Since switchblade knives are now legal in my home state of Indiana for the first time in over 50 years, I need to buy some! Indiana along with a few other states just legalized switchblades so I need some suggestions from this in the know about a good switchblade for the money.
I like out the front Microtech type knives but I’m open to any and all switchblade that is a well built knife for reasonable money. I don’t want to spend more than $100 on a switchblade because it is really just a toy for me.
The only one I know of is the Ganzo. It’s OK but it’s more of a stiletto type which I find less usefull to EDC.
I have been looking for one also. I thought Manafont carried many of the “Microtech” copies, but I didn’t see them on their site last time I looked.
Nevertheless, I think you still have to be careful as many OTF knives have a double-sided blade like a dagger and therefore might be illegal to carry in some states.
I hear Texas just made switchblades legal as well. Congrats to you as well. In Indiana there was never a restriction on double edge blades or length so I can carry any blade I want now.
Yep…TX has been okayed…but from what someone else posted the other day…the banning of daggers might rule out some autos. Newfrog has some m-tech copies…but I have no idea about their quality.
The reason is kind of mundain. I have been Speedsix for many years on various forums. I love my Ruger Speedsix and the name just has a cool ring to it. I didn’t have a pic in my avatar and thought I should have a pic so I just chose one off my IPad at random. Not an interesting story.
The sad thing is, I no longer own any Speedsixes. I used to have three of them. The last one was sold to my friend because he needed a gun and said he would sell it back to me when he wanted to sell it. I lost touch with him for a couple of years and then saw him at the grocery store. I asked him about my Speedsix and he said he sold it because he needed money.
The moral of the story is, never sell or lend anything to anyone unless you can live with it being lost.
Grew up with my dad having a speed six and a security six….few wheel guns shot as well as they did for the size. They were almost the only non S&W pinned and recessed revolvers we had (we have a Gevino .45)
We spent a year or two shopping around to find a security six a couple years ago…not easy to come by!!
So, do we have any leads on good budget switchblades? Again, non-dagger blades are what I need!
I have been doing a lot of research and from what I can tell there are few decent mid-range autos. Mostly there are cheap Chinese toys that have tons of blade wobble or $200 good ones from Protech, Benchmade ect.
I have owned a few good ones in the past from Benchmade, Pro-tech, piranha and a few others but I never found them to be exceptional for the money with the exception of the Protech Godson and Godfather. Those were really nice and worth the money. Of course when I bought my Burl wood and all black Godson, it was $120. Now they are $299! It’s a nice knife but has very limited use due to the thin pointy blade. It’s a self defense knife not an EDC. I’m not into carrying something that can only be used as a weapon. My knives have to be good for multiple tasks or I find I don’t use them. If I knew I was going to need a knife for self defense, I would carry a gun. LOL!
The Ruger Six series were great guns when they were ‘budget’ but now they are as expensive or more expensive than a S&W. I bought my first Speedsix for $175 from a police trade in and it was a great deal. Now they are $400+. For that money, I can find good used S&Ws now.
Back on topic of autos. One of the few name brand knives I see recommended for budget prices is the Boker Kalashinkov 74 auto. Prices seem to range between $35-50 and it gets decent reviews.
I have found its always safer to buy something with a name brand than something that is off branded. A Boker may still be made in Taiwan but at least there are standards adhered to and a certain level of quality that can be expected.
A no name auto from a fly by night Chinese website that drops ships from another questionable Chinese maker is a gamble at best. You could get a gem but most likely you will get a dud and have ZERO customer support. Also, should you decide to sell it, it’s not worth anything. At least a Boker has a known value. If you pay $40 for a Boker, you can still expect to sell it for $30 or so. If you pay $30 for a unbranded Chinese auto, it’s unlikely anyone will want to buy it at any price. I have learned this from knives and flashlights.
I have not tried to sell my Chinese knives or lights because its probably not worth the hassle. Why would I try to sell a $10 Chinese knife when anyone can buy a new one for $10 shipped? I would have to sell it for less than $10 shipped which means paying $5-6 to ship it myself. Not worth the hassle. I just give them away mostly.
To cut to the point, I just ordered a Boker 74. I’ll let you know what I think. It was about the same price as the cheap Chinese autos like the Lightning that is recommended as a cheap OTF.
I also ordered a Ganzo 707. I had one before but gave it away. I know it’s a good knife for the $20 or so that it costs. The Ganzo 707 is sort of a poor mans Protech Godson.
I’m still on the look out for a good quality but low price OTF knife so if anyone has any tips, let me know. I’m not interested in the Lightning because I got a chance to handle one at a gunshow this weekend and it was a total piece of garbage.
They were selling the Chinese Lightining autos at my local gunshow. They were asking for $40 and telling me what a great deal they were. LOL! You can find them online for $30 but from what I saw, I wouldn’t pay $10 for one.
They had blade play not only in the vertical and horizontal but in the in and out direction as well! I wouldn’t want to use one to cut an apple MUCH less for serious use or self defense. It’s autos like these that make people think autos are toys that are best used for opening envelopes.
I can not an do not recommend the Lightning autos.
I can recommend the Ganzo 707 if you want a stiletto type side opening auto on a budget. For $20 it far better than anything I saw at the gunshow for $80 and under. Part of that is the huge markups at gunshows and they were not selling any Ganzos. Makes me wonder what they would charge for a Ganzo 707.
(we have a Gevino .45)
