You want a pocket knife for one seemingly simple reason: to keep on you for when you need it at a moment’s notice to perform any number of tasks, from the mundane to the gnarly. It might be able to skin an elk or cut fruit from a tree, but it’ll also open your packages, slice off a hunk of cheese for a friend, or cut a loose string that threatens to unravel the whole sweater. The best pocket knife is sharp enough to get the job done and convenient enough to bring everywhere. These are the models worth your hard earned buck.

Choosing a Knife

When considering knives for everyday carry (EDC), look for a folder that will fit easily on your belt or in your pocket when it’s closed. It should be light enough to carry comfortably but with a blade and handle that are sized to your liking. Most blades in this category measure 2 to 3.5 inches long and have a drop-point shape. Handles range from 3.5 to 5 inches.

Folding knives that lock are even better. They won’t close on your fingers during use, which makes them safer, and the stiffness of a locking blade lets you manipulate the knife at a variety of angles, like while carving or opening a particularly tricky package. Plus, you can use the back of the blade for things like fire sparking rods without it closing or bending on you.

Another major factor is the kind of metal the blade is made from. The three most common categories are carbon, stainless, and tool steel. Carbon steel is easy to sharpen, holds an edge well, and is durable, but the blade takes more care because the metal is prone to corrosion. Types of carbon steel include 420HC, XC90, and 1095. Stainless steel isn’t as hardy as carbon, but with the addition of chromium, the blade is less susceptible to corrosion. Stainless blades are often cheaper than their carbon counterparts, too. Choose stainless, like AUS-8 or 8Cr13MoV and its cousins in the 9Cr and 7Cr series, if you will mostly be using your knife on the water, to process game, or to prepare dinner while camping. There is also tool steel, which can contain titanium, molybdenum, vanadium, or other elements. The result is generally a strong blade with good edge retention and decent corrosion resistance (though not as good as stainless). Popular tool steels include D2 and CPM-S30V.

Types of Locking Mechanisms

Don’t be intimidated by all the different types of locking mechanisms. They all accomplish the same task, but go about it in different ways.

Liner: One side of the handle’s inner liner is bent, causing it to act like a spring. When you open the blade, that springing liner slides over behind the tang of the blade to keep it from closing. Pro: Simple and inexpensive. Con: Fingers are in the way when closing.



Frame: Like a liner lock, but this system has one side of the knife’s frame slide behind the blade when you deploy it. Pro: Secure. Con: Not ambidextrous.

Lockback: A locking bar runs up the spine of the knife’s handle and springs up into a notch in the tang. To close, press on the bar close to the butt of the handle to pivot it out of the tang. Pro: Ambidextrous. Con: Can wear out, causing the blade to wiggle when deployed.

Crossbar: A steel bar passes through the knife handle and slots into a notch in the tang. It’s significantly stronger than a liner lock, and you don’t have to adjust your grip to operate it. Benchmade’s proprietary Axis is the most popular, but the AT-XR and Dynamic Locking Mechanism from SOG and Elite Tactical, respectively, work similarly. Pro: Ambidextrous. Con: More small parts that can break.

Collar: A circular collar around the base of the blade twists to lock it closed or open. Line up the gap in the collar with the blade for unimpeded deployment. Pro: Simple. Con: Collar can wear out over time and not operate as smoothly.

How We Tested

Our search for the best pocket knives started with fairly strict evaluation criteria. We focused on testing single-blade, plain-edge knives, along with a few smaller multitools built with portability in mind. We put the test samples through their paces by slicing apples, cutting rope, busting through zip ties that were secured on a U-bolt, and using them in our daily lives. We made vertical cuts in the apples by slowly applying force until the fruit split. During the rope cutting, we wrapped a length of ⅛-inch cotton-wrapped nylon cord over the blade and pulled, carefully avoiding the urge to saw unless absolutely necessary, until the cord separated. Similarly, we pressed the blades against zip ties rated to 30-pound tensile strength, without sawing, to gauge how much force was needed to release the plastic fasteners from the metal U-bolt they were tightly secured to. Keep reading to learn how each model fared during these replicable tests and what we thought after carrying them around and using them for whatever odd jobs we encountered.