Microtech DOC

jill jackson

jill jackson

Joined
Sep 5, 2006
Messages
20,593
After hearing a lot of negative about this knife, I decided to go ahead and try one anyway. While I could get it in Satin finished CPM154. I found nothing negative about it, the blade is dead centered closed, it has even nice grinds, flips extremely smoothly, has zero blade play and locks up at 40 %, while unlocking easy. Plus it's sharp as can be. All in all , I'm pleasantly surprised after hearing all the bad about it! Oh yeah the clip doesn't hurt my hand at all.

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I passed on one of these bc of all the bad reviews about fit/finish. Glad to see some positive! I might just have to grab one.
 
derekthib said:
I passed on one of these bc of all the bad reviews about fit/finish. Glad to see some positive! I might just have to grab one.
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I know, I thought a long time because of the bad stuff I read, I can't even believe they were talking about the same knife after getting this one. It flips very easy and has no fit and finish issues. I just noticed all the good steels in this were disappearing pretty damn fast so I decided to go ahead while I could get it in something besides regular CM 154.
 
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I'm a huge fan of the DOC it's one of my favorite knives in my collection and I have the same version as you do except mine is S30V.
 
I'm also a fan of the MicroTech DOC. My first one is an all black one in Elmax with a manufacture date of June 2013. Only issue with this one is the clip being turned out and you can feel it on your palm. My second one has a red handle, stonewashed blade of 154CM and a manufacture date of December 2013. The second one has the redesigned friendly clip. Both are great flippers, very sharp and beasts. Some have taken issues with the multi grind but I like it. It's a serious chunk of blade. My only minor gripe with MicroTech is the proprietary screws. I believe the steels so far have been: Elmax, S30V, CPM154 and 154CM. I wouldn't be surprised to see versions in ATS-34 and S35VN.
 
I don't have any fit and finish problems with my DOC, either, but the flipper is anything but smooth. It's semi-hard to flip without added wrist action, and you can hear a light, horn-like scraping (not grinding) noise in the pivot when it opens. No problems with the lock. And the knife feels as solid as a tank. Feels like I could pry up a manhole cover with that blade. The edge came very sharp -- probably 9 of 10 as factory knives go.

My biggest problem is with the nightmare grind, which makes for a terrible slicer. That middle part of the grind which goes out almost to the point in Jill's photo, is a full 16 hundredths, which means the grind carries the tang thickness in the middle of the blade almost to the point. Looks pretty. Works poorly.

I sent mine off to see if I can get a slicer grind put on it. The hangup is all the proprietary hardware that needs to be removed.

From all the comments I've seen, the DOC can have excellent F&F or poor F&F. Quality control is clearly an issue.

Fit and finish: 9 of 10
Usefulness of blade grind: 3 of 10
Steel and HT: 10 of 10
Lock: 10 of 10
Flipper: 5 of 10
Handle ergos: 9 of 10
Edge sharpness: 9 of 10
Serviceability by user: 2 of 10
Reported QC: 5 of 10
 
It's admittedly not a knife I'd use, more of a show piece to me. I have too much other stuff that I use anyway to be buying something this fancy just to use. But, that's just me, many people won't own a knife they don't use. But, mine flips as easy as any other bearing flipper I own. And I have Tilts, ZT's, mid techs. I'm well pleased with it.
 
I really like the DOC. I handled a few custom versions at ECCKS this year and was impressed by the flipping action. I just wish they'd change the grip tape inserts on the production models :/
 
I picked one up in a trade, with hesitation, after reading some negative feedback. I'm glad that I didn't let that stop me. It's an amazing knife in all aspects. Fit & finish are impeccable, action is smooth, lock up is solid, and the clip is not even noticeable when it's in my hand. Don't believe everything that you read online. If it appeals to you, give it a try. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion!
 
The Fort said:
I picked one up in a trade, with hesitation, after reading some negative feedback. I'm glad that I didn't let that stop me. It's an amazing knife in all aspects. Fit & finish are impeccable, action is smooth, lock up is solid, and the clip is not even noticeable when it's in my hand. Don't believe everything that you read online. If it appeals to you, give it a try. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion!
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Certainly, don't believe everything you read on line, but don't discount it, either. It should be obvious that the DOC can come with excellent fit and finish or poor fit and finish. The flipper can be balky or smooth. People are honestly reporting their own experiences, which differ. You may be lucky or unlucky, but quality control is certainly suspect. Just because your knife came perfect, doesn't mean people with different experiences are not telling the truth.
 
I've bought a 500 dollar midtech before that was one of 20 made, that would not flip at all, so yes anything can have problems.
 
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