I’m going on a camping trip to the US, so one of the essential tools everybody needs is a good camping knife. Problem is, I don’t want to get in trouble at the border because of some technicality I didn’t know about. Are one-hand opening knives legal to bring over in the US? All the knives I own are from the US, so I don’t see how they could be illegal there, but some Border Patrol guy told me on the phone that one-hand knives are illegal, at least in North Dakota (I’m not actually travelling there, but that’s where I phoned). I have heavily researched the laws, and I have found no evidence that one-handed knives should be illegal in the US. Heck, they’re legal in Canada, and we have tough weapon laws.
Customs and Border Protection does not prohibit the importation of swords, although your local police jurisdiction might have regulations restricting having these weapons in your home. Switchblade knives* and other spring-loaded Knives are prohibited and may be subject to seizure (there is an exception for one-armed persons).
*According to the Federal Switchblade Act, folding knives with a blade bias toward closure are not considered switchblades