UTON – Modern "Civilian" Version

Mikov wanted to sell UTON knives to the civilian sector under the old regime, but since it could not be an exact military original, it began selling these knives not as a knife but as a dagger. The hole in the handle for inserting tools (saw, file) was plugged with rubber and ground flush. The sheath also differed from the military original — it was a simple leather one without a tool pocket. The same sheaths were used by Mikov on hunting knives of the Venado type.

Among the first markings was the Mikov oval logo with the word STAINLESS below it. In this UTON variant you can see the original rubber, identical to the one used on military UTONs from the 1970s. These knives particularly suffered on the handle in the area of the retaining strap — the rubber under the strap deformed in various ways.

Another marking Mikov used was the fencer logo followed by Mikov in an oval with the word STAINLESS. With this logo variant you can encounter three inscriptions before the fencer logo — most commonly MARTFROST, but also MOLYBDEN or MACKIE.

These variants were produced in addition to the classic rubber also with a plastic handle. Top: UTON with a rubber handle, bottom: UTON with a plastic handle.

Mikov sold UTONs as sports daggers under the designations 392-NG-1 (knife only with a fabric camouflage sheath) and 392-NG-4 (knife with a sheath with tool pockets + file and saw). The fabric sheaths came in various camouflage patterns — with or without a pocket, background in brown or black, pine-needle pattern horizontal or vertical.

In the 1990s, advertisements from Parfilex, Moravia Arms and Artos began featuring UTONs with nonsensical numeric stampings; customers could choose the sheath colour or stamping with various inscriptions. A Parfilex advertisement from Střelecká revue from 1996 offered a UTON with sheath and accessories for 990 CZK.

In the photograph next to the advertisement is a UTON marked 0007, with a matte smooth handle and a black sheath. These knives had, in addition to the standard saw and file, also a third tool.

The UTON marked 0008 with the original glossy rubber handle was rejected by the army. Mikov turned them into sports daggers, plugged the tool hole and sold them in simple Venado-type leather sheaths.

The 0009 series is marked on the left side of the blade and has a different grind on the upper edge; the rubber on the handle is also different. UTONs marked with numbers 0002, 0005, 0006 etc. also exist. The last photograph shows the Mikov lion logo in two sizes — these variants were sold until approximately 2018.

Over the years Mikov used several types of rubber for handle production. From left: military UTON with a glossy smooth handle, UTON Martfrost with a matte smooth handle, UTON Martfrost with a plastic handle, UTON 0007 produced until 2019, and UTON produced from 2020 to the present.

All UTONs produced after 1989 for the civilian sector are made from the same steel as military ones from 1975. The only difference is in the hardening method (formerly martfrost). If you want a UTON for use, it is more sensible to buy a new one from Mikov than to seek out an old military one — it is many times cheaper and the collector value of military originals is unnecessarily diminished by using them.

In 2020 Mikov switched to new paper boxes and began selling UTONs individually without sheaths. UTONs from N690 steel marked 0008 were added (to distinguish from 420 steel marked 0007). The upper edge and thumb rest were slightly changed (wider spacing, rounded). Mikov tested these changes on a verification series of 39 pieces — LIMIT 39.

After 2000 Mikov began marking and selling UTON knives as follows: