OTF automatic knife from Tomb Raider film

**GavSalkeld** · 08-20-2012, 06:32 PM

In Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, the villain Powell uses a particular kind of OTF knife. I don't know if it's a single- or double-action, but it has this sort of "finger ring" on the side of it.

Is this an actual knife, or a custom prop for the movie? If it's based on an actual knife, does anyone know where I might find a similar one? I quite like the design.

**Brian_R170** · 08-20-2012, 09:17 PM

It was a movie prop. There was a cheap Asian knife that was called the "Tomb Raider OTF" available a few years ago (with or without the finger ring) for anywhere from about $10 to $50. It was similar, but you wouldn't mistake it for the same knife even from 15 feet away. I bought one as a kit at a gun show for $6. I don't recommend getting one. They're pretty much crap.

Here's a pic I found with the ring not installed. Says "Solingen" on the blade, but you can bet that's a lie.

**GavSalkeld** · 08-20-2012, 09:21 PM

Many thanks for that information. Do you know if they are still available? What made it poor, incidentally?

**Brian_R170** · 08-21-2012, 12:44 AM

Originally Posted by GavSalkeld

Do you know if they are still available?

I'm sure you can still find them. Just Google "Tomb Raider OTF".

What made it poor, incidentally?

The steel is crap. No idea what it is, but it's tempered so poorly that you can't actually get it very sharp (I tried).

The handle is made from cast zinc (aka "pot metal")

The button is held on by friction and will fall off.

Note that there are two versions of the knife that i'm aware of. One has a plastic button, plastic cover plate, and is sharpened only on both sides of the blade. The other has a metal button, aluminum cover plate, and is sharpened on only one side of the blade.

The cover plate is held on by 4 philips screws, one or more of which are usually stripped. Some stores were selling "upgraded" aluminum plates as an option back when every store had the knives.

The ring was also an extra-cost option and the only one I ever handled was also made of cast zinc.

Internally, the parts don't fit really well (it IS a $10 knife) and so getting one with a reliable mechanism is luck.

The tiny screws that hold the blade keepers cannot be fully tightened and can work their way out of the handle and just fall out on the ground, rendering the mechanism useless.

**GavSalkeld** · 08-21-2012, 01:22 AM

I did a Google search a few hours ago but could find nothing that matched your photo. There were some black ones (without any silver finish, as in your photo) and none had the ring. However, one site was selling the rings on their own for you to add on yourself.

**Brian_R170** · 08-21-2012, 06:32 PM

The black ones are the same knife as the photo except the color (the handles are painted). If you want that exact color combination, you may be out of luck. I never saw a silver one in person, just happened to be the first photo I found. Most were all-black. I had a one black and one dark green. Gave the green one away. Still have the black one in a box of junk knives.