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Thread: Recommend a decent OTF knife for me?

  1. #1
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    Recommend a decent OTF knife for me?

    I really wanted the Benchmade Infidel despite it's somewhat mixed reviews, but I can't justify spending $400+ on a knife. That's just ridiculous to me. Can anyone recommend a mid grade to low-upper grade OTF auto knife for me? Perhaps something on par with Benchmade, but maybe a little less well known (or something that doesn't mark the price up 40% just because of the name)?

    I will also consider a nice Benchmade auto (or a high end auto other than Benchmade) that opens via the side. Has to have the lock be integrated in the button that deploys it. No liner lock crap (not sure if they make an auto liner lock knife, but I don't want it if they do).

    Budget is $100-$200, but Id like to stay closer to $100, and Id really prefer an OTF knife.

    EDIT: I was considering the two in the links below, but know nothing about them. Im wary of the more expensive one, because Id hate to spend $150 on an OTF knife and find out it's garbage when I could've spent the money on a nice Benchmade auto folder, and the cheaper one because well, it's cheap.

    http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Nemesis-F...ords=otf+knife

    http://www.amazon.com/Schrade-Genera...ords=otf+knife
    Last edited by GLP Standard; 01-16-14 at 16:08.
    "...any handgun being considered for serious law enforcement or self-defense use should be chambered for a cartridge that has a 4 as its first number and preferably a 5 as the second."

  2. #2
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    Have you checked out Microtech? Still a bit pricey but I heard good things about them.

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    Have you thought about the used market? Might be able to find an Infidel for sub $300. Nice knives, but I still think that a standard folder has more utility. But then again it all depends on the person.

    As to Microtech, I own an older one and they do make a pretty damn nice knife.
    "I don't collect guns anymore, I stockpile weapons for ****ing war." Chuck P.

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    $42 @ blade play
    Last edited by filthy phil; 01-16-14 at 17:21.
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  5. #5
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    Microtech is pretty much the only name in OTF knives. If you look around you can find a UTX-70 for under $200.

    That being said, OTF knives are just novelties. You will spend more simply due to the engineering.

    I see you also mentioned an auto folder (tells me you just want it for the cool factor). Why specifically do you want an auto? As someone who has an auto in his pocket right now, I can tell you that it doesn't really matter. Just spend the money on a nice manual folder. Axis manuals are as fast as an auto, and you can close them one handed too.

    Auto knives are like F/A weapons. People that don't have them or haven't used them think that they're cool. Those that have don't see the big deal.
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    I agree microtech is the way to go for an OTF but I would rather get an axis benchmade.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trajan View Post
    Microtech is pretty much the only name in OTF knives. If you look around you can find a UTX-70 for under $200.

    That being said, OTF knives are just novelties. You will spend more simply due to the engineering.

    I see you also mentioned an auto folder (tells me you just want it for the cool factor). Why specifically do you want an auto? As someone who has an auto in his pocket right now, I can tell you that it doesn't really matter. Just spend the money on a nice manual folder. Axis manuals are as fast as an auto, and you can close them one handed too.

    Auto knives are like F/A weapons. People that don't have them or haven't used them think that they're cool. Those that have don't see the big deal.
    Id say you are correct. Ill admit it. 75% of the reason I want an auto knife is for the coolness factor. 100% of the reason I want an OTF knife is the coolness factor. 25% of the reason I want an auto knife is it really does make opening (and closing in the case of an OTF knife) much easier. I work in a medical warehouse where opening boxes and packages is a high probability (among other uses) in the day to day activities of my job. This is where pulling out and deploying the blade one handed might come in handy, hence the auto function being a nice feature to have. If I settled on a non-auto knife, I would want it to be opening assisted at the very least.

    Bottom line is, Ive been carrying the same $25 Kershaw since 2004. I want a nice knife to carry at work, and I thought something "tacticool" would be neat to have, and figured if Im going to spend the money on a new knife which I would potentially carry for 10+ years I would buy something decent. Do I need an OTF knife? Of course not, but I've always thought they were cool and would love to have one. Do I even need an auto knife? No, but again, I thought they were cool, and I think it could be beneficial in my job.

    Does anyone have any input on the OTF I posted in my first post (the more expensive one)?

    I will check out Microtech too, but I know they are extremely pricey so it's just a matter of finding a used one.
    "...any handgun being considered for serious law enforcement or self-defense use should be chambered for a cartridge that has a 4 as its first number and preferably a 5 as the second."

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trajan View Post
    Microtech is pretty much the only name in OTF knives. If you look around you can find a UTX-70 for under $200.

    That being said, OTF knives are just novelties. You will spend more simply due to the engineering.

    I see you also mentioned an auto folder (tells me you just want it for the cool factor). Why specifically do you want an auto? As someone who has an auto in his pocket right now, I can tell you that it doesn't really matter. Just spend the money on a nice manual folder. Axis manuals are as fast as an auto, and you can close them one handed too.

    Auto knives are like F/A weapons. People that don't have them or haven't used them think that they're cool. Those that have don't see the big deal.
    Slightly off topic, but I would make the argument that depending on the knife a manual model could be faster than an auto. At least in the case of my Emersons i can deploy them a hell of a lot faster than either of my friends who ran Benchmade autos for a while including on who had an Infidel. Again, slightly off topic, but I am just basically wanting to point out that opposed to some other there who think that auto knives are the fastest thing since a bullet that it is not always true.

    Back on topic.

    for OTF knives, I would also like to point out that their blades, at least in the ones I have handled, are not always the thickest. Not sure how one would hold up under hard use compared to a folder with a beefier blade. Just a thought.
    "I don't collect guns anymore, I stockpile weapons for ****ing war." Chuck P.

    "Some days you eat the bacon, and other days the bacon eats you." SeriousStudent

    "Don't complain when after killing scores of women and children in a mall, a group of well armed men who train to shoot people like you in the face show up to say hello." WillBrink

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by GLP Standard View Post
    Id say you are correct. Ill admit it. 75% of the reason I want an auto knife is for the coolness factor. 100% of the reason I want an OTF knife is the coolness factor. 25% of the reason I want an auto knife is it really does make opening (and closing in the case of an OTF knife) much easier. I work in a medical warehouse where opening boxes and packages is a high probability (among other uses) in the day to day activities of my job. This is where pulling out and deploying the blade one handed might come in handy, hence the auto function being a nice feature to have. If I settled on a non-auto knife, I would want it to be opening assisted at the very least.

    Bottom line is, Ive been carrying the same $25 Kershaw since 2004. I want a nice knife to carry at work, and I thought something "tacticool" would be neat to have, and figured if Im going to spend the money on a new knife which I would potentially carry for 10+ years I would buy something decent. Do I need an OTF knife? Of course not, but I've always thought they were cool and would love to have one. Do I even need an auto knife? No, but again, I thought they were cool, and I think it could be beneficial in my job.

    Does anyone have any input on the OTF I posted in my first post (the more expensive one)?

    I will check out Microtech too, but I know they are extremely pricey so it's just a matter of finding a used one.
    Another thing you have to keep in mind is spring durability. Eventually that spring will break. Will the knife still function without it? On a D/A OTF, no as it uses counter-balanced springs to operate. On an S/A OTF (like a HALO) it could, but I've never seen one with a broken spring (most owners/users don't really use them). If you get a regular push button auto, like a Benchmade AFO, Protech, or Microtech LUDT, when the spring breaks, you can still push the button and flick it open, just like you open a manual Axis. No experience with auto-Axis knives.

    My personal experience with one assisted knife is not positive. When that spring broke (twice) the entire knife locked up. Couldn't open or close the blade, it was stuck halfway open. That was an assisted axis, so I'm not sure if that was a problem with that particular design or assisted knives in general. Even when it is working, I just don't see why I would take it over a plain old griptilian.

    From a tool perspective, if you're going to be opening and closing it quite often, I would just get a manual axis knife. You can close that too with just one hand.

    Kain is correct on the wave feature. Once you get the technique down, it (Emerson wave feature) really is the fastest method of deployment from the pocket of a folder.

    If you must, buy a cheap OTF knife to get the bug out of your system. The auto opening and closing will get out of your system rather quickly. I'd spend the rest of the money on a decent BM Axis knife for work. Griptilians are great general use knives. 940 Osbornes are great if you want something fancier.
    Dogma is failure - Ken Hackathorn

    Only performance counts - Paul Sharp

  10. #10
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    If toy really want an OTF auto, Microtech is the way to go. Their Ultratech model is what I decided to go with. It's way cool for sure, and scary sharp out of the box. However I rarely carry it. My Spyderco PM2 always seems to find its way into my pocket.

    I suggest you go with a high quality mid to high end production folder. Benchmade, Spyderco, or ZT. You will appreciate a quality blade, and eventually end up getting an OTF for fun!

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