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

First things first. When getting any folding knife...and OK..especially if it’s under 20 bucks, get yourself down to your local hardware store with your new little knife and tell them you want the Torx or Allen tool that fits the screws on the knife and if your motivated enough, ask for some LOCTITE Fastener adhesive and take the screws out and apply some of this adhesive on them and put them back in with your new little tool and stop sniveling about how the screws get loose and fall out. This knife is Extremely sharp!!! I like the larger folding knives like this. Have 6 or 7 others like this one made by MTECH. A few of them are the “Extreme” Series, like this one or the “ USMC “ Series. Most of those really have a 4 mm thick blade but this doesn’t even though the specs say that. I know that 4 millimeters equals approximately 3/16 “ but this blade is about 1/8” Which, converted, is something like 3.7 mm. But it’s definitely less than 4 mm. The handle could be a little bit thicker for a better grip on it. Also, some are saying it does not deploy easily. This is true of mine also but if you loosen the philips screw on the pivot that the blade secures to a little then you will find it easier but try breaking it in first before doing so. Definitely look at MTechs MX-A850. This one being reviewed is MX-A805. Similar model numbers but the 50 is better but for some reason it can’t be found here on Amazon. Looks better and has a better handle. Also very sharp.

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 outdoorsCutting a length of wireCutting 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.

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!

Ok it's a big knife. This thing looks bad ass. I know it's an Mtech and people have their opinions but I'm not going to be batoning an oak tree so I'm good. The blade is shaving sharp and the gold fish looks awesome. The handle is big and the finger grooves makes for a great grip and feel asking with the texture. It doesn't flip with authority but it is a big blade and it deploys just fine. Centering is really good but not perfect. Lock up is tight and no blade play at all. Unlocking is a little stiff but it perfectly fine too. I really like this thing is a great value and I recommend it. And yes have have many knives and some expensive ones from Benchmade to Kershaw and CRKT. If your not a knife snob you will really like it.