By Matt Crawford, AKTI Marketing Specialist
It was sometime after 5 p.m. on a Tuesday when Rep. Dan Noyes, a state representative in the Vermont Legislature, called my phone. I was on my way to pickleball but was intrigued enough to answer. Noyes, whom I’ve known since I was an outdoor writer at a Vermont newspaper and he was a fly-fishing guide, was calling to update me with good news about a bill he helped introduce that would remove an outdated blade length restriction for automatic knives. Language from his bill, he said, was being included in a larger judiciary bill being passed unanimously out of the Vermont Senate.
I was not the first to hear that good news, of course. The bill Noyes introduced in the House mirrored what Senator Patrick Brennan had introduced in the Vermont Senate earlier in the legislative session. Senator Brennan and AKTI president CJ Buck, chairman and CEO of Buck Knives, have been working on removing Vermont’s blade length restrictions since 2019. Those two connect almost yearly at the bipartisan National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC) Sportsman-Legislator Summit. Buck and Brennan have long wanted Vermont to drop this antiquated restriction on automatic knives. The news Noyes was sharing with me ladders up to the work they’ve done previously.
The bill in Vermont (S.109) that would remove the 3-inch restriction on automatic knives has passed by the Senate and is currently in the House awaiting action (as of March 25, 2025). With fingers crossed, we expect the Vermont House to pass that bill and send it to Governor Phil Scott to sign into law later this spring.
As I thanked Rep. Noyes and headed to pickleball, I thought of what was happening all the way across the country in Olympia, Washington. Mike Vellekamp, owner and founder of V Nives in Puyallup, has been instrumental in providing testimony to the Washington State Legislature on a bill allowing the lawful carry and sale of automatic knives to all citizens. Vellekamp has been a long-time advocate on this issue, once working with SOG founder Spencer Frazier when SOG – a member of AKTI’s Board of Regents – was based in Seattle. Again, this time around, Vellekamp has worked closely with AKTI’s advocacy group.
The bill in Washington that would allow the legal sale and carry of automatic knives has passed the Senate and is awaiting House action. We’re hopeful but wary about the bill advancing into law in Washington State this year.
The on-the-ground efforts in Vermont and Washington are being replicated in Delaware, too. There, AKTI members Geri Elliott and Matt Willey own Willey Knives, a major knife retailer in Greenwood, a town in the middle of Delaware – one of only three states still with an automatic knife ban. Willey Knives is a strong advocate for repealing Delaware’s automatic knife ban, even hosting a lunch and knife demo day for a handful of legislators at their store. CJ Buck attended the event last fall, debunking the tired myths about automatic knives with the politicians and staffers that once the realities about automatic knives are objectively considered, they are simply another way to deploy a folding knife with one hand.
The legislative process in Delaware follows a schedule different than that of Vermont or Washington, but it does seem likely that AKTI’s efforts will result in a bill being introduced in the Delaware General Assembly in the coming weeks.
While the lawmakers in the three states differ in their approaches to reforming automatic knife laws, a constant in each process is on-the-ground, in-person, personalized advocacy conducted by AKTI members who live and vote in each state.
Sure, AKTI works with a professional lobbying group, which is exceedingly helpful in directing strategy and communications. However, the messaging is more effectively delivered by constituents who bring a tangible, human touch to the lawmaking process. This is much more effective and less costly than a lobbyist hopping on a plane for every step of the legislative process.
At AKTI, we use the slogan “Stronger Together” to express how collaboration is the best way to approach the issues affecting knife owners and the knife industry. We’re not into filing lawsuits or encouraging our paid lobbyists to enact an “our way or the highway” approach. Using our relationships for level-headed advocacy is how reasonable, effective knife laws are passed. And we don’t often thump our chest about it, either. We acknowledge where credit is due – to our members, the legislators, and their staffers.
We wait patiently for the bills to grind through the legislative processes in Delaware, Vermont, and Washington, providing support and information as needed. I look forward to the day that, as a Vermonter, I can make a “Thank You” call to Representative Noyes and Senator Brennan.
Vermont-based Matt Crawford is a Marketing Specialist for AKTI. He has worked with clients in the knife industry for over 15 years.
Vermont Automatic Repeal
Washington Auto Repeal
Delaware Knife Laws