Every Hogue OTF knife is double action, so one ambidextrous thumb slide both fires and retracts the blade with no manual reset. Each is machined, assembled, and hand sharpened at Hogue's plant in Henderson, Nevada, and the lineup runs from the Counterstrike and Micro Counterstrike to the Exploit, Compound, and HK models, all of it sitting among our OTF knives.
Designed by Hogue president and master toolmaker Jim Bruhns, the Counterstrike was built to kill the blade play and trigger rattle most OTFs live with. It runs a 3.35 inch blade at 5 inches closed and 2.9 ounces, in CPM 20CV at 59 to 61 HRC across tanto and drop point profiles with G-10 or G-Mascus covers and a removable carbide glass breaker. The Collector Series double edge moves to MagnaCut under carbon fiber, and the SIG Counterstrike pairs black PVD with polymer covers.
The Micro Counterstrike shrinks the platform to a 1.95 inch double edge blade at 2.925 inches closed and 4.875 inches overall. It runs CPM MagnaCut at 62 to 64 HRC, a harder heat treat than the full size model, and weighs 1.8 to 1.9 ounces depending on the cover. Collector Series builds come in carbon fiber or cocobolo over an ornately milled aluminum case, about as small as a working double action gets.
Both carry a 3.5 inch CPM S30V blade at 58 to 61 HRC in clip point or tanto. The Allen Elishewitz designed Exploit uses an all aluminum frame at 4.0 ounces, while the Compound wraps a G-10 case around an aluminum chassis to drop to 3.6 ounces. Night Fision and tritium infused versions add a glowing H3 trigger for low light, and SIG offers the Compound in Emperor Scorpion and Tactical trim.
The HK Knives line runs its own 154CM platform at 57 to 59 HRC: the Mini Incursion at 2.95 inches, the Hadron at 3.375, and the Incursion at 3.9. Our guide to every major knife steel compares all five alloys, and the side openers sit under Hogue automatic knives.