Thanks for making this video. I took apart my lightning otf a couple of months ago and couldn’t figure out how to put it back together until I watched this awesome video
I got the dagger Elite way back when I first got into knives. Loved it. Took it apart and got everything sprayed with tuf-glide. That made it even smoother than it already was. At one point I just I’d way to many knives so gave the Elite to my buddy so he had a cool conversation starter type blade. He camps a lot too and mountain bikes in remote areas and just felt like he could use a banger otf more than myself. My only regret was getting the dagger. It was super thick and back then I couldn’t sharpen. I also didn’t need a piercing blade I (like most) wanted a slicer. If I got another I’d split the difference and get the Tanto bladed variant. I mean for $45 shipped, hard to beat. Not only is it fun to open and close, they are pretty dang useful. Blade is same steel as Leatherman uses for their base blades… nothing special but better than no name stainless. I also appreciate the Elite having the extra screw on the pocket clip. Definitely keeps that clip way more secure if you off road and it will get jostled around a lot.
OTF's aren't under spring tension so no need to derail it before you disassemble. I love my Lightning Elite I just don't use it a lot because I have much better knives. I think it is a big improvement over the regular Lightning. Fun knives and pretty reliable for the price.
i disagree with your point about the spring tension, at least i think i do. there is a bit of tension with it both locked out and in. to demonstrate this, deploy the blade, now with your fingers pull on the blade. see if you can pull it out further, you will notice the spring tension, the same principle is at play when its locked inside. the spring is either pulling it in or out, we just add more tension just before the lock is disengaged. the only exception is if you can get it in between the tabs at either end, the it can just sort of slide around willy nilly. granted the tension is lower when its locked in or out and not being opened or closed, i found it easier to deal with the cheap parts inside laying flat if they are not bound up with a bit of tension, if i remember right. wow that was a lot of typing, feel free to correct me if you think i am still wrong. i too have better knifes but decided to carry two knifes, my otf is for packages carried on my weak hand, and a much bigger more reliable folder for the flesh of would be attackers, on my strong hand. plus if a dog gets my strong hand i still have a weak hand that is now acclimated to using the knife the quality of the elite is just enough to make it reliable and more than just a gimmicky toy, imo.
@@OneMinuteKnifeReview xbox used to be my favorite way to watch youtube from the couch. but the ads got to be too much, so now i use my gaming laptop with wireless keyboard/touchpad now days. a computer makes for the smartest of smart tvs lol
As much as I love Lightnings for being a very good affordable OTF, the spring tabs are the fatal flaw. I've owned three originals since they first released, and two of them are now basically gravity knives due to this issue.* Rebending the tabs can only be done a couple times (and won't last long) before they simply shear off at the elbow from metal fatigue. Apparently they use very mild steel with no heat treat on the inner mechanism parts, and the factory bending as opposed to machining or stamping the 90-degree angle into the tabs only exacerbates their inherent weakness. I haven't tried the Elites yet; but I mean honestly I don't care about the black accents or three-screw clip as long as they've fixed the poor tab design. All that stuff is cosmetic and pointless when your knife won't fire.
seems like i made some custom peices to replaced those things i call "hooks" that break. when i was buying those knives i was simply on an exploratory phase of purchasing knifes. i have since moved onto many other knifes, but settled on a combo of a bench made infidel as my edc use and various giant folding cold steel 6 inch blades as my self defense.
@@jasonbrown467 Great minds think alike: I also have a couple giant Cold Steels as defensive knives; the 13" Ti Lite stiletto being the most carried -- but in rotation with a various other knives depending what I'm wearing, whether it's a permissive environment, etc. I used to carry an 11" Frank B switchblade for many years, but as well made as those are, I'd rather trust my life to the overbuilt, near-indestructible Cold Steel version of a stiletto even if it's not automatic. As to the BM Infidel I've owned one and played with a couple others and found them overrated with a lot of blade play. I'm a BM fan but the Infidel is disappointing and I expect better from them... I traded my Infidel for a BM SOCP folder and never regretted it. Anyway I fixed one of my Lightnings with a spring/tab assembly I pulled from my random loose parts box. No idea what they originally came out of but they seem to be a standard size and just needed some slight filing for height. It's definitely not worth _paying_ for repair when you can get a brand new knife for like $30, but if I can fix it free then I'll keep using it. I don't feel bad EDCing and beating the hell out of Lightnings, like I would abusing Microtechs or Paragon or something. Lightning's still the best budget OTF around I think if only they'd use better steel and stamp or machine those tabs instead of bending them.
Let me ask ya how long before you had problems with the lighting. I’ve had one same blade type as yours. Gotta say I love it but really I only use it for opening food an mail. I don’t think that’s the same design. I think that is the other China brand that got some bad reviews awhile ago I believe this is a upgrade on the China model. I don’t think is the same as the Taiwan lighting . Metal complex did a video about this same model. As for you problem I would over bend by a few degrees should stop it from straighting . Only just a bit past 90 should my it hook in different spot making it stronger if you understand what I mean
i do understand what you mean, but the metal is weak and the hooks will bend back past being straight and eventually crack. to answer your first question, i noticed the blade got sloppy about 3-5 weeks after i bought it. i did play with it constantly, like hundreds of deployments a day probably lol. i got it replaced and the next one did the same thing. i have bought many cheap otf knifes, from grindworx...never again btw....and the otf phase i went through wore off and im not playing with them like i was at first. i do suspect this new elite will hold up, i plan on buying more, but only when someone besides grindworx starts selling them, they make for fun gifts and i carry one every where i go
@@jasonbrown467 thank for the reply maybe you got a lemon at the price quality control is not the best. You know I carry a coldsteel vaquero xl for self defense. Really can’t beat coldsteel, I was also blessed when I lived in Florida to be exposed to Filipino martial arts. Been taking an practicing ever since. If you really wanna learn about the way of the blade nothing else is even close. You have a great Christmas
@@evile19 they sent me a knife with a issue, i emailed them asking for an exchange just days after receiving it and they said the request was denied. i have ordered close to 15-20 knifes from them in the last 1.5 years or so, and 3 of them were broke or not even put together all the way. i have contacted them several times in the past about defective out of the box knifes and they ignored me. i thought i'd try them one more time recently and i got a broken knife again ( this is the third one). they have never once responded to my emails. i have asked why they wont exchange and once again they ignore me. i am tempted to delete every video where i mention them, as it feels like i am promoting a company who doesnt stand behind their products and ignores their customers.
The reason everything on the black is black is because your blade is black, on your older one the screws clip and thumb release is silver is because the blade is stone washed silver. I think that’s a clue, it is on mine.
Hopefully you see this comment and can give me some insight. I want to buy a otf knife but I’ve never had one and right now I’m really liking the AKC F-16. What otf knife would you consider to be the best under $100?
i feel like the lightning otf blade can take more abuse than the akc f16, i feel like the hooks are weak in the lighting. you cant go wrong either way. i think the akc f 16 is about $60 and the lightning is like $35
@@jasonbrown467 Price isn’t a factor unless it’s more than $60-70 in my opinion. I realize you pay for what you get in quality. I ended up settling for a AKC F-16 black two tone bayonet. I like the look of it a lot more than the lightning and that was the deal breaker for me. Really this is just something cool to fidget with and show off to friends a couple times.
i think its better, the blade snaps in and out smoother, the switch moves smoother, its quieter. i hope those "hook" things, as i call them, last longer than the original knife
@@evile19 keep in mind that i believe the original does not rattle or have blade play until those hooks get just the slightest bend then the blade can start to rattle as it wont be pulled as tight against the front lock
really? the only times i have issues with mine is when i use it on stuff i shouldnt like cutting food stuff, and the food crap is still on the blade and drags it into the handle and into the grooves the back of the blade slides on. then i take it apart and clean it with alcohol and lube with silicon greese because i have it handy. maybe take it apart and clean it and lube it, that should make all the difference. i have been edc'ing the elite since the day i got it and i am rough on it and have not had issues other than what i mentioned above.
not at all when open, but when closed if i shake it hard enough i think i can hear the blade barely make contact with the side with the inside of the handles, its sitting right here and i just tested this, and i carry this and play with it all day everyday. my non elite models rattle all the time after very little use
just go to any hardware store and get some hardened hooks i have had a my lighting for almost 10 years back when lightning cost less then 15 dollars but i think you just got bad hooks run looks like thy forgot to temper the hooks on yours and there just unhardened cold rolled.
@@jasonbrown467 any tool steel will work or any thing that say hardened. Just go to a hardware store show them what you are looking for and they will find something that will work most you might need to do is drill a few holes. It's a super easy fix.
Seems like it would be fairly simple to make a replacement hook and just harden it with a torch and some oil. Or just harden the existing one. Might be a fun weekend project.
i agree, simple shop tools would work. i was thinking finding a good peice of steel and grinding it down into the L shape it needs to be. i have an angle grinder and steal laying around. but i dont know how the steal will react to the heat of the grinder. one day i will zero in on this.
but maybe find somewhere besides grindworx to buy it. i realize these are cheap chinese knives, but they should work out of the box and grind worx does not care if you have a problem, they will reject your claims at best and ignore you at worst.
From what I've heard the Lightning OTF Elite actually isn't from the same people that make the lightning and the the original lightning is actually better. It could be made by the people who make the Bolt OTF, which is a cheaper clone of the Lightning OTF. You can tell by the three screw pocket clip layout, it's the same as the Bolt OTF which came before.
@@sonicimperium weird, I've seen his comment on other videos as well. People have asked him to site what he's saying he's "heard" but there's never a response.
Thanks for making this video. I took apart my lightning otf a couple of months ago and couldn’t figure out how to put it back together until I watched this awesome video
I got the dagger Elite way back when I first got into knives. Loved it. Took it apart and got everything sprayed with tuf-glide. That made it even smoother than it already was. At one point I just I’d way to many knives so gave the Elite to my buddy so he had a cool conversation starter type blade. He camps a lot too and mountain bikes in remote areas and just felt like he could use a banger otf more than myself.
My only regret was getting the dagger. It was super thick and back then I couldn’t sharpen. I also didn’t need a piercing blade I (like most) wanted a slicer. If I got another I’d split the difference and get the Tanto bladed variant.
I mean for $45 shipped, hard to beat. Not only is it fun to open and close, they are pretty dang useful. Blade is same steel as Leatherman uses for their base blades… nothing special but better than no name stainless.
I also appreciate the Elite having the extra screw on the pocket clip. Definitely keeps that clip way more secure if you off road and it will get jostled around a lot.
you're like the lightning guru!! just think someday these lightnings will make you a thousandaire on UA-cam
oh yeah i plan on taking over the world with my hundreds of views....muuuuauahahahahahah
@@jasonbrown467 well ya got about 9300, too many for the low effort.Lightning Guru!
OTF's aren't under spring tension so no need to derail it before you disassemble. I love my Lightning Elite I just don't use it a lot because I have much better knives. I think it is a big improvement over the regular Lightning. Fun knives and pretty reliable for the price.
i disagree with your point about the spring tension, at least i think i do. there is a bit of tension with it both locked out and in. to demonstrate this, deploy the blade, now with your fingers pull on the blade. see if you can pull it out further, you will notice the spring tension, the same principle is at play when its locked inside. the spring is either pulling it in or out, we just add more tension just before the lock is disengaged. the only exception is if you can get it in between the tabs at either end, the it can just sort of slide around willy nilly.
granted the tension is lower when its locked in or out and not being opened or closed, i found it easier to deal with the cheap parts inside laying flat if they are not bound up with a bit of tension, if i remember right.
wow that was a lot of typing, feel free to correct me if you think i am still wrong.
i too have better knifes but decided to carry two knifes, my otf is for packages carried on my weak hand, and a much bigger more reliable folder for the flesh of would be attackers, on my strong hand. plus if a dog gets my strong hand i still have a weak hand that is now acclimated to using the knife
the quality of the elite is just enough to make it reliable and more than just a gimmicky toy, imo.
@@jasonbrown467 I made the comment in case anyone thinks the blade is under full tension all the time, which it certainly is not.
@@eric_in_florida i agree, not full tension. thanks for your feedback btw
Thanks! I ordered one and was wondering how it operates. My first OTF knife.
Wow. Found you on Xbox and had to really really search to get you on my phone account so I could sub. Thanks for the video, love the detail
youtube app on xbox?
@@jasonbrown467 yeah. I usually watch through Xbox believe it or not, can watch on big screen easier
@@OneMinuteKnifeReview xbox used to be my favorite way to watch youtube from the couch. but the ads got to be too much, so now i use my gaming laptop with wireless keyboard/touchpad now days. a computer makes for the smartest of smart tvs lol
1 year update?
Update on the knife? is it any different from the older model? or should i get the older one?
Low effort low production video? My kind of dump. 💪 I had to subscribe 🤘💀
As much as I love Lightnings for being a very good affordable OTF, the spring tabs are the fatal flaw. I've owned three originals since they first released, and two of them are now basically gravity knives due to this issue.* Rebending the tabs can only be done a couple times (and won't last long) before they simply shear off at the elbow from metal fatigue. Apparently they use very mild steel with no heat treat on the inner mechanism parts, and the factory bending as opposed to machining or stamping the 90-degree angle into the tabs only exacerbates their inherent weakness. I haven't tried the Elites yet; but I mean honestly I don't care about the black accents or three-screw clip as long as they've fixed the poor tab design. All that stuff is cosmetic and pointless when your knife won't fire.
seems like i made some custom peices to replaced those things i call "hooks" that break. when i was buying those knives i was simply on an exploratory phase of purchasing knifes. i have since moved onto many other knifes, but settled on a combo of a bench made infidel as my edc use and various giant folding cold steel 6 inch blades as my self defense.
@@jasonbrown467 Great minds think alike: I also have a couple giant Cold Steels as defensive knives; the 13" Ti Lite stiletto being the most carried -- but in rotation with a various other knives depending what I'm wearing, whether it's a permissive environment, etc. I used to carry an 11" Frank B switchblade for many years, but as well made as those are, I'd rather trust my life to the overbuilt, near-indestructible Cold Steel version of a stiletto even if it's not automatic. As to the BM Infidel I've owned one and played with a couple others and found them overrated with a lot of blade play. I'm a BM fan but the Infidel is disappointing and I expect better from them... I traded my Infidel for a BM SOCP folder and never regretted it.
Anyway I fixed one of my Lightnings with a spring/tab assembly I pulled from my random loose parts box. No idea what they originally came out of but they seem to be a standard size and just needed some slight filing for height. It's definitely not worth _paying_ for repair when you can get a brand new knife for like $30, but if I can fix it free then I'll keep using it. I don't feel bad EDCing and beating the hell out of Lightnings, like I would abusing Microtechs or Paragon or something. Lightning's still the best budget OTF around I think if only they'd use better steel and stamp or machine those tabs instead of bending them.
Let me ask ya how long before you had problems with the lighting. I’ve had one same blade type as yours. Gotta say I love it but really I only use it for opening food an mail. I don’t think that’s the same design. I think that is the other China brand that got some bad reviews awhile ago I believe this is a upgrade on the China model. I don’t think is the same as the Taiwan lighting . Metal complex did a video about this same model.
As for you problem I would over bend by a few degrees should stop it from straighting . Only just a bit past 90 should my it hook in different spot making it stronger if you understand what I mean
i do understand what you mean, but the metal is weak and the hooks will bend back past being straight and eventually crack. to answer your first question, i noticed the blade got sloppy about 3-5 weeks after i bought it. i did play with it constantly, like hundreds of deployments a day probably lol. i got it replaced and the next one did the same thing. i have bought many cheap otf knifes, from grindworx...never again btw....and the otf phase i went through wore off and im not playing with them like i was at first. i do suspect this new elite will hold up, i plan on buying more, but only when someone besides grindworx starts selling them, they make for fun gifts and i carry one every where i go
@@jasonbrown467 thank for the reply maybe you got a lemon at the price quality control is not the best. You know I carry a coldsteel vaquero xl for self defense. Really can’t beat coldsteel, I was also blessed when I lived in Florida to be exposed to Filipino martial arts. Been taking an practicing ever since. If you really wanna learn about the way of the blade nothing else is even close. You have a great Christmas
@@jasonbrown467 why never again from Grindworx? What did they do wrong?
@@evile19 they sent me a knife with a issue, i emailed them asking for an exchange just days after receiving it and they said the request was denied. i have ordered close to 15-20 knifes from them in the last 1.5 years or so, and 3 of them were broke or not even put together all the way. i have contacted them several times in the past about defective out of the box knifes and they ignored me. i thought i'd try them one more time recently and i got a broken knife again ( this is the third one). they have never once responded to my emails. i have asked why they wont exchange and once again they ignore me. i am tempted to delete every video where i mention them, as it feels like i am promoting a company who doesnt stand behind their products and ignores their customers.
@@jasonbrown467 shame to hear that
Thank you for doing this bro!
The reason everything on the black is black is because your blade is black, on your older one the screws clip and thumb release is silver is because the blade is stone washed silver. I think that’s a clue, it is on mine.
Hopefully you see this comment and can give me some insight. I want to buy a otf knife but I’ve never had one and right now I’m really liking the AKC F-16. What otf knife would you consider to be the best under $100?
The best being in sturdy-ness and one that can handle the constant open and close action. If you know what I’m saying.
i feel like the lightning otf blade can take more abuse than the akc f16, i feel like the hooks are weak in the lighting. you cant go wrong either way. i think the akc f 16 is about $60 and the lightning is like $35
@@jasonbrown467 Price isn’t a factor unless it’s more than $60-70 in my opinion. I realize you pay for what you get in quality. I ended up settling for a AKC F-16 black two tone bayonet. I like the look of it a lot more than the lightning and that was the deal breaker for me. Really this is just something cool to fidget with and show off to friends a couple times.
@@jasonbrown467 also thank you for responding
Where do you get the hooks and springs
Este dois furos que tem embaixo são vasados ou somente marcados?
So overall the elite is better? Better quality components? Better action?
i think its better, the blade snaps in and out smoother, the switch moves smoother, its quieter. i hope those "hook" things, as i call them, last longer than the original knife
@@jasonbrown467 less rattling and bladeplay?
@@evile19 keep in mind that i believe the original does not rattle or have blade play until those hooks get just the slightest bend then the blade can start to rattle as it wont be pulled as tight against the front lock
@@jasonbrown467 I own several of them and all but 1 or two rattle
@@evile19 i would bet money that your front hook is bent at a 45 instead of the 90 that it should be. have you opened it up by chance?
great video! very informative...
I’ve only had the elite knife for bout a week and it has misfired 7-8 times. Any solutions?
really? the only times i have issues with mine is when i use it on stuff i shouldnt like cutting food stuff, and the food crap is still on the blade and drags it into the handle and into the grooves the back of the blade slides on.
then i take it apart and clean it with alcohol and lube with silicon greese because i have it handy.
maybe take it apart and clean it and lube it, that should make all the difference. i have been edc'ing the elite since the day i got it and i am rough on it and have not had issues other than what i mentioned above.
@@jasonbrown467 ok thanks 👍
Awesome stuff man
Your voice sounds like Louis CK
i really like how worn those finish's are
lol i think those knifes were fairly new at the time of making the video, that paint comes off easily
Great Review!
Does your elite rattle when you shake it? (Open or closed)
not at all when open, but when closed if i shake it hard enough i think i can hear the blade barely make contact with the side with the inside of the handles, its sitting right here and i just tested this, and i carry this and play with it all day everyday. my non elite models rattle all the time after very little use
@@jasonbrown467 mine rattles when open or closed when I shake it
@@evile1174 well stop shaking it lol
The two holes could have been for a glass breaker which I wish my Lightning had.
Must have big pockets to carry that thing all the time!
Metal complex was skeptical they were even from the same company. Lighting is made in Taiwan and the Lighting Elite is made in China.
metal complex is a jackass who doesn't do a damn thing except just run his lips!
Updates on it? Still going strong???(the elite)
yep, no problems
just go to any hardware store and get some hardened hooks i have had a my lighting for almost 10 years back when lightning cost less then 15 dollars but i think you just got bad hooks run looks like thy forgot to temper the hooks on yours and there just unhardened cold rolled.
i dont know much about metal stuff, but i can learn and maybe drill and cut stuff, what metal should i start with?
@@jasonbrown467 any tool steel will work or any thing that say hardened. Just go to a hardware store show them what you are looking for and they will find something that will work most you might need to do is drill a few holes. It's a super easy fix.
@@jasonbrown467 auto parts store would work to they normally sell all kinds of little hooks and clips
Seems like it would be fairly simple to make a replacement hook and just harden it with a torch and some oil. Or just harden the existing one. Might be a fun weekend project.
i agree, simple shop tools would work. i was thinking finding a good peice of steel and grinding it down into the L shape it needs to be. i have an angle grinder and steal laying around. but i dont know how the steal will react to the heat of the grinder. one day i will zero in on this.
So is it worth the $42 (after shipping and tax) ?
yeah, i'd say so
but maybe find somewhere besides grindworx to buy it. i realize these are cheap chinese knives, but they should work out of the box and grind worx does not care if you have a problem, they will reject your claims at best and ignore you at worst.
@@jasonbrown467 really? That’s crappy.
@@jasonbrown467 no one else has the lightning elite do they? I know of no place
@@evile19 seems like i heard they are the only ones to have it for a while
Nice
I bought a Magicknife Ultramagic from Amazon. Great piece, on par with a microtech, at a quarter the price. Sadly I can't find them on Amazon anymore
From what I've heard the Lightning OTF Elite actually isn't from the same people that make the lightning and the the original lightning is actually better. It could be made by the people who make the Bolt OTF, which is a cheaper clone of the Lightning OTF. You can tell by the three screw pocket clip layout, it's the same as the Bolt OTF which came before.
Knock it off. You've spammed every UA-cam video with this nonsense of yours.
@@sonicimperium weird, I've seen his comment on other videos as well. People have asked him to site what he's saying he's "heard" but there's never a response.
COBRATEC MAKES A WAY BETTER PRODUCT. SHOULD GIVE THEM A TRY.
Low effort, low production, high quality, high value.
lol thanks