A good double-action OTF costs between about $140 and $300, and that is where every TEKTO automatic sits, from the A2 Badger at the entry to the A5 Spry Bronze Edition at the top. Below that band an OTF usually gives up the mechanism, which is the one thing an OTF cannot give up. Above it the money goes into handle material, run size and the name on the blade. This page explains what changes at each price, what you are paying for when you pay more, which costs do not show on the tag, and which TEKTO sits at each tier. Current prices are in the cards further down.
The Short Version
Under $150 buys a real OTF with a coated D2 blade, a machined aluminum handle and a mechanism that locks up without play, which is the A2 Badger. Between $150 and $200 the steel steps up to S35VN, which is the A5 Spry Mini. Between $200 and $300 you get the full-size 3.5-inch Spry in S35VN or MagnaCut, and the wood-inlay A7 Zastava. Over $300 you are paying for titanium, exotic steels and small batches, and in our view the knife does not cut better for it. Whatever you spend, check your state first, because the most expensive OTF is the one you cannot carry.
What the Money Buys: The Mechanism
An OTF is its mechanism. The blade rides on a carriage inside the handle, a spring fires it out and locks it, and the same spring pulls it back, all through a slider under one thumb. Everything that goes wrong with a bad OTF goes wrong here: blade play when it is open, a rattle when it is closed, a misfire when the spring is tired, a slider that needs two tries. The parts that prevent that are a precisely cut channel, a carriage that fits it, a spring rated for thousands of cycles and a lockup that holds the blade still in both directions. None of that is visible on a product photo, which is why price is a better guide to an OTF than to a folder. Our OTF knives explained guide covers how the mechanism works, and the reset guide covers the one thing a good double action does on purpose: it disengages when the blade hits something, and resets in a second.
What the Money Buys: The Steel
At the entry of the band the blade is D2, a tool steel that holds an edge for a long time and takes a fine one, under a titanium coating that does the rust resistance the steel cannot. In the middle the blade is S35VN, a stainless powder steel that matches D2 on edge life, beats it on toughness and does not need the coating to stay clean in a sweaty pocket. At the top it is MagnaCut, the first stainless that is as tough as a tool steel, which TEKTO runs on the Spry Bronze Edition and the X1 Atlas. The step from D2 to S35VN is the one most people notice, because a stainless OTF asks for less care. The step to MagnaCut is for people who work a knife hard and want the edge to survive it. Our blade steel guide puts the three side by side.
What the Money Buys: The Handle and the Fit
Every TEKTO OTF handle is 6061-T6 aluminum, machined, which is the material that keeps the blade channel straight after years of firing. Cast zinc handles, common under $100, are heavier and softer and the channel wears. What the price adds above that is finish and detail: the contour and texture of the Spry, the glass breaker on the whole OTF line and the ambidextrous clip on most of it, the tungsten breaker on the Spry Mini, and on the A7 Zastava the wood inlays that make each knife different from the next. Our OTF buying guide walks through what a good mechanism, handle and clip feel like in the hand.
What the Money Buys: Service
An OTF is a mechanism, and mechanisms sometimes need a maker who answers. Every TEKTO knife carries a limited lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship, the reset and cleaning guides are written so most problems never become a warranty claim, and the people answering are TEKTO's own. Under $100 that is the part that is usually missing, and it is the part that matters the day a slider sticks.
Under $150
The A2 Badger: a 1.85-inch titanium-coated D2 blade in tanto or double edge, a 3.25-inch aluminum handle, a glass breaker, an ambidextrous clip and 2.18 ounces. It is TEKTO's best seller, it is the automatic you can carry in California and under nearly every city blade limit, and the mechanism is the same double action as the full-size knives. What you give up at this price is blade length and stainless steel. Our A2 Badger guide has the detail. The A3 Delta Mini sits in the same tier as a side-opening automatic with a safety switch, for anyone who prefers a blade that swings out.
$150 to $200
The A5 Spry Mini: the same 1.85-inch size as the Badger, in S35VN, with a drop point added to the tanto and double edge, a tungsten glass breaker and 2.15 ounces. The money over the Badger buys the steel and the extra blade shape. Our Spry Mini vs Badger page puts the two side by side. The full-size A3 Delta, a 3.60-inch side-opening automatic with a large button and a safety switch, also sits in this tier, and it is the TEKTO we point gloved hands to.
$200 to $300
The A5 Spry: a 3.50-inch S35VN blade in drop point, tanto or double edge, a 4.90-inch handle contoured for the hand, a glass breaker and 3.49 ounces. It is the OTF most people end up with, and the Bronze Edition moves the same knife to a MagnaCut double edge at the top of the band. The A7 Zastava: a 3.60-inch titanium-coated S35VN blade in double edge or spear point, with wood inlays in an aluminum handle, made with Zastava, for anyone who wants the knife to be a piece as well as a tool. The A4, a 3.80-inch D2 double edge with serrations, sits here too when it is in stock.
Over $300
The long-established American OTF makers price their double-action knives from around $250 to well over $500, and above $300 the price buys titanium handles, steels such as M390 and its relatives, limited runs and the name. Those are real things, and a collector pays for them with open eyes. They do not change what the knife does on a box, a rope or a deer. A $300 OTF with a sound mechanism, S35VN or MagnaCut and a machined aluminum handle cuts the same as a $500 one, and TEKTO's line stops under $300 because that is where the cutting stops improving.
The Costs That Are Not on the Tag
The first is the law. An OTF is an automatic knife, five states ban them outright, and a dozen more limit blade length or concealed carry, so a 3.5-inch knife you cannot carry is expensive at any price. Our 50-state guide has one line per state, and the Badger and Spry Mini exist for the states and cities with a 2-inch line. The second is blade shape. A double edge pierces cleanly and counts as a dagger in several states that otherwise allow automatics, so the drop point or the tanto is the safer buy if you travel. The third is care. A coated D2 blade wants to be wiped dry, a stainless blade forgives, and either one needs the mechanism kept clean, which our cleaning guide covers without taking the knife apart.
Which TEKTO at Each Price
For the least money and the most places you can carry it, the A2 Badger. For the same size in stainless, the A5 Spry Mini. For a full-size everyday OTF, the A5 Spry in drop point, and the Bronze Edition if you want MagnaCut. For something to keep as much as to carry, the A7 Zastava. And if the automatic itself is the question, the automatic vs folding guide settles it before you spend anything.
The OTF Line by Price
The Badger at the entry, the Spry Mini in stainless, the full-size Spry, and the Zastava for the shelf as much as the pocket, with current prices.
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A5 Spry Mini
Regular price $179.99Regular priceUnit price per -
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People Are Asking
How much should a good OTF knife cost?
Between about $140 and $300. Under that an OTF usually gives up the mechanism, which shows as blade play, rattle or misfires. Above it the money goes into titanium handles, exotic steels, small runs and the brand name, which do not change how the knife cuts.
What is the best value OTF knife under $300?
The A5 Spry: a 3.50-inch S35VN blade, a contoured 6061-T6 aluminum handle, a glass breaker and 3.49 ounces, with a MagnaCut Bronze Edition at the top of the band. For under $150, the A2 Badger gives the same double-action mechanism in a 1.85-inch D2 blade.
Are TEKTO OTF knives worth the money?
The mechanism, the machined aluminum handle and the S35VN or MagnaCut steel are the parts that decide how an OTF performs, and TEKTO puts them in every knife from $140 to $300, with a limited lifetime warranty behind them. What a $400 or $500 OTF adds is handle material, run size and the name, not cutting.
Why are some OTF knives so cheap?
Under $100 the savings usually come from a cast handle, an unnamed steel and a spring and carriage that were never cut to fit, which is where blade play and misfires come from. An OTF is its mechanism, and the mechanism is where the money goes.
Which TEKTO OTF can I carry in California?
The A2 Badger and the A5 Spry Mini, both at 1.85 inches, under California's 2-inch limit for automatics. The full-size Spry and the Zastava are 3.50 and 3.60 inches and cannot be carried there.
