best pocket knife

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. Watch How the Best Pocket Knife in the World Gets Made. Knife laws vary from state to state and often from city to city. While opening, the blade offers a smooth, even resistance, and once the liner lock is engaged, it holds firm with no blade movement at all, either back and forth or side to side. We found the American Knife & Tool Institute, a knife-advocacy group, to be the most reliable source of information on this topic, but we also recommend checking in with local law enforcement to get the most up-to-date information. On the downside, they’re difficult to sharpen, and they don’t make as clean of a cut. It’s quite possibly the most important piece, especially for guys who spend a majority of the day tackling cutting jobs both big and small. No need to shop elsewhere: from single-blade to Swiss Army, we have one of the largest pock The Drifter is a bargain, and during our use it felt more like the $80 to $100 knives we tested. Another lesser known fact: the brand’s founder, Ernest Emerson, is also one of the world’s most respected and sought-after hand-to-hand combat instructors in the world. 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). Small and medium hands will be able to get a full four-fingered grip on the handle, while larger hands will get only three. But he goes on to say, “I LOVE the Zancudo blade shape. 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. Based in Oregon since 1990, they are the patent-holders of the famed AXIS locking mechanism. Read below to learn about 15 of our best-selling knife brands that we carry. Both of these shortcomings are well-documented in other reviews, as well. In the end, this comparison was the one instance where the blade steel played a role, as the steel on the Buck held an edge noticeably longer than the Case’s. During testing, I attended a number of family gatherings, where we used the knives for cutting rope for a kid’s swing, shaving off an aggressive splinter on a dock, and opening a few boxes. Recurves are designed so that they can “grab” better, particularly with a sawing cut, but the downside is that they’re harder to maintain. The similarities are such that blade reviewers Dan Jackson and Tony Sculimbrene have both raised the possibility that Sanrenmu may manufacture the Drifter for CRKT (but in our interviews, neither claimed to know that for sure). We quickly dismissed knives that had impossible openings or awkward ergonomics. Many knife manufacturers crank out loads of new designs on a seasonal basis, so their catalogs are constantly shifting around. With the locking bar pulled back, the blade sits loosely enough for you to snap it open or closed with a slight flick of the wrist. After 40 hours of research, interviews, and testing, we’re convinced the Messermeister Avanta Pakkawood steak knives are the best for most people. Still, the Buck Knives 55 has a very sturdy body and nice overall construction, which is evident in how the lock snaps open and closed. It’s an easy maneuver to master. With the knife folded, it’s a good size for a pocket—big enough to find easily yet small enough that it can share the space with a set of keys, a wallet, or a small flashlight. While switchblades are button operated, assisted-open knives are manual, because you have to open the blade before the spring kicks in. We tested four knives from Gerber: the Mini Swagger, the Razorfish, the Airlift, and the Remix. In that time, he has reviewed “a couple hundred” knives ranging in price from a few dollars all the way to $800. The handle has a light amount of texturing, but as Schwartz writes in his review, “it doesn’t help with the grip during deployment, which this knife could use.”. The blade size is about as small as we’d want to recommend, but there’s no question that it can cut string, open a package, or free a toy from a blister pack. Again, this is a great touch, but not essential to the operation of the knife. 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. 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. 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 also not impressed with Sanrenmu’s customer service, so we question the company’s stated warranty. 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 have tactical knives, traditional pocket knives, custom knives, primitive folding knives, and more. The good news is that the 710 is typically sold for under $20 and sometimes available for less than $10. Jackson and Sculimbrene include the Drifter on their respective best-of lists and have given the knife fantastic individual reviews. You also have legal considerations. If the Drifter isn’t available or if you’re looking for a real workhorse of a knife, we also like the Blue Ridge Knives ESEE Zancudo.1 Compared with the Drifter, the Zancudo has a larger handle, a stronger blade lock, and a lot more metal in the body. Usually priced well under $20 and sometimes available for closer to $10, this model was the least expensive knife we tested—and also one of our favorites. 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). Among many knife aficionados, the Drifter consistently pops up in conversations about the best inexpensive EDC knife. To fit comfortably in a pocket, it should be a relatively compact knife. In fact, we were surprised at the quality differences between similarly priced models that looked identical on paper. Smith & Wesson M&P knife is probably the best OTF knife if you are interested in an assisted opening version. It far surpasses many of the others in its price range, which commonly have cheap materials, too-tight pivots, or locks that are hard to disengage. We did not look at the Opinel N°6 for a couple of reasons. Box 431 But after speaking to experts and drawing from our own experience, we decided to focus on knives with the following common features and attributes. Done properly, these allow for easy one-hand opening. We see no practical difference between this steel and the Drifter’s 8Cr14MoV. Kennesaw Cutlery features the best selection of knives at unbeatable prices. The Axis lock has a number of advantages over the standard liner lock of the Drifter or the frame lock of the Zancudo and 710. At a certain point, the stats fail and only hands-on experience works. Second, you need to maintain them, which means sharpening them. 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). The Benchmade brand is an extremely popular knife brand started in 1988 from a shop in California. The handle of the Mini Griptilian is another high point. The blade is made of high-end steel (154CM), and the lightweight handle offers good balance. 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. A pocketknife is a foldable knife with one or more blades that fit inside the handle that can still fit in a pocket.It is also known as a jackknife (jack-knife) or a penknife, though a penknife may also be a specific kind of pocketknife. Benchmade is one of the best premium knife maker brands, hands down. In Schwartz’s review of the knife, he also writes, “Sanrenmu helped to establish the budget knife archetype, and here we have as distilled a representation of that archetype as possible. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As Jackson noted, “[The] construction [of the Drifter and the 710] is very similar. Buy Best Pocket Knife Brands - Whitemountainknives. CRKT’s Pazoda and Squid are typically less expensive than the Drifter, and both models have robust all-metal bodies and frame locks. We didn’t do any specific tests on edge retention. Jackson told us that he was especially fond of it and that it’s “one of his favorites” in the sub-$40 price range: “I still use and enjoy my Zancudo several years after purchasing it.” Sculimbrene, in his review, writes that he isn’t a fan of the sizable pocket clip or the aesthetics of the handle. In fact, if there is a downside, it’s that the handle is too grippy: During our aggressive cardboard-cutting session, the texture along the edges of the knife became uncomfortable. If your hands are damp or oily, forget about it. 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. The downside is that it’s a flipper, and once we were done with testing, we decided that we preferred the thumb-stud opening for its fast and slow deployment. Check out the Best Pocket Knife to compare all of the models that we tested. The teardrop handle shape is a little unusual, but in our tests it was among the most comfortable to hold, especially when we were really bearing down on it. Across all the professional reviews of the Drifter, we couldn’t find a bad one. The robust metal build of the Zancudo, combined with the excellent ergonomics, makes this the knife of choice for tougher work. It’s very light, and at first we thought it felt a little cheap for a $100 knife. In fact, if you’re unfamiliar with knife sharpening, 8Cr13MoV is a great steel to learn on, because restoring an edge is so easy. The Drifter offers a compact size and a butter-smooth blade deployment. In our tests, knives with even slightly larger blades—anything over 3 inches—had handles that started getting big for smaller hands. The Buck 55’s blade is made of 420HC steel, which is on the lower side of the steel spectrum, but Buck applies a heat treatment that by all accounts puts it up in the range of 8Cr13MoV and AUS-8. The back of the blade, at the handle end, has some grooves (called jimping), which gives the thumb a little traction during tougher cuts. But how do you sort through the choices to find the best knife brand? We think that this added durability and performance are unnecessary for standard everyday use, and that the Drifter, with its adequate strength, lighter weight, and smaller footprint, is the better option for most. CRKT also sells a version of the Drifter with an all-metal handle (with and without serrations), but both Dan Jackson and Tony Sculimbrene write in their Drifter reviews that they prefer the version with the G10 handle. The Drifter has a 2⅞-inch blade, a folded length of 3⅝ inches, and a total length of 6½ inches. 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. These two tasks, one aggressive, the other delicate, gave us a sense of how comfortable the handles were and how easy it was to maneuver each blade for different types of cutting. 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. We also tested two traditional knives, and if you prefer a more classic look and style, we recommend the Buck Knives 55. In our tests the pivot had an even resistance, better than that of some of the $30 knives we tried. Knife retailer Blade HQ did a comparison stress test of liner locks, frame locks, and lockback knives, and found that liner locks, on average, could hold 243 pounds of weight before failing, while the frame locks held 277, and the lockbacks held 370. Every ¼ inch of blade adds ½ inch to the total length of the knife, and there is a significant overall size difference between a knife with a 3-inch blade, for example, and a knife with a 3½-inch blade. The Case Mini Copperlock, the other traditional knife we tested, positions the lock at the middle of the handle, so this one-handed operation is easier but still awkward. He explained, “At around $50 you can find a wide variety of knives with superior steel, handle materials, and fit and finish.” Jackson told us he didn’t “think that anyone ‘needs’ a $75 pocket knife” but recommended “venturing into this price if you enjoy knives and want a more premium product.” But ultimately, he said, “a $25 knife will open a box like a $100 knife will.”, No serrations: The primary advantage to serrations is that they offer the ability to cut rope. 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. The difference is that with the Mini Griptilian, flicking the blade open is nearly effortless. In nearly every way, the Mini Griptilian is superior to our other, less expensive picks. The Zancudo has a two-position pocket clip, both right-handed but with a tip-up option and a tip-down option (or you can remove it altogether). Each knife comes with a 60-day, money-back guarantee. Our list focused mostly on reputable manufacturers such as Benchmade, CRKT, Gerber, Kershaw, and Spyderco. Thumb studs and thumb holes provide a grip on the blade so that your thumb can flip it open. It is simply sublime. 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.”. The blade is long enough to slice up an apple or cut a sandwich in half. 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. Most pocket knives, like our other recommendations, have flat sides, but the Mini Griptilian’s are slightly rounded to fit the hand. The handle is made of G10, a durable fiberglass composite, and CRKT has given it a very light texture. The handle is made of fiberglass-reinforced nylon. It’s similar in a lot of ways to our main pick—it has roughly the same size and the blade pivot is almost as smooth. You deploy the blade, as usual, using a thumb-slide after unlocking safety. As Benjamin Schwartz writes in one review, “I think that, in our spec-obsessed modern age, we forget that poor edge retention in any modern steel is [still] pretty decent: I cut through a lot of cardboard with the [very inexpensive] 710, more than I could reasonably expect to deal with in a month of standard use, before I noticed any real performance issues. Like the Drifter, the Zancudo gets high marks from knife reviewers, including both of the experts we interviewed. After all of our research, conversations, slicing, dicing, apple peeling, and cardboard cutting, we believe that the best knife for most people is the Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT) Drifter. The Buck 55 has a clip-point blade, which, functionally, is very similar to a drop-point blade. It’s a cool feature, but not an essential one. If you’re on the hunt for good pocket knife brands, then you’ve come to the right place.At White Mountain Knives, we have all kinds of knives from a variety of different brands to choose from.A few of our most popular brands are Spyderco, Kershaw, Cold Steel, Kizer, and Leatherman.We’ve got fixed blade knives, folding knives … The 55 has none of the modern convenience features of the other knives we tried, but it does have a timeless feel, a comfortable handle, and a durable build quality. The unfortunate thing here is that the Drifter’s curve is enough to make sharpening a little more difficult but not enough to really aid in cutting. Folding blades (as opposed to fixed blades): Most folding knives (known as folders) are small enough to fit in a pocket and have a general nonthreatening sense of utility about them. We also have over forty different lock options, including liner locks, lockbacks, frame locks, and button locks. The blade unlocks with Benchmade’s proprietary Axis lock, which is fully ambidextrous and very easy to use. In the end, even the so-so steels will be fine for day-to-day use. Everything from opening delivery boxes to fishing little objects out from between floorboards can be accomplished without having to search around for a specific tool. The Buck Knives Vantage is about the size of the Drifter but is a hard-to-use flipper. This design consists of a spring-loaded bar that sits across the body of the blade. Other knives with the same overall dimensions weren’t anywhere as nice as the Drifter. Blade reviewer Tony Sculimbrene also raised the point that with Sanrenmu, as with other Chinese manufacturers, “we don’t know who they are.”. The Buck 55 opens and closes with a pronounced (and satisfying) snapping noise as the back lock falls into place. For this review, we did not look at any multitools like the Swiss Army knife or the Leatherman New Wave (we have a separate guide for those). But with a total length of 5¾ inches and a cutting edge of barely over 2 inches, the Buck 55 is not a menacing knife. For a knife typically priced under $20, that’s an expected sacrifice. Of all the knives in our test group, the Drifter offers the best overall proportions: It has a blade long enough for common tasks, a handle that can fit all sizes of hands, and a folded length that doesn’t take up too much space in a pocket. Updated by Blade HQ Staff Writer Logan Rainey on 11/17/2020. With only a few dollars separating them, we think the added investment in the Drifter is worth it. He also noted that the drop point is not a threatening shape. Experts consider frame locks to be the stronger design of the two, but both are plenty durable for everyday use.3 As Jackson told us, liner locks “work great for daily utility tasks, but don't try to chop down a tree with them." It’s not quite a super steel by today’s standards, but definitely a mid to high end steel. For example, the Gerber Mini Swagger, on paper, is the same as the Drifter, but the thumb stud is difficult to use, the lock is way too stiff, and it’s not as comfortable in the hand. I like how it is easy to sharpen and how it holds a nice edge for a good amount of time. I still prefer better steels, don’t get me wrong: I just think that we tend to hyperventilate when it comes to comparisons that, in 90% of the situations we find ourselves using blades in, don’t matter.”. During our testing, we found all-metal handles slippery. The grip is contoured and heavily textured, so it will stay in your hand. P.O. The distinctive blade-locking system and movable pocket clip make this knife fully ambidextrous. Sculimbrene, at his site, writes, “I do not like serrations. We also thought the pocket clip felt uncomfortable in the hand. After that, we simply spent the majority of our testing carrying the knives around and using them daily. In one review Sculimbrene refers to a length of 2½ to 3 inches as being his “[ideal] size for an EDC knife.”, Bigger blades have a few drawbacks. The flat-ground blade knife is incredibly sharp. For all of the positives of the Drifter, we wish it were better in two areas: the single-position pocket clip and the slight recurve of the blade shape. We preferred thumb studs and thumb holes over flipper mechanisms like those on the popular Kershaw knives we tested. We also corresponded with Tony Sculimbrene of Everyday Commentary, who has been reviewing blades since 2011; he told us he has personally reviewed “probably more than 250 knives” and handled at least a thousand. The knife handle also seemed to twist slightly while we were gripping it, something that didn’t happen with the Drifter. When you open the blade, a strip of the metal handle lining springs to the center of the knife and engages with the back end of the blade, locking it in place. This isn’t a cheap knife, but it is wonderfully made (in the USA) and I think you get what you pay for.”. We did not test the Benchmade Bugout. The overall size is almost identical as well, consisting of a 2¾-inch blade, a 3¾-inch handle, and a total length of 6½ inches.6 The drawbacks: The all-metal body can get slippery, and we found the company to be very unresponsive to our queries, which raised some red flags about customer service and warranty support. But we found the blade deployment on both knives much harder than the buttery feel of the Drifter. We believe that the Drifter, due to its smaller size and smoother operation, is the better pick for most people, but in our tests, when we knew we would be working a knife extra hard, like heading into a house project, we preferred having the Zancudo with us. If a manual knife is well designed (like a flipper or a thumb hole) it will open just as fast. Jackson writes that he “found it very pocketable.”. We tested ours for about a month as we were writing this review, and the brass bolsters (the protective metal ends of the handle) took on a nice used patina, further enhancing the age-old feel of the Buck 55’s overall design. Not only can you customize the handle color, but you can also choose the blade shape, the blade steel, and the handle material. We found that it was those smaller touches, such as the feel of the handle and the ease of the blade deployment, that made the Drifter such a winner. A few of our most popular brands are Spyderco, Kershaw, Cold Steel, Kizer, and Leatherman. Easy to use, reliable, and able to put a razor edge on almost any type of knife, the best knife sharpener for home cooks is the Chef’sChoice Trizor XV. It’s also doable with either the left or right hand, although easier with the right. It has an excellent reputation and Jackson reviewed it very favorably at his site. My knife experience also extends into woodcarving, which I do as a hobby. It has a fine tip for detail cutting, a belly up front for slicing, and a flat edge for dicing and chopping. It will be the knife you reach for when you don't want to mess up that $1000 custom.” Jackson, in a similar fashion, writes that the Zancudo is “sure and comfortable, and the knife is ready for work.” He told us that the Zancudo “will provide years of service with proper care and maintenance.”. The last drawback is that Sanrenmu is a topic of controversy among knife aficionados, and the 710 is a perfect example of why. Across all the professional reviews of the Drifter, we couldn’t find a bad one. A drop-point blade shape: For blade shape, we focused our search on the classic drop-point style. In a review, Jackson writes, “The Mini Griptilian is an absolutely fantastic EDC option. It’s just a theory, but I would not be surprised to learn if SRM made the Drifter.”. All knives need maintenance, and while the Drifter may require a tune-up more often than a $80 knife, it still offers a solid amount of performance. It is 8.07″ long and features a 3.74″ blade. Some areas, such as New York City, have extremely prohibitive knife laws. During testing we had no issue with it at all, and we liked how easily we could get a shaving-sharp edge. Because of the lock and the reversible pocket clip, this model is a fully ambidextrous knife. For those who just need a simple folding pocket knife to cut string, slice some lunchmeat, or maybe clean a trout, the Opinel No. Go thump on it. Sanrenmu isn’t trying to pass its knife off as a Sebenza, so the company is not counterfeiting (which is a huge problem in the knife world), but the similarities are difficult to deny. We’ve got fixed blade knives, folding knives, knife care, sheaths, and more to choose from. But in this case, the size is a distinct advantage, because without a clip to secure it, the 55 is destined to roam free in a pocket, so it’s nice that this knife doesn’t take up a lot of room, especially when it works its way to the bottom of the pocket and ends up resting across the curve of your leg. © 2021 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 Avanta Pakkawood steak knives. The Axis lock makes no such distinction, and coupled with the Mini Griptilian’s multi-position pocket clip, it results in a knife that remains fully accessible regardless of your hand dominance. 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. If you’re on the hunt for good pocket knife brands, then you’ve come to the right place. This model has excellent fit and finish, and it doesn’t have a cheap plastic feel like many of the knives in its price range—usually costing under $30, it’s a bargain. As such, the assisted opening or auto just adds parts that can break with no accompanying benefit. It’s a small touch, but noticeable when you’re using the knife. If you’re rough on your knives, you’ll need to sharpen them more often, but if you’re just cutting packing tape, trimming butcher’s string, and opening the mail, you should be able to go quite a while between sharpenings. In a review, Jackson writes, “I cannot recommend the Sharpmaker more highly. The Drifter is easy and smooth, for sure, but the Mini Griptilian is like silk. We also clarified some language intended to highlight how our picks in this guide are directed at entry-level knife owners. The Buck 55 didn’t have the grab of the Drifter’s G10 handle, but it wasn’t as slippery as the Sanrenmu 710’s polished metal. For more tips on sharpening, read How to Sharpen a Pocket Knife. We liked the carabiner clip on the Kershaw Reverb, but in our tests that feature wasn’t enough to offset the difficult open or the awkward liner lock. We have a separate guide for knife sharpeners, but those picks are geared toward kitchen knives. With all other aspects being so similar, we decided that the Buck was the better option. Once open, the blade locks with a liner lock that is secure yet simple to disengage. While you can easily spend over $100 on a quality knife, and it can be well worth that price, for this guide we focused mostly on entry-level knives that you can get for less than $45, so that you can try out the utility of an EDC knife without breaking the bank. So while liner locks are the weakest of the three, they can still withstand a significant amount of force with a strength that far exceeds your needs for everyday tasks.

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