Bear OPS Dark Grey Out the Front Automatic Knife Review

Bear and Son has a rich family tradition in knife making. They have a skilled and experienced work force capable of performing many of the extra hand operations that go into the making of their products. The Bear & Son factory is unique: it is full self-contained. While some companies only assemble parts brought form various suppliers and put their names on the product, Bear & Son does everything in-house from building their own blanking dies to heat treating, grinding and assembly, and hand finishing their products. It is these steps that ensure that Bear & Son Cutlery is of excellent quality and a real value for both the dealer and consumer.

This commitment to excellence has just improved due to rich family tradition in knife making craftsmanship not only by management, but also their experienced work force. Their customers and consumers can look for even more new and exciting products as a result. Their ongoing commitment is to make them in America and make them affordable. They want everyone to be able to afford what they are proud to make.

Bear OPS Knives is a new subsidiary of Bear & Son Cutlery. Because they take their obligation of duty to our country very seriously; their goal is to manufacture the best tactical knives available for those who serve. Bear OPS knives are made with Operational Precision for Superior Tactical Knives, or OPS, that can be relied on for any situation.

Bear OPS only uses USA manufactured parts, material, and a dedicated workforce. Bear OPS uses only premium 154CM and CPM S30V steel for their blades and use their own heat treat, waterjet, and CNC grinders to finish the blades. Bear OPS is designed and engineered by the experts in their R&D and their in-house tool makers. You will always be proud to carry a knife from Bear OPS.

Bear & Son Cutlery has already and will continue to manufacture the “best knives made in the USA” that will now include tactical and military knives made in the USA. Come pick up your favorite Bear OPS knife today at BladeOps.

Today we will be talking about the Bear OPS Dark Grey Out the Front S/E Out the Front automatic knife.

 

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of Sandvik 14C28N steel. Sandvik says, “Sandvik 14C28N is the latest development in Sandvik’s range of knife steels. Optimized chemistry provides a top grade knife steel with a unique combination of excellent edge performance, high hardness, and good corrosion resistance.” This steel is a perfect match for knife blades because it allows for the highest attainable hardness without the compromising of micro-structure integrity. This steel is also easy to re-sharpen and it doesn’t need to be sharpened very often. This steel can be hardened to about a 55-62 HRC. This steel also sports a high corrosion resistance to any humidity. This steel makes for a fantastic tactical blade, because it will not rust in extreme environments. It will also be able to stand up to the tougher tasks and you won’t have to worry about if your blade can handle it or not.

This Bear OPS blade has been finished with a satin finish. The satin finish is the most traditional and popular blade finishes in the cutlery industry today. The satin finish is created by repeatedly sanding the blade in one direction with an increasing level of a fine abrasive, which is usually a sandpaper. This works to show off the fine lines in the blade and show the bevels of the blade. With this blade finish, you know that your knife is not going to go out of style.

The drop point blade style is the most popular blade style that you can find in the industry today. This is because the blade is versatile as well as being extremely tough. This blade shape is formed by having the spine of the blade runs straight from the handle of the knife to the tip of blade in a slow curved manner, which results in a lowered tip. It is this lowered tip that allows you to have more control over the cuts and as well as allowing you to perform fine tip work. Not only is this tip lowered, but it is also very broad, which means that it is very tough. This is what makes the Bear OPS knife a fantastic tactical knife. Because of the strength behind this blade, you are capable of taking on the toughest of tasks. It is this characteristic strength that also will make this knife a great survival knife. Another fantastic attribute of the drop point blade style is that it has such a large belly, which is ideal for slicing. This means that not only will you be able to use this knife as a tactical and survival knife, but you can also use it as an everyday carry knife. The drop point blade style only has one major drawback to it, which is that because of the broad tip, this knife is almost incapable of piercing or stabbing. You do need to keep in mind that it is this broad tip that gives you so much strength, so often times, the user can ignore that they cannot stab with this knife.

 

The Handle:

The handle on this knife is made out of aluminum. Aluminum is a very durable material, especially when you are looking at it for your knife handles; it has plenty of advantages. For starters, aluminum is considered a low density metal, so it is a lightweight knife that still offers you enough heft behind it to take on your day-to-day tasks. Aluminum also has extreme tensile strength behind it. When this knife is correctly texturized, it will give you a reasonably secure grip that is comfortable, even if you are using this knife for extended periods of time. On the flip side, aluminum does have high conductive properties, which means that if you are using this knife in the colder months, it will be uncomfortable to use. Also, the aluminum handle is susceptible to dings and scratches.

The handle has been anodized a dark grey color. Anodizing is an electrochemical process that converts the aluminum surface into a decorative, durable, corrosion resistant, and anodic oxide finish. The actual anodizing is accomplished by immersing the aluminum into an acid electrolyte bath and passing an electric current through the medium. Basically, anodizing is a matter of highly controlled oxidation, because it is the enhancement of a naturally occurring phenomenon. One of the biggest advantages to an anodized knife handle is that it chemically changes the surface of the aluminum, which means that it will not scratch, chip, or peel off. The knife handle will always be dark grey.

The handle is mostly rectangular, although it does bulge out slightly in the middle on both the spine and the bottom of the knife. To help add texture, there are portions of jimping across the spine and bottom of the handle, which allow you to better hold onto the knife when you are in a tactical situation. There is also a chevron pattern that is in two sections on the face of the handle. These grooves work to give you better grip throughout your using of this knife.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on this knife is statically designed for tip down carry. And unfortunately, it can only be attached on the traditional side of the handle. Attached to the pocket clip is a glass breaker, which allows you to use this knife in an emergency situation. All of the hardware on this knife is silver, which matches the blade.

 

The Mechanism:

This is an out the front, double action, automatic knife. An out the front knife, or an OTF knife, is a blade that opens and closes through a hole in one end of the handle. This is different than your typical knife, which is a standard folding knife, or even a fixed blade which has no mechanical operation. OTF only refers to the basic portion of the knife’s mechanical operation where the blade slides parallel with the handle to deploy.

Then, in the OTF category, you can further divide it into either an automatic OTF or a manual OTF knife. This is an automatic OTF knife, which means that the blade travels within an internal track or channel in the same manner as a manual slider or gravity knife. But the automatic main spring drive and button mechanism enclosed within requires a switchblade handle to be thicker or longer than a similar size gravity or sliding knife.

In the automatic knife category, it can even be further subdivided into either a double action or a single action. This is a double action knife, which means that the knife can deploy and retract with a multifunction button and spring design. This is different than a single action knife which can deploy automatically, but must be manually cocked or retracted to close.

There is a common myth because of movie magic that double action OTF knives are powerful enough to open when pressed against an opponent and then pushing the button. But this is just a myth and is not accurate. Double action sliding automatics are only spring-powered 10 to 12 millimeters. At this point, kinetic impetus slides the blade to full open.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Specs:

The blade measures in at 3.25 inches long with a handle that measures in at 4.25 inches long. When this knife is opened, it measures in at an overall length of 7.5 inches long. This automatic knife weighs in at 3.2 ounces. This Bear OPS knife was made in the United States, so you can feel proud to own, carry, and use it.

 

The Pros of the Bear OPS automatic knife:

• The blade steel has high hardness.
• The blade steel is capable of being easily sharpened and does not need to be sharpened often.
• The satin finish is one of the more traditional blade finishes that you are going to come across.
• The drop point blade is tough and will be able to take on almost any task.
• The drop point blade has a large belly that allows you to easily slice anything.
• The aluminum handle is strong.
• The aluminum handle is lightweight, but gives you the heft that you need behind all of your tasks.
• The aluminum handle is very durable.
• The aluminum handle is very resistant to corrosion, which means that maintenance time will not take long.
• The anodization provides a more durable, more highly corrosion resistant, and more aesthetically pleasing look.
• Because it is a double action OTF knife, it can be deployed and retracted with a slide of the lever, instead of just deployed.
• Handle is textured and jimped so that you can have the most secure grip on this knife.

 

The Cons of the Bear OPS automatic knife:

• The satin finish does add cost to the knife because it is a manual process.
• The drop point blade has a broad tip that does not allow you to stab or pierce.
• The handle will be cold to hold because of the conductive properties.
• The handle is prone to scratches and dings.

 

 

Conclusion:

Bear OPS is a tactically-inspired division of the Bear & Son Cutlery brand with a sole mission of providing top-end products for those who serve. These products are 100% Berry Compliant–offering USA-only manufactured parts, materials and labor. It comes as no surprise that Bear OPS now offers a brand new automatic knife into their arsenal–a double-action out the front complete with smooth contouring, aggressive styling and a glass breaker function to enhance its versatility. This model, the OTF-100-AlBK-S, features a dark grey anodized aluminum handle, a drop point style blade in a satin finish and a pocket clip that is statically designed for tip down carry only on the traditional side of the handle. Pick up this knife at BladeOps.