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Thread: Out The Front (OTF) knives

  1. #81
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clusterfrack View Post
    That's interesting. I totally believe it. I've found that the UTX-85 carries more easily than even smaller blades because of the narrow profile. Adding DragonGrip decals helps a lot with making the smooth handle more grippy. So far, the decals have not come off, even after spraying with RemOil to clean and lube. Applying them to an alcohol-cleaned surface, and heating gently with a heat gun may have helped.





    I agree. The older Benchmade OTFs are pretty crude in comparison to Microtechs or Guardians. I haven't had a chance to play with the new ones, but they sure cost more for what you get, and don't have Microtech's track record. I also haven't felt a Hogue, but what I've read is encouraging.
    I haven't handled an 85, but I much prefer my Troodon to the Ultratech. It's not much thicker, but feels better/more secure in the hand.

  2. #82
    Deadeye Dick Clusterfrack's Avatar
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    At a USPSA match this evening, a guy’s Benchmade Infidel OTF somehow opened in his pocket and he poked his leg and cut his hand fairly seriously.
    "You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
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  3. #83
    Gray Hobbyist Wondering Beard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clusterfrack View Post
    At a USPSA match this evening, a guy’s Benchmade Infidel OTF somehow opened in his pocket and he poked his leg and cut his hand fairly seriously.
    That's exactly the thing I was worried about when I got interested in getting an OTF.

    Is there a "best practices" for carrying an OTF auto?
    " La rose est sans pourquoi, elle fleurit parce qu’elle fleurit ; Elle n’a souci d’elle-même, ne demande pas si on la voit. » Angelus Silesius
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  4. #84
    Deadeye Dick Clusterfrack's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wondering Beard View Post
    That's exactly the thing I was worried about when I got interested in getting an OTF.

    Is there a "best practices" for carrying an OTF auto?
    Get a good one, that locks in the closed condition with a hardened steel gate, and requires significant pressure to unlock and fire. Eg. Microtech. I'm less concerned about mine coming open than I am with a folder.

    Sorry, that was snarky. I don't know why this knife opened, and it was probably user error. I'm annoyed with Benchmade for other reasons, and their OTFs seem ok, although a bit loose.
    Last edited by Clusterfrack; 07-16-2020 at 10:55 AM.
    "You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
    Shabbat shalom, motherf***ers! --Mordechai Jefferson Carver

  5. #85
    Site Supporter dontshakepandas's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clusterfrack View Post
    Get a good one, that locks in the closed condition with a hardened steel gate, and requires significant pressure to unlock and fire. Eg. Microtech. I'm less concerned about mine coming open than I am with a folder.

    Sorry, that was snarky. I don't know why this knife opened, and it was probably user error. I'm annoyed with Benchmade for other reasons, and their OTFs seem ok, although a bit loose.
    I don't have any data to back this up, but I feel having the switch on the flat of the knife rather than the side makes it a little more likely. I carry my Ultratech with the switch buried in the crease of my back pocket where it would be extremely unlikely for anything else in the pocket or external forces to come in contact with it. The switch being on the flat of the knife like on an Infidel is less protected and would be either directly up against your body and could be activated by sitting/standing or could be manipulated by something touching the outside of your pocket like leaning or sitting on something.

  6. #86
    Gray Hobbyist Wondering Beard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clusterfrack View Post
    Get a good one, that locks in the closed condition with a hardened steel gate, and requires significant pressure to unlock and fire. Eg. Microtech. I'm less concerned about mine coming open than I am with a folder.

    Sorry, that was snarky. I don't know why this knife opened, and it was probably user error. I'm annoyed with Benchmade for other reasons, and their OTFs seem ok, although a bit loose.
    No worries about the snark, 1) I didn't notice it and 2) I don't have an OTF presently and it probably would be illegal to carry in my jurisdiction, so I don't have any prejudices about brands; my present interest is more about the "cool new toy" than anything else but I do like my "cool new toys" to be reliable and safe to the same degree that my real world use tools are; thus your, and others, experience with OTFs is very much of interest to me before I decide to buy. I do, however, worry about the internal complexity of the mechanism (compared to a regular folder) and thus its reliability, safety and capability to handle all the nasty stuff that comes along (and gets inside it) in daily life; and I also naturally wonder if there is, or should be, a sort of "proper handling rules" for an auto that are different than for handling a regular folder.

    That's why I keep reading this thread, to keep learning. :-)
    " La rose est sans pourquoi, elle fleurit parce qu’elle fleurit ; Elle n’a souci d’elle-même, ne demande pas si on la voit. » Angelus Silesius
    "There are problems in this universe for which there are no answers." Paul Muad'dib

  7. #87
    Smoke Bomb / Ninja Vanish Chance's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clusterfrack View Post
    These knives are hard to open for people with limited hand strength.
    Or when your hands are self-lubricating. On some number of occasions have I pulled my Microtech out of my pocket only to find it literally impossible to open due to how slick my hands were. These grip decals may be just what I needed.

    But yeah, "fidget spinner" is exactly how I would describe these things. I abandoned it as a self-defense concept shortly after buying it, even though I still carry it everywhere because it's really neat. I've gotten desensitized to opening the thing after having had it for so long, and have accidentally caused alarm on more than one occasion for using it when I probably should have known better.
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  8. #88
    Deadeye Dick Clusterfrack's Avatar
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    Out The Front (OTF) knives

    Here are some images I pulled from a Microtech disassembly video. You can see how the hardened steel gates hold the blade in place, but the spring is only partially tensioned until the slider is moved to the opposite end of its channel, which releases the gate. It seems like a failure point is the gate. If the close-gate was stuck, it wouldn't hold the blade in, and if the open-gate was stuck the blade wouldn't stay open under pressure. Seems like both gates are easy enough to test every now and then by partially depressing the slider.


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    Last edited by Clusterfrack; 07-16-2020 at 03:40 PM.
    "You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
    Shabbat shalom, motherf***ers! --Mordechai Jefferson Carver

  9. #89
    Site Supporter JodyH's Avatar
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    Having the slide on the flats versus the spine is definitely a factor when it comes to accidental activation in a pocket.
    I could see something catching the clip as you kneeled down which would push the knife up. If the pocket was tight enough that the slide was pressed against your leg at the same time the slide might stay put as the knife move up, effectively pushing the slide forward and firing the blade.
    I wanted a Hawk Deadlock, but after playing with one... no way. That thing has way too smooth and light of an action for pocket carry IMO.

    On my Microtechs I don't see that happening. The pocket clips are all pretty tight so they resist being pushed up and out of the pocket inadvertently, and the slides take a manly push to activate.

    My HALO VI has a side plunger but it also has a mini-slide lock on the plunger so again it would be very difficult to accidently launch.
    A pocket launch with the single action HALO could be ugly. On a single action the blade is under constant ejection spring tension, the springs keep forcing the blade open until it locks unlike a double action in which a partial opening leaves you with a floppy untensioned blade.
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  10. #90
    Deadeye Dick Clusterfrack's Avatar
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