How do otf switchblades work

Fire and retract the blade a few times to lubricate the internal parts, then blow it out once more with compressed air to remove extra oil.

Keep your OTF knife covered and away from dust and moisture. If you carry your OTF knife every day, use a carrying pouch. The pouch will protect it from residue and reduce the number of times that you need to service it. No worries. Hold back the front hinge and slide the blade halfway down to the bottom of the casing. Reattach the spring and hook it onto the flat side of the metal plate. Slide the short lip into the groove, and snap it into place. Now, insert the thumb piece and put the top plate back on.

Hand tighten the screws, and test fire the blade to check the action. OTF knives come in different shapes and sizes.

However, these tips will work with most knives. Maintaining your OTF knife is easy, even if you have a history of breaking more things than you fix. Our in-house design experts model each double action knife with precision.

Browse our fine selection of double action, OTF knives. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Whether you are an enthusiast or a seasoned collector, find out the latest talks, on the latest trends, designs and everything OTFs.

Skip to navigation Skip to content. Lifetime Warranty Always Free Shipping. My Account. Benefits of Double Action Knives. I have to admit, the bright yellow scales were very attractive, and make the knife easy to find if you drop it.

The AUS-8 blade was pretty sharp, but a few swipes on my stones improved the edge greatly. AUS is equivalent to C, which is the low end of what I would consider acceptable knife steel. The construction seemed OK, but not great. The screws were pretty cheap, and a few were a little loose. The blade flicked in and out smartly several dozen times, before I tried using it for anything.

The spring became wedged, rendering the knife non-functional, and the blade seized. Shaking it repeatedly finally freed the spring where I could pull the blade all the way out, and retract it.

Then the knife started working right again. Cutting tape, paper, and string was uneventful, but shaving wood made the blade feel loose. For safety reasons, I discontinued further testing.

For looks, I give this knife 4 out of 5 stars. But for use, a dismal 2. It is basically an expensive letter-opener. Benchmade was nice enough to send an Infidel to a local knife dealer so I could pick it up legally, for testing and review. Thanks, Rick…. The fit and finish of the Infidel was about what I would expect from Benchmade, well-done. It felt good and solid in my hand. The blade was razor-sharp right out of the box. D-2 is excellent knife steel. The blade flicked in and out with authority, at least times.

When opened against cardboard, the blade stopped at around the halfway point, but did not seize. It was easy to manually pull the blade all the way out, then retract it. The knife then functioned good as new. The Infidel cut paper, leather, and small wood like hot butter, with no discernible blade play.

I discontinued further testing. In its own defense, for a light-duty knife, the Infidel performed well. Attacking a log with it was actually abuse. All-in-all, this is a great little light-duty pocket knife. And, it is waaaay cool! My first impression on the knife was that this was absolutely the most beautiful of all the knives I tested, and maybe all the knives I have seen. The purple scales were mottled, and looked almost like an abalone shell.

It was so pretty, I hated to have to cut anything with it. The blade was razor-sharp out of the box. The knife felt solid and tight. And it looked so good, I wanted to clip it to the outside of my belt for open-carry, and go to town, so everyone could see this knife. It was more like a piece of jewelry than a cutting tool.

However, I resisted the temptation and got to work. I really hated to take it outside, but business is business. I started by trimming a few tree branches. It chomped through branches up to finger-thickness with no issues whatsoever.

I feathered several sticks, and the Excalibur proved it could handle precision tasks. This was definitely abuse. I declined to test the Excalibur further, as I felt it had more than defended its honor, and did not want to chance anything happening to it.

The Excalibur had exceeding the other two knives by a large margin. It did what it needed to do. There was absolutely no blade play at all. Very doubtful, but it proved to be more than up to the task as a light-duty pocket knife…and then some. If I were going to spend this much on another knife, the Excalibur would be on my short list. If it seems that I am not a fan of OFTs, it is just my opinion. There are probably those who have a different opinion.

I would never dissuade anyone from having any kind of knife they want. I hope they serve you well. Contrary to folding knives which are operated manually, OTF knives are automatic and when activated the blade springs open through the front and locks into place.

There is usually a button or slide switch that activates the internal mechanism to allow the blade to eject. OTF knives can either be operated by a single-action or double-action mechanism. These knives have a release button that ejects the blade.

They are speedy and ferocious as they are deployed in seconds. However, in order to return the blade into its enclosure, a lever needs to be pulled back thus requiring the use of both hands.

It is important to take extra care to avoid injury when manually retracting the blade. The benefit of single action OTFs is that they are typically less pricey as they are less complex to their counterparts. Less parts mean less wear and tear which means they are more durable and resilient to last longer.

There is no need for manual or two handed operation. They are operated by a slide switch that is found either on the main side of the handle or the top side.