidence you were up to no good).

Knives without a blocking mechanism are okay, for reasons depicted in Change 123 ("don't worry about him: he's a yakuza, those guys cut off their own fingers all the time anyway")

@Angry Scientist, 13: Your pothole to Wall Banger reflects typically American thinking. Other parts of the world think (with or without reason) that weapons are most often used for attack than defense.

@Komodin: simple: If you're wearing one and you're not law enforcement, then you're clearly up to no good.

edited 29th Mar '11 1:32:13 AM by Medinoc

Body armour being prohibited is... odd. Maybe the reasoning goes something like 'you'd only want it if you were expecting to get shot at, and there aren't many legitimate reasons to expect that unless you're in the police force'.

Oh, ninja'd. Typical.

Oh come on, Angry Scientist, Australia isn't that bad.

edited 29th Mar '11 1:33:40 AM by LoniJay

Be not afraid...

Ah, right. It makes a lot more sense now.

Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.

Okay, fine. It's not as bad as I'm making it out to be. It's still pretty bad.

Snerk.

[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.

Yeah, I loved this line.

In here, I think that's how we roll with knives:

• Carrying a Laguiole knife or Swiss army knife? *
  ^{no locking mechanism beyond a spring holding the blade weakly in place}
  Clearly a picnic.
• Carrying an Opinel knife? *
  ^{fully manual with a manual lock}
  We're keeping an eye on you (it has a known history of both picnic and muggings, including in popular culture)
• Carrying a switchblade? You're obviously planning to shoa someone your stabs. Especially as those are quite rare in France compared to the previous two.

edited 29th Mar '11 9:02:54 AM by Medinoc