Out-The-Front-Blades
- Thread starter redroad
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Can anyone guide me to some deals on OTF Bladestrueblue1776
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Quite a few major manufacturers have them, but they are really spendy, and strangely, fairly controlled. Benchmade has a really cool one, but they require an LE or Military letterhead/ID to buy one.
http://www.benchmade.com/products/product_detail.aspx?model=3300
http://www.benchmade.com/products/product_detail.aspx?model=3300
feedthehogs
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I had been looking ar MicroTech's for many years but balked at the price.
Last shot show I went to there was a new knife dist that carried Microtech's.
One of the salesman I knew from years ago and he told me to come back on the last day and he'd sell them to me for cost as they didn't want to drag them back.
Bought a Halo and Scarab.
I have had to buy them in person as it seems all the knife places I've dealt with say Federal law prohibits sales across state lines except to police and military with proper id.
Looking at the Benchmade when one shows up at the local gun show.
Last shot show I went to there was a new knife dist that carried Microtech's.
One of the salesman I knew from years ago and he told me to come back on the last day and he'd sell them to me for cost as they didn't want to drag them back.
Bought a Halo and Scarab.
I have had to buy them in person as it seems all the knife places I've dealt with say Federal law prohibits sales across state lines except to police and military with proper id.
Looking at the Benchmade when one shows up at the local gun show.
Off the top of my head these are prices I see for OTF autos.
Paragon ATKO 10 ~$175
Microtech UTX-70 ~$165, Ultratech ~$225, Troodon ~$225, HALO ~$250, Scarab ~$325, Makora ~$350
MOD Harkins Triton~ $350
Piranha Excalibur ~$350
Benchmade Infidel ~$350
Federal law restricts the seller and not the buyer.
Look at Bladeforums.com and Knifeforums.com for reviews on dealers in automatics and on the OTF knives themselves. Don't expect to pay under $150 (typically above $200) for any OTF unless you get very lucky. Prices below that jump wayyyyy down to $50 for smuggled Chinese junk.
Paragon ATKO 10 ~$175
Microtech UTX-70 ~$165, Ultratech ~$225, Troodon ~$225, HALO ~$250, Scarab ~$325, Makora ~$350
MOD Harkins Triton~ $350
Piranha Excalibur ~$350
Benchmade Infidel ~$350
Federal law restricts the seller and not the buyer.
Look at Bladeforums.com and Knifeforums.com for reviews on dealers in automatics and on the OTF knives themselves. Don't expect to pay under $150 (typically above $200) for any OTF unless you get very lucky. Prices below that jump wayyyyy down to $50 for smuggled Chinese junk.
KaceCoyote
Member
Is there a practical advantage to an OTF blade other than the obvious coolness factor? Are they any faster than a assisted opening?
I can't find a benefit of OTF over spring assist. I bought a Microtech for the cool factor and got a decent deal on it. I then bought a Camillus Heat, the Microtech hasn't seen much carry since that purchase. The Heat is a tremendous blade for the money. I believe that if a situation were to arise, the OTF may have an intimidation factor to a non-determined aggressor. BUT, the opening of the spring assist is just as fast, and in some cases, easier to access than OTF's. My Microtech can be a pain to get open, which with a pocket clipped OTF is not a bad idea- it is just a little slower to get into action. Hope this helps, Kace.
The only benefit to an OTF is that it can't fold up on your fingers and you can have a double edged blade on a knife the size of a folder. The problem is that of fixed and folding blade knives OTFs will be the weakest. Some of the Micros are strong enough for tough usage, though.
So, they're mostly cool.
So, they're mostly cool.
Blade_Zero
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- Aug 17, 2007
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- 28
The ultratech seems to be the best bang for the buck, personally, I don't see the point of a single action OTF, a dual action is more fun and dosn't nessecarly require a safety catch.
A balisong gets an equal or higher CDI score IMHO.
A balisong gets an equal or higher CDI score IMHO.
hexidismal
Member
Nobody has mentioned... there are of course those cheapy green plastic handled front opening autos.. they usually say nato military on them for some reason.. 
Im not sure where you'd get those these days, but even just a couple years ago they sold them on ebay.
Im not sure where you'd get those these days, but even just a couple years ago they sold them on ebay.
Burn him, burn him! What blasphemy!
There are better quality crappy OTF knives than those these days for $50, but by the time you payed for one every time it broke you'd be ahead on money just to have shelled out for the better knife.
hexidismal
Member
Hey now, I certainly wasn't recommending them HSO.. hehe
I was merely mentioning their existance. The OP said he wanted "deals" on front openers and didn't offer any info in the way of what range deals he was looking for. Others were mentioning quality knives that sell at expensive prices. It is possible that cheap ones were what the OP was actually looking for.
Personally I'm a benchmade fan myself.
I was merely mentioning their existance. The OP said he wanted "deals" on front openers and didn't offer any info in the way of what range deals he was looking for. Others were mentioning quality knives that sell at expensive prices. It is possible that cheap ones were what the OP was actually looking for.
Personally I'm a benchmade fan myself.
why would you even want to get a concord or lightning ? you will only regret not saving the $cratch for a mt . if you have the funds ( $500.00 to $9,999.00) and the patients ,dkw sandshark is the best PERIOD. microtech is the mercedes benz of the industry. dkw ss is the rolls royce of them. any mt is great. not hard to get and your otf jones will be satisfied for a long time. dkw will satisfy forever. i know first hand. many great ones. paragon atk10 ,pirahna ex calibur ,actually the benchmade infidel 3300 mchenry has gotten bad reviews. taken apart and compared to each other for strenght ,lockup and blade power ,the list goes something like this. dkw 1(not even in the same class as 3 of the 4. only mt and surprisingly pirahna come somewhat close. but not to close to the sandshark. mt 2 pirahna ex cal 3 paragonatk10 4 and sadly given thier reputation,the bm infidel who has put way to little strenght in its new born. i will bet that it will be greatly improoved with its evolution. the long shot that gives quality for a very reasonable price ,pirahna excalibur. a good choice for a little less than $390.00. this comes from experts that take them apart. not me ,dont have the nerve. good luck. anyone who might want instant money for a decent dkw ss. just email [email protected] name the price. we'll see.
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jahwarrior
Member
i personally can't justify spending more than $200 on a auto, when i ccan get a kick ass folder for that. nevertheless, try www.bladehq.com or www.bladeplay.com for OTF blades. the first one has all the ridiculously overpriced knives, the second has the more reasonable prices, and the aforementioned "cheapies." and they don't require LEO or military ID. i ordered an old fashioned rizzuto-style swinguard from them, with no issues.
oh, yeah, also check www.knifezilla.com....
oh, yeah, also check www.knifezilla.com....
i have learned this lesson time and time again ,YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. it is not just a cliche ,it is true. otf's are very expensive . tue. but who are you to say they are overpriced? true some companies try to make 100% profit .but they get found out quickly. but a good ,honest company that is making a fair profit ,for making a otf available is not causing h igh prices . the knife itself is extrodinary. out of the norm . the workings of a knife like my dkw sandshark are bringing technilogical formulas and tolerances and new ways to do so much in just about no space. a side open auto and a otf auto ,are like night and day, the technology needed to create a otf is so much more complicated and less forgiving than any high priced side opener. side opener is easy to create. it is a paper thin object in a paper thin slot. nothing else. otf's are like trying to put 5 lbs. of marbles in a 1 oz. container. then pushing a button to bring em out in a straight line and push a button to pull em back in again ,all in 1 1/2 seconds. just push a button ,thats all.the tip of your finger .the analogy may sound stupid but the differences are vast. its done so well by a couple of companies that they get rare and charge huge prices. the average prices get y ou average technology. a side opener is like a calculator while a otf is like an apple. they do different things in the same industry b ut the apple is so much more expensive . why? because it is expensive to make ,it has to be done exactly wright and it is very hard to do. just parts alone are many ,compared to a side opener that has what 9 or 10 parts. an otf has maybe 30 or 40. forget about it . you gotta pay alot for something that does what my sandshark does. dude ,i love my side openers. my socom elite ,my protech brend ,my bucks are actually my most gorgeous of all... including my otf's. but technologically speaking .a otf is very hard to do wright . but when it is done wright ( dkw sandshark , mt combat troodon ,that is all i will vouch for) they really are amazing. my otf's are in a display case that i threw away the key for .just so i have to cut the lock to get to them. i would never put them down otherwise. i have to buy 2 masterlocks a year just so i can oil them. all i say is just call a very hard to make spade a very hard to make spade. i would not spend a dime on a cheapie. and what you call reasonable priced ones are actually garbage to . now the"redicliously high priced ones are the only ones i am interested in .even if i gotta save the $cratch for 3 extra months. you get what you pay for. if you know who you are buying from. man ,i totally wrote too much . im out.
OrvilleYertleson
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The benchmade infidel is a very well made knife.
That being said, it is also very illegal for most people to carry.
Oh, if you know someone who is military, they can hook you up. Benchmade has (IIRC) a very good military discount (like 40% or better).
cheap OTF knives are not worth having...they are unreliable and poorly made. It is hard to get an OTF to work right. Those that do it well (as listed above) do so at considerable expense.
What you get is a double edged knife in a platform slightly bigger than your average folding knife.
Even the quality OTF knives have their problems though. They are more prone to debris causing them to jam, and even errant wrist movements while opening them can cause them to jam (imagine you are opening the knife while moving it towards a threat. When you twist it, it can cause the blade to lock up half open, and then fall back into the handle).
It isn't likely to happen to anyone else, but I broke one thumb and severely jammed another (at the same time) and for a while found myself completely unable to even open an OTF knife.
That being said, it is also very illegal for most people to carry.
Oh, if you know someone who is military, they can hook you up. Benchmade has (IIRC) a very good military discount (like 40% or better).
cheap OTF knives are not worth having...they are unreliable and poorly made. It is hard to get an OTF to work right. Those that do it well (as listed above) do so at considerable expense.
What you get is a double edged knife in a platform slightly bigger than your average folding knife.
Even the quality OTF knives have their problems though. They are more prone to debris causing them to jam, and even errant wrist movements while opening them can cause them to jam (imagine you are opening the knife while moving it towards a threat. When you twist it, it can cause the blade to lock up half open, and then fall back into the handle).
It isn't likely to happen to anyone else, but I broke one thumb and severely jammed another (at the same time) and for a while found myself completely unable to even open an OTF knife.
OTFs are not treated any differently under the law than any switchblade. If switchblades are legal in your state/local to possess/carry then an OTF is as well. If they're not, then neither are OTFs. If you can provide a citation that treats them differently please post it.
Novus Collectus
Member
When I was in Cyprus they were giving them away at the carnival type of game booths as prises. With just a few CY pounds or Euros and a little skill, one could win one of those rather easy.
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