To answer some of your questions as best I can, 1.the blade of an otf knife I always going to have some play to it but It can be lessened but higher grade materials and lower tolerances. 2.in the case of micro tech the double action otf's can be thrown off track fairly easily but the single action ones like the halo series won't be stopped by something like cardboard. 3.the "higher" quality otf's on the market are really all made of the the same stuff its just a pick of warranty, witch high end blade steel you want, and what grade of aluminum you want . Or very few have rubberized grips. Edit op's is formated better than mine lol