NATO OTF Black & Silver Bayonet Knife (3" Satin)

If you know switchblades of the 1970's and '80s you will remember the classic original SUPER AUTOMATIC and NATO Military OTFs. The '70s SUPER AUTOMATIC was sold in Germany, and the later NATO Military you could get in kit form from The Edge Company catalogs of the '80s.

I always loved the look of the knife so it's great to see it back... Well, 80% back. This version seems to be about 80% the size of the original. It has a nice weighty solid feel and a smooth, moderately strong action. The handle is painted silver as opposed to chrome plated like the original, but well done. I was surprised the black grips are actually metal instead of plastic after putting a magnet to them. The slide button is a little nicer than the original '70s version because it's metal instead of plastic, and recessed into the grip which feels more sturdy. I also like the Torx screws better than the pins of the original, but you may need to put some Loctite on them since they can come loose on these inexpensive OTFs.

There is almost zero blade play on my knife. I couldn't believe it, and actually found it kinda funny because lets be honest, this is a cheap novelty knife. It's probably just luck of the draw, and once in a blue moon a cheap OTF will have such tight lockup. But after some use it will surely develop some play.

The biggest negative is, the blade is thin and puny, and came not so sharp. The blade could have been about 3/16 inch longer too if you look where the tip is inside the handle when it's closed.
But this is a novelty knife meant for opening letters and small packages, and just fidgeting with. One nice touch though is the blade is etched with "Rostfrei" like the tang stamp on the original German SUPER AUTOMATIC.

Is it worth $35 dollars? Ehh... Maybe not for everybody. I like it for it's nostalgic look and feel, so I'm happy. But that's just me. I'll just be flicking it and have it for my collection beside my two original 1970's SUPER AUTOMATICs.