Former Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey is suing Kershaw Knives for making a knife that nearly severed his finger and forced him to quit the famed dog sled race last year, according to Anchorage Daily News (h/t BladeForums.com).

Seavey was using a Kershaw folding knife, which featured a gut hook, a common tool used by mushers to slice plastic ties, when it accidentally closed on his finger. The damage was severe enough for officials to make him bow out of the race.

Seavey accuses the knife company of being negligent because of what his attorney claims to be a serious design flaw. A lever that releases the blade from locking position is in the middle of the handle and can be accidentally depressed when using the gut hook.

As a result of his injury, he was forced to quit the Iditarod when he was in fourth place. Even worse, his finger was reattached at an awkward angle, so now it gets in the way. He wants at least $100,000 in damages and lost wages.

While this is a serious injury and debilitating injury, a lot of the burden falls on Seavey to prove that it’s Kershaw’s fault and that he would have won the race.

Here’s more from Greenwich Time:

The lawsuit centers on the most essential of tools in a dog musher’s sled. A knife offers security, said Two Rivers musher Aliy Zirkle, who carries at least three blades on the trail, including one clipped to her parka.

If a dog’s leg becomes wrapped in a line or the team tangles itself around a tree, the musher must quickly cut the animals loose, she said. At checkpoints, racers use blades to slash open food bags or pry ice from frozen sled runners.

Even though knives are common in sledding, severe knife injuries are not. Of the few that happen, four-time champion Lance Mackey attributes the slices to carelessness.

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In what Knife Rights is describing as “the single most important bill for knife owners and the knife industry to pass this year,” SB432 was signed into law by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, taking effect July 1.

According to Knife Rights, the new knife preemption law effectively repeals a host of draconian knife ordinances that vary from county to county. What makes this so important is that it gets rid of knife restrictions on knife ownership, sales and manufacturing in places like Atlanta, which hosts the annual BLADE Show.

Here’s part of why it’s so important:

These local ordinances banned the possession of all sorts of knives readily available and often carried at the BLADE Show including a prohibition against carry of any automatic or any knife with a blade longer than three-inches “readily available for use.” An attendee or exhibitor could easily have run afoul of these ordinances and faced fines and jail time. The potential existed to create terrible publicity that could have jeopardized the knife world’s most important annual show! With the signing of Knife Rights drafted Knife Law Preemption bill, those threats are now eliminated.

While many knife organizations view this as a step in the right direction, it’s important to note that the law doesn’t go into effect until July 1. This means BLADE Show attendees are still susceptible to these strict laws during the show in June.

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Former Transportation Security Administration head Kip Hawley is on a media tour criticizing the inefficiency and misplaced logic of searching for insignificant tools like knives and scissors. According to ABC News, Hawley says passengers should be able to carry knives on planes because they don’t pose a significant risk.

His thinking stems around the fact that no matter how many knives someone carries on board, they’ll never be able to get into the fortified cockpit or cause major damage. Instead, he argues, TSA agents should focus on finding things like explosives or toxins, which can kill far more people and actually take down a plane.

Here’s more of Hawley’s logic explained to Charlie Rose:

“You can’t take over a plane with a knife,” he told Charlie Rose, because the cockpit doors are now secure. “It’s a risk management issue. You could say, ‘Yes, somebody could bring a knife and stab the guy next to him,’ that’s a risk. When I tried to get small scissors taken off the prohibited items list, there was a scream of, ‘There’ll be blood running in the aisles!’

“I think what risk management would dictate is you’ve got to find the bombs, because a bomb will take down a plane. And if you’re so busy fishing around looking for Swiss Army knives, it diverts your focus. So my theory is, let’s not have the officers look for knives and small things. Focus on bombs, toxins, things that could destroy the plane.”

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The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) is encouraging residents of Michigan to contact their state representatives about pending legislation that would remove the switchblade ban and reduce a ban on fixed-blade knives in the state, according to a press release from AKTI.

If this legislation passes, it would make Michigan one of many states to reverse the switchblade ban and properly clarify the definition of a gravity knife, something which has caused confusion and inconsistencies in enforcement (see NYC).

“HB 5544 provides clarity and simplicity for citizens of this State, visitors, especially those involved in the outdoor pursuits, as well as law enforcement, with respect to knives,” said Michigan state Rep. Frank Foster in the press release (pictured right). “It eliminates archaic terms, such as dirk and stiletto, and makes clear that a violation of the law occurs if a person with criminal intent carries any knife.”

Along with repealing the ban on switchblades, the legislation would also lessen the ban on fixed-blade knives. It would make the law more amenable to hunters, fishermen, hikers and those who use fixed blades for work.

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Before his death in 2012, Bob Loveless spent decades making a big impact on the knife making community by creating some of the most innovative knives around the world.

Now, his legacy is being honored in a documentary premiering on April 26 at the Beverly Hills Film Festival called “Robert Loveless, An American Legend.”

According to the film festival site, the documentary explores the legend of the man and how he became a superstar in the custom knife world. It also looks at his personality, gentle and fearless, but not without its flaws.

For those of you in the Los Angeles area, I recommend checking it out. Here’s the information about where/when/how to see the film from Joe Kertzman’s blog at Blade Magazine:

The screening will take place as follows:

Clarity Theater
100 North Crescent Drive
Beverly Hills

Red Carpet at 5:30 p.m.
Film Runs from 6:00 – 7:20 p.m.

This will be followed immediately by a cocktail reception. For those who will join Wormser, Lucarelli and Ellis, they are also hosting a pre-theatre get-together at 4:00 p.m. at Mel’s Diner, 8585 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.

Please RSVP to Ed Wormser at edw11@aol.com.

Although there’s no information on whether the film is currently slated for a wider release, it’ll be interesting to see if it comes out on DVD for knife enthusiasts to buy.