Microtech Knives Inc. is a US based high-end tactical knives company that targets mid-end, high-end and ultra-high-end markets. Headquartered in Fletcher, North Carolina, USA, Microtech manufactures knives for use in construction, high-quality parts and non-conformist design aesthetics. It also designs knives for the US military, and have made it to production with consumer success. These include UDT, Socom, Halo, and Ultratech models.

The company is privately held by Tony Marfione, a reputed custom knife maker in his own regard. The production model designs of Microtech include several of the custom designs by himself. The custom designs are easy to transfer into production factory knives because of the same handmade quality.

MSI, also known as Microtech Standard Issue, is a manual folding knife with M390MK blade material and polymer handle with Ram Lock and thumb-hole deployment mechanism. It is 8.9” long with 3.9” blade, 5” handle and weighs just 4.5 oz.

The Microtech MSI came in a standard branded black box with the company’s logo on it. It included the manual, detailed specs of the knife, and the knife itself.

The knife looked too big right out of the box, but also finely finished with its brand newness. The handle especially felt a bit wide, but provides full grip. It is also curved in just the right places to make the grip as comfortable as possible.

The fact that the thumb-hole fully protrudes out makes it easier to flip open, just not all the way through.

The pocket clip also has a very fine finish and strategically placed that it does not get in the way. It is also thick enough to compensate for its width and weight and hangs upright. The screws may be large, but they are placed with a dent to make the handle as smooth as possible. It can also be unscrewed for cleanliness and maintenance.

The steel liners coupled with the Ram-Lock are clearly visible and accessible. The blade fits perfectly inside without any sharp edges protruding out.

The blade profile of Microtech MSI matches that of a heavy EDC use with an ample length of 3.9” Sheepsfoot blade with a fine cutting edge of 3.35” and a blade thickness of 0.15”. The blade is thick and sharp enough to carry out heavy duty cutting tasks. The stonewash finish is smooth and uniform and aids in making longer cuts. The width and belly of the blade is also enough to make fine and precise cuts, while preventing the blade from binding easily.

The show side of the blade features the company logo engraved on it, with the blade steel type M390MK in small letters beneath it.

The MK variant of the M390 is tweaked for better edge retention, corrosion resistance, and polishing. It is an exclusive blade steel from Bohler, designed to work even better than the standard M390.

The blade also has a nice finger choil beneath to prevent the hand from sliding right on to the blade, and makes sharpening an easier task. But it may still take some time considering the thickness, density and heavy usage. Regular maintenance will make the blade last longer.

You can also clearly see the grind lines on the blade and the swedges from thick tuning towards thinning the blade towards the edge, while it is slightly uplifted. The same goes for the thumb-hole inside the back side of the blade for easy deployment, and is also slightly uplifted for better reach. It is very well-designed with an excellent blade geometry for comfortable use.

The MSI features polymer handle scales with deep carry pocket clip, which is quite strong with large T8 screw heads with Microtech logo and serial number lasered on to it. It looks attractive and does not create any hot spots in the pocket. They feel good in hand, but are not exactly slip-proof. It also does not have a very good factory finish. The steel liners however, provide rigidity to the handle. When you hold it with your fingers at the bottom, it feels quite sharp and uncomfortable. However, you can fix this with a sandpaper to make the edges smooth. But that takes too much time. It should have better factory finish.

The handle has a bearing pivot system that also compliments the Ram lock, and hence helps with smooth deployment. It fills the hand when you hold it with enough heft for a solid feel and well-balanced in the hand.

The curve of the handle also makes it easy to hold and chop on a cutting board without your knuckles getting in the way.

The thumb-hole is a foolproof deployment mechanism on any folding knife. It is easy to operate, works well especially with the pivot bearings, and works with other deployment mechanisms well. The thumb studs on the MSI are done well and in a comfortable position, and ambidextrous by design. The oblong hole is cut well, has great chamfering, and long enough to be gripped in different positions. The only issue is that the pivot area is quite tall, which puts it at a further distance from the hand, making it hard to reach. It makes the blade harder to flick in the fully open position because it requires a great stretch of the hand. That makes the deployment a two-handed operation instead of one. It only opens halfway or two-thirds with one hand.

However, you can improve it by tightening the pivot and adding some pivot lube, but still feels sluggish in the hand and can slide right out.

The Ram lockup however, is truly solid. It has zero blade play and lock stick. There is only a slight lock stick in the beginning, which goes away after a few hours and does not return. Unlocking the blade with the Ram-lock is easier, feels natural and compliments the design. It requires little to no effort to drop the blade shut as long as you release the button in time.

The Ram-Lock is a relatively new locking mechanism, which is Microtech’s innovative take on the crossbar lock system. The Ram-Lock replaces the omega spring in the crossbar lock with a coil spring, which is similar to Spyderco’s ball bearing lock system. The bar becomes a larger sliding piece with the button serving as grip pad. The Ram-Lock is clearly visible and accessible from the spine of the knife. The MSI is the introductory version of Ram-Lock and promises to enhance more folders across the board.

The Microtech MSI is executed really well overall. But the first problem we faced while handling the knife was with the pocket clip. It was only somewhat deep carry with no retention. It can easily fall right out of the pocket because of the slick scale and the design of the clip. The clip screws also stick out far above the scales and makes them snag on the pocket seam.

The cutting edge is also farther away from the hand when using the knife. When choking up the blade, the choil feels too small for convenience, and the edge is far from the hand when using it in standard grip.

However, the ergonomics of the knife are great, and the distance from hand to cutting edge can be a preference than a size issue. The cutting edge works well but does feel father away from the hand. Cutting abrasive rope worked fine if not stellar, mostly due to the factory edge. It also requires back and forth cutting motion further inhibited by cutting edge’s distance from grip.

The MSI is not very ideal for food preparation because of the thick stock blade. It splits the food rather than slicing it. It is much better suited for heavy EDC tasks. A partially serrated edge might work better on this knife rather than plain edge to give the blade some bite in rope cutting and various tactical applications.

You also have to cautiously place your hands on the scales to flick open the blade. But it works well when it does open. It is comfortable to hold with a strong lock, and a great blade shape to use from the garage to the construction site.

Microtech Stitch is the manual version of the auto MSI and uses the redesigned Ram-Lock. It has the same style and look with aluminum or G10 scales and liners instead of aluminum construction. It weighs more than MSI, at 5.8 ounces for polymer and 5.2 ounces for G10. The blade length is the same, but Stitch only has a 3” cutting edge that emerges after a huge finger choil and Ram-Lock notch.

Stitch is also more expensive at $300, and more if you choose the aluminum or G10 variant compared to $175 for MSI.

Another major difference is in the shape of their handles. The manual Stitch version is more bent than the MSI, which makes the finger choil easier to reach and make precise cuts. Its thumb-hole is also easier to deploy than on MSI. It also has a small lanyard hole. The screws are also smaller and sleeker on Stitch than on MSI.

Demko AD 20.5 also has polymer scales, Sheepsfoot blade style with a bearing pivot just like the Microtech MSI. Although, it has thinner scales, which makes it easier to carry and weighs about 3.6 ounces. Its blade length is 3.2” with a 3” cutting edge. The AD 20.5 uses a Shark Lock invented by Andrew Demko. It is full titanium construction and comes in different blade steel types like CPM 3V.

However, Demko AD 20.5 is less expensive than MSI at $149. It is not made in US unlike the MSI, but offers premium cutting ability much like the MSI.

The Microtech MSI is an auto lock folding knife best for heavy EDC use. Due to its thicker blade stock at 0.15”, it is not ideal for food preparation. However, you can use it in the garage and construction.

The knife’s blade profile is good and features the MK version of the M390, but the thumb-hole is placed far away from the handle to make it a single-handed deployment. It has to be opened all the way through using the other hand. The polymer scales are not exactly slip-proof, but are comfortable to hold without any rough edges protruding out. It is screwed together by large T6 screws with full aluminum construction.

The Ram-Lock is quite solid, especially with the pivot bearings. It is clearly visible and accessible from the spine and easier to maintain.

The only issue is with the pocket clip. Despite being wide, it can easily slip out of the pocket. However, its price is no unreasonable at $175 and is made in the US.