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My country's police just busted a dangerous 3d printed weapons manufacturer. (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 months ago by Wispy2891@lemmy.world to c/3dprinting@lemmy.world
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Article: https://tg.la7.it/cronaca/bolzano-coltelli-stampante-3d-a-scuola-denunciato-minore-26-01-2026-251562

Local student arrested for 'manufacturing weapons.' In reality, he printed some PLA shivs that would probably shatter if they hit a piece of parmesan cheese. The police seized the printer like it was a meth lab. 10/10 for the dramatic crime scene photo, though.

(Backstory: a few weeks ago a student in another city/school was stabbed with a (iron) knife and died so now politicians need to show that zero tolerance policies are successful.)

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[-] entwine@programming.dev 27 points 2 months ago

I don't get it, are knives illegal in Italy? What if I want to cut my spaghetti?

[-] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 35 points 2 months ago

What if I want to cut my spaghetti?

[-] squaresinger@lemmy.world 22 points 2 months ago

This is the really weird thing. If these knives were made of metal and in a kitchen drawer, nobody would think of them as being weapons. But since they are 3d printed, that's novel enough to warrant some panic or something...

[-] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 months ago

Not sure how rules are in Italy, but where I live "switchblades" and other one-hand operated collapsible knives are illegal.

[-] Jocarnail@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

Afaik, all single hand operation deployment knives are illegal in Italy. It's somewhat of a nonsensical rule when there are teenagers stabbing themselves with kitchen knives, but still...

[-] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

You can make surprisingly sharpb objects, I once cut myself with my printed bed-scraper by accident.

These printed knives can absolutely also be used to hurt/kill someone, if you wanted to...like all type of knives and basic cutlery really...these being an illegal type is the trigger here I believe.

[-] Test_Tickles@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Let's just hope that the politicians never realize the danger of sharpened sticks or they might ban trees and bushes too.

[-] treep@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

I could probably poke out some eyes with my knitting needles, glad nobody banned those (yet)!

[-] Test_Tickles@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Wow. Just announcing your terrorist plans right out in the open. Bold of you.

[-] Jocarnail@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Of course, I never intended to imply that a plastic knife would not be dangerous

[-] Jocarnail@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

It's not because they are 3d printed. He was distributing them at school! That is the problem.

If he were to file down toothbrushes and do the same he would still be arrested and his files confiscated.

[-] JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Spring assisted switchblades are illegal in quite a few countries, so I imagine they are in Italy as well. Still completely ridiculous, as these are plastic toy replicas, and not actual knives.

[-] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 months ago

most of those classic stiletto switchblades are manufactured in italy

[-] teft@piefed.social 4 points 2 months ago

Often even unassisted switchblades are illegal. They're called gravity knives.

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

Just to be pedantic, gravity knives aren’t switchblades.

They have a blade that slides freely (and under the force of gravity.) the grip is basically a hinged nutcracker that, when closed, traps the sliding blade either deployed or retracted.

In any case, they’re no more dangerous than your standard folding knives of the same general proportions.

The illegality of certain knives (switch blades, gravity knives, balisongs, etc) are largely not based on the danger or actual use of those knives as weapons.

In the US it’s usually reactionary and racism.

[-] teft@piefed.social 1 points 2 months ago

Gravity knives are considered switchblades in many jurisdictions.They aren't spring assisted switchblades. They are gravity assisted hence the name. Switchblade just means any knife you open with a switch or button. Don't take my word for it though, go read the first line of the wikipedia page on switchblades.

In any case, they’re no more dangerous than your standard folding knives of the same general proportions.

Often they are less dangerous since they can fail to deploy (especially an OTF spring assisted switchblade). I had a sweet benchmade switchblade when I was in the army but alas it got lost at some point. That knife was the best for one handed box cutting.

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

maybe instead go to the wikipedia page for 'Gravity Knife'

or just read my comment more fully. Gravity knives don't have switches. or buttons. If you're considering the hinge mechanism that allows a gravity knife to operate, then practically any folder is a "switch blade" and that's just not true.

from the wiki I linked:

A gravity knife is a knife with a blade contained in its handle, which opens its blade through the force of gravity. This mechanism of opening is fundamentally different from the switchblade...

Even in gravity knives that appear to be opened by a switch or buttons... all that button is doing is unlocking the blade to allow it to be deployed or retracted. If simply having a button or switch or something is all it takes to be a switchblade, then this classic gem would also be a switchblade.

[-] teft@piefed.social 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switchblade

A switchblade (also known as switch knife, automatic knife, pushbutton knife, ejector knife, flick knife, gravity knife, flick blade, or spring knife)

Like I said, many jurisdictions consider gravity knives to be switchblades.

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 0 points 2 months ago

and many jurisdictions have laws written by people who don't have a frooking clue and are simply reacting to a knife being associated with whatever out-group happens to exist at the time.

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[-] hector@lemmy.today 5 points 2 months ago

Like butterfly knives, many places in the us too. Ny for instance, cops are taught to flick knives open to be able to charge for knives no reasonable person would think fit the gravity description I read once.

[-] Fondots@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

I don't know the knife laws in Italy, especially not for the specific part of Italy this occurred in

But often laws about switchblades and such have to do with carrying them, or occasionally selling them, but often just owning a switchblade and keeping it at home isn't really an issue

As far as manufacturing, I again don't know about the specific regulations, if there's maybe any kind of licensing or something needed, but I know for a fact that it is either not totally illegal to manufacture a switchblade in Italy, or they are *very * selectively enforcing those laws because there are some very well-known manufacturers of them based there (if I had more disposable income I've had my eye on a Frank Beltrame stiletto for a while)

[-] INeedANewUserName@piefed.social 1 points 2 months ago

I'm pretty sure 30 years ago they were legal in Italy but maybe not OTF, out the front. That seems to often be an important legal distinction.

[-] Jocarnail@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Afaik, all one hand operation deployment knives are illegal to carry in Italy. Ballisongs/butterfly knives included.

I'm not sure if there are special licenses that would allow you to carry them.

[-] turmacar@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Auto-translate is saying 'snap knife', but I'd imagine it's to do with it being deployable / spring loaded in some way.

[-] pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 2 months ago

But they didn't confiscate his kitchen knives?

[-] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago

Those probably have serial numbers and a whole tracking system lol

[-] Spesknight@lemmy.world 16 points 2 months ago

Background: there was a student stabbed to death in Liguria (whole other place) and so media is going crazy about anything knife related.

[-] 100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it 7 points 2 months ago

The students were of Egyptian and Moroccan descent, so right-wing politicians are having a field day with the whole "culture war" shit

[-] artyom@piefed.social 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

he printed some PLA shivs that would probably shatter if they hit a piece of parmesan cheese.

How big of a piece of parmesan are we talking? Ever tried to cut into a wheel of cold parmesan? It's pretty tough. Meatbags are a lot less tough.

That being said, we learned how to make knives by smashing a couple of rocks together like a thousand years ago, this ain't stopping nobody.

[-] Agent641@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

I can confirm it's much harder to stab a wheel of parmesan cheese than a person, but at least the cheese doesn't scream

[-] Evil_Shrubbery@thelemmy.club 2 points 2 months ago

Ok, I'm stabbing the cheese wrong then I guess.

[-] DaddleDew@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago

That's performative. Sucks to be the student who will have his life ruined to be made "an example" out of.

[-] ScoffingLizard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 months ago

The just d took a shortcut to filing a toothbrush. Those don't do shit a kitchen knife wouldn't do.

[-] sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.today 9 points 2 months ago

Next we'll all see more legislation to make 3D printer software monitor everything you make and auto-report anything deemed dangerous to the elite

[-] Wispy2891@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago

Poor guy even got his ams with four rolls of pla confiscated ☠️

I can't imagine getting a search warrant for toys in a teenager room.

[-] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 months ago

3D printers are not really toys though, regardless of how ridiculous this arrest is. It's a tool, like a hammer or drill...nothing more, nothing less.

[-] sj_zero@lotide.fbxl.net 8 points 2 months ago

Hopefully someday these places make murder illegal so people can't kill others without violating the law.

[-] escapeVelocity@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 months ago

This guy will go to jail and start making knives for other inmates lol

[-] Bazell@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

People who 3D print anime weapons replicas:

[-] Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 points 2 months ago

The swing speed on Guts' greatsword is so slow, the cops have plenty of time to unload 2 maybe even 3 magazines into them, so they're not as dangerous as the faster DPS weapons like daggers and shivs.

[-] SpikesOtherDog@ani.social 1 points 2 months ago

Yeah, but in this case it's less a sword and more a lump of plastic.

[-] fonix232@fedia.io 4 points 2 months ago

To be perfectly fair, a proper wheel of Parmigianino Reggiano IS quite hard...

[-] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 months ago

I'm sure they'll be introducing legislation that makes owning your own means of production onerous if not illegal within a week or two. Can't be having citizens realize they can make their own replacement parts or consumer items!

[-] Stampela@startrek.website 3 points 2 months ago

There’s a little nuance here, the kid was dumb enough to bring one of those to school, so some worry is warranted… some. Now as you can imagine this is going to have consequences, but as we do have functional gun control laws, it’ll be something inane. Probably won’t impact 3D printing at all is the upside.

[-] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 months ago

Italy is fairly rightwing and has been drifting more right over time. Don't underestimate their ability to not let a crisis go to waste!

[-] Stampela@startrek.website 1 points 2 months ago

Yeah, but we seem to like hampering the right to manifest, so I’m sure it’ll get thrown in the mix.

[-] BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz 3 points 2 months ago

Those knives sure are dangerous

Hope they will soon ban these too and put their manufacturer in jail:

[-] foodandart@lemmy.zip 0 points 2 months ago

Wow. Going after letter openers now, are they?

[-] Jocarnail@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

If you were to bring a letter opener to school and sell it to your friends you would still get a nice meeting with the police. The existence of the journal article is more related to the fact that a kid was stabbed to death in school last week, than to the fact that a dumb kid did something stupid and marginally related to his 3d printer.

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this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2026
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