The Greatest Pocket Knives of 2023-2024

On the planet of outside gear, pocket knives have turn out to be a staple. They’re in every single place, from the show instances at REI to the checkout lanes at your native ironmongery store. However with so many to select from, it may be a frightening process to search out out which one is best for you.

In 2023, we noticed newer manufacturers like Civivi and WE Knife rise as much as tackle the likes of Benchmade and CRKT. By coming in at a lower cost level, they threw a curve ball on the trade; presumably redefining what it means to be “premium”.

So! Right here we’re — your headlight within the fog — with a set of knives that we predict are the most effective of the most effective out there available on the market at the moment. Every considered one of these knives has been examined totally to find out why they deserve the status of being thought of the most effective of the most effective.

Under you’ll discover a roster of blades providing the most effective mixture of functionality, building, and worth the trade has to supply. Try our prime picks on the hyperlinks beneath or scroll via to browse for your self. On the finish of our checklist, make sure to take a look at our complete purchaser’s information, comparability chart, and regularly requested questions.

Editor’s Notice: We up to date this text on December 15, 2023, to incorporate a number of new knives which have not too long ago impressed us in testing and many new shopping for steering.

The Greatest Pocket Knives of 2024

Pocket Knives Comparability Chart

How We Examined Pocket Knives

Out of all the issues we check round Gear Junkie, pocket knives appear to get simpler and simpler yearly — as a result of everybody needs one. Suffice it to say, the knives we’ve beneficial on this checklist weren’t simply examined at a desk or in some random workshop within the Midwest, they have been used, abused, beloved, and carried for prolonged intervals of time.

From an trade veteran like Sean McCoy to a knifemaker like Nick LeFort, and knife aficionado Josh Wussow, all the knives you examine right here inside have been toiled over and picked aside. All three of those testers are nice individuals. Enjoyable to have round. Heck, final yr’s Christmas Get together was saved off of our social media pages, by the request of HR, due to these three guys specifically. However in relation to breaking down a knife’s options, supplies, and supposed makes use of, there aren’t three higher individuals fitted to the job.

So what did they do?

The place yow will discover YouTube and the web peppered with individuals reducing rope and cardboard of their storage, you’re extra apt to search out Sean, Nick, or Josh out within the woods, down by a river, or wherever their day takes them. Heck, you might even see considered one of them wandering round Complete Meals with considered one of these knives (of their pocket after all). To them, testing isn’t a 9-5 job, these knives are a part of their lives. They usually introduced their expertise and their consideration to element together with these knives of their day-to-day lives.

Having a eager sense of how a specific knife metal would carry out, or how a sure deal with materials’s grip can be impacted by inclement climate, in addition to an enormous information of what’s happening available in the market, they have been capable of act and react accordingly. On these few facets in addition to many others. The top result’s the purest type of product testing: within the second.

The underside line is that our method to testing is to verify a product and its elements carry out as anticipated. With advertising being what it’s, with the intent to promote one specific knife above all the others, it’s straightforward to purchase into the hype. On this case, we have a look at that hype and see if it’s all simply discuss or the true deal.

Purchaser’s Information: Methods to Select a Pocket Knife

Knife Metal

The quantity of knife blade metal and deal with supplies out there’s fairly spectacular. However, the place the deal with supplies appear to have stabilized, there’s new metal popping out yearly. As you possibly can see from the above number of eight knives, there are seven totally different knife steels. Our suggestion is to think about every metal on a case-by-case foundation. However they need to nonetheless meet or exceed the next necessities:

Corrosion Resistance

The very last thing you need is your knife turning orange on you out within the subject. Particularly should you’re planning on utilizing it to organize meals. All the metal talked about on this information both has distinctive corrosion resistance or has been coated to get rid of the prevalence of rust.

Abrasion Resistance

Some individuals think about this property to be extra kind than operate. However in all actuality, in case your blade can simply get scraped up that may result in chipping, which then might result in blade failure.

Edge Retention/Ease of Resharpening

It doesn’t matter what knife you carry, the worst knife you could possibly carry is a boring one. That being stated, you need to search for knife steels that both excel in edge retention or could be simply resharpened.

You may study extra about particular knife steels right here.

Deal with Materials

When it comes all the way down to deal with materials it’s all about grip. Ergonomics play a component on this as effectively, as you could possibly have nice deal with materials in a bizarre form that can trigger fatigue. In the long run, you gained’t need to use the knife and also you’ll have wasted your cash. These are a few of the extra most well-liked supplies available on the market at the moment:

G10 & Micarta

G10 and Micarta are each extraordinarily robust supplies. Each excel in grip whether or not your palms are moist or dry which is why these two supplies are so in style with EDC, Survival, Tactical, and Bushcraft-style knives.

Nylon & Plastic

Nylon and Plastic additionally make for excellent deal with supplies as a result of they’re sturdy and light-weight, however they’re additionally usually textured. It’s this texturing and styling that will increase the grip on a knife with these supplies.

Notice: Nylon and Plastic deal with scales could be referred to as a litany of names. A number of the extra in style names are: FRN/Zytel (Fiber Bolstered Nylon), GRN (Glass Bolstered Nylon), GFN (Glass Crammed Nylon), and Grivory (Injection Molded).

Carbon Fiber

A number of people suppose Carbon Fiber is simply fairly to have a look at, however in all actuality, this woven materials is light-weight and robust. Relying on its composition, it could possibly be thought of the right steadiness between energy, weight, and sturdiness. You may guess your bippy you’ll pay extra for a knife with Carbon Fiber, nevertheless it’s value it.

Aluminum & Titanium

Each Aluminum and Titanium are extremely robust and light-weight supplies which make them nice for knife deal with scales. However the place Aluminum has turn out to be relegated to price range knives, using Titanium is often saved for premium and ultra-premium knives. The one disadvantage to each of those supplies is that they are often slippery when moist.

Ease of Use

Ease of use is a giant deal when contemplating what knife is best for you. It will probably are available in many types from ergonomics, to lock design, to the {hardware} used to maintain the knife collectively and in good functioning order. All in all, the very last thing you need to do is wrestle with or be uncomfortable utilizing your knife.

Ergonomics

A superb knife will really feel proper in your hand. From the form of the deal with scales to the general thickness, and even texturing, ergonomics could be the distinction between you being assured along with your knife or leaving it in your drawer at house. When you think about a knife, put it in your hand and provides it an excellent squeeze. Then, push down exhausting on a tough floor. If the whole lot feels proper, that’s your subsequent knife.

Lock Mechanism

With out fail, you can see your self able the place you’ll want to depend on the lock in your knife greater than you anticipated.

A number of the extra frequent lock sorts are liner/body locks that use a bar that indexes into the again of the blade. There are additionally button-style locks that use a metal barrel to maintain the blade engaged. Nonetheless, the preferred lock kind is the crossbar lock which additionally makes use of a metal bar to carry the knife in place.

In my time and expertise, I’ve by no means seen a crossbar-style lock mechanism fail with out some exterior pressure creating a significant disruption in how the knife features. Like a truck working it over.

Pocket Clip

The suitable pocket clip will maintain your knife in place in your pocket and shall be straightforward to insert and take away. Usually, pocket clips are comprised of metal or Titanium, are designed to retain their form, and are round half the size of the knife when they’re closed.

Nonetheless, there are wire pocket clips that may deform over time. There are additionally shorter pocket clips that, relying on the scale of the knife, could cause it to drift round in your pocket, and even come out of your pocket.

I’d choose a wire pocket clip over a shorter clip any day.

Ball Bearings

Ten years in the past, you wanted to pay $300 to get a knife with ball bearings in it, however now yow will discover them for underneath $100.

Ball bearings help within the opening and shutting of a knife. In reality, there are some knives on the market which can be so fluid in operation, as a consequence of ball bearings, that they’re simply as quick, if not sooner than an automated knife. They’re additionally authorized in additional locations when in comparison with an auto.

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