Just having a little trouble finding something I hope someone can point me in a direction. I have an ultratech that was made in 2017 (3 hole hardware) which has the plain edge on one side and full serrated on the other. I actually edc’d it for a long time but man, does the geometry stink. M390 steel, I can get the apex sharp but for slicing and just general cutting, really it’s underwhelming. I love it still because the quality is there, sits great in pocket (thin, lightweight, low profile) but I was hoping I could hear from someone who has a couple models to help me pick something with better performance? Money’s no concern I’m just not getting a marfione custom; but I feel more than welcome to tell me, dude you gotta try the combat troodon or whatever... Thanks for taking time to read this, and if you wanna show off what you have, use the ask as an excuse!
Well, I can almost promise you that somewhere down the line here there is some user error at work. Microtech, in my experience, sends out some seriously sharp knives for a production company. The sharpest I've experienced to date. The steel you've mentioned is equally awesome. Not the easiest to sharpen but manageable. A combo edge is usually quite nice for carry as you have serrations for rope and the like as well as the plain edge for cardboard, packages, prep. What are you asking of your knife? Frankly, I wouldn't be carrying an OTF for EDC if I actually intended on using the knife regularly and thoroughly. There are much better options for this role. To me, an OTF is more a light duty/self defense/special application knife. That being said, a Combat Troodon might be a better choice simply due to the size of the blade which allows for more taper from top to edge. I really like the Combat Troodons in general, they're excellent. If I wanted to try another Microtech and intended on using it on a daily basis, I'd start with the Socom Delta/Socom Elite. They're some of MT's flagship models and they're both tried and true. I have owned a Delta and it was superb.
Pretty much anything non-dagger shaped will serve you better. Combat Troodon, Scarab or a LUDT might be good MT auto choices for EDC.
The dagger UT’s are cool but because the edge has to come from full thickness to the edge in such a short bevel space, it’s a bit harder to get and keep real real sharp. reprofiling is a bear. I’ve carried almost all the blade shapes for EDC’s in UT’s and my favorite, hands down, is the UTX-85 in regular old single edge drop point. My current one is M390 in that config. I’ve sharpened it, and can get it back to factory sharp and sharper. The bevel is long enough to make that easy, make it very slicy, and no back side edge allows thumb to be placed on the blade. If you like serrations, and sometimes I do, you can get same edge with partial serrations. It’s my favorite of the 4 main styles (DE, TE, SE and bayonet).
Get a model with a tanto or drop point, single edged. They have slightly more acute grinds, so they'll work better, though not extremely well, for other utility tasks.
Like said, double edge is problematic. Everyone should still have one imo, but the singe edge have grinds that lend them to resharpening.
