Best Knife Brands of 2024 For Finding the Perfect EDC Blade

The best pocket knife is the one you love to carry, so it feels a bit presumptuous to declare any knife or knife brand “the best.” There’s also so much interesting diversity in the knife marketplace today—it really is a golden age for knife enthusiasts—that almost every decent knife brand is the best knife brand for someone out there.

But as a passionate pocket knife evangelist and owner of well north of 100 knives, I’ve carried enough brands, styles, and models to know what I like and understand the personality traits of the big pocket knife brands.

Note that I’ve limited the brands to “production” knife brands that are readily available in North America, many in familiar big box stores and definitely online. There are thousands of amazing knifemakers in the U.S. and around the world, but their offerings are often custom, expensive, or hard to find, so we’re sticking to mostly big names to make this useful to more than a small set of enthusiasts.

Consider this an overview of the personalities of these knife brands, what I like about each, and what they do best, plus some specific knife recommendations based on models I’ve tested and loved. Hopefully, it helps you find a pocket knife you love to carry.

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Best Knife Brands of 2024 at a Glance

• Best Knife Brand Overall: Kershaw
• Best Lightweight Knife Brand: Benchmade
• Best Knife Brand for Classic Style: W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company
• Best Knife Brand for Hunting: Montana Knife Company
• Best Automatic/OTF Knife Brand: Microtech
• Best Knife Brand for Minimalist Self-Sufficiency: Victorinox
• Best Knife Brand for Multi-Tools: Leatherman
• Best Budget Knife Brand: CRKT
• Best Semi-Custom Knife Brand: New West KnifeWorks
• Best European Knife Brand: Helle Knives

Best Knife Brands of 2024

Best Knife Brand Overall: Kershaw

Yes, another great Oregon-based knife brand. Now owned by Kai USA, Kershaw has been cranking out quality pocket knives since 1975 and one of their Ken Onion models was one of the first “nice” folders I ever owned and I fell in love with the feel in my hand and the smooth action. The Ken Onion-designed Leek is still one of my all-time favorite EDC blades with a simple all-stainless aesthetic, great weight, and smooth action. 

Some hardcore knife guys use “production knives” as an insult but, like making a custom blade by hand, there’s an art to making thousands and thousands of knives in dozens of models and doing it well and consistently. Kershaw knives are mostly surprisingly affordable, but I’ve always been impressed with the designs and quality. They also have a limited lifetime warranty and will repair blades, but it’s often just as cheap to buy a new one, depending on the model.

• Knife to consider: Kershaw Leek
• Based in: Tualatin, Oregon

Best Lightweight Knife Brand: Benchmade

One of the several storied Pacific Northwest knife brands, Benchmade specializes in higher-end, lightweight pocket knives. The blades are high-quality steel, but the handles are generally lightweight, modern materials such as carbon fiber and Grivory (nylon) for folders that you barely notice you’re carrying. The Bugout is one of their classic models (there are tons of variations of the Bugout including the Mini Bugout) featuring a Cerakote-protected S30V stainless steel blade paired with a Grivory handle that puts a nearly 3.5-inch blade in a 1.84-ounce package that representative of the brand’s offerings.

Benchmade knives are great for folks that like to run light but still want a durable, capable blade and they go well beyond this niche with fixed blades for hunters and speciality knives for everything from fishing to high-end cutlery. They’re also a knife you can buy for life with lifetime sharpening service and warranty to justify a somewhat steep price tag.

• Knife to consider: Benchmade Bugout
• Based in: Oregon City, Oregon

Best Knife Brand for Classic Style: W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company

W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company, or Case more colloquially, probably made the knife your great-grandfather carried in his pocket but while they continue to make the folders from more than a century ago, the brand has modernized their offerings as well, cranking out affordable folders for anyone from farmers to cubicle jockeys. 

The Stockman is one of their best-known models, combining three stainless steel blades into one compact tool that looks older than you are with scales usually made from natural (or at least natural-looking) materials and classic design. 

The Longhouse is my favorite of their modern EDC options which retains classic Case style (I carry the Longhouse with Rosewood scales) but adds features people expect in a modern pocket knife such as pocket clip and locking blade.

• Knife to consider: Case Stockman
• Based in: Bradford, Pennsylvania

Best Knife Brand for Hunting: Montana Knife Company

Montana Knife Company has been turning out some of the most-sought-after hunting, fishing, and outdoor knives since their founding by Josh Smith in 2020. Adhering to a small-batch, hand-crafted ethos that resonates with most outdoorsmen, whether hunting or not, they've built up a cult-like following that eagerly awaits their website-advertised countdowns that drop every week or so. And they are so in demand that MKC has to have a separate page for the knives that actually in stock, since so many get snapped up in minutes after going live.

MKC's nimble Speedgoat 2.0, an ultralight hunting/fishing/skinning knife, is one of their best affordable blades—and the one that is most likely to be in stock. It's simple and robust, with a paracord-wrapped handle and tough Kydex sheath. Though it's small and lightweight, it's up for everything outdoors from skinning an elk, cleaning a fish, or even defending yourself from man or animal. 

• Knife to consider: MKC Speedgoat 2.0
• Based in: Missoula, Montana

Best Automatic/OTF Knife Brand: Microtech

Almost every major knife brand has some kind of automatic or out-the-front blade, but Microtech is a knife brand that specializes in it. In my everyday life using a pocket knife for everyday tasks, I don’t find an OTF knife provides me any special abilities or conveniences, but damn are they fun. If you’re a knife collector or just like to have a few options in your EDC kit, you ought to own at least one Microtech OTF knife and their Ultratech line is a signature model. 

If you want to carry it every day and aren’t super-tactical, consider one of the single-sided blade models such as the Ultratech S/E Bounty Hunter. This allows you to put your fingers on the back of the blade for pressure if needed. If you like the aesthetic of a dagger, the double-edge versions are plentiful.

• Knife to consider: Microtech Ultratech S/E Bounty Hunter
• Based in: Asheville, North Carolina

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Best Knife Brand for Minimalist Self-Sufficiency: Victorinox

“Swiss Army Knives” became a phenomenon in the U.S. when GIs brought them home from World War II as souvenirs they could pick up easily. These multi-function blades are still one of the most popular pocket-carried tools in the world and the design has remained refreshingly consistent over the years. Most of Victorinox’s offerings keep it simple with satin stainless steel blades and tools and though the red scales are iconic, there are plenty of other choices. There are also dozens of variations on the basic design with models made for specific trades and many sporting 30 or more tools in a single pocket tool. 

One of their signature models is still a great choice: the Victorinox Classic SD. You get a narrow drop-point blade, a nail file/flat head screwdriver, scissors, and slide-out tweezers. Yes, a pocket knife can do almost anything, but this tiny, 2.3-inch Swiss Army Knife can do more.

• Knife to consider: Victorinox Classic S
• Based in: Switzerland

Best Knife Brand for Multi-Tools: Leatherman

Victorinox may have popularized the idea of a multi-bladed, multi-function pocket knife, but Leatherman has modernized the concept and beefed it up in the size, number, and capabilities of a multi-tool. You could argue they’re as synonymous with the category as Kleenex is with tissues, despite many knife and tool brands producing similar offerings. Do you loathe leaving whatever you’re working on to go get the next tool you need? Carry a Leatherman and you’ll rarely have to. 

I personally love the Leatherman Free P4 which features a satisfyingly smooth mechanism for opening the tool to its baseline pliers configuration and easy access to 21 distinct functions. Importantly, it also has a pocket clip and is just small enough to not feel ridiculous carried as a pocket knife, though there’s a belt holster if that’s more your style.

• Knife to consider: Leatherman Free P4
• Based in: Portland, Oregon 

Best Budget Knife Brand: CRKT

Columbia River Knife and Tool are another of the many storied Oregon-based knifemakers and while they offer a dizzying array of everyday carry pocket knives in a range of styles and price points, they’re the first brand I’d look to for a quality blade for less than $100. In fact, they have a ton of options well under $50. 

Their CEO Flipper is a compact EDC option that’s barely noticeable in your pocket, feeling more like a pen than a pocket knife and retailing for just $60. I also love their pricier Minnow Automatic that’s a stumpy straight blade automatic folder with a sharp, 1.79-inch blade that I keep close at hand as a fancy box cutter. 

With so many affordable blades, it’s easy to find multiple CRKT pocket knives to rotate through your collection, especially for folks who don’t want to spend hundreds just to have a trustworthy pocket folder.

• Knife to consider: CRKT CEO Flipper
• Based in: Tualatin, Oregon

Best Semi-Custom Knife Brand: New West KnifeWorks

The American West is veritable hatchery of interesting knife brands, many of whom, like New West Knife Works, started as a lone knifemaker who got popular enough that he needed to move into production knifemaking to supply the demand for his wares. Jackson Hole-based NWKW is still a relatively small operation with a few core models of readily available pocket folders such as their Glory Folder though they also produce a ton of display-worthy cooking and specialty knives as well as tomahawks and axes. 

If you’re looking for collection-worthy blades, keep an eye on their semi-custom and limited offerings or consider commissioning a custom blade.

• Knife to consider: New West KnifeWorks Glory Folder
• Based in: Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Best European Knife Brand: Helle Knives

Norway’s Helle specializes in beautiful fixed-blade knives that’ll make you look like you live in the woods rather than camp for the night out of the back of your car, but they also have a small selection of robust folders with the same Scandanavian aesthetic that are worth a look. While Benchmade represents the epitome of modern and light pocket knives, Helle occupies the opposite end of the spectrum, with thick, heavy knives that you definitely know you’re carrying and which can stand up to all manner of abuse. 

I have their Helle Nipa folder that sports a shortish, 2.72-inch blade on a hand-filling, thick 3.7-inch curly birchwood handle that looks like someone carved it for you next to a campfire.

• Knife to consider: Helle Nipa
• Based in: Holmedal, Norway

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Other Knife Brands to Consider

Camillus Knives: I have a soft spot for Camillus as they’re a 140-year-old knife producer that used to have their factory 15 minutes from my childhood home. The factory closed in 2007 and the company is now part of outdoor conglomerate GSM Outdoors, but they still make solid pocket folders at a great price such as their robust Bushcrafter.

Opinel: This classic French brand makes unique, traditional folding knives, many with a twist-lock system that’s rare in modern folders. The knives are less intimidating than the glut of tactical folders catering to a male, heavy metal audience and are a fitting companion for a mushroom hunt or garden chores. They also buck the French tradition of charging more just because it’s French. Their simple No. 8 stainless folder retails for less than $20.

Gerber Gear: Another Oregon knife brand? Yup. Though Gerber makes a wide array of outdoor and tactical gear from camp cookware to hatchets, one of their core product lines is still pocket knives. Just because they also sell titanium sporks in REI doesn’t mean their knives are for suburban moms. I love their thumb stud-operated Assert folder and there’s a blaze orange-handled version with elk blade art that’s awesome for hunters.

WESN: Stand for West-East-South-North. This Detroit-based brand blends heritage knife brand vibes along with the energy of a startup. The knives are from the modern school of sleek, modern minimalism and the 1.5-inch blade, petite Microblade is a signature offering.

What to Look for in a Pocket Knife Brand

Track Record

Most of the brands I’ve listed here aren’t new and many have been making knives for over 100 years. There are plenty of modern tweaks to the design of knives, but buying from an established brand not only gives you confidence they’ve honed their production to ensure quality and proven their products over years of use and abuse, it also ensures they’ll be around when you need a warranty replacement or just a new knife that you love.

Style

A lot of what draws people to a knife brand and turns them into brand evangelists comes down to aesthetics. While there are plenty of big knife brands that try to make any knife that any consumer could want (and then some), most of the brands highlighted here have an aesthetic that you can pick out without having to see a logo. Yes, function matters in a pocket knife, but within a certain range of shapes and sizes, pocket knives are generalists that are good at a lot of the same tasks. Everything else is personal preference and some will prefer the heritage aesthetic of a Case knife while others will be drawn to the modern, tactical designs of a Microtech blade.

Function

Particulars such as size, steel, action, design, and locking mechanism do matter. Even color can be important. Ask me why having a blaze orange pocket knife while dressing a mule deer in a dark forest can be important. If you cut a lot of rope, you might want a serrated blade. If you mostly carry your knife to work in an office, you might want something more understand. These choices more often come down to the particular model, not the brand, but brands with a consistent style cater to certain users and uses and you may find one that fits you well.

Cost

Last but not least, price. There are plenty of brands highlighted above that offer affordable options, but browse knife websites and you’ll soon realize you can spend a mortgage payment on a single pocket knife if you really want to. Personal experience tells me that a $2 Chinese Walmart folder can do most things a $1,000 custom knife can do, so why pay hundreds for the same tool? After a certain point, increased cost doesn’t get you much additional performance, but it will buy you quality and customization if you want it. 

Frankly, if you’re not a collector or just plain rich, there’s not much reason to spend more than $200 on a pocket knife. But if you carry a pocket knife every day, there’s something satisfying about having a blade that you love to hold and use instead of just a tool. Whether that pocket knife costs $20 or $2,000 is entirely up to you.

Why You Should Trust Me

I once turned up for my sparsely paid job working in my grandma’s gardens without a pocket knife and she shamed me and handed me one, telling me my dairy farmer grandfather used to say a farm hand with a pocket knife was worth an extra dollar an hour. I’ve carried a pocket knife almost every day of my life since and have formally tested and reviewed knives for the past decade.

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