Knife legislation is legislation regarding knives. As knives can be used as offensive weapons, carrying knives in public is forbidden by law in many countries and K 12 schools. Exceptions may be made for hunting knives, and for knives used for work-related purposes (e.g. chef's knives). Carrying or possessing automatic knives (switchblades) by civilians is often banned. Butterfly knives (Balisongs) are also frequently restricted due to an impression of connection with gang activity. A notable exception is Austria, where civilian possession of automatic knives including double-edged automatic OTF ("out the front") daggers is legal. New, assisted opening knives where the blade is partially opened manually but the opening is finished by another mechanism (such as a torsion bar) are currently a "grey area" in many countries as the courts and legislature have yet to catch up with development. Most Western European nations are very unfriendly toward all knives other than small pocket knives and similar small tools. Carrying knives on commercial airplanes is subject to many prohibitions which vary too frequently to be listed here.
