How To Videos

OTF knives are cool, fun, and convenient with one hand operation. However, it is probably one of the most needy knife. 

OTF knife is a switchblade. When we think of switchblades, we often think of the side opening switchblade. The side opening switchblade relies on the torsional spring that’s situated away from the cutting surface. For that reason, the torsional spring doesn’t gest as dirty. As for an OTF knife, when the blade retracts into the body of the knife, it is bringing into the handle debris and gunk. 

Inside the body of an OTF knife, there isn’t a lot of space for debris and gunk. The space between the blade and the body is very little. This is especially true for OTF knives that have less play on the blade. A solution to overcome the debris and gunk for an OTF knife is to equip the knife with a stronger spring. However, the stronger the spring, the harder it is to retract and deploy the knife. So there is a fine balance between blade play and spring strength. 

Anyway, it is important to clean your OTF knife often to avoid a failure in deployment. In summary, you would take the knife apart and clean the blade and the inside of the body. We recommend acetone or rubbing alcohol. You want to make sure the solvent has completely evaporated before putting the knife back together. We don’t recommend using any kind of lubricant as that will attract dirt and grimes, and the viscosity will cause the deployment to fail.