After the passage of the Switchblade Knife Act in the U . S . in 1958, it was discovered that some U . S . businesses were importing folding stiletto knives without spring mechanisms which did not have a pronounced blade heel ( internal surface ) in the pivot area allowing the longer 11 and 13 inch-bladed models to easily flick open.
42.
Over time, the term " stiletto " has been used as a general descriptive term for a variety of knife blades exhibiting a narrow blade with minimal cutting surfaces and a needle-like point, such as the U . S . V-42 stiletto, while in American English usage, the name " stiletto " can also refer to a switchblade knife with a stiletto-or bayonet-type blade design.
43.
During the late 1950s, after a series of lurid magazine articles and Hollywood films helped to sensationalize youth gangs and violence, Yates called for legislation to ban automatic-opening or switchblade knives, proclaiming that " Vicious fantasies of omnipotence, idolatry . . . barbaric and sadistic atrocities, and monstrous violations of accepted values spring from the cult of the weapon, and the switchblade knife is included in this.
