Best Pocket Knives of 2025 - Pocket and Folding Knife Reviews

Mar 28, 2025

A pocket knife is one of the most convenient and useful tools you can carry.

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Pocket knives have been in use for thousands of years. Carrying one around might seem a bit antiquated today, but having an everyday carry (EDC) knife in your pocket comes in handy all the time. Need to open an Amazon package or remove tags from a new shirt? A pocket knife lets you handle those jobs without missing a beat. And, of course, they're invaluable for outdoor activities like camping, hiking, and fishing, when your kitchen knives are out of reach. Many of them are multitools, with many as 10 or more tools like scissors and corkscrews. (Because who doesn't need to open a bottle of Cabernet on the fly every once in a while?)

While the basic design of a folding pocket knife hasn’t changed radically in... ever, they now come in a wide array of designs, styles, and mechanisms that are fun to both use and collect. Most pocket knives are capable of handling the same set of cutting jobs, but as you start to carry one daily, you’ll develop preferences for the look, feel, and function.

There are several factors to considering as you shop for a pocket knife that fits your style. There are different types of blade steel, various opening and locking mechanisms, assorted sizes, and weights. Prices vary quite a bit, too, from cheap folders that cost just a few dollars, to custom blades that run over $1,000. Simply put, there’s more choice than ever.

What to Consider

Choosing blade steel is where knife geeks can get into the weeds. There are tradeoffs, though, with any type of steel. Broadly speaking, if you go with a softer steel it means the blade may get dull more easily but it's also easier to sharpen. Harder types of steel hold an edge longer but might be trickier for novices to sharpen at home. Steel characteristics also affect how prone a blade will be to rusting, however, most decent modern pocket knives use a steel that’s rust-resistant enough that it won't require lots of special care.

Handle material is also an important choice. Wood is less common these days and less durable than steel or lighter, more durable synthetic materials like G10 and carbon fiber. Still, you may prefer the feel and look of wood despite the drawbacks. Steel is strong and durable but adds weight which can be a positive or a negative depending on how you use the knife and what you prefer hanging on your pocket.

A knife’s dimensions and weight affect the fit in your hand and ease of use. In general, bigger hands won’t like tiny knives and vice versa, but how and where you carry a knife impact your preferences for size and weight. An office executive may not want an oversized, obvious blade for daily tasks while a farmhand might prefer a bigger, burlier blade to stand up to prying tasks and day-to-day abuse.

Blade length: Most pocket knives are between 2.5 to 4 inches, but there are outliers much shorter and longer if you want them. Legal restrictions can dictate your choice in some areas. In general, a blade around 3 inches is manageable for most people.

Overall length: With most pocket knife designs, the overall (opened) length is usually a little more than double the blade length since handles are usually longer than blades. This measurement is a standard way to confirm a particular knife will fit comfortably in your pocket when clipped on.

Weight: To some, weight is a big deal. Others care more about action and aesthetics. Whether you are counting grams or not, the weight is a useful comparison between knives to get a sense of the heft when dimensions are hard to picture without the knife in-hand.

Thickness: If you want a knife that sits slim in your pocket, pay attention to thickness. A folder with flat scales and a thinner thickness number will be less noticeable—to you and others.

The action of a pocket knife can play an outsized role in your appreciation for it. I routinely test a lot of folding knives and find the knives I reach for most often are ones that are the most (subjectively) satisfying—and that are easily operated one-handed when my off hand is busy doing something else. If you carry it long enough, you’ll get proficient with most any knife, but each of these common mechanisms has their strengths and weaknesses to consider.

Thumb stud: A stud mounted to the blade that you push open and pull closed with your thumb. Thumb studs don’t require much finesse to hit and open reliably, but not everyone likes the feel.

Nail nick/thumb hole: A slit or hole in the blade that, similar to a thumb stud, lets you push the blade open with your thumb or thumbnail. Like a thumb stud, opening becomes smooth with practice, but it can take some time to become proficient at it. Nail nicks in particular behave differently depending on the length of your thumbnail and aren’t ideal if you keep your nails very short.

Flipper: A tab on the spine of the blade is pulled with your forefinger to quickly spin the blade into the locked position.

Assisted: An internal spring turns a flipper or other opening mechanism into a faster, automatic-like opening.

Automatic: Pressing a button deploys the knife instead of actuating it yourself. This includes out-the-front blades like the Microtech featured below. May be restricted in certain places.

In the previous century, secure locking mechanisms weren’t common, but today they’re expected if not universal. Classic knives such as Case’s beloved Stockman and Victorinox’s iconic Swiss Army Knife use slip joints which hold the blade open but don’t truly lock. Because of the increased safety of a locking blade, I recommend choosing a pocket knife with some kind of a locking mechanism. If you are comfortable with a slip joint or other non-locking blade and enjoy the style, by all means, buy one. Note that your choice of lock typically dictates how you close the knife, so this will have a major impact on how easy it is to operate.

Frame and Liner Locks: These mechanisms are grouped together because they operate similarly while using different parts of the handle to accomplish the same thing. One side of the liner or lock is bent inward and slips behind the blade when open to lock it in place. Closing one of these knives requires pushing the liner or frame out but can usually be done one-handed.

Lockback: The spine of the handle locks into the back of the blade for a very secure lock. The downside: Simultaneously releasing the back lock and closing the blade requires two hands.

Crossbar lock: Benchmade’s AXIS lock is one of the best-known examples of this lock which slides into a notch in the blade to securely lock out the knife. Lots of brands offer bar locks, but some cheaper knock-offs are not as tight or secure. This type of lock is fairly easy to close one-handed and most work the same for right- and left-handers.

Button lock: The name says it all. Pressing a button frees the blade for opening or closing. The biggest benefit is that you can usually close the knife one-handed without ever putting fingers in the closing path of the blade. Note: Lefties will need to get a left-hand specific model when available.

If cost is a major factor for you, it will quickly narrow the range of options. Knives can range in cost from just a few dollars to hundreds or even thousands for custom and limited-edition options from celebrated knifemakers. Most people, however, will be looking at what are called “production knives”—models that are mass-produced, usually in a factory instead of by hand from individual knifemakers. While these blades can still run up to $500 or so, the range is much tighter as the cost to produce is lower.

You might be wondering how price correlates to quality. Knives for less than about $20 will usually feature softer, cheaper steels and inexpensive handles. These knives may have less quality control than pricier models, but you can still get a decent knife from an established manufacturer any day of the week for less than $50. For example, the cheapest knife in my roundup costs about $25. Choosing a pocket knife with harder carbon steel will usually push the price closer to $100 or more. Going past that $100 price point, and you’re paying for specific designs, brand names, and other personal preferences, but you’ll start to see diminishing returns as far as raw functionality.

In the United States, carrying most pocket knives won’t break any laws but each state has its own knife laws that might restrict the specific pocket knives you can legally carry. Many states have prohibitions on certain automatic knives, on blade length, and even on whether or not certain knives can be carried concealed. The American Knife and Tool Institute has a helpful state by state guide to knife laws you can consult. Traveling abroad brings an even wider range of regulations as some countries such as Austria have almost no restrictions while Norway (despite a rich knifemaking heritage) has an outright ban on carrying knives in urban areas.

To narrow the scope and focus of knives most people want, I limited my testing, and the following recommendations, to pocket knives from major manufacturers that are widely available in North America—and ones that aren’t prohibitively expensive. There are options to fit your preferences, budget, and lifestyle. You’ll also find my favorite knives based on years of testing the latest and greatest from the big name brands.

I've been carrying a pocket knife daily for about 35 years, but I've also been testing and reviewing them for almost 10. And I try to test as many of the new releases from the big knife brands as possible throughout the year.

While I tested some of these knives specifically for my recommendations here, I’ve had others in my pocket on and off for years. These knives have been subjected to all the daily tasks that come up, from opening packages to field dressing elk (if I’m lucky).

As a baseline for any new knife, I check the factory edge for sharpness, look for corrosion resistance with a salt water bath and air drying, and (when feasible) I disassemble the knife to better understand the lock and open/close mechanisms. After beating a knife up for a while, I also sharpen the blade with stones with an angle guide to find out just how easy it is to return the blade to sharp. One of my favorite “tests” is handing the knives to friends and strangers to see how regular people react to opening and closing one for the first time, since I spend more time with knives than most.

The Iridium is one of Kershaw’s most popular recent releases and for good reason. It’s priced modestly with a secure bar lock-out, easy open and closure one-handed, and just looks cool. It’s also the sweet spot for most people in terms of size, weight, and style. Not ultralight (just over 3 ounces), the 6061-T6’s aluminum handle and slim profile keep it barely noticeable in your pocket. The 4.5-inch length was great for my medium-sized hands and shouldn’t be too big or small for any hands—or jobs.

Kershaw offers low- and mid-priced production knives while still maintaining high quality control and delivering designs that just work. They also release fewer knife designs than most budget brands and, for their popular models such as the Iridium, produce lots of variations using different materials to hit a variety of price points. At the core of the Iridium series is a secure, Benchmade-style crossbar lock and while there are models such as this titanium handle edition that veer into Benchmade prices, many models including the original can be had for less than $100.

The D2 steel used in the original, which offers decent edge retention and durability, is common in lower-cost knives but can rust if you abuse it. A compromise option: Go with the black oxide-coated D2 blade which keeps all but the cutting edge sealed off from rust. The look on all these versions of the Iridium matches the modern design features ,and the only drawback of how smooth and slick the knife looks, is that it’s not the best for operating in wet or muddy conditions where grip could become an issue.

Gerber’s LST (Light, Strong, Tough) is often credited with spawning the modern Everyday Carry (EDC) pocket knife phenomenon in 1981, with a lightweight, affordable folder that’s sold millions and seen plenty of imitators. (Walmart’s Ozark Trail $4 folder is still essentially an LST clone.)

The LST has seen a few spin-offs from Gerber over the decades, but the basic model hasn’t changed construction or materials since the 1980s. Until 2025, that is. Gerber has released a lightly updated LST plus an LST Mini and an LST Ultra which keeps the same basic design but has a black oxide-coated blade.

True to its roots, the LST is under $25 and remains “light, strong, and tough.” The change from 420HC steel to 440A isn’t a radical switch (both are less-durable but easily sharpened budget stainless steels) and the knife’s overall dimensions and weight remain similar. The biggest transformation seems to be in the overall aesthetic and shape of the knife. The handle scales are more modern in shape to promote a secure grip and the drop-point blade has a more gradually tapered belly, adding a nail notch for easier opening. Perhaps most notably, you can now get the LST in one of six solid-color options including the original black.

Knife designer Ken Onion is one of the best-known modern knifemakers thanks to the popularity of his collaborations with Kershaw Knives such as the Leek.

He has since partnered with Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT) and his son Kenny Onion has followed with his own signature designs such as the Bamboozled under the CRKT banner. Like his father’s iconic but affordable designs with Kershaw, the younger Onion's Bamboozled retails for under $70 but utilizes the smooth and fast Speedsafe assisted opening action his father created.

The Bamboozled isn’t small or ultralight. It sits a little thick in the pocket, but the relatively long and slim profile put it somewhere between your average EDC flipper and CRKT’s slender CEO. There are three different color combos, but I like the two with the black oxide-coated blade which adds rust-resistance to the D2 steel.

While Benchmade’s 940 Osborne might be their most iconic EDC pocket knife, the Bugout series is the archetype of ultralight build with high-quality, high-carbon steel blade.

The Mini Bugout goes a tad smaller and lighter than the original and is my go-to when I want a knife that won’t weigh me down. At 1.5 ounces, it’s light enough to clip into clothing like swim trunks, scrubs, or running shorts without making them sag. And with a 2.84-inch blade that’s only about a half-inch shorter than the standard Bugout, it’s not impractically small, either.

You pay a bit of a premium for the Benchmade name here, but the CPM-S30V steel from Crucible is one of the more durable edges you can get and, while harder for novices to sharpen well, it includes their LifeSharp mail-in sharpening service and a lifetime guarantee. The blade steel on its own is great, but the black Cerakote finish greatly reduces evidence of wear above the cutting edge.

The Ultratech is one of the most iconic out-the-front blades and a must-have for collectors of pocket knives. There are lots of variations on the model which you can get it with either a single- or double-edged blade.

For collectors, the double-edge might be more interesting, but for EDC, a single-edge blade is more practical and safer as you can put hand pressure on the non-cutting edge if needed.

Probably the biggest draw of the Ultratech is the snappy automatic action that (no surprise here) shoots the blade out the front of the handle body. It also retracts just as fast by reversing the robust slider and, in either direction, makes a satisfying noise to accompany the action which is so fast the blade seems to just appear and disappear.

Functionally, I don’t know that the Ultratech’s action makes tasks any more efficient, but it sure is fun—and that’s why this knife is so popular despite a $300 price tag. The aesthetic is pretty tactical (complete with glass-breaker butt-end), but there are lots of eye-catching metallic colors and even limited editions to fit it to your style.

True, the Swiss Army Knife might be the original multitool, but Leatherman has claimed the crown when it comes to modern iterations that pack tons of real world functionality into a pocket-sized package.

The Leatherman Free P4 is the one I reach for when working on a lot of little projects especially when I stray far from my tools. The very capable pliers get more use than any of the 21 tools except maybe the 2.76-inch blade made from 420HC steel. The Transformers-like magnetic assisted articulation of the tools is a real feat of engineering that makes this option extremely satisfying to use. The individual tools all lock out, including the blades.

Unlike most Leatherman products, the Free P4 has a pocket clip and is compact enough to carry around all day without it feeling bulky, though it comes with a belt-mount pouch, if you prefer.

I sometimes use the belt pouch method if I’m also carrying a regular pocket knife. The pliers and blades would almost be enough for me, but the inclusion of screwdrivers, pry tools, saw, can opener, and electrical tools means the Free P4 can really simplify the number of things you need to carry around on a big handyman day.

Case is one of the original American knife brands still standing and, unlike many of its competitors that have shipped production to China, most of Case’s knives are still designed and produced in Bradford, Pa.

Whether or not that matters to you, Case makes great knives. While they sell lots of nostalgic designs that are unchanged for a century, the Kinzua is one of their modern EDC offerings that departs from the Case aesthetic with synthetic scales, sharp lines, and a tanto blade.

The satin-finished S35VN steel blade is a fair compromise of hardness and edge durability while still being relatively easy to sharpen at home. It also has a lightly weathered look that should hide abuse well.

One note: While extremely sturdy, the all-metal frame-lock design is pretty stiff to close out of the box. Releasing the frame lock requires some force, and closing it requires a few moves. With a little practice I was able to comfortably operate it one-handed, but folks with smaller or weaker hands might love it less. I love the classic look of Case’s other modern EDC folders—the Longhouse and Marilla—but the Kinzua is a great everyday pocket knife if you want a higher-end, made-in-the-USA knife.

Are there legalities with shipping pocket knives and with blade length?

Possibly. First, not all pocket knives are the same. The legal definition of pocket knives may vary across states and at the federal level which can impact shipment and receipt.

Most states also have some kind of restrictions on what knives you can carry on your person. Even in wild west Colorado where I live, it is illegal to carry a blade longer than 3.5 inches “concealed” which would include “in your pocket.” In New York state where I grew up, switchblades are illegal and you must be a U.S. citizen to even own a knife, but there are no concealed carry restrictions. Check your state laws here.

Outside of local laws, consider how a knife fits in your hand. A knife that feels tiny and awkward to someone with large hands might be perfect for someone else. If you’re not already a regular pocket knife carrier, stop into an outdoors store where you can handle a wide range of knives and see what feels good. Most people will feel comfortable with blades in the 2.5- to 3-inch range, though folks with larger hands may want something bigger.

How should I keep my pocket knife sharp?

I’ll start with a caution—that you may not want a surgically sharp pocket knife. Because I use my pocket knife so frequently and casually, I don’t like to be as cautious as you have to be with an ultra-sharp blade.

I experimented with carrying a replaceable blade knife for a few months and I ended up giving myself several minor but annoying slices. That said, any knife will eventually require sharpening. Most pocket knives have a fairly obtuse 20-degree or higher blade angle, which makes them less challenging to sharpen yourself.

Knife sharpening is a skill that’s not easy to master (learn how here), but there are tools available to help. While whetstone sharpening is soothing in a Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance sort of way, you probably already have a pull-through sharpener somewhere (check kitchen drawers).

These sharpeners aren’t the perfect sharpening solution, but they’re relatively idiot-proof and good enough to perk up your blade. I personally have started using the Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Knife and Tool Sharpener which lets you adjust for blade angle and uses a series of electrically driven belts for a fairly quick sharpen, though it does require a bit of practice to use well.

If all of this sounds like something you’ll never bother with, there are lots of mail-in sharpening services such as The Sharp Brothers, who will professionally sharpen your blades for a fee. Many manufacturers offer similar services. Benchmade, for example, has a LifeSharp program that gives you free sharpening for any Benchmade knife. Some manufacturers such as Kershaw also offer blade replacement (often for a fee) if you’ve broken or otherwise damaged your blade beyond repair.

How much should a good pocket knife cost?

This is both a surprisingly common and difficult-to-answer question. Obviously personal budget comes into play, but so do your preferences. Despite considering myself a pocket knife enthusiast, I carried a cheap pocket knife from Walmart for years that cost me literally $1. The company raised the price to $2 at some point. Those knives would rust at the hinge, but they did the trick and were great for putting in my checked luggage. I wouldn’t worry about losing it at my destination and wouldn’t cry if TSA took it.

While I can’t recommend buying $2 knives in good conscience for most circumstances, quality options such as the Opinel No. 8 recommended above can be had for under $20. If you’re new to knives, start out with something cheaper, definitely under $50, until you develop strong opinions about the pocket knife you prefer.

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