Lightning Double Action Out The Front–Taiwanese Version

This out the front knife (or OTF as they are often referred to) is one of the best budget knives you will find for under $50.00. There are two versions of this knife, one made in Taiwan, and the other made in China. Be careful, the Chinese one is significantly less well made.

The Taiwanese version has a silver button slide on the spine of the knife. As you can see from the picture, it is relatively simple in design and shape. A narrow rectangle forms the handle. The handle does have some pattern work on the narrow sides which gives a nice grip.

This OTF has a solid push button that isn’t difficult to activate but is stiff enough not to activate by accident. As you push the button up, the blade comes out of the handle very fast. It locks up firmly in the open position. To close the knife, you simply pull the button back down and the blade retracts just as fast. This is where this particular knife excels. The Chinese version sits somewhat loose in the open position and isn’t particularly fast. It also seems to misfire from time to time–it doesn’t quite open all the way and the blade “comes off of the tracks”. By this I mean you can tell that it isn’t riding right inside the handle. You can easily fix it by firmly pulling the blade to the fully exteneded position and it clicks back “onto the tracks”. The Taiwanese version, the one I am reviewing, has yet to do this to me. It is a great knife for the money.

The blade is sharp and seems to be of above average quality. The knife is well made, tight, and a nice one for your collection. I rate this knife a 9 out of 10.

Specifications:

Overall Length: 8 1/16

Blade Length: 3 3/8″