Even bigger than I was expecting.
Even bigger than I was expecting.
I own a Heretic Hydra. Black blade with a dark green handle. Excellent quality. Heretic is owned by the son of the Microtech owner. I own three Microtech knifes and the Hydra appears to be the same quality. The Hydra is not as long as the Halo. It does have a cool blade design that looks exceptional with a tanto shape. It also has a neat safety. You push the cover out of the way to reach the button.
I think (do not really know) that the DA OTF knifes are not as durable as the SA OTF knives. I think the plunger locking mechanism is more robust.
That spring loaded button cover is brilliant. I like the H pocket clip, too. Checks a lot of boxes, to my point of view. I had not seen these yet, thanks for posting.Originally Posted by WOLFIE
Ok, now I'm impressed:
" 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
[QUOTE=Totem Polar;1132513]That spring loaded button cover is brilliant. I like the H pocket clip, too. Checks a lot of boxes, to my point of view. I had not seen these yet, thanks for posting.
You are welcome. The videos do not do the design justice. The Hydra has more strength and hits harder when opening than the DA autos. Heretic does make DA autos and I may buy one soon. Their standard DA comes in three sizes
In a single-action design the spring only needs to function one direction and you have a nice big lever to retract it with once fired, which is why it snaps open with authority and 'recoil'.
But you do lose one major feature (for me) of the double-action design which is the one-handed closing.
Having run the UTX-85 everyday for just over a month now I've had zero inclination to change anything significant about the design. The size is right, the action is great, and I love the tanto blade. It definitely does not lock-up as tight as a frame-lock folder. But then again, I don't have to worry about the knife collapsing onto my fingers if the lock fails either.
The only thing I would really change is for Microtech to go to a full flat grind on their blades. Their little 'pseudo-hollow grind' does make getting a hair popping sharp edge difficult. I find the knife almost impossible to strop which I don't care for. It's a minor complaint overall and once I managed to get it nice and sharp, I've been able to keep the edge there with minimal maintenance.
I like the tanto blade as well. I think a DA may be better for work. I could need to close and put away a knife in a hurry. I may not have the luxury of pulling back the lever and not making a mistake with a more complicated procedure. But there is the cool factor of the SA
@RoyGBiv, responding to your post in this thread. I've always been disappointed with auto folders. I really want to like them because a lot of them are just so cool. Maybe Autos used to offer an advantage before folders became easy to open using studs, holes, waves, and flippers? But now, it's just added complexity for no good reason. Even with gloves, I can operate a good flipper more easily than any auto folder I've tried. Flippers have matured to the extent that I don't even see the need for an assist. And the Emerson wave works even better.
But for me, OTF autos do have some novel and useful features that make their complexity and expense worthwhile:
- single handed opening and closing
- easy to use while wearing gloves
- ambidextrous carry
- unlikely to open in a pocket, compared to some folders (depending on model)
- double-edge blades
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
Ok OTFers - has anyone else found that their knives like to be run dry?
I dropped a couple of drops of silicone oil on my blade, figuring the action could use a bit of oil and closed it. The result was a blade that would not reliably open or close until I flung off most of the oil and wiped the blade down with alcohol to remove any residual oil, now it's back to normal.
This is literally the only device I've ever found that works better dry than wet (phrasing).
I haven't tested this, but my guess is that viscous damping from liquid lubricants slows the action to the point of failure. There really isn't that much energy involved in launching or retracting the blade--approximately the amount you apply to the toggle.
Microtech recommends cleaning and lubricating by saturating the action with RemOil, a light PTFE-based CLP that dries out. The Hawk Deadlock comes with some lube for the cam system, but the slide channel is dry.
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
Reply With Quote