Knife Review: Microtech Ultratech Hellhound Automatic Knife

The Microtech Ultratech Hellhound Automatic Knife

Microtech Knives is a knife manufacturing company famous for its automatic knives. The company was founded in Vero Beach, Florida in 1994 and operated there until relocating to Bradford, Pennsylvania in 2005 and then to Fletcher, North Carolina in 2009. In 2007 the company began manufacturing an American-made version of the Steyr AUG under the subsidiary name of Microtech Small Arms research (MSAR).

This company has long promoted itself as stressing quality with regard to tight machining tolerances, to within one thousandth of an inch. Custom knife makers, such as Greg Lightfoot have remarked that these tolerances are what makes the factory knives so close the custom design, saying, “It has the same quality as a handmade custom.”

Microtech has designed knives for use by the US Military such as the HALO, UDT, SOCOM, and Currahee models. Although Microtech has produced many styles of blades such as kitchen knives, fishing knives, arrow heads, and balisong knives; Microtech is most famous for tis tactical automatic knives. The most popular designs among their collectors are the “Out the Front” and the “Double Action” automatics. Microtech along with Benchmade Knives were responsible for the resurgence in the popularity of tactical automatic knives in the 1990s. These knives were seen more as a precision-made tool utilizing powerful springs and high-grade bushings as opposed to a cheap import.

Microtech has collaborated with famous knife makers and designers such as Ernest Emerson, Bob Terzuola, Mick Strider, Walter Brend, Mike Turber, Greg Lightfoot, and Reese Weiland on exclusive designs.

Today we will be discussing the Microtech Ultratech Hellhound automatic knife.

The Blade:

The blade on the Hellhound is made out of CTS 204P stainless steel. This steel can reasonably be compared to Bohler-Uddeholm’s M390 steel. However, it does have a little bit more tungsten than the other steel. This steel is known for having an incredibly high wear and corrosion resistance. Part of this is due to the fact that it does have a fine-grained alloy, which also means that this is a good choice for high end folding knives and automatics, such as the Hellhound, as well as some fixed blades.

Other than that, it is going to preform like a high-end stainless steel is expected to. You can expect it to keep its high level of quality without too much maintenance. You will want to wipe down the blade after each use, but you won’t have to worry about scrubbing it after each use, like you might with some steels. This is a harder steel, so it might be slightly more difficult to sharpen, but nothing that an experienced sharpener can’t handle.

This steel is not a super common one, but it is a high-end steel. It will be able to hang with most tasks, so you won’t ever have to question whether or not it is going to be able to defend you when you need it most—it can handle it.

The blade has been finished with a stonewash. This is a common blade finish that you are going to find in the cutlery industry today. This finish provides a more rugged and tough look, which pairs perfectly with such a harsh knife as the Hellhound is.

The stonewashed finish is created when the blade is tumbled with small ceramic (or glass, or other material) pebbles. This roughs up the steel, creating texture in it. After it has been tumbled, it is removed, smoothed out, and polished. This means that the actual blade is going to be smooth and ready for slicing, but the textured look is going to remain in the blade.

This textured look is going to create a low-maintenance blade, because it will easily hide the scratches and smudges that accumulate over time or with heavy use. The textured look also creates more of a matte appearance, which is going to cut down on glares and reflections. This benefits you if you are using this tactical blade in the field, because none of the glares will be able to give away your position.

The blade has been carved into a patented hellhound tanto style blade. The tanto blade shape is a knife that has a high point with a flat grind. The unsharpened edge meets the sharpened edge at an angle, instead of the better-known curve. The tanto blade shape has a rich history. The shape has evolved from the ancient Japanese Samurai swords. However, in the 1980’s, Cold Steel modernized the shape and popularized the American tanto blade shape. This style of knife is interesting because it is not versatile in any way.

This blade is not going to be your all purpose, every day knife. However, it does one thing, and it does it better than any other knife will be able to do that. It has a crazy strong tip because of the amount of metal that is near the tip. Because of this, it can pierce through hard and tough materials easily. This blade shape can also endure repeated stabbing, without breaking, snapping, or chipping, like other blade shapes would. Not only that, but you will actually be able to hammer, dig, or pry with this blade shape. Because the two edges meet at an angle, instead of the regular curve, the tanto blade shape has no belly. And while the ancient Samurai swords could produce some long slicing movements, a belly is going to give you the best slicing ability. So, while you will be able to manage some slices with the Ultratech Hellhound, it is not going to act like a drop point blade shape.

The tanto blade is one of the strongest blade shapes, so this knife makes for an excellent tactical, fighting, or survival knife. One of the drawbacks to the tanto blade is that even though the point is strong, it is hard to control. This means that it will not be a great option for delicate detail or tasks like skinning or peeling. While this knife is not going to be able to manage performing all of your tasks, it is going to excel at the tasks that it is designed to do.

The blade has another unique characteristic about it. The back of the blade has some deep teeth cut into it. Under these teeth are small circles cut out of the steel. This adds a very unique look that you aren’t going to find on other blades

The Handle:

The handle has been made out of 6061-T6 aluminum. Aluminum itself is a widely popular option for high-quality knife handle materials. Aluminum is tough, durable, incredibly corrosion resistant, and best of all, it is lightweight. However, it is also prone to getting scratched.

Aluminum is known to be a low-density metal, which is where the low weight of the handle comes in from. A low-density metal is a metal that is going to provide you with the heft that you need to take on all of your tasks. It is not going to make you feel that you cannot rely on the handle—instead, it is going to give you enough heft in your hand that you feel confident. Confident enough to take on whatever comes your way. Confident enough to rely on the Microtech Ultratech Hellhound. That being said, it is not going to weigh you down. This is a larger knife, so any lightness is going to be appreciated.

6061-T6 aluminum is the most common aluminum alloy that is used. This is also because it is the toughest of all the aluminum alloys. It has the highest yield resistance of any. It is going to give you everything that aluminum originally would have and then increase it. With this handle, you are going to have a reliable and solid knife to use.

The handle has been adonized black. There are a few major benefits of having your aluminum handle anodized. The first is that the anodization is actually a chemical change of the surface of the aluminum. This means that the sleek black color is not going to peel off like a regular coating could and would do. That does not mean that the color cannot be scratched off though. While the aluminum can still be scratched, the anodization process is going to make it harder to do so. If the surface was scratched, you would be able to see the original silver aluminum underneath the anodized surface.

The rest of the handle is pretty typical Microtech OTF knife. It is mostly rectangular with small portions of jimping on various parts of the handle. Those sections of jimping are going to give you more texture, which will lead to better grip. This also means that you will be able to more fully rely on the Hellhound while using it.

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip is not a deep carry clip, but it is incredibly thick. This means that it is going to stay more securely inside of your pocket—while it is not going to sit as low as possible in your pocket, the thick clip will securely latch onto your pocket, allowing you to move about your day-to-day tasks without worrying about it falling out. The clip does have the number of the knife stamped on it, as well as the Microtech logo, and a signature. These are etched into the metal. The clip can only be attached on the traditional side of the handle for tip down carry, which does mean that this is not going to be an ambidextrous friendly knife. But, because it is a tip down knife, it is going to be a little bit safer to carry. If it accidentally comes open inside of your pocket, you won’t have to worry about reaching in to your pocket and getting cut.

The Mechanism:

This is an automatic knife, which does mean that it is not going to be legal in all states, cities, or areas of the United States. It is your responsibility, as the user and purchaser to know your local knife laws and obey them. BladeOps is not responsible for any of the consequences for broken laws.

This is an OTF knife, which means that the blade is deployed out of a hole in one end of the knife, instead of the typical side of the knife. The blade is deployed automatically with the slide on the side of the handle. Since it is an automatic knife, it will be easier to bring into play.

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 3.375 inches long with a handle that measures in at 5 inches long even. This means that the overall length of the knife is going to measuring at a large 8.375 inches long. This is a larger knife, but it also is a lighter weight knife, weighing in at 3.7 ounces. While this is not necessarily a lightweight knife, for such a large knife, it is lighter weight. This knife is also made in the United States of America, which does mean that you will be able to trust the quality of this Microtech.

Conclusion:

The Ultratech without question has been Microtech's flagship out the front auto knife since its induction in 1999. Recently it has gone through an additional aesthetic redesign after the overwhelming success and praise of the traditional styling. While the dimensions of the Ultratech remain unchanged, the handle has been stripped back down to its original roots--now offering a smooth chassis, however still boasting the tri-angle hardware, a redesigned thumb slide and the glass breaker that now includes a press fitted ball bearing for a more comfortable, but still functional, user experience. Each Microtech OTF knife has extremely sophisticated internal mechanisms which improve the overall operational functionality and reliability. This model features a black anodized aluminum handle complete with standard bead blasted hardware and an integrated glass breaker function along with a Microtech patented hellhound tanto style blade in a stonewash finish.

The Microtech Ultratech Hellhound automatic knife is in stock currently at BladeOps. Purchase yours now, here.