FASTBACK 5-in-1 Folding Knife with 3 in. Blade

I have used this took daily for over a year now in the field and the shop. Knife is very sharp and sturdy. The bit driver is such a handy tool. My only complaint is after a year of daily use I finally lost the bit. I cannot find a replacement that fits in there as well as the original. I don’t see a Milwaukee replacement part. Other than that you will love this tool!

For what it's worth, I'm a huge Milwaukee fan-boy. I have literally dozens and dozens of their hand and power tools and rarely buy anything other than Milwaukee. This knife is fine, great even, but one for critical flaw: it has a thumb-side button lock that holds the knife locked in the closed position and requires the button to be depressed (by the thumb in right-handed operation) while opening. With no finger-lever, the knife cannot be opened with the other fingers on the right-hand nor with a sharp wrist-flick, meaning that it requires the operator to use the left hand to pull open the blade. This is a major drawback for many use cases. Other than that, it is typically wonderful Milwaukee quality and feel. It is thinner than I expected (in a good way) and both sharp and tight (not loose) in, again, good ways.

I had the knife for exactly 5 minutes. I removed the screw on the belt clip to adjust it...and when I reinstalled the screw it stripped almost immediately. Talk about junk. The screw is super short as expected but it should be able to handle more than a couple pounds of torque. I took a longshot and decided I'd try a knife made by Milwaukee since I like most of their products and have never had any issues with them. They're my "go to" when I purchase power tools, never again on a knife though.

I am a Milwaukee guy when it comes to just about everything in my tool bag and work truck. I love the fast back utility knives. Having the ability to flip the blade open and closed with a simple flick of the wrist is great In the work environment. When these new ones came out with the build in screw driver bit I was pumped cuz it comes in handy a lot. I bought the razor blade first and was so happy with it I couldn’t what to get the actual knife version. I was like a kid on Xmas morning the day it finally arrIved in the mail. They dropped the ball on it!!! Why call it a fast back if you can’t snap it open and closed? U might be able to flick it open 1 out of 4 times and the snapping motion of the wrist it requires hopefully it doesn’t go flying out of your hand and hit someone. Also the screw bit rattles way more than on the razor blade on. I ordered 3 of these things assuming they’d be legit. The knife version sucks the razor blade one is good. Come on Milwaukee!!!!

There are several things that I like about this knife, and several things that I do not like. What I like: 1) The pocket clip can be repositioned to the tail of the knife handle. I LOVE this configuration, and this is the first time I have seen it outside of a really expensive (Spyderco) knife. 2) The knife feels good in the hand. The grip is comfortable and the knife seems to have a good balance between the lightweight handle and the blade/bit holder/etc. What I do not like: 1) The bottle opener. At best, bottle openers added to most items/tools are useless, unnecessary gimmicks, and at worst, they compromise the functionality and integrity of the item/tool. This knife is no exception. The bottle opener does two things. First, it reduces the amount of metal on the blade where it pivots in the handle, right where the most stress and (depending on the use) torque are going to be applied to the knife. I have added a close-up shot of the blade where it meets the handle in an attempt to show this. The other thing the bottle opener does is get hung on the inside of one's pocket when drawing it out (when oriented tail up). This is a pocket knife, Milwaukee (added features notwithstanding). Lose the bottle opener. If I need a bottle opener, I'll get a bottle opener. 2) The orientation of the liner lock for the bit holder. To disengage the liner lock for the knife, the lock must be pushed to the left, but when disengaging the lock for the bit holder, the lock must be pushed to the right. Not only is pushing a liner lock to the right a less natural and less comfortable motion, I find the inconsistency to be annoying. Both liner locks should be disengaged by pushing them to same direction. 3) The weight of the blade when opening the knife. As many have noted, Milwaukee has no business calling this knife a "Fastback." That is blatant false advertising, as this knife is NOT easily (or safely) opened with one hand the way all of the other Fastback knives are. I was able to flick the knife open with one hand, but only by flicking it so hard that I thought I was going to lose my grip and throw the knife across the room. And when I do manage to flick it open, in addition to nearly straining my wrist, the blade opens with such force against the handle that it feels as though something will surely break if I open it that way on a regular basis. I think that losing the bottle opener and leaving that steel in the blade might help add enough weight to the blade to help it open easier. All in all, it seems like a decent, well made (if not so well designed) knife that will be useful. I am curious to see how useful the bit holder/screwdriver feather proves to be over time, and how durable. I would have liked it better if the bit holder were magnetic as well, but we'll see how it does. Also, I would like to see a couple of extra bit options included with the knife (a philips/square or a square/flat). I so rarely use flat-head screwdrivers that it seems a bit of a waste and a bit old fashioned to have only included a philips/flat bit). As for the price point, if the aforementioned improvements are made, I think that then and only then will it be a $25 knife. As it is now, I think that $20 would be more reasonable, especially since its usefulness is potentially severely limited do the the difficulty of one-handed opening.

I am a big fan of Milwaukee tools, I've had them in my toolbox since 1980 and they are very high quality. This Fastback folding knife is another great quality tool from Big Red. It is very well made and has multiple functions in addition to having a super sharp blade that holds its edge very well. It locks in the closed position and there's a release button to allow the blade to open. It also locks in the open position and easily releases when you want to close the blade. It has a fold out holder for driver bits so that you can tighten or loosen screws in tight spaces. You can open a bottle of beer with it too and that is nice at the end of the day.

The Milwaukee Fastback 5-in-1 folding knife is a great multi tool for keeping in your tool belt or glove box. This knife features a 3 inch blade that is half blade and half serrated edge. The blade automatically locks when opened with a thumb sliding lock, preventing the blade from closing on your hand. At the other end of the handle, this knife features a 1/4" nut driver with a reversible 1/4" slotted screwdriver & #2 Phillips screwdriver insert bit. The final feature, when closed, the back of the blade acts as a bottle opener. Perfect for cracking open tasty beverages when the day is done. The only reason I'm dropping this down to 4 stars is the "Press and Flip" opening that is supposed to allow for 1-handed opening does not work on my knife. I need to use 2 hands to open my knife, as the blade is way too tight in the handle. Other than that, this is a very nice, solid knife!

Milwaukee 48-22-1540 Fastback 5 in 1 Folding Knife – This Fastback Folding Knife has several features not found on earlier versions of the Fastback Knives…1. Press and flip to open, 2. Bottle opener, 3. Screwdriver with double ended bit, #2 phillips and ¼” slotted and ¼” hex driver, 4. Tether / lanyard hole…The blade is approximately 25% serrated and approximately 75% plain edge…The serrated blade edge works great cutting plastic banding straps on conduit bundles…The knife has been well designed and well made, the fit and finish is excellent…The knife performed as indicated, intended and expected without any problems…

Build tough and sturdy. This 5 in 1 knife has a nice grip that fits my hand nicely. Besides the locking flip out 3 inch blade it also comes with a bottle opener (always handy), a #2 phillips head screwdriver, a 1/4 inch standard slotted screwdriver and a 1/4 inch hex nut driver. The blade locks in both the open and closed position. The blade also come with a serrated area for small cutting projects. The knife has a durable wire belt clip that has a strong grip. Nice little knife!

This is a great all purpose knife to have around. I find myself using it all the time to open boxes and cut all kinds of things. The blade releases with a push button on the side and closes by pushing the blade in to collapse it. It feels heavy and well made. The plastic is durable and feels comfortable in your hand. The knife is really sharp. I have no complaints at all.