Which OTF Knife Should I Get??

[defjon]

Okay, so I found these two knives, visually, quite similar. I know the first knife, the Thunder, is surely better quality. But does anyone have any experience with either one of these knives, good or bad?

Here's the first one:

http://www.bladeplay.com/item--Thunder-DA-OTF-Automatic--4348

$87.00

Here's the second one:

http://www.bladeplay.com/item--The-Dart-OTF-Cupid-Clone--4367

$15.75

 

[defjon]

Okay just done a ton of googling on the thunder and the dart, respectively, and I can't find crap. Are they just both junk? It seems like, from all my research, the only low cost but high quality OTF knife is called "the lightning". Anyone more knowledgeable able to check out these links and chime in?

 

[hso]

Yes, they're both junk. The first one is a knockoff of a Microtech and the other is a copy of a Dalton. Both good knives that the designers/makers went to a lot of trouble to develop and make.

Knockoffs are a pet peeve of mine. The people who make Chinese knockoffs like this are stealing from the people that went to the trouble to develop them. These aren't big corporations. They're just smallish shops with a few folks that come up with an idea, then work out the tolerances and specs and machining involved and build a few hundred of them to see if people think they're as cool as they did. They absorb all the expense in hoping enough people will think they're worth all the hard work. When something is successful the knock off artists buy a couple and make cheap imitations of them that sell to the unwitting for a fraction of what you'd buy from the folks that actually came up with the idea.

They also aren't made to the quality as the authentic pieces and don't tend to work as well or last as long. Then you've got a knockoff that no one will touch. As you might guess, I hate knockoffs.

 

[defjon]

so even the 90 dollar one is junk? Do you know any OTF knives for less than 300 that are any good?

I was lurking on a blade forum til the wee hours, and the cheap OTF knife called the lightning or something got good reviews, and the guys who owned sandsharks and arrows and all those still usually had a simple lightning around for daily chores...

I admit 100% newbie-ness in the world of knives.

 

[hso]

You can find Micros and Daltons and Piranhas for under $300. Not much under, but still under. I helped a buddy at Blade show and I sold several MT OTFs for $270.

You can pretty much trust the auto knife knuts at Bladeforums and Knifeforum. You could also check out The Newsletter.

 

[loandr.]

HSO said it best....

google "GIMEL BARGEON" OTF's....for approx. a 100 to a Buck and 1/2 U WILL be pleased, French maker and tough to find, worth the efforts.....

 

[shecky]

This knife has been getting some positive reviews on the knife forums. It isn't very expensive, and apparently is not even technically a switchblade.

 

[JShirley]

They're not OTF, but Spyderco has three new autos...You can trust Spyderco quality. These are pricier than the ones you were looking at, but less expensive than many reputable autos.

 

[hso]

But they're only side openers, John.

I had a chance to handle the protos. They're certainly nice.

 

[jpatterson]

Ha, you all notice that since defjon's initial post they upped the price a little bit and pointed out the fact that it was a clone of the knife the Joker used in Batman?
Funny how things work...

 

[The Tourist]

Piranha Excalibur. 'Nuff said.

 

[Veech54]

OTF Quality

I found this place doing a search on another knife. I am primarily a collector of vintage switchblade knives but love them all. Guns too for that matter. I bought that first knife shown in defjon's post at the Atlanta Blade show this year. I too have mostly disdain for these clone knives,however that one is...not bad. Very decent lockup,and sharp!! Which is even more rare. I usually never buy that stuff,instead spend big bucks on "real" vintage autos.

 

[Eric Draven]

I have owned nearly 50 different OTFs and I would say for a little less than $300(you have to look for them for a bit) you can get the production version of the Harkins Triton from MOD. I have had the same one for 4 years now as a daily user(where I can) and it holds up to quite a bit. I also have HALOs IIs, IIIs, I have a D/E Scarab(like the one in Batman...lol.). Microtech makes great knife but 'in my experience' the C.S. is ****e. The Benchmade Infidel is ok but its about $400 or over...the Excaliburs are niiiiice but can run high too. You can also find MT HALO IIIs for about $300 or less sometimes...but again, you have to look.

Try the MOD Triton.

'F' the knockoffs bro, by the time you will have bought 3 knockoffs for $100 each, you coulda bought a Microtech or a Triton.

 

[The Tourist]

the Excalibers are niiiiice but can run high too.

Yes, they can.

I wanted to invest in something for my retirement. The first edition Excaliburs, and there are only 182 of them, were numbered and stamped.

I own three of them.

 

[marktx]

.....Do you know any OTF knives for less than 300 that are any good?

A couple weeks ago I bought a Benchmade Infidel for $290 at a gun shop that I frequent.

 

[krcoakland]

First of all... don't even bother comparing the two knives because the first you listed is a double action, it goes back into the handle with the slide of the switch; whereas the second is a single action... you have to release the lock and pull the blade back into the handle. This means that they use different mechanisms, and that they are COMPLETELY different knives. I personally am saving for a HIGH quality double action (D/A) OTF that will be more than just a letter opener, if you want to look through those, make sure that on Bladeplay.com or whatever site you decide to buy from, that you click on Double Action OTF knives. If you don't care about having to pull the blade back in with a tab (a single action OTF knife), you might want to consider spending a little bit more and going with something better, the Schrade assisted open OTF knives have gotten good reviews, but if you're set on having a slide trigger, and don't care too much about how long it will last, I would go with The Dart that you listed. Just know that the actual knife that it is modeled after (The Dalton Cupid) can be found on amazon or similar sites for under $200US. Another GREAT OTF knife that is reliable and relatively cheap is the Paragon (formerly Asheville Steel) ATKO which can range from about $170 to about $230 US. My suggestion would be to save your money and buy a good double action one, unless the whole point of you buying one is to simply have an OTF knife.

 

[BackwoodsCanuck]

I picked up a BM Infidel a few weeks ago. Beautiful knife, smooth, sharp as a MF. That said, I didn't get the deal that marktx got....lol....nice find!

 

[TimboKhan]

First of all... don't even bother comparing the two knives because the first you listed is a double action, it goes back into the handle with the slide of the switch; whereas the second is a single action... you have to release the lock and pull the blade back into the handle.

My guess is that since the OP first posted in July of 2008, he has probably ceased attempting to compare these two knifes. Good post though!

 

[Drusagas]

I bought a $100 OTF that, at the time, I didn't know was a knock off of the Microtech scarab. It worked pretty good, decent spring but the metal was rather cheap and hard to sharpen. All it ended up being good for was pushing the button for the cool factor. IMO if you are going to get an OTF, for whatever reason you may want one, spend the cash to get a good one. Personally, I'm saving for a real Microtech Scarab, I really like the design and hate that I bought a knock off, but I think you'd be better served buying a real one than a knock off.