Category: Knife of the Week (Page 13 of 35)

The Gerber 06 automatic folder has quickly risen through the ranks as one of the best switchblades for military and civilian carry. Unfortunately, knife laws in many states make it difficult to buy and carry automatic knives.

That’s where the latest Badass Knife of the Week comes in.

The Gerber 06 FAST is not just an assisted-opening version of the renowned 06 but also comes in at a significantly reduced price point. Despite lowering the cost of the knife, it retains the design that makes it so beloved.

Continue reading

Schrade has been through a lot the last two decades. The brand has changed hands a few times yet still makes some cheap and reliable knives. One of the best examples is the latest Badass Knife of the Week.

The Schrade SCHF16 is an inexpensive fixed blade that can do it all — whether you wear it as a neck knife around town or take it on an excursion into the woods.

This 4.6-ounce general utility knife comes in at an overall length of 7 inches. The black-coated blade itself is 3.1 inches and made from 9Cr18MoV high carbon stainless steel, a budget alloy that is easy to sharpen and resists corrosion.

Continue reading

Case is an institution almost as American as apple pie and baseball.

These are the kinds of knives your great granddad used to carry out into the fields during harvest. They’re the kind of knives your dad whittled on the porch with as a kid. And they’re the kind of knife you can carry to a black-tie event.

The Case Mini Copperlock is one those knives that’s versatile enough to do it all.

What makes the Mini Copperlock stand out from some of the other Case knives is that it has a backlock mechanism. Slipjoints have a time and a place, but when the job requires just too much force, a locking folder is safer.

Continue reading

The Camillus CUDA has been around for what feels like forever. When the knife was first released way back in 1998, it won the Most Innovative American-Made Design of the Year at BLADE Show.

Even though the knife has been surpassed in speed and efficiency by more modern assisted-openers, the Camillus CUDA still serves its purpose as a functional and badass knife.

Standing for Camillus Ultra Design Advantage, the CUDA features an overall length of 9 inches with an interesting opening mechanism that will have people asking how you did it.

Continue reading

The Dragotac series from Bastinelli Creations has been popular over the years — both custom and factory versions. One of the most common requests submitted to Bastinelli Creations is for the Dragotac to be available in a non-locking version.

With the help of Fox Knives, Bastinelli Creations accomplished that feat in the Dragotac Slim Friction Folder called the Piemontes.

The friction folding version of the Dragotac is every bit as functional and sexy as its locking counterpart. The 3.1-inch blade features a modified Wharncliffe blade profile. Unlike the traditional Wharncliffe blade, the edge is slightly curved to provide better cutting ability; however, the blade retains the piercing power of the Wharncliffe.

The satin-finished blade is made with N690Co stainless steel, an alloy that holds a better edge and provides better stain resistance than comparable steels. Jimping along the spine gives a more reliable grip for finer tasks.

Continue reading

Some companies make knives that should be kept in a safe, only brought out under dimmed lighting and handled with gloves. Other companies, like KA-BAR, make knives that are meant to be worked and beaten mercilessly.

The perfect example of this kind of knife is the KA-BAR MULE.

Standing for Military, Utility and Law Enforcement, the MULE is the very definition of a workhorse knife. It features a sturdy 3.875-inch black-coated blade made from functional AUS 8A stainless steel, a reliable lockback mechanism, and a nearly indestructible black Zytel handle.

But we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. KA-BAR describes this heavy-duty tool as the folding knife’s answer to the traditional KA-BAR fixed blade. While no folder can ever compare to a fixed blade as storied as the KA-BAR, the MULE has proven time and again that it can take pretty much anything you throw at it.

Continue reading

The CRKT Heiho was born out of a challenge to knife designer and martial arts instructor James Williams.

Williams had designed the CRKT Hissatsu — based on an old Japanese fixed blade — for use by tactical law enforcement and military forces. However, some special operations and government security professionals are not allowed to carry a large fixed blade, so he set out to create a low-profile folder that could be used in hostile environments.

The result is the Heiho.

Continue reading

The SOG Knife was designed by Benjamin Baker, the Deputy Chief of the U.S. Counterinsurgency Support Office. It had a stacked leather handle, an interesting clip point blade design, and a blackened blade to reduce glare.

Knife designer Spencer Frazer was so inspired by the original design that he created a company called SOG Specialty Knives based on the SOG Knife. What started out as a single commemorative model that paid tribute to the special ops that made it slowly turned into a larger knife company with dozens of models.

Continue reading

Renowned personal-defense trainer Michael Janich is credited with popularizing the modern Wharncliffe blade design with an eye on tactical applications. This unusual blade design culminated in his most recent creation — the redesigned Spyderco Yojimbo 2.

Spyderco is known for taking risks on knives with odd-looking designs, and the Yojimbo 2 is no exception.

The most notable part of the whole knife is the 3.11-inch Wharncliffe blade. A Wharncliffe blade is defined by having a completely flat edge with a spine that tapers to a piercing point. Both of these attributes make the profile excellent for everyday tasks… and self-defense.

Continue reading

Back in the day, the term budget was synonymous with cheap. These days, you can get a budget-friendly knife that’s built as good as some of the more pricey knives.

Take our latest Badass Knife of the Week, for example.

The Kershaw Fraxion — a collaboration between the esteemed brand and Danish knifemaker Jens Anso — is a lightweight folder with a streamlined design.

The knife features a 2.75-inch clip point blade with a BlackWash finish that springs open with the help of a manual flipper mechanism. The size and blade profile make the 8Cr13MoV stainless steel blade versatile and easy to carry anywhere.

Continue reading