10 Best Folding Knives – US Knives

Here you will find some simple steps to buying a folding knife.

Questions to ask about the 10 best folding knives

When shopping for a folding knife you might have these questions. Who are the makers of the 10 best folding knives?  Who are you buying it for and how will it mostly be used? Will it be used just to cut open boxes or envelopes or be used for hunting or in a fishing tackle box? Maybe it will it be used for security or self defense, or just an everyday knife to be used for a multitude of tasks?

Then decide what size is needed. Tip: Bigger isn’t always better. Will it be carried in a pocket, backpack, purse or carried on a belt with a clip? Will it be carried in a sheath?

Knife Manufacturers in the USA

Here is an alphabetical list of the most popular knife makers in the USA. These manufacturers all make really good knives it just depends on the features of each knife that suits you. I will tell you a little about each of these manufacturers below.

• Benchmade
• Buck
• Case
• Gerber
• Kabar
• Kershaw
• Leatherman
• M-Tech
• Spyderco
• Zero Tolerance

A little something about these manufacturers

• Benchmade Knife Company is an American knife manufacturer in Oregon City, Oregon and its products are sold to numerous markets, such as everyday carry, outdoor sporting, cutlery, rescue, law-enforcement, martial-arts, and military. The company has collaborated with a number of custom knife makers since its inception.
• Buck Knives is an American knife manufacturer founded in Mountain Home, Idaho and now located in Post Falls, Idaho. The company has a long history through five generations of the Buck family from 1902 to the present day. Buck Knives primarily manufactures sport and field knives and is credited with inventing the “folding hunting knives” and popularizing it to such a degree that the term “buck knife” has become synonymous with folding lockback knives, including those made by other manufacturers.
• W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company is an American manufacturer of traditional pocket knives, fixed blades/sporting knives, kitchen knives, limited edition commemoratives and collectibles. The company originated in Little Valley, New York, around the turn of the 20th century, before relocating to its current home, Bradford, Pennsylvania, in 1905. The company’s namesake, William Russell Case, first made knives with his brothers under the name Case Brothers Cutlery Company. His son, John Russell (“Russ”) Case, worked as a salesman for his father’s company before founding W.R. Case & Sons.
• Gerber Legendary Blades is an American maker of consumer knives, multi tools, and other tools headquartered in Tigard,Oregon, United States, within the Portland metropolitan area. Currently, Gerber is a sub division of Fiskars Brands Inc, owned by the Fiskars company of Finland. Gerber was established in 1939 by Pete Gerber. Gerber was the first production knife company to collaborate with a custom knife maker when it collaborated with David Murphy.

• Ka-Bar (trademarked as KA-BAR, pronounced /ˈkeɪ bɑːr/) is the contemporary popular name for the combat knife first adopted by the United States Marine Corps in November 1942 as the 1219C2 combat knife (later designated the USMC Mark 2 combat knife or Knife, Fighting Utility), and subsequently adopted by the United States Navy as the U.S. Navy utility knife, Mark 2. Additionally, Ka-Bar is the name of a related knife manufacturing company, Ka-Bar Knives., Inc. (formerly Union Cutlery Co.), of Olean, New York, a subsidiary of the Cutco Corporation. Although Ka-Bar Knives, Inc., currently makes a wide variety of knives and cutlery, it is best known for the Ka-Bar Fighting/Utility knife, which has traditionally used a 7-inch (17.8 cm) 1095 carbon steel clip point blade and leather-washer handle.
• Kershaw Knives designs, sources and manufactures a wide range of knives, including pocketknives, sporting knives, and kitchen cutlery. Kershaw is a brand of Kai USA Ltd., a member of the KAI Group, headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon, United State. Kershaw Knives was started in Portland, Oregon in 1974 when knife salesman Pete Kershaw left Gerber Legendary Blades to form his own cutlery company based on his own designs. Early manufacturing was primarily done in Japan. In 1977, Kershaw became a wholly owned subsidiary of the KAI Group. In 1997 the U.S. production facility was opened in Wilsonville, Oregon. Due to an expanding market, the facilities were moved to a larger production site in 2003 located in Tualatin, Oregon. Other products are imported from Japanese and Chinese factories.
• Leatherman is an American brand of multi tools and knives made by Leatherman Tool Group of Portland, Oregon. The company was founded in July 1983 by Timothy S. Leatherman and Steve Berliner in order to market his idea of a capable, easily portable hand tool with multiple functions. That same year Leatherman sold the first multi tool, which was called the PST (Pocket Survival Tool).

• MTech USA the only thing I could find out about MTech is these knives are made in the USA and they are very popular.
• Spyderco is an American cutlery company based in Golden, Colorado, producing knives and knife sharpeners. Spyderco pioneered many features that are now common in folding knives, including the pocket clip, serrations, and the opening hole. Spyderco has collaborated with 30 custom knife makers, athletes, and self-defense instructors for designs and innovated the usage of 20 different blade materials.
• Zero Tolerance Knives (ZT Knives) is a knife brand of Kai USA, headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon, United States. Both Zero Tolerance and Kai USA are members of the Kai Group, a global cutlery company.

 

Best knife models according to me

1. I personally love the Buck knife 112 Ranger folding knife. Great old fashioned look and feel. This knife features a lockback that is second to none. It has a genuine ebony wood handle which by the way is made by the Taylor guitar company. It also has brass bolsters. It also comes with a leather sheath. This model goes for about $64.00 .  It’s my number 1 choice because you can’t beat quality that’s been around for over 100 years.
2. My next favorite falls under the heading of multi tool. It’s the Leatheman Wave+. This is a tool/knife that can do it all it features: Needlenose Pliers, Regular Pliers, Premium Replaceable Wire Cutters, Premium Replaceable Hard-wire Cutters, Electrical Crimper Wire Stripper, 420HC Knife, 420HC Serrated Knife, Saw Spring-action Scissors, Ruler (8 in | 19 cm), Can Opener, Bottle Opener, Wood/Metal File, Diamond-coated File, Large Bit Driver, Small Bit Driver & Medium Screwdriver.  This made my 2 choice because of it’s quality and versatility.
3. Next on the list Gerber there are too many Gerber knives to list as favorites. Just pick one they’re all top quality.
4. Benchmade same with these pick one you like these are top quality knives that you can customize from the factory however they are pricey.  If you have the budget for this knife you will not be disappointed.
5. Case knives are next. I love the old fashioned look and feel of these knives my favorite The Dark Red Bone in their heritage series.  One thought about this and other case models the blade does not lock in the open position.  Even at that it’s still a great knife.
6. Ka-Bar knives are for the weekend warrior types or anyone in the military. My favorite is the Coypu Folder has a 3.75″ blade and is 8.75″ overall when open. The handle is Black G10 and the steel is 5Cr15 stainless. The Coypu features a seat belt cutter and glass breaker tip.  Any company that builds knives for the USMC you know has got to be quality stuff.
7. Kershaw love the Random Leek Features: A reverse tanto blade shape adds a new level of functionality to the popular Leek. With its 3-inch blade, the Random Leek is a good-sized knife, but not too big. The reverse tanto blade shape adds durability and provides an ideal angle for cutting through boxes and other everyday jobs. The slim design makes it easy to carry, and its razor-sharp blade of high-performance Sandvik 14C28N means it can take care of a full range of cutting tasks. This Random Leek is all stainless steel with a sturdy frame lock. It opens one-handed with SpeedSafe assisted opening.  I love these blades because they are sharpened like a razor.
8. MTech I choose Model – MTA1023ABL. Framelock A/O Blue. Assisted opening. 4.5 inch closed. 3.5 inch stonewash finish stainless drop point blade. Blue TiNi finish stainless handle. Extended tang. Thumb stud. Pocket clip. Lanyard hole. American flag handle artwork. Boxed.  I love the look of this knife and feel of this knife.
9. Spyderco. These have a very unusual look to them buts that’s OK they are great knives. My favorite the Para Military 2 that shows the Colorado colors in a distinctive way. It features a full-flat-ground PlainEdge blade crafted from Spyderco’s proprietary CPM SPY27 stainless steel. Both sides are beautifully laser engraved with flowing American flag images, and the blade is paired with G-10 scales printed with the Colorado state flag logo.
10. Zero Tolerance I really like this model but it’s very pricey. Features a black-oxide BlackWash finish with its classic tiger stripe pattern. The 0308BLKTS offers a beefy 3.7-inch tiger stripe blade with premium CPM 20CV blade steel. The handle features black G10 on the front scale with a titanium back. Both the front and back are heavily 3D machined for an ultra-secure grip. The .25-inch solid pivot features a custom nut that enables it to be adjusted in the field with a 1/2-inch wrench. The pocketclip hole pattern is compatible with many after-market clips

IN CONCLUSION

No matter which of these 10 best folding knives you pick you can’t go wrong.  I hope this was helpful in your search for a folding knife. Have fun with your search and especially with your purchase.