One knife to rule them all

Maine doesn't sound like my kind of State; from Yahoo! News:

A one-armed horseman is asking Maine lawmakers to allow amputees like him to carry switchblade knives, which are otherwise illegal.

Paul Dumas Jr. of the Maine town of Mexico says that with only one arm — he lost the other to an electrical accident as a teenager — he can't react quickly enough in emergency situations like at an equestrian event he attended a few years ago.

"This is very selfish," said Dumas, also an attorney, who currently is forced to use folding knives. "I'm tired of opening knives with my teeth."

Like federal law, Maine statutes prohibit possession and distribution of spring-loaded blades. The federal law does allow an exemption for possession and transportation on federal property by a person with one arm, provided the blade itself is less than 3 inches long, said Donald Clark, an assistant U.S. attorney in Maine.

State Rep. Sheryl Briggs of Mexico, at Dumas' request, is asking for Maine to build a similar exemption into its law that would apply all over the state, not just on public property. The bill is awaiting a public hearing.

A fully automatic knife would probably be ideal for Mr. Dumas. Historically, I'm fairly certain one-handed use was why switchblades were issued to paratroopers in WW2: in case of injury, entanglement, or other disabling of an arm.

Alternately -- and I don't know that Maine's existing laws are kind enough to allow it -- there are non-automatic folding knives whose actions are smooth enough for one-handed operation. Being right-handed has the supreme benefit of carefree attitude in a knife shop or other cutlery emporium; I don't have to worry if I can operate a folding knife. However, I have left-handed friends who can also benefit from quality cutlery. The solution: ambidextrous operation, and there are plenty knives that fit this bill.

Shown is the SOG Pentagon Elite I. Along with its bigger brother, the Pentagon Elite II and the related Spec Elites, their Arc-Lock mechanism is smooth, yet secure, and can be opened and closed one-handed. There's also Benchmade with the similar AXIS Lock, used by the 530 Pardue and 550-series Griptilians. The only knife among these that I don't own is the Spec Elite I, and they're all great.

Maine should accommodate Mr. Dumas and anyone else with similar needs. If switchblades don't come through, he still might have some recourse through available cutlery.