REVIEW – When you think of action movies what do the heroes, anti-heroes, and villains all choose as their primary weapon of choice? Right, a gun, but what is their backup weapon? Yeah, you’re right. It’s probably another gun, but the weapon of last resort is usually a knife. And what kind of knife? Well, in John Wick’s case, it’s an OTF, out-the-front, knife, at least it was in one of the movies and there’s not a cooler knife than one of those. Slide a button forward and SNICK! Out pops the blade. Slide the button back and SNICK! The blade retracts. How cool is that?! So when Mavik reached out and offered the Raiker OTF knife, I definitely wanted to get my hands on it. It’s much less expensive than similar knives I’ve seen so could it be any good? Let’s find out.
What is it?
The Mavik Raiker is an OTF knife with an aluminum handle and a D2 steel double-edge dagger blade.
Important note: OTF knives are illegal in many states, so do your homework before purchasing one.
What’s included?
- Raiker
- Fabric sheath
- Information pamphlet
Tech specs
Click to expand
MEASUREMENTS
Blade Length 3.34” (85mm)
Handle Length 5.31″ (135mm)
Total Length 8.80” (220mm)
Gross Weight 0.66lb (300g)
SPECIFICATIONS
Blade Material D2 Steel
Handle Material Aerospace Aluminum
Blade Hardness 60 HRC
Blade Type Double Edge Dagger
FEATURES
Button Lock
Pocket Clip
Glass Breaker
Design and features
The first thing I noticed about the Raiker was the knife handle. The design was fairly plain Jane and had what appears to be grip tape, like what is used on skateboard decks. I mean, if it works to keep your feet on a skateboard, it should keep a knife in your hand. It does tend to wear on your fingertips though.
The second thing I noticed was the pocket clip. I’ll just say it’s less than desirable. It’s just a thin piece of bent steel, thin enough that it can be bent out of shape fairly easily. The knife is fairly heavy, so if you’re going to carry it using that clip, I wouldn’t count on it staying put. I found it sliding around too much for my taste.
Next is the window breaker because, of course, there’s a window breaker. It’s nice to have when you need it I guess, but it’s like a bottle opener. They put one on everything nowadays. It’s also really big but it serves double purpose as a retaining nut for the pocket clip.
The blade is D2 tool steel, and that’s not a bad thing. D2 isn’t the most exotic of steels, but it is easy to sharpen and maintain the edge while also having good wear resistance and toughness. It’s also cheaper than any of the super steels out there, so John Wick will have more money for ammo. And of course, the coolest feature is the thumb button/slide/switch. Push it forward and the blade shoots out and locks. To retract it, slide the switch and it shoots back in. It makes for one hell of a fidget toy.
Performance
The force is strong with the Raiker, as in the spring action is strong. It takes a good amount of force to actuate it. I guess that’s a good thing since you wouldn’t want this thing to go off in your pocket. If you fidget with it like I do, then your thumb will get a little tender since the jimping on the switch is aggressive.
The blade locking into place can be questionable as well. The first day I got the Raiker, the action failed to lock the blade in place so that it just slid around. I had to grab the blade and pull it forward to get everything back to working. Then, a little while later it did it again, but now I knew how to fix it. It happened a couple of times over the last few weeks but otherwise, it has worked as it should. I don’t know if this is a common issue with these types of knives, but I’m pretty sure they aren’t supposed to do that. You can purposely cause an OTF to fail by opening one while holding it to an object. I was able to cause the Raiker to fail by holding it to a box and opening it. Again, is this common with all OTF knives? I don’t know. The blade was sharp out of the box but not impressively so. The edge profile is pretty thick, so I would think if you let the Raiker get really dull, you’ll have to work at getting it sharp again.
Let’s talk about some hot spots, the glass breaker and the tail of the pocket clip definitely dig into your hand while holding the Raiker. It doesn’t take long for it to become uncomfortable.
Good news is you can remove both, but that forces you to either carry the knife deep in your pocket or in the included sheath. The sheath seems to be somewhat generic, like it wasn’t designed specifically for it.
Fit and finish aren’t great either. The powder coating has some issues along the seams where the two halves of the handles come together.
Also, if you remove the pocket clip, there are some tooling marks, making it look unfinished.
What I like about Mavik Raiker pocket knife
- Strong action
- D2 steel
- Less expensive than other brands
What needs to be improved?
- Fit and finish
- Reliability of blade deployment
- Better pocket clip
- Lose the glass breaker or at least make it so it doesn’t hurt your hand
Final thoughts
On the website, Mavik states they are a US-based tactical brand but nowhere on the Raiker page does it say the knife is made in the US.
In fact, I couldn’t find where it says where it’s made at all. It wasn’t until I received the knife that I was able to find out that it was made in China.
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. I’ve reviewed several Chinese knives that are excellent. I just think Mavik should plainly state that on the product page.
The Raiker looks like the standard OTF knife I’m used to seeing, nothing really stands out about it, but since this isn’t a $300-400 Microtech or Benchmade, I understand. However, when searching online for other knives in the Raiker’s price point, I found several that were, shall we say, strikingly similar. If I’m spending $130 on a knife, I want reliability and fit and finish to be better.
If you really want an OTF knife, the Raiker is priced reasonably from what I’ve seen, but it looks to be a clone of several others available online and some of those are cheaper. I guess this is a case of you get what you pay for.
Price: $129.99
Where to buy: Mavik ( Save 20% off the entire order with code: GADGETEER20 )
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Mavik. Mavikdid not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
I did not see a mention that OTF knives are not legal in many states.
You’re absolutely right! Before trying to buy an OTF knife, you’d need to check your state laws. Thanks for pointing that out.
I’ve just added a note to the review.
FYI there are some handmade reliable knives that look substantially similar on GunBroker, for example. I bought one from a gentleman that hand fits each one, and I’ve never had a single failure. I paid about $50. Thanks for the review.