Category: Best Knives (page 2 of 4)

This post was first written in 2019 and was most recently updated in 2023.

When you think of American knives, there should only be one knife that jumps to mind: the Bowie Knife.

We’ve written a ton about the Bowie knife. In fact, the very first blog post back in August 2010 was about the legendary Jim Bowie.

If you don’t know about the legend of Jim Bowie and his knife, check out our definitive look at the legend of the Bowie knife.

There are a lot of bad quality Bowie knives on the market. Cheap, low-quality steel and bad workmanship are rife. We’re here to help you find only high quality Bowie knives.

What Makes a Good Bowie Knife?

As I’ve said many times, there is not a consensus on the dimensions of the original, but a Bowie knife is broadly defined as a large fixed blade with a clip-point profile.

These days, designers play with the elements of the Bowie to create knives that fit the general framework of the Bowie while pushing the boundaries. You get some original creations that could still be defined as a Bowie knife. We’re including some of those here too.

Cold Steel Wild West

Let’s start with the Wild West Bowie. This is the knife most people probably envision of when they think of a Bowie knife.

It has a long 10.75-inch clip-point blade made from 1090 carbon steel with a rosewood handle. A brass-colored hand guard also adds to the traditional look of the knife.

KA-BAR Bowie

The KA-BAR Bowie is a little small to be a Bowie knife, since it has a 6.9-inch blade (that’s still pretty long).

The original KA-BAR is essentially a Bowie knife too, although most probably wouldn’t instantly recognize it as one. This model has a clip point blade with a stacked leather handle and a small guard. It comes with a leather sheath.

Schrade Leroy Bowie

Here’s where we start to get a little more playful with the design choices. This isn’t the type of Bowie that old Jim would have carried as he defended the Alamo. But the Leroy Bowie still makes a good Bowie knife.

It has an all-black design with a 9.55-inch clip-point blade.

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This post was originally published in August 2018 and was updated in September 2023.

When Sal and Gail Glesser started a company in the 1970s based around a device called The Portable Hand — which could assist jewelers and other professionals who work with small parts — they likely never imagined it would become one of the premier knife brands in the world.

But, more than 40 years later, the company known as Spyderco is a top-tier brand with some of the best and most revolutionary knife designs ever made.

So, as we’ve been doing, we decided to go through the 10 best Spyderco knives currently in production. You’ll notice this list is heavily populated with classics, but that’s partially thanks to Spyderco’s CQI (constant quality improvement) program that improves upon existing designs. That’s how you get perfection.

Here are the 10 best Spyderco knives you can get right now.

1. Spyderco Paramilitary 2

BUY Now – $185.50

Let’s get the Spyderco Para Military 2 out of the way. The PM2 is almost universally known as not just the best Spyderco model but the best pocket knife available.

So how does a knife like the PM2 capture the hearts and minds of people everywhere? It has a nearly 3.5-inch blade with a functional design and quality S30V steel. On top of that, it stays engaged with the easy-to-use and reliable Compression Lock. The G-10 handle had been improved from the first generation for better ergonomics.

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With knife laws regarding switchblades being relaxed across the country, we’ve entered a golden age of automatics.

Not too long ago, autos were a niche category from a few specialized brands or in very limited offerings. Not anymore.

Even brands as iconic and beloved as Benchmade have shown just what automatic knives can offer. You’d think narrowing down the 10 best automatic knives from Benchmade would be an easy task, but the diverse offerings and sheer amount of Benchmade autos made things very difficult.

The formula used in calculating the knives on this list was very unscientific: I included comments from customers, reviews from around the web, personal experience, and more.

If you disagree with any or think we missed one, let us know in the comments.

1. Benchmade Fact Auto

Let’s start with a sleeper hit. The vanilla Benchmade Fact was as interesting knife with a slim profile and lightweight design that wasn’t particularly spectacular.

However, the moment Benchmade turned it into an auto and gave it some much-needed upgrades, it became one of the most compelling autos Benchmade has ever offered.

This version of the knife has a long 3.95-inch blade made from S90V with black coating. The boring skeletonized handle of the original is replaced with an aluminum handle with carbon fiber inlays. This essentially turns it into a modern-day Italian stiletto. The Auto AXIS lock is intuitive and easy to use with one hand.

It’s a true masterpiece.

2. Benchmade Infidel

Back when Benchmade introduced the Infidel in 2006, OTF knives were very niche. Still, despite being aimed at military or emergency personnel, the Infidel was received surprisingly well and has since become a mainstay of the brand.

The Infidel has since been remade into a few versions, but the new standard is the 3300BK with a 3.95-inch black blade and black aluminum handle.

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This post was first published in 2020 and updated in 2023.

When you think of Smith & Wesson, high-quality knives might not be the first thing that comes to mind.

No, you probably think of great firearms… and Dirty Harry. But the truth is, Smith & Wesson also manufactures quality knives. They’re the type that appeals to law enforcement personnel and those interested in self-defense. These aren’t your average kitchen knives.

Smith & Wesson knives are versatile and rugged. They’re designed for the field, with sturdy blades that hold their cutting edges, and good grips for ease of use.

Over the years, Smith & Wesson has expanded its lineup of knives to include more than just search and rescue and first response knives. Still, those remain the bread and butter of the lineup.

So let’s cut to the chase. See which are the best Smith & Wesson knives.

Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops

We’re starting with one of the top-selling S&W knives at Knife Depot: the Smith & Wesson SWFR2S Extreme Ops.

This is a tactical folding knife that rivals any other rescue knife in this price range.

As a heavy-duty rescue knife, the SWFR2S feels great in the hands, thanks to its rubberized handle. Its partially serrated tanto blade is 3.3 inches long.

If you keep one knife in your car for emergency situations, this one should be it. It’s also available with engraving! It’s no wonder it was a Knife of the Week a few years ago.

Smith & Wesson 1st Response

The 1st Response is the companion knife of the first knife on this list. While it has a lot of the same features and blade length, it looks very different.

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This post was originally published in 2019 but was updated in 2022 with newer models.

Over the past year or so, I’ve been going over the best knives from each brand. Some have been really easy to narrow down such as Spyderco and Kershaw.

However, few brands have been harder to pin down than Ontario Knife Company. Ontario, sometimes known more simply as OKC, has a surprisingly robust and diverse selection of knives that all serve a purpose and do it well. There are some obvious choices — ahem, the RAT folders — but there are so many other serviceable knives that could have been on this list.

These lists always carry some level of bias and subjectivity, but I feel like this list may contain more whimsy and randomness than others.

If I’m alive and kicking and still have this job, I’ll redo this next year and may swap out some others, but this is the list for 2019. Let me know which ones I missed in the comments.

Ontario RAT Folder

Let’s start with the easiest addition to this list: the RAT Folders. I’m cheating a bit because this includes the RAT 1 and RAT 2 folders. They are essentially the same knife but in different sizes.

The RAT folders are a perennial favorite among knife people because they are relatively cheap, reliable, and solid knives. The fact that they are now available in D2 at a low cost means they may be the best budget knife on the market.

Along with D2, you can get an assisted version, an AUS 8 version, and some with different blade finishes and handle colors.

Ontario Black Bird SK-5

The next no-brainer is the Ontario Black Bird. The series is designed by Paul Scheiter. The survival knife was named the best of the best by Field and Stream Magazine in 2011, and it’s evolved over the years. It’s a pretty simple bushcrafting knife with a 5-inch 420HC stainless steel blade and multicolor Micarta handle scales.

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With our selection of the best knives of 2022 posted last week, it’s time to look at the knives the people voted for with their wallets. So, I combed through the data on the best-selling knives from Knife Depot in the 2022 calendar year.

A few things to note: This list is in no particular order because we factored in the price of these knives as well. If we sold 500 $30 knives and 500 $150 knives, we gave some special considerations to the pricier model because purchasing is more of a hurdle.

We did our best to get this list as accurate as possible.

Kershaw Launch 6

The first thing you’ll notice on this list is the surprising number of automatic knives. I argue no knife series is more popular than the Launch series from Kershaw.

The Launch 6 was one of the most popular knives from the series this year. That’s meaningful considering it sold a ton of units and it’s a fairly pricey knife.

It’s hard to argue with the sleekness of the Launch 6. It has a 3.75-inch CPM 154 stainless steel blade with a black aluminum handle and a red push button that fires with force.

Smith & Wesson SWFR2S

Smith & Wesson knives were also very popular this year. But the Smith & Wesson SWFR2S was by far the most popular.

Two factors contributed to the overall success of this knife, which is a best-seller year after year. First, the knife is a workhorse. This is a knife I have in my personal collection and one I often recommend to people looking for a reliable folder at a good price.

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