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Posted: 4/10/2013 7:02:09 AM EDT
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I'v had a benchmade infidel for some time now, I bought it about 6 years ago when I graduated basic training. To be honest, I'v always had some reliability problems with the knife. It wont always deploy or retract, it dosent happen very often but it has happened enough in the past to make me loose confidence in the knife. I sent the knife back to Benchmade and they cleaned and replaced some parts and sent it back. It has definately been better since they worked on it, but I need a knife that will open 110% of the time. I work down in south west Texas and it tends to be fairly dusty, so I dont know if thats the problem or what. I finally stopped carying the knife and went back to my AFO. So my question is, would Microtech be any more reliable? Do I have a defective Infidel? Thanks in advance
Ryan |
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I cant really compare the two because ive only got a microtech that i purchased a few weeks ago. I was going to go with the benchmade but researched it and went with the microtech instead which hasnt gave me any issues. Below are some of the things i remember reading that were repeated in reviews/forums i read on the web.
Benchmade has great warranty and odds are you will use it more likely than microtech. Microtech is a "better" knife but microtech CS is hard to deal with and alot of times you will have to ship it to a dealer and then a dealer ship to microtech. Hopefully someone who has/had both will chime in about first hand knowledge of both. |
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I've carried and used the Infidel as well as Microtech's Scarab, Ultratech, Makora and Halo designs. DA OTF knives are simply unreliable, that's inhearant in the system, and if you really want a reliable OTF you need to get your hands on a Halo series single action knife. The springs are considerably stronger in SA's, but they're carried pre-cocked. DA's are carried uncocked and the sliding of the button cocks and fires the knife.
All DA's need to be run wet, lubrication is a must. Also they have a tendency to gunk up even after a very modest amount of carry. The best of the DA's is the Microtech Scarab, which has a more robust spring system (it uses two springs to fire the knife rather than a single spring like the Benchmade and Ultratech series), but it still has its faults. Microtech made a limited edition Seal Scarab which I'd consider to be the best of the Scarabs for reliability, it had flutes on its blade to allow dirt and debris, water, ect, to pass out of the knife, but those were limited to 200 pieces and next to impossible to find at any price these days. Still, if I were going to actually carry an OTF, I'd have a Halo 5. Much thicker blade, long and intimidating, better lockup (it's essentially a glorified button lock) and a much heavier spring. |
| I've had a ultratech for a few months and after a few times of firing off the track when brand new, it's been 100% reliable. That being said, I won't carry it on duty. As mentioned, OTF knives are not really 100% reliable for self defense. I carry a Benchmade 5000 auto for that. |
| I have a Microtech Scarab that I purchased and carried for almost 10 years and have not experienced any issues or problems. The balde still extends and retracts as quickly and with as much force as when I first purchased it. Granted, I don't use it to cut boxes or other menial tasks. But, the spring has not loosened up and is as tough as ever. The only issue that I have noticed is the belt clip is not as tight because of daily carry. I now cary it in a nylon belt case. |
| I had an infidel a few months back that never gave me problems, but its big, bulky and heavy. I recently bought a Microtech Troodon which I think is an amazing piece. The quality of the OTF feels much better along with minimal blade play. Its light and a much more slim design. They're using Elmax steel on some of their blades now which is a plus imo. I'm now trying to track down a MT Halo but its proven hard. |
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