Knife Review: Hogue Knives Vintage Battleworn American Flag Exploit OTF Automatic Knife

The Hogue Knives Vintage Battleworn American Flag Exploit OTF Automatic Knife

Another BladeOps Exclusive

Hogue explains their knife line by saying, “Hogue’s line of fine sporting cutlery represents the ultimate value in tactical folding and fixed blade knives: the vision of renowned custom knife maker Allen Elishewitz expressed through Hogue’s state-of-the-art manufacturing processes. Made in America by American craftsmen, a Hogue knife at your side is a trusted – and trustworthy – companion, an heirloom quality blade combining the best of old-world craftsmanship and design set in the context of modern-day, real-world applications for a tactical blade.”

Let’s take a look at one of BladeOps’ Exclusive Hogue knives, the Vintage Battleworn American Flag Exploit. This is a new arrival at BladeOps, so you can get yours just in time for the most patriotic month of the year.

The Designer:

The man behind this knife is Allen Elishewitz. He is a Texas native, but that hasn’t stopped him from living around the globe in places like Singapore and Thailand. He says that he has been interested in knives since he was young. He also has been practicing martial arts for over thirty years. Those two interests and trainings, along with his time as a Recon Marine, gave him the ideal history to design defense and utility knives.

He began making knives in college, but upon graduation, he decided to become a full-time knifemaker. Since 1988, he has been in the business of knife making, which has given him plenty of time to research, refine, and develop his craft. In 1994, he became a member of the American Knifemakers Guild, which made him the youngest Guild Member at the time. With his history and experiences, you can only expect a phenomenal knife from him.

The Blade:

The blade on this Hogue knife is made out of CPM S30V stainless steel. This steel is created and manufactured by Crucible Industries, specifically with high end kitchen cutlery and pocket knives in mind. This means that while they were inventing the steel matrix, they were constantly thinking about exactly what you were going to want out of the steel. Crucible is known for making high end steels that are a hit in the cutlery industry. CPM S30V steel is no different.

For starters, it has a high level of corrosion resistance. This means that the blade is already going to be incredibly low-maintenance, which is ideal for a tactical knife. When you are out in the field, you never know how well you are going to be able to clean and maintain your blade, so knowing that you don’t have to put much time or energy into it is a big relief. Really, all you have to do is wipe down the blade and make sure that it is dry before putting it back in the handle. That being said, it is a good idea to oil the blade occasionally to seal out anything you don’t want on your blade.

The biggest advantage of this steel is that it is known to have nearly a perfect balance between hardness, toughness, and edge retention. Really. That’s its claim to fame. And oddly enough, this is a hard balance to achieve. The harder the steel is, the less tough it is. The tougher a steel is, the less hard it is going to be. And the less hard it is, the worse it is at maintaining its edge. As you can see, a lot of moving parts go into it. However, Crucible discovered a way to get all of the best of these qualities together. It is tough enough to feel durable for you to use often. It is hard enough that you don’t have to worry about it being flimsy. And it is hard enough that the edge on it is going to be razor sharp for quite some time.

Of course, with a steel this great, you can expect some drawbacks. The biggest disadvantage of this steel is that it is hard to work with, which means that it is going to be hard to sharpen. A beginner sharpener should not be attempting to sharpen this steel. However, a professional sharpener can get a razor-sharp edge on this, which like we mentioned, will last.

The blade has been coated with a Cerakote job, which enhances the overall look as well as providing increased wear, corrosion, and chemical resistance. Plus, the Cerakote job will increase the impact strength and hardness. Really, with a 360-degree Cerakote job, you cannot go wrong with your blade. The Cerakote on this blade is a sleek black.

The blade has been carved into a classic clip point blade shape, which is one of the more popular blade shapes today. The clip point’s biggest advantage is that it is going to excel at piercing. This is due to the “clip” which is the portion of the spine where it begins to angle downward instead of extending straight out of the handle. This portion creates a lowered tip, which is going to give you added control over your cuts. It also creates a finer and sharper tip, which are the qualities that allow the clip point to excel at piercing.

The thinner tip means that there is going to be less drag when inserting the blade into your target as well as less friction when pulling it back out. This means that you can pierce things more smoothly as well as quicker.

Of course, the thinner tip is also somewhat of a disadvantage because it does mean that the tip is going to be weaker and more prone to breaking. You do have to be careful, especially when using this on harder targets.

The last major advantage of a clip point, one that really does set it apart, is the large belly that it sports. The belly is largely rounded, which gives you more surface area. These qualities are going to help it excel at slicing, which is going to equip you to take on a wider variety of tasks.

The Handle:

The handle is made out of 6061-T6 aluminum, which is the strongest alloy of aluminum. The aluminum is known for being tough, durable, and corrosion resistant. All of these different qualities do translate into a lower maintenance knife handle. Of course, 6061-T6 is going to be even better at those qualities than a regular aluminum handle would.

That being said, aluminum does have a few disadvantages. The first is that it has high conductive properties. This means that when it is cold outside, the aluminum itself is going to be extra cold. While this usually shouldn’t be too big of a deal, if you are planning on working in extra-cold environments, this could hold you back. The other major disadvantage is that aluminum is prone to getting scratched.

The handle has been finished by Joe Firearms, which gives it a never-before-seen colorway that looks like a Vintage Battleworn American Flag. The portion closest to the blade is blue with gray stars. The other 2/3rds of the handle is gray and red stripes.

The handle itself has three larger finger grooves, each one getting deeper and smaller as it extends toward the end. These are there for comfort. The face of the handle has been finished with a honeycomb texture, which is going to give you the grip you need to take on tougher tasks.

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip is a reversible deep carry clip that has been designed for both right and left-handed users. This clip, along with the automatic function, do help this knife become nearly fully-ambidextrous friendly. Because it is an OTF knife, the clip can only be attached for tip down carry. However, this should not be a disadvantage, because tip down is the safer way to carry a knife. This is due to the unlikely scenario where the knife does come open inside of your pocket. Since the blade will be deployed tip down, you will be able to reach into your pocket safely without worrying about slicing your hand.

The deep carry aspect of the pocket clip is an especially large benefit with this tactical knife. This will allow the Hogue to sit low in your pocket, thus further concealing it. But that is not all. It will also allow it to sit more securely inside of your pocket, which will allow you to move about freely without the concern of it falling out. This can be incredibly important if you are choosing to use this knife in the field where you’ll be moving around a lot.

The clip is black, which matches the blade and the rest of the hardware on the Vintage Battleworn American Flag Exploit.

The Mechanism:

This is an automatic OTF knife. Because it is an automatic, it is not going to be legal in all states, cities, or areas of the United States. It is your responsibility as the purchaser and user to now your local knife laws before buying or carrying this knife. BladeOps is not responsible.

The difference between a regular pocket knife and an OTF is really just where the blade comes out of. Instead of unfolding out of the side on a hinge, the OTF is designed so that the blade comes out of a hole in one end of the handle. To deploy the blade, all you have to do is move the lever that sits on the spine of the handle. This lever is more triangular than you would normally see on an OTF. It is stepped, so that it does have a little bit more texture for your grip and assistance.

The automatic OTF does require the handle to be thicker than a manual OTF would need to be.

The Specs:

The blade on this Hogue knife measures in at 3.5 inches long with a handle that measures in at 4.8 inches long. This creates an overall length of 8.3 inches long when the blade has been deployed. This is on the larger side of the knife spectrum. But, because the knife has been made with lighter weight materials, it weighs in at an ideal 4 ounces even. This is light enough that you won’t feel weighed down. In fact, with this tactical blade, you can easily have it in the field with you, or even take it for your outdoor sports, without having to worry about the added weight that it will bring. We know that every ounce counts, which makes this knife so perfect. Each ounce brings exactly what it needs to with no added weight. And, the 4 ounces will still have enough heft that you do feel in control of whatever the task at hand may be. There will be no worrying about whether or not this blade can stand up to it.

This BladeOps’ Exclusive Hogue knife was made in the United States of America, which is perfect for the theme of it.

Conclusion:

This exclusive out-the-front knife features Cerakote™ finished aluminum handles in a Vintage Battleworn American Flag graphic and a clip point style blade in a black finish.

BladeOps has teamed up with Hogue Knives and Utah's premier and most experienced firearm customization shop, Joe Firearms, to debut an extremely limited customized run of 3 different Hogue automatics sporting never-before-seen colorways that will be sure to please knife and gun enthusiasts alike. All knives receive a custom 360° Cerakote™ job (a $75+ value!) that will not only enhance the overall look, but provide increased wear, corrosion and chemical resistance all while increasing impact strength and hardness--and no two are alike!

The redesigned Exploit is an Allen Elishewitz designed model features a slimmer profile and enlarged honeycomb texturing in addition to shallow finger grooves for plenty of hold and the side-mounted trigger helps to both deploy and retract the blade with plenty of power. The reversible deep-carry pocket clip is ideal for both right and left-handed users.

This exclusive knife is currently in stock at BladeOps. This is going to go quickly though, so hurry over and buy yours here.