The ballistic knife was a soviet invention of the 1970s and was used by members of the soviet special forces during the Afghan war. It is a side arm that is most suitable close up hand to hand combat. Its spring handle has a tension that is capable of shooting off at a velocity large enough to penetrate at least six inches into a human body. However it does not penetrate body armor and at a distance does no harm.
Applications of the ballistic knife is mostly in areas of military combat and not many civilians have any use for it. Its spring handle makes it better for field use than a manually thrown knife and it was used to train forces in knife throwing.
Some people may want to use the ballistic knife as hunting knife but in some countries it is illegal for a civilian to possess the knife. You may need to acquire a license to keep such a knife so if you want to buy one, consult the authorities for their policies.
The ballistic knife can be picked up wherever it fell and reused for the needed purposes. This makes it a suitable weapon for field battles and wars. To use the knife, you need to pull the pin before it can fire. This helps protect you from injuring yourself accidentally when the knife is tucked away in the sheath. If you are a soldier, then you cannot rely solely depend on this knife as your weapon.
Movies that depict black opps group use the ballistic knife as the side arm of choice and also in various action games. This is what they were used for in real wars.
The ballistic knife is no toy so if you own one make sure that it is well kept to make sure that it does not hurt anyone. Kids should be kept away from the knife so that they do not perceive it to be some interesting toy to play with.
During the cold war, the Soviet Union built up stock piles of weapons like the Kalashnikov gun that has been trafficked by gun runners for decades. The ballistic knife was also produced in mass and is also in circulation in the black market. For those who buy this knife off the market need to know that it is a contraband product and as such you can be prosecuted for breaking the law. When the cold war was called off in 1990 the stockpiles had nowhere to go and were sneaked out of the warehouses. Thugs nowadays have access to these knives and use them to rob banks and homes and so being in possession of a ballistic knife will make you a robbery suspect and land you in a lot of trouble.
The ballistic knife has a metallic blade that is detectable by metal detectors and this makes it impossible to sneak it into buildings that are restricted. It is easily tucked away in clothing but this property makes it impossible to use it in high security areas.