Microtech Ultratech Review
by Lukas Holly -The Ultratech is the flagship OTF knife from Microtech. It offers a quick and relyable opening mechanism, with a sleek and modern design. Especially with this Jedi Knight special edition with a light blue blade and decorative light saber detailing on the grip.
Features
The Ultratech is a out the front (OTF) knife with a double action mechanism. With the slide of your finger you can open the blade or retract it for quick and easy access, even with one hand. This design is a Jedi Knight special edition, resembling a light saber in the design of the grip, as well as the blade. The grooves on the side of the grip allow for easy handling, even with wet or dirty hands.
The pocket clip has a good tighness, allowing you to easily slide the knife into your pocket without any worries of it falling out when you move.
This special edition offers everything you would expect from a high quality OTF knife, as well as a great design every Jedi Knight would want.
Keyfacts
Total length: | 17,80 cm |
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Blade length: | 12,70 cm |
Blade thickness: | 33 mm |
Weight: | 94 g |
Blade material: | M390 |
Handle material: | Aluminum |
Opening: | Double-Action OTF |
Performance
The opening mechanism of the Ultratech is incredibly relyable. It opens quickly and closes just as fast, allowing you to have it ready whenever needed. If you have never used this style of opening mechanism you might struggle a bit at first, but with a bit of time you will get used to the stiffness. Microtech recommends oiling the mechanism regularly, if you want more information check out their maintanance page.
Even though the blade opens and retracts quickly the blade itself has little to no sidewards play. This allows you to use the knife for precise work without any issues.
Opening the blade can be a bit scary, but it does not lock into the opened position if there is any obstacle in the way and it stops due to the small amount of force used to extend. It still is a sharp and especially pointy blade, so always be carefull when you use it.
While it is generally a positive thing that the blade only needs small amount of force to be completely opened, it also means that any dirt, dust or sugary fluids could lead to issues. This is certainly not a knife made for cutting oranges. But if the knife ever fails to engage successfully, all you need to do is give it a quick manual pull to the opened position to get it back working.
If the mechanism ever fails Microtech provides a lifetime warranty on the internal mechanism in their knifes. They surely are made to last a lifetime.
Materials
Microtech uses some great steel for their knifes, for this edition the grip is made from 6061-T6 aluminium with an anodized black coat. After using it daily for over a year it still held on without any issues.
The pocket clip is made from 301 stainless steel with a coat of black paint. Most information like the serial number, production year and month as well as the microtech logo can be found here. This part was the first to show signs of wear, due to the paint slowly rubbing off on the sides, but the clip itself is still holding on strong and works just as well as on day one.
The blade itself could be made from either CTS-204P, M390, Elmax, or CTS-XHP. Usually microtech knifes offer this information on the side of the blade itself, but due to the light blue Jedi Knight coating it is not included here.
Conclusion
The Ultratech offers a great combination of usability and design. The Jedi Knight aesthetic makes it stand out whenever you use it. The reliable mechanism allows you to quickly have it ready, even if you don’t have both hands available.
The biggest drawbacks of the Jedi Knight edition are the limited availability, as well as the price. But you will certainly get a knife that will last you a lifetime.