BENCHMADE OTF AUTOMATIC KNIVES MANUAL

It’s best to think of the OTF knife as a refined gentleman’s blade: a cutting tool that you could rely on for daily life and its inconveniences. Read that as they can be entirely used with one hand. The basic selling point of OTFs–aside from inherent coolness–is convenience. The rub, for the price, is that even the expensive options do not do well for anything other than basic and light use as they are not as strong as other types of knives. Though, the sky is really the limit when it comes to the features on these knives, as some can easily jump over $1000 depending on what’s included. You can find decent, but basic, OTF knives in the $30 range, but expect to pay ten times that for a model that extends and retracts on its own with the push of a button. You pull a handle at the bottom to both retract the blade and recharge the spring so it’s ready to deploy again. And it isn’t retracting like you might think. These knives feature a powered deployment, usually with a button of some type, but require you to manually retract the blade to reset it. However, it may not have the wow factor of other knives on the list. The upside is that you are in total control of the speed of your blade. The most common way of doing this is via a slider on the handle.

BENCHMADE OTF AUTOMATIC KNIVES MANUAL

They are exactly that, knives that deploy and retract through manual operation. The most basic and least expensive OTF knives are the manuals. It’s important to know the differences so you purchase the option that best suits your needs. Each has positives and negatives, and the prices will vary wildly. Types Of OTF KnivesĪs mentioned above, there are four types of OTF knives. Given many OTF knife options fall into both categories, certain models have a narrow window of legal ownership.Īs always, if OTF knives or switchblades tickle your fancy, please check your local laws before picking one up. Where this becomes an issue is some states that allow automatic knives have laws against double-edged blades. Furthermore, there are some issues when it comes to what many places call ‘stabbing instruments’ and other vague terms. However, 11 states still have a blanket ban. Most states now allow ownership and carry of OTF, and other types of, automatic knives. Going into 2023, the panic over OTF knives and other switchblades has somewhat subsided. The Federal Switchblade Act passed into law on Augand effectively banned auto knives across the country. However, thanks to a media campaign in the 1950s that showed automatic knives as the tool of choice for criminals and underworld types, including popular movies like “Rebel Without A Cause”, automatic knives were banned nationwide. In the past, these knives were favored by paratroopers and sailors. Then we’ll show you some of the best options on the market today. In this guide, we’ll look at some of the history, usage and types of OTF knives. Overall, OTF knives are a fascinating, if not slightly intimidating, corner of the knife world. Furthermore, the OTF knife needn’t any push-button, assisted-open system to flash cold, hard steel in the wink of an eye. The knife is distinct from its “Out-The-Side” cousin, at least as a switchblade–one of its most common forms–in the variety of the way the blade is brought into action.

In general, these fast-from-the-gate options are small, most with an average blade length of 3-3.75 inches, though there are certainly larger examples. In short, it has an enclosed handle with a blade that deploys from the front–the bolster, hilt or what have you. Despite A Rocky History Of Legality, OTF Knives Have Endured And Are Some Of The Most Popular Pocketknives On The Market TodayĪs its name suggests, an Out The Front (OTF) knife is a fairly straightforward affair.

Benchmade otf automatic knives