Wilson Combat is a well known 1911 manufacturer who has recently been in the spotlight with the Wilson Combat AR9 9mm AR-15. Since 2000 Bill Wilson has been offering knives under one brand or another and recently Wilson Combat teamed back up with Hogue. This collaboration has resulted in a couple of new, automatic, out-the-front (OTF) knives they are calling the Wilson Combat / Hogue Knives X-TAC OTF Automatic.

Also called sliding knives or telescoping knives OTF knives have traditionally been synonymous with gravity knives such as the Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger-Messer. More recently OTF automatic knives have been made popular by both the high-end tactical versions or the cheap no-name automatics found on the tables of gun shows and online.

Hogue has manufactured Allen Elishewitz designed knives since 2012 and that same year Wilson teamed up with Hogue to offer the Elishewitz designed Star Light folding knife. The new Wilson Combat-Hogue WCX Out the Front Automatic is also designed by Allen Elishewitz. The new knife is a double-action design with a black anodized aluminum handle and a stonewashed, 3.5″, CPM-154 stainless steel blade in tanto or clip point with a removable deep carry pocket clip.

OTF Auto knives are not exactly known for durability, but Wilson Combat claims that the new X-TAC OTF auto is the first heavy duty, hard use OTF automatic knife.

The Wilson Combat / Hogue X-TAC OTF Automatic, 3.5″ Tanto Blade can be purchased directly from Wilson Combat here.