How many people use there Microtech OTF knives?

I use mine all the time. I have no qualms using my $500 combat Troodon. I do "baby" as such by not using it around a lot of gummy stuff. Pretty dang reliable knife, tbh.
 
Sawdust will cause my Cold Steel Code 4 to not lock up. Or, if I over-oil it, and pocket lint gets in. It won't lock up. My point being that sawdust finds its way into my pocket and gets into my knife's action. It would do the same in an OTF.

I don't carry my OTF at work for these reasons.
They are very handy, and make great knives. The dual action is great, especially when balancing precariously on the edge of your truck's bed, with one available hand, and need to cut a horrifically tangled up knot in your rope. Lol.

Basically it's like this. They are great knives when clean. If you work in extremely dirty environments, like around excessive amounts of Sawdust, you're going to have problems.

Edit to add: I've been using my Microtech Ultratech for a couple months now. Using common sense with the knife, I do use it, and thus far have not had one misfire. The knife has been reliable. Again, I don't carry my Microtech to work, where I am subject to a very dirty environment which includes oils and sawdust.
 
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I agree. My OTF knives are not what I use on the jobsite. There is a lot of wisdom in my dad's choice of a Buck 110.

I liken them to something like an AR15. There is a lot of puffery out there about how unreliable they can be and how clean/wet they need to be run lest they seize up. Does that help? Of course, but they aren't jam-o-matics if not pampered. Even still, they aren't going to run as well as single shot break action if you drop them in the dirt a bunch. The complexity of the design simply makes tbem a bit more labor intensive. However, they are far from fragile and fickle (no matter what those who worship at the Alter of the AK may say;)). The OTF auto (of good quality) is about the same. Take care of it. Know its limitations. It'll probably end up running as well as most knives and be a lot quicker to get in and out of action :)
 
I had dirt get into the perforated washers on my Sebenza and really clog it up, nothing is completely safe from dirt unless you're using a fixed blade. That said, I always make sure the blades on any of my OTFs are free of debris before I retract the blade. A simple swipe on the jeans will do unless it's gummy tape residue or something. I always have an OTF on me, it's what I carry most of the time lately and have been rotating them into my carry for years.
 
Picked up an Ultratech (my first OTF) on impulse when my local overpriced retailer had a stellar Veterans Day sale.

I never really understood the hype, but suddenly most other knives are substantially less interesting. :D

I use it for most of the same stuff as any other EDC—except when it comes to slicing a burger or something. I’m paranoid about getting goop inside.

TBH, most of my EDC’s never see anything beyond moderate use. (There are exceptions, of course.)
 
I use mine for anything. Not worried about getting anything inside. Just a little warm water, degreaser and patience it’ll get cleaned out and then just a little lube and it’s just fine
 
I used mine till it broke. That amounted to about, maybe, four-ish weeks. It's presently with Microtech for warranty service. In five to six weeks they say I'll get it back, good as new.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
I agree. My OTF knives are not what I use on the jobsite. There is a lot of wisdom in my dad's choice of a Buck 110.

I liken them to something like an AR15. There is a lot of puffery out there about how unreliable they can be and how clean/wet they need to be run lest they seize up. Does that help? Of course, but they aren't jam-o-matics if not pampered. Even still, they aren't going to run as well as single shot break action if you drop them in the dirt a bunch. The complexity of the design simply makes tbem a bit more labor intensive. However, they are far from fragile and fickle (no matter what those who worship at the Alter of the AK may say;)). The OTF auto (of good quality) is about the same. Take care of it. Know its limitations. It'll probably end up running as well as most knives and be a lot quicker to get in and out of action :)
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Hey brother,

I have owned several AR's, and built two of them. Maybe I'm just lucky but I never had a problem out of any of my AR's!

Not trying to sidetrack the thread, lol. Just saying I agree with you. The AK fans like to try and say the AR ia fickle.
 
Weiss said:
I used mine till it broke. That amounted to about, maybe, four-ish weeks. It's presently with Microtech for warranty service. In five to six weeks they say I'll get it back, good as new.
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Hi Weiss,

How did it break? What components broke?
 
evilgreg said:
I think I'd carry OTFs more if the tiny bit of blade play on a good one didn't bother me.
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I love them for the absolute convenience, quick deployment and fiddle factor, but blade play drives me nuts.
 
I carried a 2004 Ultratech for about 5 years straight. Used, with common sense, for everything I need a folding knife to do. I retired it due to job change even though it still runs as new. It can easily go back to EDC at any time.
 
Billy The Hungry said:
Hi Weiss,

How did it break? What components broke?
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The blade failed to deploy. I pushed the deployment switch forward, felt a much-harder-than-the-already-hard-to-push movement forward, heard and felt a metallic "snap," and nothing happened. I tried inertially flinging the blade out, which usually solved the problem, had great difficulty getting it move, grabbed what little poked out, pulled the blade out, then discovered that the deployment button rattled freely, and without effect, when I tried to retract the blade. Getting the blade back inside the handle for shipping was difficult. Once I did, the deployment button seemed jammed and inoperable.
 
My utx85 is my shop knife. I don’t use it for gummy stuff, but it’s so useful for true 1h opening and closing when holding something in the other hand. I build cars so I only use it when working on unpainted ones (no pocket clips around finished surfaces!). But it’s so dang handy. Never had a problem with it. It does get dusty and I blow it out fairly often. 2 years in and I haven’t had to do a real cleaning. I do not abuse it. It’s not a pry bar. It’s not a scraper. I have those tools. It opens packages, strips wire, cuts string, occasionally might pop a little epoxy ball off somewhere it doesn’t belong, never a pry bar, scraper or scribe. About the worst it sees is the clip dragging on the cement when I am working on the floor.
 
Weiss said:
The blade failed to deploy. I pushed the deployment switch forward, felt a much-harder-than-the-already-hard-to-push movement forward, heard and felt a metallic "snap," and nothing happened. I tried inertially flinging the blade out, which usually solved the problem, had great difficulty getting it move, grabbed what little poked out, pulled the blade out, then discovered that the deployment button rattled freely, and without effect, when I tried to retract the blade. Getting the blade back inside the handle for shipping was difficult. Once I did, the deployment button seemed jammed and inoperable.
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Damn!

I promise, I'm only trying to figure out the punishment these things will take, I'm by no means getting defensive over a knife.
However, I'd like to know what exactly you would use the knife for? Did you use it for any kind of hard use? Or just basic cutting tasks?
 
The Aflac Duck said:
I had dirt get into the perforated washers on my Sebenza and really clog it up, nothing is completely safe from dirt unless you're using a fixed blade. That said, I always make sure the blades on any of my OTFs are free of debris before I retract the blade. A simple swipe on the jeans will do unless it's gummy tape residue or something. I always have an OTF on me, it's what I carry most of the time lately and have been rotating them into my carry for years.
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+1 to this. A dirty blade is the quickest way I've found to get a quality OTF to stop working. I've never had pocket lint or any other random object jam one but I've had jams from missing a small amount of residue on the blade from whatever I was cutting. Make sure it's clean if it got gooped up at all and you'll generally have no problems. OTF reliability fears are not as overblown as the "AXIS lock springs will fail" idiocy, but they're probably not that far behind. I've used my Hogue Compound as my beater yard and home project work knife since I got it and the thing has never failed to fire, outside of when it was fully immersed in water (and then I didn't even take it apart, I just shook it out, locked it open and left it stabbed in the top of my work bench overnight).
 
Weiss said:
The blade failed to deploy. I pushed the deployment switch forward, felt a much-harder-than-the-already-hard-to-push movement forward, heard and felt a metallic "snap," and nothing happened. I tried inertially flinging the blade out, which usually solved the problem, had great difficulty getting it move, grabbed what little poked out, pulled the blade out, then discovered that the deployment button rattled freely, and without effect, when I tried to retract the blade. Getting the blade back inside the handle for shipping was difficult. Once I did, the deployment button seemed jammed and inoperable.
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I had the same exact problem with my Dirac, sent it in and they sent it back with a nice velcro patch of their talon logo.
 
Billy The Hungry said:
Damn!

I promise, I'm only trying to figure out the punishment these things will take, I'm by no means getting defensive over a knife.
However, I'd like to know what exactly you would use the knife for? Did you use it for any kind of hard use? Or just basic cutting tasks?
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I used it to cut open envelopes, break down a few (very few) cardboard boxes, open some packages. Mostly I just played with it like a fidget toy because, hey, switchblade whammy! I suspect it was defective from the get go. My brother has one (a different model), and the activation switch on his was waaaaaay easier to use than the one on mine.

This was it:

Microtech-Cypher-SE.png


Despite the breakage, I'm looking forward to its return. I really like the size, the slimness, the lightness (at least relative to some of my other knives) and the blade design, which seems to have achieved a very nice, decently strong point, and a surprisingly slicey blade. Plus I don't have any other knives in M390, and I'm impressed with its edge retention. Oh, and it was a last gift from my mother before she died. Even if it never works right again upon its return, the sentimental value remains important to me...
 
I forgot to mention, one of my Ultratechs also went through the washing machine a while back. Oops. I flushed it out with zippo fluid to dry it out and put a few small drips of Rem oil in it, and it was ready to go. So far, no worse for the wear.
 
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