Smith & Wesson SWATMB 7.5in S.S. Assisted Opening Knife with 3.2in Serrated Drop Point Blade and Aluminum Handle for Outdoor, Tactical, Survival and EDC

As an FYI, my father and grandfather were carpenters. I've carried a pocketknife since I was maybe 10 years old. Like my keys and my wallet, a knife is always in my pocket. And I was taught how to use a whetstone from a young age.I bought the medium and small versions of this knife as a replacement for a Buck Nobleman and a Buck Scholar. The TSA claimed my Scholar for about the 10th time LOL. And the Nobleman.....I have no idea how I lost it. Anyway, those knives have always served me well for about a decade and a half. I liked the slim profile and the Scholar was small enough to carry in a suit pocket Mon-Fri while the Nobleman fit well in the pocket of my jeans and was perfect for chores around the house on weekends. So when I went looking for replacements, that was my reference point.I had never really considered an assisted opening knife but I saw them on Amazon and thought, gee that would be really helpful in some one handed situations. So I started looking at assisted opening knives and pretty quickly narrowed it down to these and the Kershaw Cryo I & II. Both seemed like good designs with the Kershaws being a little slimmer and smoother like my Buck knives while the Smith & Wessons offered a few unique features that finally sold me on giving S&W a try.1.) The S&W SWAT has a textured grip. I have really sweaty hands. Yeah, I'm one of those people. So the non-slip grip was attractive to me. It may not matter as much to you. On the downside, the grit on the handle means it doesn't slide in and out of a pocket as smoothly as a knife that doesn't have a textured grip.2.) The S&W has a blade lock so that it can't accidentally open in your pocket. That can be a concern with a spring assisted blade. I really don't want to stab myself in the leg or deploy the blade unintentionally when handling the knife. It may be overkill but the option is always there to switch it off.3.) The S&W came in both smooth blade and a smooth / serrated blade. I thought the half serrated blade might be a little more useful in a broader range of applications than a traditional smooth blade.4.) Looks. The S&W SWAT is a handsome little knife with its blacked out blade and handle but its not flashy. I don't want to freak anyone out these days if I whip out a knife to cut a piece of tape or string.So what do I dislike?1.) Bulk. These SWAT knives are about double the thickness of the Buck knives they replaced. The medium is still fine in a pair of jeans or shorts. But the small is a little too bulky in a pair of suit pants after carrying the Buck Scholar for years.2.) The textured grip. This is a two edged sword. While I like the grip for my sweaty hands, it just doesn't slip in and out of a pocket as easily as something like the Bucks or the Kershaws. And I wonder if that sandpaper like texture will rip up my pockets.3.) Pocket clips. This is not a problem with the knife. I don't like pocket clips and don't use them. They were removed immediately to reduce bulk. Easy enough to do. The handle feels more comfortable to me without the clip.What about the basic functionality?1.) Sharpness was very good right out of the box. The blade is 4034 stainless which by all accounts is a low end stainless steel. It won't hold an edge like high carbon steel but it's also easy to sharpen. I think it's fine for a reasonably priced, every day carry, pocket knife. Just give it a few pulls through a ceramic fixed sharpening tool every couple of weeks and it should stay sharp enough for every day general use.2.) The open assist spring. Wow, both the small and the medium were stiff out of the box. The flipper on the back of the blade was the only option at first. The thumb studs were just painful to use. But both knives seem to be loosening up nicely with use but a shot of WD40 did nothing to help things along LOL. Don't be discouraged the first time you try to open one of these, they will get easier over time. On the plus side, accidental opening seems like a remote possibility even with the lock disengaged.3.) General assembly quality. Both my small and medium knives are solid with all screws tight and the blade perfectly centered in the frame when closed. There is no wobble in the blade on either knife.4. Size. The small is larger than my former Buck Scholar but that's a two edged sword as well. Yeah, it's a little bulkier in a pocket but it feels much more secure in the hand because of the additional bulk. The medium on the other hand is sized exactly right in my opinion for the sort of work you'd do around the yard or farm or a wood shop. It's big enough to provide a secure grip and feels very comfortable in my hand. The extra bulk here is welcome and it still fits in a jeans pocket just fine.5.) Weight. Surprisingly with the added bulk these knives aren't really any heavier than my slimmer knives. Aluminum handles rather than steel probably account for the reasonable weight even though they look larger.Overall, I'm pretty happy with my choice. Hopefully I won't be donating the small SWAT to TSA and I won't misplace the medium SWAT around the yard.

For the price this knife cant be beat . Quick action , nice fit and finish and the right size for a EDC. All in all a great little knife . If there was one concern - it would be that the lock switch is made of plastic and feels a little cheap ... but hopefully it stands up over time . I would recommend this product overall .Update:Loved this knife at first . Perfect size , rapid opening and great blade design . Unfortunately after a little over a month of light use ... the spring assist opening no longer works . It seems as though the Plastic safety lock on the knife to prevent accidental opening has broken internally and now the knife is permanently locked ! The warranty is also useless since you end up paying for shipping to and from the manufacturer . in the end it is same price to just buy a replacement . No doubt they have this priced with this in mind ! SAD ... a great knife design ends up as a disposable product !

We have several Smith & Wesson knives. I bought one for work (occasional cable cutting and stripping in the data center) because I like the safety lock feature of S&W's knives, and their knives really tend to hold an edge and hold up to abuse well. However I found that this particular knife is very stiff and was very difficult to release/open even after opening/closing it about 50 times. We applied a some gun oil and it's loosened up some, but it looks like I'll have to work it a while before I use it for work. I bought another style S&W knife (SWBLOP3TS/"Black Ops") the same day, and the tension seems normal on that one. This one seems to have a particularly tight spring. I knocked off one star because the mechanism comes so tight.Second star knocked off - this one for a safety concern. While the safety holds tight and I cannot override it, I do find that unlike the five other style S&W assisted open knives we have around the house, when the safety is engaged if you push on the release tab, the point of the blade will become exposed. This does not occur on any other S&W I have, nor on any others I have tried, all different styles from this one. I like the Black Ops style better and it does not have this safety concern. Were the black ops knife a bit smaller I would choose that one for work, since it is a safer knife.I am not fond of the grip - it feels like emery tape. I thought I was going to like it base on the pictures, but I really don't, but whatever. It's a tool and form follows function. I'm not deducting anything for this since it is purely personal preference, not an objective judgement.