High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A switchblade (also known as an automatic knife, pushbutton knife, switch, Sprenger,Springer, or, in British English, flick knife) is a type of knife with a folding or sliding blade contained in the handle which is opened automatically by a spring when a button, lever, or switch on the handle or bolster is activated (often confused with a different type of knife, the spring-assist or assisted-opening knife). A manually operated safety device fitted to most switchblades prevents the blade from opening in the event the button is accidentally depressed. Most switchblade designs incorporate a locking blade, in which the blade is locked against closure when the spring extends the blade to the fully opened position. The blade is unlocked by manually operating a mechanism that unlocks the blade and allows it to be folded and locked in the closed position.