In a recommendation roundup at his site, Sculimbrene writes, “I have an Opinel as a camp cooking knife and it is great, but if you leave it out over night, even the dew will make the handle very hard to use.” The Opinel N°6 also has a collar lock, which takes two hands to engage. Hence, after owning close to 1,000 knives, I’m here for your rescue. The compact and easy-to-use Tri-Angle Sharpmaker can bring a dull knife back to life in a matter of minutes. The blade is made of 154CM steel. When it comes to the best pocket knives the Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops SWA24s should rank high on anyone’s list. It has a smoother release, which results in the fastest blade deployment you could ever ask for. As Benjamin Schwartz writes in a review Jackson’s site, “For me, 8Cr13MoV is the baseline for modern steel, setting the bar for acceptability in every area, but impressing in none other than sharpenability. We’re convinced that the more-compact Drifter is the better option for most people, but if you beat on your knives, the Zancudo is a great choice. The Drifter has a 2⅞-inch blade, a folded length of 3⅝ inches, and a total length of 6½ inches. The heat produced by their factory is used to heat the homes surrounding their factory at no cost to the people. Sticking closely to the criteria above, we selected 28 knives to call in for a firsthand look. Price. Choose what can best meet your needs. You can’t go wrong with a KaBar knife. Looking for the best pocket knife? Jackson writes that he “found it very pocketable.”. It’s unfortunate that the Drifter doesn’t provide such customization, but we don’t think that’s an essential feature. Sculimbrene made the interesting point that “if you are talking under $40, the quality is pretty much the same from $40 down to about $5 if you know what to avoid.” We found this to be true—we saw a lot of terrible $30 knives, and at least one really good one for considerably less (like our budget pick). Bubba Quality Hunting Knives. folding as well as fixed blade survival knives, Swiss Army Knives, Cutlery, Watches, Travel Gear, and Fragrances, High-quality products, great fit, and finish, affordable price point, low carbon footprint, giving back to their community, lifetime warranty, and excellent performance. Your best knife may be my worst knife. The Drifter is easy and smooth, for sure, but the Mini Griptilian is like silk. The blade is made of high-end steel (154CM), and the lightweight handle offers good balance. The Benchmade brand is an extremely popular knife brand started in 1988 from a shop in California. © 2020 Wirecutter, Inc., A New York Times Company, Upgrade pick: Benchmade Mini Griptilian 556, Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT) Drifter, Milwaukee 48-22-1502 Fastback Utility Knife with Blade Storage, Messermeister 2 Piece Avanta Pakkawood Kullenschliff Carving Set, Messermeister Avanta Pakkawood steak knives. Headquartered in Oregon City, Oregon they continue to make what some people believe to be the best overall folding knives available on the market today. The edge of the blade has a curve at the tip and then straightens out as it heads back to the handle, similar to what you can find on many chef’s knives. We can say the same for the Kershaw Atmos, Skyline, and Chill: Each are nicely made, lightweight—the Atmos is under 2 ounces—thin knives with great handles, but we thought thumb-stud designs offered better opening options. Seeking the best pocket knife? But in just 8 years, it’s developed a reputation for making highly refined pocket knives and tools at a reasonable price. The … Name and Features. They are popular for generalizing the folding knife by executing the use of their traditional back lock system on the Model 110. It is the reason many people today would want to have a piece of their … This design consists of a spring-loaded bar that sits across the body of the blade. He lives in a very demanding 250-year-old farmhouse and spent four years gutting and rebuilding his previous home. I’ve never been surprised by 8Cr13MoV, but never really disappointed by it either.”, A good value for the price: To find an entry-level knife with features that would satisfy an enthusiast, we centered our research on the $15 to $40 range. Over the last seven years, we've purchased and tested 37+ unique folding knives side by side, with 18 knives in our 2020 review line-up. After having the Mini Griptilian in our pocket for a week or so, we came to like the handle for its overall feel, which was light and durable. The best pocket knives are lightweight, easy to open, easy to close, feel secure and hold a sharp edge. You also have legal considerations. The carabiner/bottle opener of the Leatherman Crater C33 came in handy, but overall the handle wasn’t as comfortable as those of our picks, and the blade pivot was not as nice. In his review Sculimbrene calls out the lack of positioning options but still refers to it as “a very good clip for the money.”. If you’re new to knives and want to spend as little as possible but still get something decent, we recommend the Sanrenmu 710 (aka 7010). Benchmade Griptilian 551 (Best Value) Check Price on Amazon. Our Pick: Benchmade Griptilian Started in 1988 with one goal in mind – to create and craft the best knives in the world – Benchmade is a company that has stayed absolutely true to their roots. Cold Steel has established itself as a company that makes affordable and very functional knives and tools. Buying guide for best pocket knives. “A clip point blade is very practical for the same reasons, but it can look more aggressive, especially in a larger knife.” Drop-point shapes are easier to maintain, too. 12 Best UK-Legal Pocket Knives. Not just any old thing, but the best-of-the-best, creme de la creme folding knife? The box of the 710 says that Sanrenmu will replace any knife with a quality defect, but we’re skeptical. IWA OutdoorClassics is one of the largest tradeshows focused on knives and other sporting goods in the world. After handling so many knives, we developed a number of preferences. The brass portion of the frame is thick and sturdy, and the wood accents, made of American walnut, are attractive. While the CQC-5K is a durable knife, it has a wider, heavier body than our picks. The good news is that the 710 is typically sold for under $20 and sometimes available for less than $10. Sculimbrene explained that “knife companies generally ‘retire’ about 10% or 1/3 of their knife designs a year and sort of use the knife enthusiasts as product testers, moving successful designs in their evergreen line up.”. Benchmade - Bugout 535 EDC Manual Open Folding Knife,... Benchmade - Infidel 133 Double-Edge Tactical Fixed... Benchmade - 940 EDC Knife, Reverse Tanto Blade, Plain... Spyderco is a well-known knife company based in Golden, Colorado, and has pioneered many features that have become standard in EDC knives. The Sanrenmu website is minimalistic, to say the least, presenting nothing more than a few knife images and an email address. The Mini Griptilian has a steep price tag, but it’s better than the others by nearly every measure. In a review, Sculimbrene writes, “[In] the role of an EDC knife I think a liner lock is more than strong enough.”, A pocket clip: Most inexpensive knives have a single-position pocket clip, but more expensive models often give you the option to move the clip to either side of the handle, as well as to either end. It would be nice if this model offered more options, but again, we didn’t see many under-$40 knives with multiple clip options, and we don’t think it’s a critically important feature. We dismissed a number of popular knives—including the Kershaw Blur, Cryo, Leek, and Scallion, plus the SOG Flash II—for having an assisted open. One thing I really appreciate about the knife company is the altogether variety of products they offer. Cold Steel Tuff Lite Plain (Flat Dark Earth), one Size, Cold Steel EDC Tactical Folding Pocket Knife, Recon. Updated by Blade HQ Staff Writer Logan Rainey on 2/06/2019. Victorinox Swiss Army Fieldmaster Pocket Knife,... Victorinox Swiss Army Hunter Pro Alox with Paracord,... Victorinox Swiss Army Classic SD Pocket Knife, Polished... KA-BAR has been making knives since 1898. The Spyderco Para 3 shines as perhaps the best EDC pocket knife in the Paramilitary family. The Kizer Gemini was the nicest flipper we looked at, which isn’t surprising, given the $85 price tag at the time of our research. Jackson told us, "I like thumb studs, flippers, and thumb holes for deployment methods. Benchmade Griptilian 551 (Best Value) Check Price on Amazon. The hunting knives listed here made the cut, as it were, because they were revolutionary in their time or because they worked so well that they influenced knife design thereafter. In that time, he has reviewed “a couple hundred” knives ranging in price from a few dollars all the way to $800. For me, the best knife is the Gougiri 8-inch stainless steel chef’s knife. That makes them the biggest brand of pocket knives in the world! The fit and finish on the knife is excellent, and the blade opens with a smoothness common to more expensive knives. It’s a frame-lock knife, so it requires more finger strength to disengage the lock, but we never thought that created a problem. Find the best pocket knife for your everyday carry and learn what to look for in a good EDC knife with our comprehensive, beginner-friendly buying guide, featuring 20 of the latest and greatest knives … All of the knives we tested could open, close, lock, and cut—but not all of them could do those things equally well. I like how it is easy to sharpen and how it holds a nice edge for a good amount of time. With only a few dollars separating them, we think the added investment in the Drifter is worth it. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. We have … The knife was issued to the US Marine Corps during World War II and it still remains the favorite choice of many men and women in the US military. If a manual knife is well designed (like a flipper or a thumb hole) it will open just as fast. Top 15 Best Chef Knives Reviews There are so many things that a simple comparison chart and short descriptions can't cover. Fixed blades do have their place, particularly among outdoor enthusiasts, but we believe they aren’t the best option for a simple, discreet EDC blade. The Zancudo is manufactured by Blue Ridge Knives but designed by ESEE, a popular maker of fixed-blade knives. Headquartered in Oregon City, Oregon they continue to make what some people believe to be the best overall folding knives available on the market today. The Coast FDX302 feels durable and has a secondary blade lock, but at over 7½ inches it’s a larger knife, and we much preferred the smaller CRKT Drifter. The Kershaw Fraxion is also a flipper, but the handle isn’t as great as those of our picks (or of the Skyline or Chill). Best Folding Knives. To unlock it, you pull the ends of the bar away from the blade (the ends look like small thumb studs in the body of the knife). We sent numerous emails to the company while researching this article and never got any response. We also looked at knives in the $50 to $100 range, where “you get a huge uptick in quality,” according to Sculimbrene. Sculimbrene also picks up on this general sense of durability in his review, writing, “Go buy this knife. Sculimbrene told us, “A knife has to be VERY well designed to be 3.5 inches and not feel unnecessarily bulky or clumsy in the hand.” Jackson also acknowledged the awkward optics of a larger blade, saying that a knife shorter than about 3¼ inches “won’t be misinterpreted as a weapon.”2. The knives by this brand are the best designed in the world, and they put the trust of their customer at a priority which helps them make the best knives. It’s not quite a super steel by today’s standards, but definitely a mid to high end steel. It’s lightweight, sturdy, and very well made.” He later notes, “Perhaps the only issue is the price. When it comes to my knife collection, I admit it might be a little, um, extensive. Through our testing, we found that the major differentiators between the knives were the handle ergonomics, the ease of unlocking, and the smoothness of the blade pivot. The blade is large, though, and up in that price range, we preferred the touches of the Benchmade Mini Griptilian. We didn’t feel the need to rehash this information. High-quality products, great fit, and finish, affordable price point, low carbon footprint, giving back to their community, lifetime warranty, and excellent performance. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. Still, in our tests the Zancudo was our choice for tougher jobs, such as when we headed into a DIY project. Budget Pocket Knife Brands (that aren’t complete crap) These brands don’t make the highest-quality pocket knives. Best Camping Knife: 10 Excellent Options For 2020. But the all-metal handle is less comfortable and can become slippery in damp or sweaty hands; we noticed this problem when holding the knife and when flipping the blade out. Assisted-open knives are not illegal by virtue of the opening system, but in many cities and states, switchblades are. I really like the 3.125″ Sandvik 14C28N steel blade, and the G-10 handle practically locks into my hand even without jimping. The letters USMC are engraved upon the blade as well as the sheath. The Airlift was our favorite of the bunch, but it didn’t have any specific features that set it above the rest. “All-purpose design, full tang knife blade, contoured triple-riveted handle for an ergonomic grip, tempered blade, forged from a … Ranging from little blades to full-size samurai swords, there is something in the Cold Steel catalog for everyone, as said earlier. The original Swiss Army Knife, created by Karl Elsener in 1897, embodies the essence of Victorinox. Best USA-Made Pocket Knives of 2020. We have selected this product as being #7 in Best Pocket Knives In World of 2020 View Product #8 . Benchmade makes some of the best production balisong knives outside of the Philippines, and their model 62 features a 4.25“ D2 steel spear point blade that excels at slicing and piercing tasks. If you are looking for a titanium framelock with looks, functionality, superb slicing ability, and a relatively low price point, the T1 … The knife handle also seemed to twist slightly while we were gripping it, something that didn’t happen with the Drifter. It does share a similar profile, and both knives have frame locks, but that’s about it in my opinion.” He told us that “no one would confuse the two” and distinguished this situation from those where “there are people making counterfeit clones that are designed to look like a real Chris Reeve knife.” Sculimbrene expressed a different opinion—although he told us that he did like a number of Sanrenmu knives, he “refuse[d] to buy the rip off Sebenza,” saying that “there are enough good cheap knives out there that there is no good reason to buy a knock off.” We are more inclined to agree with Jackson, but we understand why some people might avoid the 710. At around $100 usually, the Mini Griptilian can be a little hard to justify, especially when you can get the perfectly good Drifter for as low as $20. These are the knives that do not have any moving parts. In nearly every way, the Mini Griptilian is superior to our other, less expensive picks. Budget Pocket Knife Brands (that aren’t complete crap) These brands don’t make the highest-quality pocket knives. It has a thinner blade than many, but it slices better as a result and is still capable of accomplishing any task a pocket knife … In spite of the knife’s low cost, the pivot and thumb-stud flipping action have a smoothness similar to that of the Drifter. 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