Best Pocket Knives: Your Ultimate Guide to Making the Right Choice

This pocket knife from Spyderco, an American knife company renowned for its innovation, is the best folding knife on the market. If you are looking for either a workhorse of an EDC or a strong folding tactical knife, this product should be high on your list. This Spyderco Paramilitary 2 (PM2) has a total length of 8.3’’, a blade’s length of 3.4’’, and an overall weight of 3.75 oz. The knife comes in an array of colors and steel options.

I have owned a Paramilitary 2 (PM2) since 2013, and I rank it 10 out of 10 in terms of its ergonomics, blade material, and G-10 handle.

Its 50-50 choil is made from the blade stock and the handle, allowing you to set your hand back on the knife for maximum reach or to choke up for detailed cutting tasks. This is one of the features that add up to Spyderco’s consistently high ergonomics ratings.

Regarding the blade material, my PM2 was made of SV30VN, which sounds more than adequate for many people because of its durability and rust and corrosion resistance. Yet the 2019 model of the PM2 uses S35VN – more premium steel, which is easy to sharpen and can maintain a sharp edge for a long time.

What is more, the legendary textured G-10 scales make the knife feel stout even in wet hands but help it to easily slip in and out of the pocket.

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The Spyderco Paramilitary 2 sounds a bit heavy for you, but you still want to look for a good quality folding knife? Then the Benchmade Bugout 535 is what you need.

The Bugout 535 deserves to be the best EDC knife. The knife is 7.46’’ in length, and the blade is 3.24’’ long, which might sound rather large for an EDC knife to some people. Personally, I do not see this as a drawback since I want to make use of this large size to do heavy-duty tasks that require a bit more grip and a larger blade to work with. Especially when it rains or it’s cold and you have to wear gloves, a blade of over 3’’ will give you more confidence and control. Moreover, the fact that the knife is lightweight – just 1.85 oz. – outweighs its large size.

While some pocket knives go for form over function, the Benchmade Bugout 535 is an exceptional slicing knife. The blade material is S30V, which makes it corrosion resistant and easy to sharpen, and it holds its nice sharp edge.

The ergonomics of this Bugout reaches that of a full-sized knife. The handle is wonderful, light, and offers plenty of room of your fingers to grip, both forward and reverse. The handle has a FRN diamond-texture, which gives the knife a good gritty feel in your hand.

Regarding hand opening, this folding knife has two anodized thumb studs to get the blade opened. However, the studs are quite close to the handle, so it is a bit hard to get the blade out. The locking system is a selling point, however, since it uses an AXIS locking mechanism, allowing for a fully ambidextrous build.

This modern folding knife comes with an oversized lanyard hole and a reversible deep-carry clip, although the pocket clip is quite short compared to the size of the knife. But don’t worry; you can ask nicely for a standard Benchmade clip to replace it, and they may send you one for free.

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If you want more bang for your buck and your philosophy is function over form, I highly recommend the Ontario RAT Model 2 (RAT 2).

This best pocket knife for the money has a simple but effective design, with a 3-inch blade, 7-inch overall length, comes in at 2.75 oz., and is made in Taiwan, although Ontario is a well-known American knife company.

The blade has a classic drop point design with a full flat grind, and the bright satin finish provides a simple aesthetic. The blade material is AUS-8 – a line of steel manufactured in Japan, and is heat treated by Ontario to get the hardness around 59 HRC.

Although this kind of steel is no match for such premium steels as S30V or S35VN, it has its own advantages in terms of super easy sharpening, resistance to corrosion, and suiting most everyday duties.

The handle of this simple pocket knife features plastic scales. Obviously, G-10 material sounds a lot fancier, but on a budget, some corners have to be cut. You can still get a nice grip on the handle. However, the jimping is not comfortable and may bite into your thumb after extended use. The handle comes in six different colors, so you can pick one that suits your preference.

With dual thumb studs and a 4-way reversible pocket clip, the RAT 2 is for both left-handed and right-handed people. The pocket clip, however, comes with a painted satin black finish; therefore, it can show wear and tear easily.

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The Chris Reeve Large Sebenza 21 is not a starter knife due to its price, which is around $450. Just as an art collector wants to own a masterpiece, so too do many real knife collectors have this folding knife in their wish list. People who really have an appreciation for knives and have a big budget to buy and hold expensive offerings should buy this knife.

The Large Sebenza 21 has a worldwide reputation for being the best pocket knife on earth, and it is considered a yardstick to which other knives are compared. With some minor changes since its predecessor's debut back in 1987, the iconic Sebenza 21 was introduced to the public in 2008.

Although some people may call it a tactical knife, the Sebenza is an EDC one. With an overall length of over 8.3’’, a 3.625’’ blade, and a weight of 4.7 oz., the Sebenza is a large folding EDC knife.

The Sebenza 21 features a classic drop point blade, with a signature high hollow grind. The rounded spine and the tip are just perfect.

The blade has a nice stonewash finish, which can hide wear and tear well.

The blade is made of S35VN steel, which is a premium material and is heat treated. It may not be as easy to sharpen as some softer steels, but in turn, it is a blade made to last for a lifetime. The performance of the blade is outstanding, and I would say that the Sebenza is a winner in all cutting tasks.

What makes the knife look luxurious may be its full titanium handle with a blasted finish, which goes well with the silver hardware. The handle feels comfortable in my hand with its contoured edge.

The jimping provides some traction by its texture, not by thumb ramp, and hence, it fees reliable and does not create a throbbing hot spot after extended use. When I deployed the knife, it was a little bit tight at first but still extremely smooth.

One interesting point of the Sebenza 21 is its late lockup. You will love opening the blade on the knife and feeling the short and satisfying click when the lock falls into place. You can feel a level of security and refinement that you won’t experience in any other knives. Chris Reeve Knives intentionally makes this lockup 75-80% to ensure both stability and safety.

Regarding the pocket clip, I would not hesitate to give its usability an A-rating. It easily slides into my jeans pocket as I shoved it in and out.

One thing I have to mention is the single thumb stud, which may disappoint some lefties. There is a dedicated lefty model, so hopefully, double thumb lugs will be more common.

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If you are an outdoor enthusiast or DIY-master and are looking for a pocket knife that costs under $50, this multi-blade knife Victorinox

Swiss Army Knife is for you.

Among multi-blade knives, the One-hand Trekker is one of the most popular pocket knives, with supreme quality and fantastic steel. It features a partially serrated 3.5’’ main blade. This is obviously the selling point of the knife thanks to its utilitarian design. The serrations are placed toward the tip of the blade, and the plain edge is placed toward the handle. This ingenious design brings more control when stripping materials because the plain edge is closer to your hand.

The One-hand Trekker uses a steel liner lock for the main blade, and it has a bit more blade play in all directions compared to other tactical folders. Also, the liner lock opens by pushing to the right – opposite to modern tacticals. However, when taking its price and functions into consideration, these failings don’t seem very important to me. For one-hand use, it has a large enough thumb hole.

Another selling point to the Trekker is the saw. This saw has gained a reputation for its aggressive teeth and efficient cutter. The saw has a sharp spine and can produce sarks off of a ferro rod.

The steel of this knife is what is called 1.4110, which is similar to 440A steel. This material has a nice performance thanks to the perfect heat treating process of Victorinox. The impressive hardness of the steel makes it exceptionally resistant to rust, yet easier to sharpen compared to other premium steels. What can be more annoying than spending a large amount of money on a “fancy” knife but still having to struggle to sharpen it?

As for the handle, the ergonomic finger grooves and textured scales make the handle grippier. It comes in different colors, so you have more options to choose from too.

This Swiss Army Knife does not come with a pocket clip. However, it is not meant to be a tactical knife, so this makes sense.

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Time to make the final decision

To sum up, the answer to the question “What is the best pocket knife?” lies in your preferences, purpose, and budget. Perhaps the most expensive one with the highest quality, like the Chris Reeve Sebenza 21, is not necessarily the ideal one for us.

In this case, the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 is the best product. Despite some minor drawbacks, such as not being preferable to lefties and being a bit heavy for some users, it is cost-effective; spending around $150 sounds sensible for such a good quality, durable, and functional product. Everything from the size, blade shape, and supreme material, outstanding deployment, ergonomic G-10 handle, to the robust compression lock make it the best EDC and tactical folding knife.

Finally, after reading all the information in this post, have you found the right folding knife for yourself yet? Should you have any questions to ask or thoughts to share, feel free to leave a comment below.