Sliding knife

An OTF knife, showing the blade being extended from the handle.

An OTF Knife, also known as an out-the-front knife, sliding knife, or telescoping knife, is a pocketknife with a blade that opens and closes through a hole in one end of the handle. Contrast this with the majority of knives, which are either standard folding knives or are "fixed blade" sheath knives (having 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.

OTF knives may be further subdivided into manual sliding knives, which are not restricted as inertia knives, and automatic OTF switchblade knives and gravity knives, which are restricted offensive weapons (white weapon).

Switchblades and gravity knives provide a great variety of different OTF mechanisms.

"Gentlemen's" OTF knives

Illustrated above are four very small OTF knives. Figure A shows simple rocking jaw type button, and Figure B is a roll-lock design. Both figures depict gravity knives that fall open. The leading edge of the roll cap or jaw acts as a hole cover when closed, and rests in a groove milled across the open blade tang in order to lock open.

Figures C and D are known as sliders or sliding knives. The knife blade must be pushed with the button along the length of the handle, finger pressure must overcome friction. The lock buttons on C & D are not automatic releases. Figure C is a Christy Cutter (trademark) ^[1] and Figure D is an antique design. The simplicity of sliding mechanisms have allowed some knife manufacturers to build extremely thin gentlemen's models, that are very comfortable to pocket.

Automatic OTF knives

a Microtech Hawk and OTF Scarab

An automatic OTF knife 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. The term "Slider" is usually not applied

There are two types of "Out the Front" automatic knives, DA-OTF (double-action) and SA-OTF (single-action). Double-action OTF knives deploy and retract with a multifunction button and spring design. Single-action OTF knives deploy automatically, but must be manually cocked or retracted to close.

Despite popular belief and movie magic, double-action OTF automatic knives are not powerful enough to open when pressed against an opponent and then pushing the button. Double-action sliding autos are only spring-powered 10 to 12 millimeters; afterwards, kinetic impetus slides the blade to full open. This is possibly a misbelief based on confusion with the ballistic knife which has a secondary handle tube with a robust coil spring for launching a fixed blade knife. However, some single-action autos, such as the Microtech Halo V, have enough power to penetrate a human target.

Gravity OTF knives

A gravity OTF knife is also not considered a slider, because the blade extends outward by force of gravity or inertia, instead of finger pressure. The most famous gravity knife is the Fallschirmjaeger-Messer, or German paratrooper knife of World War II. The term gravity knife should primarily reference the Fallschirmjaeger-Messer as the archetypical example.

Spring-assisted gravity knives

Some civilian gravity OTF knives have a small helper spring to kick out the blade. This partial spring drive is not sufficient to classify this type of knife as a switchblade, because it does not drive the blade out to full lock.

Sheath-deployed telescoping knives

Another type of telescoping sliding knife is the Kershaw Ripcord. This is a sheath knife that partially retracts into the handle, and has a small scabbard cap covering the remaining blade tip. The design utilizes a specialized belt hanger/holsters that grasps the retracted blade so the blade is pulled fully open when unholstering. It is a unique compact fixed blade alternative. During the 1990s, a similar sheath-activated sliding knife with embossed Red Star handle was sold in the United States, claimed to be a police knife from the People's Republic of China. However, no proof of this assertion has been shown.

Roll-lock sliding knives

A roll-lock knife is a type of sliding knife in which the blade rides on a track running the length of the scales, tilting into a detent to lock open or closed. Examples would be the Bench Mark Rollox, or its licensed derivative, the CRKT Rollock. Sliding knives like the Rollox are not considered inertia or gravity knife.

Spring-assisted out-the-front knives

Schrade and Smith & Wesson have both recently introduced OTF knives that are opened by sliding forward a handle attached to the blade to engage the torsion spring. As it is classified as spring-assisted, it is not proscribed by the Federal Switchblade Act or most state laws on switchblades.

References

↑ Details on the Christy Pocket Knife

The AKA, Automatic Knife Association Website
The AKTI, American Knife & Tool Institute standard knife definitions http://www.akti.org/PDFS/AKTIDefinitions.pdf
Switchblades of Italy, by Zinser, Fuller, Punchard & Saltzman 2003 Turner Publishing ISBN 1-56311-933-1

Knives and daggers
List of daggers List of blade materials
Types of knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boning Boot knife Bowie Bread knife Cane knife Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Electric knife Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Grapefruit knife Gravity knife Gunong Hunting knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kard Kīla Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Mezzaluna Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Nakiri bōchō Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pocket knife Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife Santoku SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Tomato knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Warrior knife X-Acto Yanagi ba Yatagan
Types of daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh naka Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Hachiwara Hunting dagger Janbiya Kaiken Kalis Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Kunai Mark I trench knife Ocean Edge Knife Parrying dagger Poignard Qolxad/Jile dagger Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō Marine Raider stiletto V-42 stiletto Yarará Parachute Knife Yoroidōshi
Knife manufacturers	Aitor Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Bear MCG Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Caber Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Cutlery DOVO Solingen Dexter-Russell Dirte Knives Eikhorn Ek Commando Knife Co. Emerson Knives Erizo F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Füritechnics Gerber Legendary Blades Global Golok Hanwei Imperial Schrade J. A. Henckels Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives MercWorx Microtech Knives Morseth Murphy Knives Ontario Knife Company Opinel Pro-Tech Knives Randall Made Knives Ranz Rigid Knives Rösle SOG Specialty Knives Sabatier Aîné & Perrier Spyderco Strider Knives Survival Aids TEKNA Thiers Issard Tramontina Victorinox Vox Knives W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Walther arms Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Windlass Steelcrafts Wüsthof Yarara Ltd Zero Tolerance Knives
Knifemakers	A.G. Russell American Bladesmith Society Rex Applegate James Black Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Phill Hartsfield Bill Harsey Jr. Gil Hibben Knifemakers' Guild Zanjan Knifemakers Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless Bob Lum William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler
Book:Knives and daggers Category:Knives / Daggers

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