Obscure Object of Desire: Arsenal RS-1 Knife/Revolver

January 20, 2015

I rolled into Las Vegas two days early because the distributor in my truck started acting up and cut my coyote hunting trip short. So while I was here, I decided to check out a few of the local gun shops in town. One of the stores I visited was the Gun Garage. Looking at their display case, one item really caught my eye: an Arsenal RS-1 GRAD-style .22 Short 6 shot revolver . . .

Gun Garage has a knowledgeable staff, and a decent collection of rifles, pistols, and tactical accessories for sale, as well. Perhaps the biggest draw for tourists, however, is its very nice (clean, modern, well lit etc.) indoor range and rental guns, which include a good selection of pistols and full-auto SMGs and assault rifles. They even had a shuttle to ferry customers to and from the Strip. But I didn’t try out the range, because we will be firing tons of guns at Media Range Day using “OPM,” so I will save my $$$ for other Vegas attractions!

In any event, I couldn’t resist sharing photos of this neat little contraption. Although arguably novel and impractical, this is the type of James Bond gadgetry I love. A buddy of mine has a Zippo lighter that fires a .22 short, but this thing is even cooler: A knife that fires 6 shots of .22 short!

In the photo below, you can see the 6-chamber cylinder and the other internals.

The business end has a small sharp spike, which is intended to remind the shooter to keep his or her fingers away from the muzzle:

Here you can see the trigger in its firing position. Pushing the trigger down (i.e. towards the knife handle) fires the revolver.

Before you ask, yes, this is an NFA item. It’s classified as an “Any other weapon” (“AOL”), which is a catch-all category defined as “any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive,” other than a handgun with a rifled barrel. Examples of AOWs include homemade improvised guns (aka: “zip guns”), disguised firearms (wallet guns, cane guns, knife guns, pen guns, etc), as well as any pistol that has a second vertical pistol grip intended for two handed firing. An AOW requires a $5 BATF stamp (as opposed to the $200 stamp required for machine guns and short barreled rifles).

The price of admission, however, not cheap. $2,300.00 (plus the BATFE paperwork, and tax) takes her home. Apparently, Arsenal only made a very limited run of these gizmos, so they are pretty rare. I’ve never seen one before, but a quick “google” search pulled up some past samples for sale, and they all hovered in this ball park (2K) price range.

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29 COMMENTS

General Zod January 20, 2015 At 16:04

Yyyyyeeeaaaaa–no.
Fed Up January 20, 2015 At 16:07

Ok, so it’s a ‘hammerless’ revolver.
Does that make it DAO?
Tom in Oregon January 20, 2015 At 16:30

I still kick myself for not getting one of those pen guns when they first came out.
- Howard moore January 20, 2015 At 20:34
  
  I barely remember a teargas pen my mother had it shot a cartridge out that at close range would penetrate a human I think it might have been 38 calaber it kinda looked like a sharpie with a bolt sticking out of the side when you released the bolt it fired mom got rid of it because she was scared of it she was not however scared of her other fire arms lol
  - Curtis in IL January 20, 2015 At 23:13
    
    Punctuation, man. It’s a thing.
Locke_N_Load January 20, 2015 At 16:38

So when I’m old and want to make a cane gun, after the AOW stamp, can I carry it with my CHL?
- mlloyd January 20, 2015 At 18:18
  
  Against the law in Washington State. A CWP in Washington is specifically for pistols, nothing else. The blade is too long. You would get busted with it. Now if it had a shorter blade, then the NFA item would be OK. NFA items doesn’t mean diddly squat if it’s against state law, like full auto is in Washington.
cmeat January 20, 2015 At 16:47

ahh, luis bunuel. he made me aware of terrorism as a teen.
Former Water Walker January 20, 2015 At 17:18

I think one could make one for a whole lot LESS…
Phil COV January 20, 2015 At 17:46

“Maybe if it came in 45ACP…”
HA! First!
- Toby in KS January 20, 2015 At 19:59
  
  As long as its all steel construction. That polymer stuff makes your wrist hurt..
David P. January 20, 2015 At 17:57

It’s AOW unless you put it against your shoulder, then it’s an SBR and $195 more!!
- Bfree January 20, 2015 At 18:37
  
  LoL
Geoff PR January 20, 2015 At 18:30

$2300 and all it chambers is short?

Gee, lemme think about it…

A while longer…

No.

Next?
Matt January 20, 2015 At 18:35

The machine work looks nice.
Cinnamon Joe January 20, 2015 At 21:22

Did they add the .22 short revolver because it was a knife? Or did they add the knife because it was a .22 short revolver?
John Doe January 20, 2015 At 21:42

Eh. The Apache did it first, AND it also was a pair of brass knuckles. Boom.
mk10108 January 20, 2015 At 21:44

YOUR distributor was “acting up”….Good GOD man please extract yourself from the 80’s and get into the mechanical 21st century.
- Joe Grine January 20, 2015 At 22:55
  
  Oh please… Its an old Nissan Xterra… its my camping truck! The BMW and the Porsche 911 don’t do well on back country dirt roads where I hunt coyotes.
  - sigmon January 21, 2015 At 21:31
    
    Guess you have not watched BBC “TOP GEAR” …..You’d see what/ and where, a Porsche and Beemer – along with many other more snooty automobiles, can really go and do !
    - Joe Grine February 16, 2015 At 18:44
      
      Oddly, there is a big difference between what “my” BMW can do and what I can do when I’m driving someone else’s BMW -if you catch my drift. 🙂
Don in PA January 20, 2015 At 22:02

From the pictures it looks well manufactured, but the price and the NFA issue places this in the “rich guy novelty item” category.
bontajoe January 20, 2015 At 23:37

I love this kind of gadget, and I don’t know why
seth January 21, 2015 At 02:54

A knife you can bring to a gun fight?!?
- jwm January 21, 2015 At 07:39
  
  a gun you can bring to a knife fight. Always cheat.
sigmon January 21, 2015 At 21:42

Hummmmmm,

If had a bladed -rifled barrel or a rifled Barreled -blade ( not just gun concealed in the straight handle)
and a stubby grip……………
Would it then, not be a NFA AOW …? just pondering
Jon January 22, 2015 At 10:42

My questions are how do you prevent accidental firing, and how do you safely de-cock it once the firing mechanism is out?

Here’s a video BTW:
http://youtu.be/9BXy_8rb6_w
- Jon January 22, 2015 At 10:46
  
  An up-close look at it:
  http://youtu.be/yJ5s39VivNU
Roady July 18, 2015 At 00:33

You are correct that the transfer fee for AOW is $5, BUT TO register an AOW you must pay a $200 TAX. It is the same for a wallet holster. This is straight from the ATF::
“From: EPS Directorate [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2010 1:18 PM
To: MF
Subject: RE: When will I receive an answer for this?

Mr. F

The ATF has ruled that the Pager Pal concealable wallet holster is an AOW, “Any other Weapon” as defined in The National Firearms Act, Title 26, U.S. Code, Chapter 53, 5845, (e).
Any other weapon. The term ‘any other weapon’ means any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive ,
a pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell, weapons with combination shotgun and rifle barrels 12 inches or more, less than 18 inches in length,
from which only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading, and shall include any such weapon which may be
readily restored to fire. Such term shall not include a pistol or a revolver having a rifled bore, or rifled bores, or weapons designed, made, or intended to be fired
from the shoulder and not capable of firing fixed ammunition.

The Pager Pal concealable wallet holster is legal to own as long as the AOW is registered with the ATF and $200 tax is paid.

We trust the foregoing has been responsive to your inquiry, If you have any further questions, please contact us.

ATF – Enforcement Programs and Services