What legally constitutes a "weapon"? I remember reading an interview in Playboy with actor James Garner; he talked about a case of road rage where he was assaulted by another driver, who knocked him to the ground and proceeded to kick him several times. The guy was convicted of "assault with a deadly weapon" - his shoes.

I can understand that ANYTHING is legally a weapon if used as such. And I understand that a firearm is treated differently, but I also understand that the laws governing firearms address firearms specifically. (e.g. robbery with a firearm is different from robbery with a weapon).

Why is a child with a steak knife legally considered different from a child with a softball bat or a child wearing shoes? All three could be used as weapons, and all three have perfectly benign uses which are more common.

Do the laws in these jurisdictions specifically single out knives as being weapons by assumption?