How many people use there Microtech OTF knives?

the rat said:
I recently got a Microtech UTX 85 S/E in trade and I was wondering are they basically an expensive fidget device or do people actually use them for every day cutting chores? Please post up some of the uses that you use yours for. All I have cut since I received mine is some fruit and I opened some bags of chips. Thanks
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I appreciate this question. I wanted an Ultratech for over 2 years and finally received one for Christmas from my wife.

It's awesome, but I intend to use (not abuse) it as a tool. $300 is a lot of money to me, but realize it's a modest price for some knifes.

I was hoping that I wouldn't be alone in carrying the Microtech. The one thing that irks me is the policy on sharpening. I realize the reasoning, but still I'd like to be able to sharpen my own edc without voiding warranty.

So as a follow up, how many say to hell with the warranty and have enough confidence in the quality of the knife to sharpen yourself?
 
RandyBox said:
I appreciate this question. I wanted an Ultratech for over 2 years and finally received one for Christmas from my wife.

It's awesome, but I intend to use (not abuse) it as a tool. $300 is a lot of money to me, but realize it's a modest price for some knifes.

I was hoping that I wouldn't be alone in carrying the Microtech. The one thing that irks me is the policy on sharpening. I realize the reasoning, but still I'd like to be able to sharpen my own edc without voiding warranty.

So as a follow up, how many say to hell with the warranty and have enough confidence in the quality of the knife to sharpen yourself?
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There's a warranty issue regarding resharpening??? Pfft, it's a knife. It will dull with use. Sharpen it. Last I read, Microtech didn't warranty their knives against going dull, and resharpening does not void the warranty, but it is not the fault of the knife if you mess up the sharpening or take it apart and lose/break pieces, so sending them a grossly mis-sharpened, abused, disassembled knife will result in a charge for services or return of the mess. Avoid paying to have them sharpen it by learning to sharpen it yourself, and rest easy.
 
RandyBox said:
I appreciate this question. I wanted an Ultratech for over 2 years and finally received one for Christmas from my wife.

It's awesome, but I intend to use (not abuse) it as a tool. $300 is a lot of money to me, but realize it's a modest price for some knifes.

I was hoping that I wouldn't be alone in carrying the Microtech. The one thing that irks me is the policy on sharpening. I realize the reasoning, but still I'd like to be able to sharpen my own edc without voiding warranty.

So as a follow up, how many say to hell with the warranty and have enough confidence in the quality of the knife to sharpen yourself?
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Their warranty is worded differently now, go take a look. They even go as far as allowing you to disassemble your knife now, they sell a tool kit to do so. It is basically stated that if you don't know what you are doing and mess the knife up (via sharpening, disassembly, etc) then that's your problem, not theirs.
 
The Aflac Duck said:
Their warranty is worded differently now, go take a look. They even go as far as allowing you to disassemble your knife now, they sell a tool kit to do so. It is basically stated that if you don't know what you are doing and mess the knife up (via sharpening, disassembly, etc) then that's your problem, not theirs.
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Thanks. I didn't think about the warranty being different between time of manufacture and time of sale.

Thanks Guys! The only peeve I have had been eliminated on my 1st day of the forum here!
 
The Aflac Duck said:
Their warranty is worded differently now, go take a look. They even go as far as allowing you to disassemble your knife now, they sell a tool kit to do so. It is basically stated that if you don't know what you are doing and mess the knife up (via sharpening, disassembly, etc) then that's your problem, not theirs.
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This was a smart move for them, but more importantly, us as customers IMO. Gives us some credit that we’re not all just idjits with money. As a chronic tinkerer, I was pleased when they made this change.
 
Centermass said:
This was a smart move for them, but more importantly, us as customers IMO. Gives us some credit that we’re not all just idjits with money. As a chronic tinkerer, I was pleased when they made this change.
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Definitely. I think the Socom is the knife that they started using torx bits on instead of just proprietary. Now the Scarab II has it also. I like the look of the proprietary hardware, but it can be a pain. They probably saw that the models with torx weren’t magically falling apart on their own and decided to change the warranty up a bit:D
 
The Aflac Duck said:
Their warranty is worded differently now, go take a look. They even go as far as allowing you to disassemble your knife now, they sell a tool kit to do so. It is basically stated that if you don't know what you are doing and mess the knife up (via sharpening, disassembly, etc) then that's your problem, not theirs.
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Which tool(s) kit do you recommend? Genuine vs the Amazon knock off?
 
Here’s the thing, if you’re making products which, on their face, cater to either real life “operators”, wanna-be’s, or just collectors who appreciate MT’s kind of engineering, why not let ‘em work on the stuff they spent their money on? I can’t imagine legit operators send their equipment to somebody else to maintain it, and such folks are expected to know their equipment inside and out. Now, I’m definitely not claiming to be a high-speed low drag, but I do like their products and am pretty darn confident with a screwdriver and simple mechanisms involving some screws and springs. It’s not like it’s freaking computerized. Plus, I love figuring out how stuff works and appreciate design. That said, if I screw it up whilst doing so, I’m also man enough to admit that it was on me, and would never expect for them to have to fix it for free.
 
Centermass said:
Here’s the thing, if you’re making products which, on their face, cater to either real life “operators”, wanna-be’s, or just collectors who appreciate MT’s kind of engineering, why not let ‘em work on the stuff they spent their money on? I can’t imagine legit operators send their equipment to somebody else to maintain it, and such folks are expected to know their equipment inside and out. Now, I’m definitely not claiming to be a high-speed low drag, but I do like their products and am pretty darn confident with a screwdriver and simple mechanisms involving some screws and springs. It’s not like it’s freaking computerized. Plus, I love figuring out how stuff works and appreciate design. That said, if I screw it up whilst doing so, I’m also man enough to admit that it was on me, and would never expect for them to have to fix it for free.
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Well, the thing is that Microtech knows their customers. Many guys I've met who are military or police just carry the knife until it's needed, and often enough, they aren't knife guys. For years before I took this hobby more seriously, I never tried to take apart my knife or knew how to sharpen it properly. And lets be real, many people would be intimidated to open up an OTF, they think there is some sort of voodoo black magic going on in there:D I do completely agree with you though, it seems counterintuitive to make a knife that's for rough applications yet you cant even adjust screws on it.
 
I always thought they were gimmicky but decided to jump in and try one myself. I bought one about a year before I retired from full-time LE work. While a buddy who is an OTF fan suggested I carry it on duty, I was pretty practiced drawing Cold Steel Black Talon II I carried and could envision a lot more uses for it. I carried the OTF off duty in the front slash pockets of my Propper Kinetic pants (the only pant I wear unless wearing a suit or going dressy casual). It got to be very handy, and since I don't carry any of my other folding knives with the clip (deep pocket for me) then it became my fastest to draw, cut whatever I was cutting, and put it back up. I got permission to wear my Kinetics at my current job and continue to carry in this fashion. Still-as I've said in other posts and forums, I don't think it's the be all-end-all, and it's not a main knife I'd carry if I were only carrying one or two. It fits a niche.
 
The Aflac Duck said:
It’s gonna be fine. Buy some naphtha (lighter fluid) and remove the little screw that holds the clip on and squirt some inside to flush it out every once in a while.

I went swimming with my GT Recon OTF last year and it’s fine.
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While I don't have a Microtech, I use my OTFs as I would any other folder. My Brain Tighe OTF took a bath and it was fine. Blew it dry then added a tiny drop of lube, and 8 months later no problems.
 
K.O.D. said:
While I don't have a Microtech, I use my OTFs as I would any other folder. My Brain Tighe OTF took a bath and it was fine. Blew it dry then added a tiny drop of lube, and 8 months later no problems.
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The Tighe OTFs are extremely nice :cool:
 
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The Aflac Duck said:
The Tighe OTFs are extremely nice :cool:
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I have two Microtechs and two Heretics (basically MT) and I love to carry and use them. I used to be afraid of using them as well, but I watched several great videos of knife guys torture testing some Combat Troodons and Ultratechs and that assuaged my fears completely. Now I just carry and use them. There are a few tasks you might save for a fixed blade of course, or perhaps an easy to clean folder (food prep or processing game), but beyond that your MT will hold up to just about any normal cutting tasks. Use it and enjoy it!

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The Aflac Duck said:
Their warranty is worded differently now, go take a look. They even go as far as allowing you to disassemble your knife now, they sell a tool kit to do so. It is basically stated that if you don't know what you are doing and mess the knife up (via sharpening, disassembly, etc) then that's your problem, not theirs.
Click to expand...

RandyBox said:
Thanks. I didn't think about the warranty being different between time of manufacture and time of sale.

Thanks Guys! The only peeve I have had been eliminated on my 1st day of the forum here!
Click to expand...

Centermass said:
This was a smart move for them, but more importantly, us as customers IMO. Gives us some credit that we’re not all just idjits with money. As a chronic tinkerer, I was pleased when they made this change.
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Their current language (emphasis original):
We understand that some customers may prefer to maintain their own knives. Sharpening your knife does not automatically void the warranty. The warranty will remain in effect so long as the blade is not improperly sharpened and the handle is not damaged or stripped due to disassembly, determined at our discretion. If you void your warranty, parts and services may still be available for purchase based on availability.​
 
I carried my Combat Troodon for about 6 months straight. I work a lot in machine/wood shop and I would blow it out every afternoon with the air compressor. Knife held up fine and cut what I needed, but after about 6 months it would fully deploy about half the time without me having to pull on the blade and reset it in the mechanism. Just got to feeling real sluggish when I fired it. A good cleaning fixed it up, but for me, I decided the extra headache wasn't worth it.

Threw my Bm Snody auto in my pocket and never looked back. OTF's are cool to play with and likely have a role in SD applications, but as far as my uses, they don't earn much pocket time in the rotation.
 
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