Out The Front Knives

As far as Out the Front Knives go, the Microtech Ultratech OTF knife is by far my favorite of all time. This knife is the Microtech flagship knife. Over the years it has always set the standard for out-the-front knives. Although they have modified it slightly from time to time over the past few years, each modification has actually made it even more reliable and efficient. The Ultratech has a smooth aluminum handle and my favorite version is the double plain edged MT121-1. It is available in a wide variety of edges (plain or serrated) as well as double or single edged.
A couple of things that are especially nice about the Ultratech are the fact that the spring is always "at rest" when the knife is closed. A knife spends the majority of it's life closed. Microtech has designed their knives so that the spring rests while the knife is closed and is extended when the knife is open. This puts less stress on the knife spring and extends the life and reliability of the mechanism for a long time. My other favorite thing about the Ultratech is it's slim design. Just perfect for carrying.

Specifications:
AUTOMATIC OPENING/CLOSING - FRONT OPENER
ACTION: Dual ACTION - AUTO FIRE/RETRACT
BLADE: D-2, .125" THICK, RC 60
BLADE LENGTH: 3.46"
BLADE STYLES: Double Edge
HANDLE THICKNESS: .640"
HANDLE MATERIAL: 6061-T6 ALUMINUM MIL-SPEC HARD COAT ANODIZE
LENGTH CLOSED: 4.84"
LENGTH OPEN: 8.30"
POCKET CLIP MATERIAL: 301 STAINLESS FULL HARD
STANDARD TOP: 6061-T6 AL alloy
TRIGGER: 303 STAINLESS

Piranha is one of those smaller knife production companies that you may not have heard of but you should check them out. They have been quietly producing high quality automatic knives for several years now. Their knives are known for three things: durability, strong springs, high quality craftmanship. The Piranha Excalibur OTF knife is their first foray into the Out the Front arena of automatic knives. The Excalibur is a mid sized OTF which has incredible spring strength. The blade does everything you want from an OTF. It opens fast, locks up tight, and has great cutting power. The knife is double edged and can be found with a stainless finish or a black coating. It can also be found with partial serrations on both sides. I prefer the black with partial serrations. If you haven't handled one of these, track one down and check it out. This is a great first OTF entry for Piranha and speaks of greater things to come.

SPECIFICATIONS:
Blade Length: 3.2"
Handle Length: 4.75"
Overall Open Legnth: 7.9"
Weight: 4.4oz
Action: Out-the-Front Double Action Automatic
Blade Material: 154CM Stainless Steel
Blade Style: Double Edge Spear Point
Blade Finish: High Polish with Blood Groove
Handle Material: 6061-T6 Aircraft Aluminum
Black Type 3 Hard Coat Anodized
Locking Mechanism: Slide Button
Carry Method: Titanium Pocket Clip

The Panther OTF knife is an entry level Out the Front knife. This double action (opens and closes with the trigger) knife has a good strength spring that seems very durable. I had one person tell me he had opened and closed his knife more than 1000 times without a misfire. That seems like a lot of opening and closing to me, but I have yet to see one of these misfire.
This knife has a belt clip to carry on your belt or in your pocket. The blade comes out reasonably fast and locks up fairly tight. There is a little bit of play in the knife from side to side (a tiny bit) but it isn't bad.
The blade is sharp on both sides and seems to keep a good edge. This is a great knife if you can get it under $30.00. Check one out for yourself.

Microtech OTF knives consistently rank as the very best of the best in the out the front arena. The Makora II is a conceptual evolution from the ever popular Ultratech knife. The Makora has a spring that remains "at rest" when the knife is closed. This reduces the wear on the spring and makes it last a whole lot longer. More importantly, it means you can confidently rely on the knife to have the strength you expect and need in tough situations. The knife comes in a few different variations of handle colors and materials.
My call on the Makora II is that it is one of the great OTF knives on the market today. It does have a fairly stiff trigger slide that causes some people a little trouble. If you have weak thumb strength it may not be the knife for you--instead go with the Ultratech. But if thumb strength isn't an issue, this beast is a fantastic choice.

MAKORA
QUICK DEPLOYMENT - AUTOMATIC OPENING/CLOSING - OUT THE FRONT
ACTION: DOUBLE ACTION - AUTO FIRE/AUTO RETRACT
BLADE: D-2, .125" THICK, 59-60 RC
BLADE LENGTH: 3.46"
HANDLE: 6061-T6 ALUMINUM MIL-SPEC HARD COAT ANODIZE W/ ANTI-SLIP INSERTS
HANDLE THICKNESS: .45"
LENGTH CLOSED: 4.68"
OPTIONS: POLYMER COATED BLACK WITH CARBON FIBER INLAYS, BLADE SERRATIONS
OVERALL LENGTH: 8.14"
POCKET CLIP: 302 SS SPRING TEMPERED, AMBIDEXTROUS MOUNTING
WEIGHT: 4 OZ (APPROX.)

AKC, an Italian company, makes the double action Concord knife. These out the front knives are very dependable. They fire and retract over and over and over. If you want a big, beefy knife, you probably want to go and get a Microtech OTF. If you are looking for a smaller knife that opens and closes every time, the Concord AKC is the blade to look at. The handle is slightly round which provides a nice, comfortable grip. The blade is typically edged on both sides--but before you buy one you want to verify this because they do make some that have only one edge sharp. A good, all around, mid-level knife, the AKC Concord has an aluminum handle and the blade is stainless steel.

SPECIFICATIONS:
Overall: 8"
Blade: 3"

The Die Hard OTF knife is most incredible. It seems quite similar in feel, weight, and action to many of the top line Out the Front knives on the market. The trigger slide is on the side of the handle. As you slide the trigger up, the blade comes out extremely fast and locks up tight. The blade, as you can see from the video below, is blackened on most of it. It also has a groove up the middle with small holes down the groove. To close this double action knife, you simply slide the trigger back down and the blade retracts.
This OTF knife has a belt clip and it also comes with a nylon belt pouch. A great value for a great knife.