The History & Mystery of the Balisong

Ivory Ban Moves Forwardby Mark D. ZaleskyLast month’s article

asking the question “WillIvory Be Banned?” did nothave to wait long for ananswer. Six days after pub-lication, the White Houseand the Department of theInterior announced newproposed regulations onthe sale of elephant ivoryand objects containing it.

The actual proposal hasbacked off, in theory, fromtargeting fossil ivories andhas presented an exceptionfor “bona fide antiques,”but in a practical sense theproposed ivory ban is asbad or worse than previ-ously anticipated. Thereality of the situation isthat, should these regula-

tions be approved,attempting to sell an objectcontaining any form ofivory will henceforth carrywith it a degree of risk,with the consequencesbeing seizure and possibleprosecution. How muchrisk will depend on a num-ber of factors, includinghow similar the ivory looksto elephant ivory, theagent’s knowledge of ivory,and the owner’s ability toprove the age of the object.

The very idea that old,legally obtained ivorycould be banned in thename of protecting today’selephants seems so far-fetched that it would beeasy to laugh it off. Make

By Richard D. WhiteIt is in the flight-worthy

dirigible, soaring over theSahara Desert, that we seeBrendan Fraser (as RickO’Connell) reach for hisbalisong as he heads, withhis wife Evelyn and Izzythe dirigible pilot, towardthe ancient city of Thebesin the 2001 horror thriller,“The Mummy Returns.”Exhibiting some veryimpressive balisong open-ing moves, Rick O’Connell,with his wife by his side,waits impatiently whileglancing over the woodensides of the dirigible asthey quickly approach thejungles of Ahm Shere, thehome of the pygmy mum-mies. This scene is, to bal-

isong collectors, yet anoth-er example of the continu-ing interest in this uniquefighting knife.

The historical balisong,a quick opening knifeknown to most as a “but-terfly knife” is easily rec-ognizable, even to thenovice knife collector.Described in patent textsas a “springless knife withhidden blade,” this uniquefolder has been a fascinat-ing cutlery oddity formany years. Another writ-ten account describes it intechnical terms as “a fold-ing pocket knife with twohandles counter-rotatingaround the tang such that,when closed, the blade is

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Knife World Publications, PO Box 3395, Knoxville, TN 37927 Vol. 40 No. 4 April 2014 www.knifeworld.com

This Scagel originalsold for $23,000 in 2012.If the proposed ban goesthrough, it will be ille-

gal to sell in a fewmonths.

Photo by BuddyThomason, from the

book Scagel Handmade

April 2014 Knife World Page 5

no mistake – this is a seri-ous threat. If you ownivory or anything withivory on it, from a knife toa piano, this is going to beyour problem.

* * *Ivory handled knives

are collected as beautifulor historical objects, butthere is a fundamental dif-ference between them andknives handled in antler,bone, wood or other natu-ral materials. Ivory – mostof it, anyway – has comefrom elephants, and ele-phants are beloved crea-tures that enjoy a specialstatus elevated somewhereabove most of the otheranimals and trees whoseparts have historicallybeen made into objects.

Of course ivory comesfrom dead elephants, andthere is no denying thatmost of those whose tuskshave been used as rawmaterials were killed justfor that purpose. This hasbeen true for centuries,and despite countless lawsenacted to protect the ele-phants it is no less truetoday. Through illegalpoaching, Africa’s elephantpopulations are continuingto decrease at an alarmingrate and something needsto be done if the elephantsare ultimately to be savedfor future generations.

The question, of course,is just what to do about it.

Riding a wave of popu-lar support, the U.S. gov-ernment has elected to dosomething about it, andthe latest development isthe new proposed regula-tions issued on February11, which have since beenfollowed by the issuance ofa few more details. Theseactions have caught everylaw abiding citizen whostands to suffer from themcompletely off guard andthere is no established‘ivory lobby’ prepared tofight them, nor a largecommercial interest – howcould there be, whenessentially all of the ivorybought and sold in thiscountry was importedmore than 25 years ago?(Where’s someone likePresident John F.Kennedy, a collector ofantique scrimshaw, whenyou need them to speak upfor private collectors?)

Lost in all of this is thatthe proposed regula-tions DO NOT make‘new’ ivory from freshlykilled elephants any

more illegal than it hasalready been for thelast 25 years, when the1989 enaction of theCITES ban put a stop toU.S. imports. As unbeliev-able as it may sound, whatthese regulations actuallytarget is ivory from ele-phants killed more than 25years ago, severelyrestricting an owner’s abil-ity to sell it or objects madefrom it and in many casesmaking such sales a prac-tical impossibility.

These actions, in ouropinion, may make sup-porters feel good aboutwhat they’re doing to savea beloved animal, butthere’s no evidence thatthe new ivory ban willstem the flow of illegallypoached ivory, the vastmajority of which isdemonstrably destined forChina and other Asianmarkets and not the U.S.Despite exaggeratedclaims in the press thatthe U.S. is “the second-largest retail market forillegally acquired ivory,” aSeptember 2012 FactSheet from the U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service (USFWS)states, “...we do not believethat there is a significantillegal ivory trade into thiscountry.” The USFWS isthe relevant enforcementagency, have they changedtheir opinion in the last 18months or are the ban’ssupporters just blowingsmoke?

In a practical sense, themost significant effect ofthis ban will be to crimi-nalize collectors, craftsmenand other ordinary peopleby retroactively targetingivory and ivory-containingobjects formerly purchasedthrough legal means, andbanning or greatly restrict-ing their sale which to thispoint has been completelylegal. In short, it forceshonest ivory owners toeither keep, destroy, or dis-pose of these objects – or toattempt to sell them ille-gally.

We’re going to try tobreak down the complexi-ties of this situation andexplain how you may beaffected, when, and if therewill be any way to fightback.

* * *In simplified form,

here are the newly pro-posed restrictions:

ALL SALES of Africanand Asian elephant ivory,and objects containing it,will be banned within the

U.S., with the followingexceptions:

• “Bona fide antiques”can still be legally boughtand sold – however, to doso the seller will have toprovide proof that (a) theobject is more than 100years old; (b) has not been‘repaired or modified’ withelephant ivory or otherillegal species since 1973;(c) the exact species of ele-

phant the ivory came from,and (d) that the ivoryentered at a port designat-ed for the import of ESAantiques.

While it may appear ata glance that true antiquescould still be bought andsold simply by meetingthese requirements, a clos-er look makes it clear thatif it is possible, it will bemade prohibitively time

consuming and expensiveto acquire in all butextreme cases.Certification of age by anexpert apparently will berequired, but neither thecredentials required of theexpert nor the evidencethat will be accepted asproof are clear at this time.There’s no way of knowinguntil the regulations are

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This Randall features a beautifully carved and checkered ivory handle by TomLeshorn. If you want to sell a knife like this in the future, you’ll need proof ofwhere the ivory came from. Photo by Weyer.

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Page 6 Knife World April 2014

finalized, but with the U.S.Government involved youcan bet that this processwon’t be simple or easy.

It is not 100% certain

that requirement (c) of theabove (species identifica-tion) will be necessary fordomestic sales, as theUSFWS has in somereleases stated that it is

only required for importa-tion, but a February 26thDirector’s Order statesthat it will be enforced fordomestic sales as well.Presumably, providingproof of species willrequire some sort of labtesting such as DNA analy-sis – and no one knowshow a collector is supposedto accomplish this.

Part (d) of the above iseven more troubling; myattorney and I read this asrequiring all saleableantiques to have beenlegally imported into theU.S. after 1982, whenthese ports were firstestablished. It seemsunfathomable, but appar-ently all of the ivoryantiques in this countryprior to 1982 cannot quali-fy for the “bone fideantiques” exemption

because they have to havegone through a port andprocedure that did notexist until that year.Practically zero antiqueivory objects will meet thisqualification as written,effectively banning thesale of antique ivory.

• Objects containingivory that can be docu-mented as lawfullyimported prior to listing inCITES Appendix I (1990for African elephant; 1975for Asian elephant) orunder a CITES pre-Convention certificate orother exemption document,will be legal to sell only inintrastate commerce.

This means that if youcan document that yourknife is handled in pre-banelephant ivory, you will beallowed to sell it in thestate in which you live, but

not anywhere else nor toanyone living in anotherstate. Apparently, all ivoryless than 100 years oldthat cannot be document-ed, cannot be sold.Obviously, paper documen-tation is unlikely to existfor ivory imported whenthere were no laws againstits purchase or sale, whichwill make such proof virtu-ally impossible for all ivoryobjects older than the1970s but less than 100years old.

• Other forms of ivory(such as mammoth,mastodon, hippo, boar,etc.) are not targetedunder this ban; however,existing ivory laws are stillin effect and the burden ofproof is upon the owner.

Can you prove that theivory on a given knife is

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Above left: Alfred Hunter bowie knife with carved ivory handles, made in Newark,NJ c.1830s-1840s; if legal under the proposed regulations it will likely require anavalanche of paperwork to sell (Buddy Thomason photo). Above: Vintage Lile-lock folder by Jimmy Lile with engraved frame and scrimshawed ivory insertswould require documentation of the ivory’s origin to sell.

fossil ivory and not ele-phant? When the piece inquestion isn’t from theexterior of the tusk, andthe end grain isn’t visible,this can be a difficult task.Documentation of suchknives from knifemakers ishenceforth going to be cru-cial.

• The importation of allelephant ivory into theU.S., with a few very spe-cific exceptions, is banned.

• The export of all ele-phant ivory from the U.S.is banned, except for bonafide antiques.

• Simple possession ofivory remains legal – butsince you can’t legally sellbanned objects, they haveno financial value.

A major shift in this pro-posal is that the enforcingagency will no longer haveto prove that the ivory inquestion was illegallyacquired – the burden ofproof is now upon theowner, rather than theenforcing agency. Unlikethe innocent-until-proven-guilty approach the U.S.legal system takes withmost civil and criminalcases, the owners of objectscontaining ivory are nowguilty-until-proven-inno-cent. That alone ought tobe enough to convey theseriousness of the situa-tion.

The penalties faced byviolators, under theEndangered Species Act,can be up to one year inprison and a $100,000 finefor an individual, andincrease exponentially ifthe violation is considered

trafficking or if false state-ments or documents areinvolved.

ARE THESE BEINGENFORCED YET?

At the moment, as weunderstand it, the aboveregulatory changes aremerely proposals.However, part (2) of theFebruary 26th Director’sOrder from the USFWSindicates that “rigorousenforcement” hasalready begun for ivoryimport, export, and saleacross state boundaries.Selling ivory and ivoryproducts in interstatecommerce – that’sacross a state boundaryor to a person fromanother state – is a veryrisky activity right now.

WHAT DOES THEFUTURE HOLD?

There’s a wave of politi-cal support at work here,with a large number offolks intent on throwinggood sense to the wind in aquest to solve a global

April 2014 Knife World Page 7

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Upper left: What’s a piano doing here? This old piano will be just as illegal to sellas ivory handled knives under the ban, unless you replace the keys with synthet-ic ones. If you sell the family piano, you’ll have committed a federal offense! Above: This ivory handled Lawndale-era Loveless was made before internationalivory laws existed, so no documentation was required to import the ivory in thefirst place. Without documentation, however, you won’t be able to sell it.

April 2014 Knife World Page 17

problem with a U.S. basedsolution. Yes, those of uswho have a financialinvestment at stake aregoing to try to fight it, butsomething bad is going tohappen – the only questionis how bad it’s going to be.

It appears that we areheaded for a final rule bythe end of June, and a peri-od for public comment isanticipated before then(perhaps in April.) While itwould be helpful to voiceyour opinion on this mat-ter to your congressmen,the Department of theInterior, and the USFWStoday, the organized effortto fight these unfair regu-lations is still comingtogether as this is written.

We understand thatKnife Rights, the NRA,and Safari ClubInternational are threeorganizations preparing tofight the proposed regula-

tions; it’s not presentlyknown what others (if any)will join them. Some curso-ry internet searching willverify that musical instru-ment enthusiasts,antiques dealers, and fineart collectors are up inarms as well, but whetherthey can organize quicklyenough to fight this battleremains to be seen.

Things are changingvery quickly right now, andKNIFE WORLD will con-tinue to follow this story asit unfolds. For the latestinformation, we suggestyou follow the Knife Rightso r g a n i z a t i o n(kniferights.org), and we’llendeavor to post anyaction alerts on our web-site, www.knifeworld.com.

[DISCLAIMER: KnifeWorld does not providelegal advice and the opin-ions in this article shouldnot be treated as such.]

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This damascus mediterranean dirk by National Living Treasure bladesmith JerryFisk features a fluted handle of pre-ban elephant ivory. Without documentation thatthe ivory was imported legally, it will not be legal to sell under the ban.

This mammoth ivory handled beauty by Kevin Caseyis excluded from the proposed regulations – but inte-rior sections are difficult to disinguish from ele-phant ivory and may be mistaken for it.

Photo by SharpByCoop

Photo by Chuck Ward

Being about 90 years oldand undocumentable, this

old OVB budding knife withivory spud cannot be sold

legally under the ban.