MTech USA Xtreme MX-A805 Series Spring Assist Folding Knife, Tanto Blade, 5-Inch Closed

SUMMARY: I currently own two of these knives, and just ordered 2 more to keep in other locations. If you want a folding knife that's great at doing what knives do, and you're on a tight budget, order this thing right now. It is a fantastic hunk of metal. Equally good for keeping in your workshop or for every day carry (check your local laws to make sure you're in the clear first). I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a better knife in this category/style at this price point, and if you have then please let me know where. The "PROS" and "CONS" section of this review are about the same length, but that's more a result of my tendency to ramble. You can stop reading here if all you wanted was the endorsement of a stranger. But you haven't, so let's dive in! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROS: I love this knife. Comes in simple, no-frills packaging, easy to use, and it's got a beautiful, shave-sharp factory edge on it. To unfold the knife, put your index finger on the protrusion at the top of the back of the handle, and your thumb on the protrusion coming from the blade. Squeeze firmly and move the two fingers in opposite directions. (Most folding knives work this way, but in case this is your first I thought it might be helpful to throw in.) It may be a little stiff when you first get it, but it'll loosen up with use. If you're the impatient type like me, you can adjust the stiffness by fiddling with the Phillips head screw holding the blade and handle together. Just don't ever remove any screws from it entirely (more on that later). Take this part of the review with a grain of salt, because I have giant gorilla paws for hands, but I think it's ergonomically amazing: the way it feels, the way it's balanced, the way it maneuvers between forward and reverse grip, the way you can fine tune the stiffness of the opening mechanism with a simple Phillips head (or, in a pinch, flathead) screwdriver. I've read some complaints about how heavy it is, and I have to disagree. It's a little bit bulky when you hook it to the inside of your front pocket, which can make it a hassle to get your keys or wallet out sometimes, but for me at least, it's the perfect size for EDC (every day carry), and the weight is negligible. Not once have I ever felt like it was putting strain on my back or trying to pull my pants down. If your hands are a bit more petite, or you're looking for something that's closer in size to an apple peeler, search Amazon for "Smith & Wesson SWA24S 7.1in Stainless Steel Folding Knife". It's a quality folding pocket price that costs slightly less and might be better suited to your needs/body. Carrying a knife like this every day is one of those things that, to the uninitiated, might seem frivolous, overcautious, or even paranoid... until you do it for a couple weeks and wonder how you ever got along without it: Opening packaging (annoying blister package, make peace with your god and prepare to taste my blade) Trimming small pieces of vegetation that get in the way when you're working on something outdoors Cutting a length of wire Cutting a stray thread on your clothes. There are lots of other problems that can be solved by a sharp piece of steel, but you get the idea. Those aren't necessarily things that *only* this knife can do, but it does them admirably, and without the cheap feeling of a box cutter. I call them "box cutters" instead of "utility knives" because this is what a real utility knife should be capable of: a sturdy, reasonably compact, multipurpose tool with a simple design that can take a beating. Quick word of warning if you are going to use it for day to day tasks: make sure you don't inadvertently intimidate or frighten other people when you pull it out and pop it open. It has a very "tacti-cool" look to it that makes others automatically assume that it's a murder knife, even though they've got blades 2.5 as long in their kitchen. Once you've owned and carried and used it for awhile, you can have it out of your pocket and ready to cut in a single split second movement that might make people think you're a weirdo who is real into stabbing. You don't want to become known as "the knife dude" by your friends and co-workers. (Or maybe you do. I won't judge you and I won't tell you how to live your life, as long as you're not actually going around stabbing people.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONS (kind of): I could point to a few drawbacks or flaws if you're even a moderate knife connoisseur, like the fact that sharpening/honing it on a wet stone is slightly trickier due to the shape of the blade. The corners and turns have a tendency to drag little grooves into your stone. If that's how you're going to keep it sharp, watch some videos on YouTube. They'll show you how to keep a blade shave-sharp, and as a bonus, you might even discover that you have ASMR. If you're looking for a 2-in-1 folding knife and saw, keep looking. It IS a sawback blade, but that doesn't mean that the back of the blade is a saw. You couldn't cut pudding with the backside of this knife. If you ever carry this thing clipped to the inside of your pocket, you will immediately realize what a terrible idea it is to have an even moderately sharp saw blade there. If that's what you're in the market for, find a nice multitool (Gerber and Leatherman are both brands I've had good experiences with). So what are those sawtooth looking ridges on the back for? Again, because it's tacti-cool. Another commenter claims they are for cutting through wire fences. You hook the back on to the fence wire and twist until it cuts. I've never used it for that purpose, so I can't give a testimonial as to its efficacy there, but the other commenter seemed like a legit knife dude. I had another hypothesis that this was the "defensive side" of the knife. So, for example, if someone is slashing at you, it'll hook onto their blade when they make contact, and maybe throw them for a loop or, at minimum, chip their blade. I tested this theory out with an old chef's knife that I no longer used, and it did indeed take a small chip out of the blade. In theory, you could chip off enough chunks of their blade to render them knifeless, but in real knife-on-knife action, you'd be trying to thread a pretty small needle, and I wouldn't bet the farm on this ever working. So try not to get into knife fights. The other drawback here is that it is a bit of a pain to disassemble. Or, more accurately, to reassemble. I decided I was going to take mine apart and give it a thorough going over: cleaning, oiling the hard to reach spots so the action was smoother, etc. I spent most of the time looking for a little washer that had fallen on the floor in my haste with the screwdriver. I guess it's kind of a plus that you can take the whole thing apart with a regular old screwdriver, but it's not really worth it. At 14 bucks, if it's ever too ugly or fouled or chipped for your liking, just buy another one. And I'm not just blowing smoke there. I actually just placed my third (and fourth) order for this item, because I like always being within arm's reach of one. None of the other ones have failed in any way, and aside from me not quiiite being able to restore the factory edge, they all still work just as well as they did out of the box. Better actually, because I now have them tuned to my liking. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONCLUSION: It's a tacti-cool tanto knife, so presumably it holds up in combat. I've never been in a knife fight before, although I have walked through back alleys late at night in neighborhoods where having it out (still folded) and concealed in my hand has made me feel much safer. If you're buying this because you have a knife fight scheduled next week, you should see about cancelling it. Remember the axiom of knife-fighting: "The loser dies in the alley and the winner dies in the ambulance." Seriously, it should be a weapon of last resort. Don't wave it around at people you're having a disagreement with to look tough. That's called "escalation" and it's only useful if you're looking for a quick way to get to the hospital, morgue, or prison cell. Still, if worse came to worse, or a wild animal was staring me down, this is the knife I would absolutely trust with my life (assuming I didn't have access to a gun or 18" sawback machete or kukri or whatever). I would like to test it out as a seatbelt cutter, and I have a clunker that will never run again but has perfectly fine seatbelts in it, so when my new set comes in, I might take a whack at it and then update this review, which is definitely not long enough already. If you are going to keep this in your car to cut seatbelts in an emergency, make sure you keep it in your car in a secure place and don't use it for anything else. You don't want to try to slice yourself free with a knife that has been dulled from slicing cardboard. Unless you know what you're doing when it comes to sharpening knives, you will never get it as sharp as the factory edge, and in an emergency of seatbelt-cutting proportions, you'll want that weight-yet-razor-sharp knife at your side. And even if you do know how to sharpen knives, you don't want that emergency to happen when you swear you were gonna get it sharp again tomorrow. (Extremely) long story short: Buy this thing, and if it doesn't meet your expectations, return it, or just put it somewhere kids can't get to and eat the $14 loss. You can even leave a nasty review calling me an idiot by name. There's no such thing as bad publicity.

I had been looking at this knife for a while. I finally decided to purchase it and I have to say I am very impressed with the quality! The first thing you will notice about the reviews for this knife is how large people say it is. When I received it and held it for the first time, I was quite happy with the size. It fits well in your hand and the finger grips as well as the texture fit the hand and fingers well when you close your fist around it. The construction feels extremely sturdy and dependable. One review stated they were concerned with the fact that the very tip of the knife protrudes into a lanyard/accessory rail at the back of the knife. In looking at the one I received, this one does also. But, I have to say, its not a deal breaker for me. If your goal is to have a larger folding sturdy knife in your pocket, when would you ever attach an accessory to the end rail? And even if you did, there would be ways around the tip of the knife. One of my favorite parts of this blade is the indentation a third of the way down the knife. Originally I just thought it gave the knife a great tactical look, however once I started using it, it became apparent that this angle is definitely intentional. It provides a great surface for creating the correct cutting pressure in many circumstances. This angle would also provide a great way to use with a firesteel, for creating feather sticks while camping or on the go in the wilderness. The overall knife looks rugged, mean and I am proud to pull it out and use it. There is an opening stud at the top part of the knife, which if you push with a little might, the knife will pop right open. I actually like this feature as it prevents the blade from popping open too easy. I have a M.A.G.I.C. assist knife that I carry sometimes also and I would say that this knife has the capability to snap open just as easy. If you look closely at the handle, there is an exaggerated thumb indentation to provide the proper force to the stud when opening with one hand. The blade came pretty sharp right out of the box, however with any knife I receive, I went ahead and ran it across a honing stone just to get that extra edge. Since using it, I have tested the blades capability to hold an edge and it does a decent job. Once slightly dull, it easily takes to a new edge with little effort. The back edge of the blade has serrations, which are non functional, however this is ok as I don't think this was meant to be a functional capability. It does look cool though! Overall I would say this is an amazing value for the price point! It quickly became a part of my EDC and I would recommend this blade to anyone looking for quality at an affordable price!

This knife is freakin' awesome but the index finger actuator opener thingy isn't the best. I guess I have to push/pull a little harder and faster then what I'm used to. Great weight and sturdy everything with sharp blade that cut the hair off my arm with one swipe. Wish I did it in a less obvious place on my arm though. There's just one major problem with this knife. You won't be able to show it to anybody that likes knifes because everyone I showed it to asked if I was giving it to them. I'm serious, I only held onto it for one day and my homie walked away with it and refused to give it back. Seriously!? He still has it along with the same major problem I had. LOL. I would definitely recommend the knife to any one who likes knives. I would buy it again but it was a bit too big and aggressive looking for the workplace. If you whip it out in a public place, you'll quickly realize the difference between those that don't like knifes at all and those like you who are reading these commentaries. 4 stars because I don't know how it would hold up with time. Happy hunting y'all.

Strong, quality build, sharp flickery blade, good looking black and gold contrast, ergonomic hand filling grip. I like this knife and recommend it as a good value.

I know not much can be said that hasn't already about this item, but I'll add some of my own details/experiences anyway. First, it comes out of the box adequately sharp, enough to start using right away. However, I did take the time to run it through my Lansky and it improved the factory sharpening job. The knife is a bit heavy, but honestly, I was expecting that. I dress business casual everyday, so it's a little too cumbersome to clip into your front hip pocket while wearing khakis, but if you were wearing a nice fitting pair of denim jeans, no problem. Otherwise, you'd be better off clipping it to a decent leather/nylon web belt. So, it may be a little large for some of you, but I'm always opening boxes, cutting line, etc. and this is the perfect size for me...not too big and unwieldy, and not too small and awkward to use. Measures 9" open, and 5" closed. I love the ergonomics. The finger groves are perfect for my hand. I wear a large size glove, but my hands are just "slightly under" what I consider fitting well into a large. I like the thumb depression on the side to aid in leverage while using the assisted opening function. The ridges on the top of the handle at the butt end of the blade are also excellently placed for applying downward force with your thumb while cutting. Speaking of the assisted opening, that function does require a bit of force, but it opens smoothly and quickly. People who aren't familiar with knives of this type do a double take when they see the blade swing open seemingly by magic! I also like the underneath blade locking mechanism. This is the first knife I've owned with such. I find it more intuitive than traditional locking blades. Now for the cons...well, not many, but I'm picky. The knife grips are mostly ambidextrous, EXCEPT that the belt clip cannot be exchanged and fitted to the other side. This probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but as a righty, I find the feel of the belt clip in my right palm as I grip the knife somewhat awkward. If I could switch sides with it, it would not interfere at all. Good news for lefties. Not too keen on the "lanyard slot" or whatever it's called, I'd much rather prefer a "lanyard hole" to add some day-glo quick-release paracord, which I add to all of my knives. My opinion, this is an excellent "larger size" pocket knife. I knew when I took it out of the box I was going to love it. The price is just RIGHT! You can't beat it! Don't listen to the fan boys, or more correctly, "blade snobs" out there, this thing will do the job at a great price. As a self-proclaimed survival hobbyist, I wouldn't hesitate using this as a folding companion knife. I have a larger fixed blade M-Tech as my main camping knife, but a Mora as my companion otherwise I would have added this to my kit as well.

Just received this M-Tech MX-A805 knife and am very impressed. It fits in my XL size hand very nicely and has good ergos. I love the matte gold finish on the blade and also the grippy G10 handle scales. Deploys very easily with the flipper tab. Forget about the thumb studs 'cause your not going to deploy the blade with them as it is too stiff. The flipper works wonderfully though and requires no wrist flip. Definitely NOT too large or heavy to EDC ha ha! The blade is about 4", depending on where you measure from. The handle is a bit under 5". Pocket clip is large and secures it to your pants pocket very well with just the right amount of tension. Mine came with a perfectly centered blade with zero play. The sawback feature is nice...not only looks cool, but is quite sharp on the hook ends, which will definitely allow you to put some nice notches in wood for cordage or whatever. It will also twist wire. Don't worry, you won't cut yourself on the sawback side though because the edge side is flat...only the forward hook is sharp. Nice that it has jimping on the thumb ramp AND also on the rear of the upper blade, which will assist you on fine work when choked up. The blade came shaving sharp too! As far as the blade steel, it only states "Stainless steel" on the blade. A few years ago it had 440C on the blade, so not sure exactly what it is now. I have read somewhere that all the MTech Xtreme Ballistic series knives come with 440C steel, which is a very nice steel. Incredible knife, especially for 14 bucks!

I wouldn't at all consider myself a knife enthusiast but being in the military I've purchased my fair share for all sorts of different reasons and uses. This thing is pretty big and will push boundaries of where in public you'll want to pull it out , and it also looks really cool. But looks were pretty clearly focused on more than functionality when this was designed. In my experience decent and realiable knives I've owned started at closer to 40 or 50 dollars (this product was around 25 at the time of this review ) and for the extra 15/25 bucks you'll get easy opening and safety locks, better build quality and most importantly for me , durability. This is also related to manufacturers, brands like Kershaw and Benchmade are known for consistently reliable and effective knives across all price ranges . More often than not though , you'll be paying a premium for their better quality products. This is not to say that smaller brands can't be as if not more effective , the best knife I ever owned was made by a tiny Mexican manufacturer (the name escapes me as I tragically lost this knife ) so it's good to experiment sometimes . All in all for a 25 dollar knife this is decent for the price , i got it because I needed a cheap replacement that had a four inch blade. For the price you're getting something that won't destroy your wallet and will get the job done , albeit with less ease than a pricier product. Really this was just shy of four stars but something I can't stand is when some knife makers slap "tanto" on one of their products and I get a point that I wouldn't dare use the same way as the tips of my quality tanto tipped knives, and it's operation is definitely not as smooth as something that's just 10 dollars more.

Great size, really. Looks like a beast, works like a beast. I love how it's not too easy to open but definitely not hard to open. Now, let's get down to the nitty gritty. I'm not a big knife guy, but I know a good knife when I see one. I saw this one, lying there on the screen, and I looked through all the reviews, and I said... it's cheap enough, looks good enough, what's there to lose?.. so I bought it. Shortly after, I received it opened it, and wahlah... beautiful.. mean. I studied the craftsmanship & I was impressed. I opened it for say 30 times with a flick of the wrist.. I was satisfied. I jabbed it into a piece of wood.. it stood it's ground & maintained it's composure.. no wiggle feeling of the blade. I slashed the wood.. no chipping of blade.. I was impressed. If you're thinking about buying this blade just do it. You won't be mad you did, it's a really nice knife.5/5