Microtech UT6 review

Eric Blair

Eric Blair

Joined
Dec 25, 2000
Messages
868
Sorry, but I've only got one photo of this blade that I took last night. My wife has the digital camera with her for the day, so other pics will be forthcoming.

Yesterday at Blade West I scored a new UT6, black boride/partially serrated.

It's sweet. :)

I really like MT OTF's, but this UT6 somehow renders my CTII and Halo III Tactical....as relics. Seriously. And I'm not the only one who feels this way. The Striderguys and Steve Ryan snick-snicked my UT6 back and forth quite a bit yesterday at the show, and everyone was very giddy about this piece. It's addictive as can be.

The blade is beautifully ground and finished. Wicked sharp. Black boride makes for a very attractive and durable finish. It appears as a fine blued finish, yet super tough.

There are no safeties on the UT6's, but such a device would be superfluous on this piece. The firing button takes quite a bit of thumb pressure to activate, so I can safely say that there is just no way that the UT6 can possibly fire in your pocket.

I love the pocket clip feature. It allows for a very low pocket carry, and therefore appears quite harmless to sheeple. The pocket clip was ong overdue on MT OTF's, so I'm glad that they finally got a clue.

Overall length is 8" and the blade length is 3 1/2". While it is somewhat smaller than CTII's it somehow still feels just right. It's nice to see this UT6 hit the market. Microtech was long overdue for a serious winner, and this is the one. Very slick, very tight, and the gadget factor is incredible. This is the most affordable DA OTF on the market, and well worth the price. I'm quite happy with it. :)
 

Attachments

  • ut6.jpg
    ut6.jpg
    27 KB · Views: 460
What about the blade wobble? Does it bother you to have a $400+ knife that the blade wobbles.

I am getting one soon and just wanted to know if the gadget factor takes your mind off the wobble?
Thanks
 
I'd hardly call it blade wobble. My blade locks up tight. I CAN force it to move perhaps 1/64 of an inch, but why do so? I handled 3 UT6's this past weekend, and they were all excellent. Keep in mind that I'm a guy who doesn't much care for Tony Marfione and his business practices, okay? If there was anything wrong with the UT6's that I've handled, I'd gladly say so. :)
The guys from TAD pounded one of their UT6's through 1/2" board and the piece still functions normally. Go figure.
 
I posted my initial impressions of the UT6 earlier in the Auto Forum, but as a portion speaks directly to jaiden's concerns, I'll include them in this thread as well:

I really love my UT6, and that the boron carbide coating is every bit as fantastic as folks here have described. It is, in fact, very reminiscent of a quality blueing job that you would see on a high-class firearm. And after countless cyclings there is no sign of wear on my blade whatsoever.

I would like to inject a word of warning, however, just so that nobody is unduly disappointed. When receiving your UT6, expect for there to be a tiny bit of play in the blade when deployed. There's absolutely no up and down movement on any of the UT6s that I've seen, but a tiny amount of fore and aft, and side-to-side play is not uncommon. It's equally important to point out that this doesn't in any way compromise the utility of the blade as the locking system is designed to, and can, withstand tremendous thrusting forces.

All-in-all this play is so minimal that for me it doesn't in anyway detract from the pleasure I've taken in owning and operating a truly high quality D/A OTF. But, by the same token, I realize we have some real sticklers for perfection out there who might be put off by this. These folks who can afford to pay the difference may well be better served by Jeff Harkins' awesome custom entry into the D/A OTF category.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top