2022 test15 productsHand Tools
Which Folding Pocket Knife (EDC) Brand Wins?
We compared 15 folding pocket knife (edc) options head to head. Benchmade Griptilian came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Benchmade Griptilian
Price shown in test: $170
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Budget pick
King Max
Price shown in test: $13
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Spec | Weight | Initial sharpness score (lower=sharper) | Blade lock release pressure | Opening pressure | Durability, 100 bamboo passes (factory edge) | Sharpness after resharpening at 17 deg | Durability after resharpen, 100 more passes | Blade tip drop test (48in through a pipe) | Lateral stability test (25 lb, 6in span) | Blade lock static 25 lb force test | Initial sharpness score | Blade tip drop test | Lateral stability test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Benchmade Griptilian$170 | S30V stainless steel blade, Axis Lock (called exceptionally strong and fully ambidextrous), glass-filled nylon handle, made in USA | 108 g | 155, the best (sharpest) out-of-box score of all 15 knives | 356 g, the lowest (easiest release) of all 15 knives | 0 g, tied with Kizer for smoothest opening | 155 to 165, lost only 10 points | 110, tied with Gerber | 110 to 120, lost only 10 points, tied for sharpest at that stage | tip still looks nearly as good as new | a little more blade strength and stability than the Gerber | survived without issue | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Kizer$69 | carbon fiber handle, drop point blade, blade length 3.42 in, N690 steel, ball bearing pivot, solid liner lock, made in China | 90 g (very light) | not tested | 676 g, very easy on the fingertips | 0 g via ball bearings at the pivot, called very impressive | 160 to 170, held up the best yet at that stage, only dropping 10 points | 120, tied with CRKT | 120 to 130, lost only 10 points, tied with Leatherman | not tested | not tested | survived without issue | 160, took the lead from Milwaukee and CRKT at the time | very light knife, tip held up very well | no visible slop or play |
| 3Kershaw$87 | D2 wear-resistant cutting edge, N690 corrosion-resistant steel blade, SpeedSafe assisted opening, liner lock, made in USA | 82 g (lighter than Kizer) | not tested | 666 g, even less than Kizer | 88 g, about average | 165 to 150 (got SHARPER after 100 passes; narrator's own explanation is that the blade 'must have had a bur' that wore off, not a caption error), finished as the sharpest knife of all 15 at that stage | 110, tied with Gerber | 110 to 120, lost only 10 points, now the sharpest knife at that stage | not tested | not tested | survived without issue | 165, a little sharper than Cold Steel | FAILED: 'doing extremely well in the showdown until this test... the blade tip appears to be very brittle' and broke off on impact | very light knife with great lateral blade stability |
| 4King Max$13 | built-in flipper for one-handed access, stainless steel, includes window breaker and seatbelt cutter, liner lock, blade length 3.3 in, made in China | 130 g | not tested | 628 g, the lowest of the budget knives and near the lowest overall | 44 g | 245 to 350, performed better than Vulcan | 125, same as Master USA and Vulcan | 125 to 160, only lost 35 points, described as possibly 'the king of the cheap knives' | not tested | not tested | survived without issue | 245, the sharpest of the brands tested up to that point in the video | tip held up better than the Master USA and Vulcan | better blade stability than Master USA and Vulcan |
| 5Fallkniven$364 (stated as the most expensive of the 15 knives tested) | 3G blade steel, frame lock, made in Sweden | 74 g (lighter than Gerber) | not tested | 1,072 g, about the same as Gerber | 56 g | 230 to 230, no sharpness lost, tied with Cold Steel for best factory-edge retention | 105, the sharpest of all 15 knives after resharpening | 105 to 115, lost only 10 points, the sharpest knife of all 15 at this final stage | not tested | not tested | not tested | 230, trails many of the less expensive knives out of the box despite the premium steel and price | blade tip still looks as good as new | performed very well considering its light weight |
| 6Cold Steel Code 4$86 | 3.5 in blade, S35VN steel, mid lock, aluminum handle, made in Taiwan | 118 g (pretty light for its size) | not tested | 3,566 g (almost 8 lb), a lot of pressure required | 136 g, mid lock design requires more effort to deploy | 175 to 175, no sharpness lost, called very impressive | 115, sharper than average | 115 to 135, lost only 20 points, performed very well | not tested | not tested | not tested | 175, sharper than average | held up really well | tremendous blade strength and lateral stability, called very impressive |
| 7Victorinox Hunter Pro Alox$87 (same price as Kershaw) | stainless steel blade, mid lock, 5.4 in length, made in Switzerland | 176 g, the heaviest of all 15 knives tested | not tested | just over 15 lb, called extremely stiff | 150 g, very stiff mid lock | 190 to 215, lost 25 points | 120 | 120 to 130, lost only 10 points, held an edge very well | not tested | not tested | not tested | 190 | heaviest knife in the showdown; blade tip had a little more damage than Kizer and Cold Steel | just about as impressive as Cold Steel for blade strength and stability |
| 8Gerber Fastball$110 | ball bearing deployment system, S30V steel, liner lock, made in USA | 78 g, a little lighter than Kershaw | not tested | 1,078 g, performed better than average | 20 g | 215 to 220, lost only 5 points | 110, tied with Kershaw | 110 to 145, lost 35 points | not tested | not tested | not tested | 215, not nearly as sharp out of the box as most of the other brands | very light (78 g); tip held up really well with very small amount of damage | performing just as good as Kizer and Kershaw |
| 9CRKT Fossil$57 | ball bearing pivot, frame lock, stainless steel blade, G10 handle, made in China | 174 g, the heaviest of the brands tested up to that point in the video | not tested | 1,452 g, about the same as Leatherman | 16 g, tied with Master USA for smoothest opening up to that point | 180 to 215 | 120, sharper than new | 120 to 220, lost 100 points, a little better than average | not tested | not tested | not tested | 180, same as Milwaukee | very heavy knife, but the blade tip proved very durable | great lateral strength and stability, no slop |
| 10Leatherman Skeletool$40 | high-carbon stainless steel blade, liner lock, includes a bottle opener, assembled in US with US and foreign components | 38 g, by far the lightest of all 15 knives | not tested | 1,436 g, a little stiffer than Milwaukee | 76 g | 185 to 210, lost 25 points | 115, the sharpest knife at that stage | 115 to 130, lost only 15 points, moved into the lead at that stage | not tested | not tested | not tested | 185, in second position at the time | held up extremely well, being very light at 38 g | performing just as well as the much heavier Coast knife despite being far lighter |
| 11DeWalt$25 | blade lock to prevent accidental deployment, spring-assisted opening, stainless steel blade, integrated glass breaker, liner lock, blade length 3.187 in, made in China | 142 g | not tested | 1,392 g, a little less than Coast | 80 g, about the same as Coast | 205 to 245, did a pretty good job holding an edge | 125, sharper than new | 125 to 245, lost 120 points, bamboo really dulled it | not tested | not tested | survived without issue | 205, moved into second place behind Coast at the time | held up really well with just a small amount of damage | a little more movement at the pivot point compared to Coast |
| 12Milwaukee$25 (same price as DeWalt) | stainless steel drop point blade, push-button release with no thumb knob (making one-handed opening difficult), reversible belt clip, liner lock, made in China | 22 g lighter than the DeWalt (about 120 g) | not tested | 1,076 g | 84 g, about the same as Coast and DeWalt | 180 to 295, lost quite a bit of sharpness | 120, tied with Coast | 120 to 270, lost 150 points, dulled even more than the DeWalt | not tested | not tested | FAILED: 'the Milwaukee was the only brand that didn't survive this test,' though the blade lock release did not damage the liner lock itself | 180, moved into the lead at the time | a little lighter than DeWalt but a bit more blade tip damage | performed about the same as DeWalt |
| 13Coast$16 | thumb studs on both sides for either-hand use, one-hand operation, stainless steel blade about 4 in, frame lock, made in China | 172 g, the heaviest of the brands tested up to that point in the video | not tested | 1,568 g, more than twice King Max's | 88 g, more than the first three (cheaper) brands | 190 to 265 | 120, the sharpest knife at that stage | 120 to 165, lost 45 points, about as good as King Max | not tested | not tested | survived without issue | 190, by far the sharpest knife tested up to that point | heavier than the first three brands; impact caused the blade tip to BEND | a big improvement over the first three (cheaper) brands, a lot less lateral movement |
| 14Vulcan Vulcan Gear$8 | spring-assist open folding knife, liner lock, 3.85 in stainless steel black-coated blade, assembled in China | 36 g heavier than Master USA (about 150 g) | not tested | 2,560 g (about 6 lb), a lot of pressure | 78 g, quite a bit more than Master USA | 250 to 375, lost quite a bit of sharpness | 125, same as Master USA | 125 to 275, lost 150 points, a little worse than Master USA | not tested | not tested | survived without issue | 250, quite a bit sharper than Master USA | direct blow to the tip, held up about the same as Master USA with only minor damage | a lot of slop and movement at the pivot point, just like Master USA |
| 15Master USA$4.49 (stated as the least expensive of the 15 knives tested) | 3.5 in black stainless steel blade, 4.5 in overall length, ABS handle with carbon fiber camo, made in China | 114 g | not tested | 1,316 g (very close to 3 lb) | 16 g | 330 to 415, definitely needs sharpening after this | 125, a lot sharper than new | 125 to 260, lost 135 points, still sharper than new | not tested | not tested | handled the weight but showed quite a bit of sag | 330, described as just not very sharp | impact caused the blade LOCK to release the blade; blade tip had minor damage but did not bend or break | did not break, but a lot of slop and movement at the pivot point, a large gap between blade and handle |
How it was tested
- initial factory-edge sharpness (Best Certified Knife Sharpness Tester score, lower = sharper)
- blade lock release pressure
- blade opening pressure (spring/pivot smoothness)
- factory-edge durability after 100 passes on a bamboo cutting board with 5 lb weight
- sharpness after standardized resharpening at a 17 degree angle
- resharpened-edge durability after 100 more bamboo passes
- blade tip durability in a 48 inch drop-through-pipe test
- lateral blade stability under 25 lb of force with a 6 inch span
- blade lock strength under a static 25 lb downward force
“The Benchmade came out on top with an average finish of 1.8, but it is very expensive. The Kizer and the Kershaw also performed very well, but the Kershaw's blade tip just might not survive a drop. So if you're looking for a really cheap knife, why not just go with the King Max? It performed very well for a knife under $20.”
Data notes and caveats
15-brand folding knife showdown (matches the 15-21 product 'takes longer than average' pattern), but unusually clean: all 15 brand names in the transcript match the description's Products Tested list almost exactly (only 'King Max' vs description's 'Kingmax' differs, a trivial spacing variant, not a real mangle). Winner (Benchmade) has an explicit numeric average finish (1.8); Kizer and Kershaw are explicitly praised as strong followers but given no numeric average-finish rank in the transcript, so runnerUp is left null rather than guessing an order between them. King Max is explicitly declared the budget pick for knives under $20. Milwaukee is the only knife to fail the static 25 lb blade-lock force test; Kershaw is the only knife whose blade tip snapped off in the drop test despite otherwise leading results; Master USA's blade lock released (but did not break) during its own drop test. Kershaw's sharpness score improved (165 to 150) after 100 bamboo passes on the factory edge, which the narrator attributes to a manufacturing bur wearing off, not a caption/transcript error, so it is kept as stated. The video also includes a non-tested human-interest segment interviewing a veteran ('Mr. Smith') about his 65-year-old Case Canoe pocket knife; this is not one of the 15 branded, priced, tested knives and has no comparable spec/performance data, so it is excluded from products[] entirely per the video's own framing as a side segment rather than a test subject. Meta chapters field is null for this video.