2023 test16 productsHand Tools
Which Utility Knife Brand Wins?
We compared 16 utility knife options head to head. Fiskars Pro came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping box cutter, utility knives, utility knife for cutting drywall and retractable utility knife land here for the head to head that settles it.
Winner
Fiskars Pro
Price shown in test: $14
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Runner-up
Milwaukee
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 | Weight | Force To Open Unlocked | Force To Open Midpoint | Force To Release Blade | Force To Unlock | Comfort Rating 1to 5 | Lock Failure Load | Belt Clip Ease | Belt Clip Holding Strength | Impact Test 70lb | Blade Retention 25lb Test | Force To Retract Reposition | Blade Storage Spares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fiskars Pro$14 | 154.0 g | 8 G full open (transcript states this plainly, but it is roughly 10x lower than every other tested knife's unlocked-open force in this segment, e.g. Milwaukee 28 G; likely a dropped caption digit; kept literal, not corrected) | 43 G from the midpoint, described as the best (easiest) yet; recap groups this among the top-three easiest-to-open knives (Fiskars 43 G, Milwaukee 86 G, Klein Tools 44131 108 G) | transcript reads "2 and2 lb" of pressure; almost certainly "2 and 1/2 lb" with the fraction slash dropped, kept literal | 3.2 lb (button), very close to the Stanley FatMax figure | 1 (best possible rating) | 236 lb, moved into the lead; recap repeats this as "20 36 lb" which is the same figure with a caption-inserted space (confirms 236 lb) | not enough hook on the belt clip for an easy start; clip is shaped for hand comfort during use | 7.8 lb, best of all tested | the impact broke the belt clip and bent the frame; the knife no longer folds | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Milwaukee$13 | 111.3 g | 28 G, very little force required | 86 G from the midpoint | 2 lb (transcript spells "pounds" as "lounds"), made harder by a metal extension guarding the release button | 4.88 lb (button) | 2 | 184 lb, moved into second place (button lock) behind Crescent at the time it was tested; final recap places it behind Fiskars and Husky at 184 lb | needs a little more hook/bend on the clip; takes more effort than some other brands to fasten | 7 lb, grouped with Klein Tools in the recap without specifying which Klein Tools model | not too bad but bent and stuck in the open position | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Black and Decker$7.50 each ($15 for two) | 87.1 g | not tested | 38 G, very easy to extend | almost 1 lb, a pretty easy blade change | 4.38 lb (liner lock), described as an uncomfortable design | 4 | 48 lb, liner lock gave up and was left badly bent | took a little effort to fasten; needs more of a bend on the hook for an easier start | not tested | a lot of damage; the knife can no longer close | passed, held onto the blade just fine | not tested | not tested |
| 4DeWalt | 122 G | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 4.3 lb (one of five retractable-blade knives tested) | 5 spare blades, most of any product tested |
| 5Gerber EAB Light | 60.3 g, the lightest of all products tested | close to 300 G (about 2/3 lb) | about 90 G from the midpoint | not tested | 4.5 lb (liner lock), quite a bit of pressure for a small knife | 4.5 | 51 lb, liner lock bent and the knife jammed in the open position | very well designed, easy to fasten | not tested | some damage, held up better than the Black and Decker | passed | not tested | not tested |
| 6Husky$12 | 114 g | 590 G, about twice the force of the Gerber and Black and Decker | 238 G from the midpoint, pretty stiff | about 1/4 lb, easy on the fingertips | transcript states "92 lb" (lock back), but every other lock-back knife in this video falls between 7.7 and 12.4 lb to unlock; 92 lb is almost certainly a dropped decimal point (likely 9.2 lb), kept literal per the no-guessing rule since only one internal check (not two) supports the correction | 3 | 205 lb, lock back became detached; finished second overall in the lock-failure ranking behind Fiskars | very well designed for easy use | not tested | does not look too bad but the knife is stuck in the open position | passed | not tested | not tested |
| 7Crescent$12 | 184 g | 148 G, least force yet at that point in the video | 87 G from the midpoint | 1/3 lb, recessed but large and easy to work with | 4.2 lb to slide into the unlock position; tends to get stuck at times | 2 | 71 lb, briefly held before making a very bad sound; lock no longer holds the knife open | does not have enough hook to let the leading edge glide over the belt | not tested | just as much damage as the Black and Decker | passed | not tested | 2 spare blades |
| 8Stanley Fatmax$12 | 195.4 g (transcript reads "195.40 position at 53 G", a caption merge of the weight figure and the next sentence about open force) | not tested | 53 G from the midpoint; no separate full-open figure given | 4.2 lb, hardest on the fingertips of any brand up to that point | less than 3 lb (button), very easy on the fingers | 3.5 | 95 lb, button lock; top of the knife experienced a blowout (catastrophic failure) | needs a little more hook on the clip | not tested | does not look too bad but neither retracts nor extends afterward | not tested | almost 25 lb to retract; gets stuck in the open position | not tested |
| 9Craftsman$12 | 132.0 g | 140 G, about the same as the Crescent | 189 G from the midpoint, pretty stiff | about 7 lb on a tiny squishy button, described as pretty much impossible with gloves on | just over 6 lb (liner lock), the most of any liner-lock knife tested | 3 | 31 lb, gave up sooner than expected with a pretty bad bend | very well designed, easy to attach | not tested | held up really well, blade still retracts and extends, though the knife cannot close since the liner lock was already damaged in the prior lock-failure test | not tested | about 4 lb, almost the same as the DeWalt | 2 spare blades |
| 10Irwin$13 | 126.1 g | 289 G, quite a bit more effort than the Milwaukee | 298 G from the midpoint, also pretty stiff | just over 3 lb, made harder by a metal extension over the release button | just over 2 lb (liner lock, stated later in a recap as 2.29 lb), very easy on the fingers | 3 | 183 lb, almost matching the Milwaukee's performance before the liner lock gave up badly bent | very easy to attach, well designed | not tested | less damage than most other brands, though the bent liner lock from the prior test prevents it from closing | not tested | not tested | 2 spare blades |
| 11CAT$14 | 137.5 g | 450 G, requires quite a bit of thumb pressure | 498 G from the midpoint, even more pressure | 1.8 lb, easier than the Milwaukee and Irwin since it lacks a metal guard over the button | almost 5 lb (liner lock), about a pound less than the Craftsman (consistent with the Craftsman's separately stated just-over-6-lb figure) | 2 | 174 lb, liner lock actually broke | very well designed | not tested | compressed a little on impact but moved freely once the weight was removed; held up better than average | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 12Kobalt$16 | 133 g | 786 G, by far the most force to open of any product tested | 214 G from the midpoint, pretty stiff | 2.25 lb, large and easy-to-access two-sided lever | 12.4 lb (lock back), the most force yet | 3 | 179 lb, rivet holding the lock back finally broke | plenty of hook, well designed | not tested | a fatal blow; badly bent and no longer folds | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 13Sheffield$17 | 176.0 g | 693 G, almost as stiff as the Kobalt | 329 G from the midpoint, even more effort than the Kobalt | 3.7 lb, quite a bit of force though easy to grip | 11.3 lb (lock back), almost as much as the Kobalt | 3.5 | 176 lb, a rivet holding the lock back sheared | very well designed | 7.4 lb | didn't seem to notice the impact; still as good as new | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 14Klein Tools 44131$18 | 117 g | not tested | 108 G, peaks as the knife fully opens; the blade partially opens on its own via gravity once unlocked. Recap groups this as third-easiest to open behind Fiskars (43 G) and Milwaukee (86 G) | 1.15 lb, button must be in a recessed position; not too much pressure but finger positioning matters | 2.23 lb (button, not lock back), stated in a later recap as "the client" (garbled "the Klein") | not tested | 118 lb, folded under the pressure; the button lock still works even after being forced closed | not enough hook on the clip; takes some effort to fasten | 7 lb, grouped with Milwaukee in the recap without specifying which Klein Tools model this refers to | small bend in the frame; the knife no longer folds | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 15DeWalt Folding$20 | 197.4 g | 741 G, very stiff, described as a two-hand operation to deploy even with the liner lock | transcript reads "just over 1,200 G or very close to 2 and 12 lb"; likely means "2 and 1/2 lb" with the fraction slash dropped, kept literal | just over 2.5 lb (transcript: "just over 2 and 12 lbs", same likely fraction-slash glitch as above) | not tested | not tested | 155 lb (liner lock), badly bent when it let go; tied with the Klein Tools Auto's figure | not tested | not tested | not too bad, but the blade no longer retracts or extends | not tested | just over 1 lb, one of the two easiest of the five retractable-blade knives (with the Klein Tools Auto) | 3 spare blades |
| 16Klein Tools Auto$22 | 99.6 g | 530 G, not bad for a lock-back knife | 189 G from the midpoint, still pretty good for a lock back | just over 1/2 lb, very easy to access | 7.7 lb (lock back), the least force of any lock-back knife tested | not tested | 155 lb, lock back became unlocked, the same figure as the folding DeWalt; lock still functions after being forced closed | does not have enough hook, takes effort to fasten, less hook than the 44131 model | not tested | small wrinkle from the impact but still folds with some effort; blade still retracts and extends fine | failed; the only product of all 16 to fail this test, the blade came out when tugged after being moved around | 0.89 lb, the least of any of the five retractable-blade knives | 3 spare blades |
How it was tested
- force required to open the knife (midpoint to fully open position, unlocked)
- force required to release/change the blade
- force required to unlock the knife (release the lock securing the open position)
- force required to retract/reposition a retractable blade (five retractable-blade models only)
- subjective comfort rating (1 to 5 scale, 1 = best)
- blade movement/slop measured with a dial indicator (mentioned qualitatively only for a handful of brands)
- blade retention under a 25 lb load
- knife lock failure load (force applied to the top of the knife until the lock breaks or releases)
- belt clip ease of attachment (subjective) and holding strength once fastened (lb)
- lateral strength (25 lb applied to the side of each knife, all passed, no per-brand breakdown given)
- impact test (70 lb weight dropped from 12 in onto the knife)
- blade storage capacity (spare blades held in the handle)
- weight of the knife with the blade removed
“if I can only choose one utility knife I would definitely go with the fiskers it's very welld designed”
Data notes and caveats
16 products tested (14 distinct brands; DeWalt and Klein Tools each appear as two separate products, tracked here by their model field: DeWalt plain vs DeWalt Folding, Klein Tools 44131 vs Klein Tools Auto). The transcript consistently mangles Kobalt as Cobalt throughout; resolved to Kobalt against the description's product list and Amazon link. DeWalt (non-folding) and Gerber are both given a literal transcript price of $1, self-consistent with each other but implausible next to the rest of the video's $12-$22 range; left null rather than guessed per the garbled-price rule. Final average-finish ranking is only partially recoverable: Fiskars 1st (2.8), Milwaukee 2nd, Klein Tools 44131 4th (4.5); the transcript appears to drop both Milwaukee's actual average number and the identity of 3rd place in the same sentence, a likely caption gap rather than an omitted test. Products array is ordered with the two explicitly ranked leaders (Fiskars, Milwaukee) first, followed by the remaining 14 products in the video's own introduction/testing order, since no complete rank-ordering of all 16 products was given by the narrator.