Sliding Knife - Automatic OTF Knives

Automatic OTF Knives

An automatic OTF knife blade travels within an internal track or channel in the same manner as a manual slider or gravity knife. But the automatic main spring drive and button mechanism enclosed within requires a switchblade handle to be thicker or longer than a similar size gravity or sliding knife. The term "Slider" is usually not applied

There are two types of "Out the Front" automatic knives, DA-OTF (double-action) and SA-OTF (single-action). Double-action OTF knives deploy and retract with a multifunction button and spring design. Single-action OTF knives deploy automatically, but must be manually cocked or retracted to close.

Despite popular belief and movie magic, OTF automatic knives are not powerful enough to open when pressed against an opponent and then pushing the button. Double-action sliding autos are only spring-powered 10 to 12 millimeters; afterwards, kinetic impetus slides the blade to full open. Single-action OTF autos have a spring drive the full length of blade travel, but the size of the contained main spring is never large enough to drive a blade through much resistance. This is possibly a misbelief based on confusion with the ballistic knife which has a secondary handle tube with a robust coil spring for launching a fixed blade knife.