Choosing a knife is a personal decision, and 10 different people are likely to have 10 different favorites. But after speaking to experts and drawing from our own experience, we decided to focus on knives with the following common features and attributes.

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. In social situations they’re likely to be more acceptable than a fixed-blade knife on a belt sheath. 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.

Roughly a 3-inch blade length: Blade reviewer Dan Jackson called a 3-inch blade the “sweet spot” for size and explained to us that a 3-inch blade is “a functional size and provides plenty of cutting edge and plenty of handle to hang on to.” Tony Sculimbrene, writing at his site, says he doesn’t see the point of going larger than 3 inches for an EDC blade. In a number of reviews on his blog, he refers to “3:4:7” as the “golden ratio” of a folding knife—a 3-inch blade, a 4-inch handle, and a total length of 7 inches. 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. 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.”

A drop-point blade shape: For blade shape, we focused our search on the classic drop-point style. With this design, the top edge of the blade arcs slightly downward toward the tip. 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. According to Jackson, this design is “a well-rounded blade shape” that offers “a good cutting edge, some belly (the curve to the edge towards the tip), which is good for slicing into things, and a fine tip for detail work." He also noted that the drop point is not a threatening shape. “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. Sculimbrene told us, “One issue that a lot of people don't think about is the more complex the blade shape is, such as with a recurve or a tanto, the more difficult it is to sharpen and maintain.”

One-handed opening: Seeking the convenience of a one-handed open, we focused on knives with thumb studs, thumb holes, or flippers. Thumb studs and thumb holes provide a grip on the blade so that your thumb can flip it open. A flipper is a small tab that sticks out the back end of the handle; when you give it a quick flick, the blade pops open and locks. Jackson told us, "I like thumb studs, flippers, and thumb holes for deployment methods. Done properly, these allow for easy one-hand opening."

Liner locks, for one-handed closing: This style of lock secures the blade in the open position and offers easy closing with one hand. 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. To unlock the blade, you use your thumb to move the lock to the side while simultaneously shifting the blade forward with your forefinger. It’s an easy maneuver to master. It’s also doable with either the left or right hand, although easier with the right. Sculimbrene told us, “In terms of locking systems, the liner lock … is probably my favorite.”

Frame locks are essentially the same thing, except they’re a thicker piece of metal that engages with the blade. Experts consider frame locks to be the stronger design of the two, but both are plenty durable for everyday use. As Jackson told us, liner locks “work great for daily utility tasks, but don't try to chop down a tree with them." 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. This is a nice feature to have, but it’s not an essential one, particularly if you’re new to knives and haven’t yet developed a preference. Sculimbrene told us, "A good pocket clip is a huge plus for a knife. I don't think it is required, but a good one is a treat. If you have a good handle design four position clips aren't necessary.”

Acceptable blade steel: Blade steel determines a blade’s strength, its corrosion resistance, and how often you’ll be sharpening it. Cheaper steels are softer and prone to dulling quicker, but are easier to sharpen than more expensive steels. We found that, depending on the steel, knives fell into a series of price ranges. For instance, the majority of knives from reputable manufacturers in the $15 to $40 range, where we spent most of our time, are made of either 8Cr13MoV or AUS-8, both of which are considered decent, but not great, steels. 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. 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. 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). We also looked at knives in the $50 to $100 range, where “you get a huge uptick in quality,” according to Sculimbrene. 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. On the downside, they’re difficult to sharpen, and they don’t make as clean of a cut. Sculimbrene, at his site, writes, “I do not like serrations. I don't do enough rope cutting tasks to make the serrations worth the sharpening hassle they cause.” Jackson agreed: “If you maintain your plain edge knife you will never miss having serrations.”

No assisted open: Knives with assisted open have an internal mechanism that springs the blade to the open position once it is just barely out of the handle. Sculimbrene has strong opinions on such knives, writing at his site, "I do not like assisted opening or automatic knives. If a manual knife is well designed (like a flipper or a thumb hole) it will open just as fast. As such, the assisted opening or auto just adds parts that can break with no accompanying benefit. If you have an application that needs fast and thoughtless deployment, like combat or rescue, assisted and auto knives have their place. Otherwise, they aren't worth it."

A reliable model: We kept our search to established, time-tested models. Many knife manufacturers crank out loads of new designs on a seasonal basis, so their catalogs are constantly shifting around. 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.”

Sticking closely to the criteria above, we selected 28 knives to call in for a firsthand look. Our list focused mostly on reputable manufacturers such as Benchmade, CRKT, Gerber, Kershaw, and Spyderco. We also included a few outliers: The Spyderco Delica 4 and Dragonfly 2 have the two-handed lockback system but are regarded in the knife world as two of the best models available. In addition, we looked at two traditional folders with lockbacks; these models, from Buck Knives and from Case, also have a two-handed open, relying on the fingernail nick. Last, a few knives with clip-point blades made their way into our testing, mostly since their high popularity and strong reputation made them hard to ignore in a comprehensive evaluation of the category. 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).