Spyderco Forums

I know that Spyderco has a few automatics (OTS). Has there been any thought of a Out the Front (OTF) model?

It's been brought up a few times and, IIRC, there's never been any response from Spyderco one way or another. I'd be up for one, but only if it was D/A, D/E and PE.

We've thought about it a number of times. Eric is considering one, but nothing in the immediate future..

sal

The Deacon wrote: ↑

Fri May 03, 2019 4:34 pm

It's been brought up a few times and, IIRC, there's never been any response from Spyderco one way or another. I'd be up for one, but only if it was D/A, D/E and PE.

well now that Sal has shown a tiny light at the end of the tunnel, I'll second Deacons Double Action Double Edge but I'd like to complement his plain edge version with one version of the blade with 1 plain edge and 1 serrated edge.

I'd be very curious if the ergonomics (which is why I go to Spyderco) could be carried over into an OTF. All my OTFs are pretty much just boxes with blades. That's not to say they aren't nice--but they are what they are. And "box with blade", even "pretty, fun, bling, box with blade" isn't really what comes to mind when I think of Spyderco.

What Tom said...

It would be expensive,and illegal to carry in most places,not to talk about the sheeple reaction when you take out your OTF,so the market will be very small.Collectible-sure.

spyderwolf wrote: ↑

Sat May 04, 2019 1:24 am

It would be expensive,and illegal to carry in most places,not to talk about the sheeple reaction when you take out your OTF,so the market will be very small.Collectible-sure.

I totally grant anyone who likes the concept, an OTF Spyderco, but no real interest here: One reason for that, as spyderwolf pointed out: Even in Austria, where I live and knife-laws are still really liberal, this would be about the only kind of pocket knife I could NOT carry legally...

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Fri May 03, 2019 9:48 pm

I'd be very curious if the ergonomics (which is why I go to Spyderco) could be carried over into an OTF. All my OTFs are pretty much just boxes with blades. That's not to say they aren't nice--but they are what they are. And "box with blade", even "pretty, fun, bling, box with blade" isn't really what comes to mind when I think of Spyderco.

I'll agree that most Microtechs are "boxes with blades", but there are other OTFs with a more ergonomic handle shape, like the Piranha Excalibur and X-Rated.

spyderwolf wrote: It would be expensive,and illegal to carry in most places,not to talk about the sheeple reaction when you take out your OTF,so the market will be very small.Collectible-sure.

Not to mention that good OTF autos tend to be expensive. I agree that the market would be small, which is why I doubt it will ever happen. Still, fun to dream sometimes.

Us laws for autos are changing on a state level but still federally regulated. So that's always a conundrum for autos. Cost and quality for OTFs is a huge thing. The phaeton has an actual guard built into the handle so ergos can be incorporated. Hogue autos have more shape than just a basic box too. The compound looks pretty decent in that regard. Guard in front and hook in the back. The blade shape just has to suffer from the fact that it comes straight out.
The question is to what degree you're willing to sacrifice certain features to gain others. When designing something very ergonomic you would have this very strange handle with a blade that's not very high/wide depending on how you define it.
I'd imagine that an ergonomic otf would look very disproportionate when the blade comes out.

Now that autos are legal here I'd definitely be in for a spyderco OTF. Another fun feature is they're usually ambidextrous or could easily be made ambi if they have the side mount slider.

OTFs are legal in Austria!

I do not carry one because it's too heavy and also it might trigger more interest as I'd like to have.

OTF's aren't legal in A Lot of countries and there's a difference between making an OTF and making a good OTF.
I'd love to see a Spyderco OTF, but it's a lot of trial and error with those types of knives. It's a different ballpark than folding knives.
I know they'll be able to manufacture a good OTF, but it'd have a high price point and it would take a lot of R&D and time.
With the amount of projects lined up for Spyderco, I doubt we'll see one any time soon.

Besides, OTF's are half function half gimmick IMO.
Don't get me wrong, I really like them; but I reckon it won't be high on their list.

(Is anyone else really intrigued about Deacon's OTF collection?)

Why? OTFs in general. Novelty? Tacti-cool? Fright factor? Movies and TV are going to love them especially in the hands of the bad and evil.

Other than novelty, I just don’t see the point.

The Deacon wrote: ↑

Sat May 04, 2019 4:01 am

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Fri May 03, 2019 9:48 pm

I'd be very curious if the ergonomics (which is why I go to Spyderco) could be carried over into an OTF. All my OTFs are pretty much just boxes with blades. That's not to say they aren't nice--but they are what they are. And "box with blade", even "pretty, fun, bling, box with blade" isn't really what comes to mind when I think of Spyderco.

I'll agree that most Microtechs are "boxes with blades", but there are other OTFs with a more ergonomic handle shape, like the Piranha Excalibur and X-Rated.

I've been wanting to pick one of those up for a while because they're local to me, but the 154cm has made me hold off. My previous experiences with 154cm weren't great. The difference between 154cm and cpm154 has been really dramatic in my personal experience.

spyderwolf wrote: ↑

Sat May 04, 2019 1:24 am

It would be expensive,and illegal to carry in most places,not to talk about the sheeple reaction when you take out your OTF,so the market will be very small.Collectible-sure.

While I agree that in most places the reaction from other people is likely to be pretty extreme, that's not true everywhere. I see people EDCing OTFs here (I also see people openly carrying firearms--it's just that kind of place) with no real general reactions.

It's definitely a tiny market if you're looking for EDC though. If you tried to carry an OTF where my parents live (for example) you'd probably get tackled by the police the first day.

MichaelScott wrote: ↑

Sat May 04, 2019 8:37 am

Why? OTFs in general. Novelty? Tacti-cool? Fright factor? Movies and TV are going to love them especially in the hands of the bad and evil.

Other than novelty, I just don’t see the point.

They have some utility to them. Can't close them on your hand either. But everything has a trade off.

Movies also love spyder edged knives too. "Evil" serrated knives.

I still carry serrated knives. Movies are the reason behind the switchblade ban anyway.

VashHash wrote: ↑

Sat May 04, 2019 9:29 am

Movies are the reason behind the switchblade ban anyway.

For sure. Movies have given people a very distorted view of _a lot_ of things.

MichaelScott wrote: ↑

Sat May 04, 2019 8:37 am

Why? OTFs in general. Novelty? Tacti-cool? Fright factor? Movies and TV are going to love them especially in the hands of the bad and evil.

Other than novelty, I just don’t see the point.

No problem Michael, there are a lot of things I don't see the point of that other people crave. Will say that I can't recall ever seeing an OTF auto in a movie or TV show. Balisongs, yes, and usually in the hands of a BG. "Italian" switchblades, the same. Tactial side opening autos, yes, although sometimes used by good guys as well. Firearms, constantly, and often brually demonized. But heck, more than a few Spydercos have wound up in the hands of bad guys in movies, TV, and even in print. Heck, I discovered Spyderco from reading Hannibal.


As for the rest, the same things could be said about automatics in general.

But getting back to OTF autos, being left handed, the fact that a D/A D/E OTF is almost always going to be hand neutral is a plus factor for me. I also feel that an automatic with a firing button that slides is considerably less prone to accidental opening if I were to fall or bump against something. Sure, a lot of side opening autos have a safety, but having to release a safety before opening the knife makes them slower than almost any conventional one hand opener. Not to mention that a lot of the safeties are very stiff and difficult for me to operate. And, I must admit, the kid in me finds them fun to play with. :o

Deacon, have you handled the D Rocket OTF? I have that one and it's a "legal to carry" (sub 3") length for a lot of places. Plus, it's m390, which I love.

It's still in the "box with blade" category, but it has these super fine micro grip lines that actually improve the grip ergonomics quite a lot.

Plus, it's a designer Spyderco has already run a collaboration with, which makes it a good place to look for a collab design in the future.

I own a small (less than ten) number of OTFs, and I've definitely developed a preference for a single edge for EDC (better slicing) which means the only one that really gets any EDC time at this point is a Microtech single edge. I just have a lot of trouble using the thick double edge grinds for some of my common EDC tasks (cutting an apple, for example, becomes an exercise akin to splitting a log).