Where does one go for unbiased knife reviews? I see a recommendation like this (and I know Spyderco is a respected brand) and then have nowhere to get impartial confirmation of it.

I just Googled "folding pocket knife edc reviews" and one of the top three results was "EDC.ninja". Now maybe they're the Consumer Reports of everyday carry products, but somehow I doubt it. So where can I go instead?

https://www.google.com/search?q=folding+pocket+knife+edc+rev...

It's pretty much impossible to get an unbiased review of everyday carry knives because personal bias is the whole point of the industry. If you just need a knife for regular things like cutting open fruit and boxes, then almost any cheap thing with a cutting edge will do. People who bother to hold opinions and do detailed reviews of pocket knives are coming at the subject from an essentially aesthetic perspective.

It's sort of like looking for unbiased reviews of mechanical wristwatches. If you just want to tell time, a $20 quartz Timex will work fine. Once you step away from the criteria of basic functionality, you're entering the land of opinions.

Edit: this comes across kind of judgmental, which is not what I meant. I just mean that the knife you like is going to come down to your own opinion, and the only way to form that is to check out lots of options and other opinions and see what you agree with.

Is there a timex of knives? Rock solid, works forever with no/little maintenance but a bit dated and ugly?

A Wenger or Victorinox base model Swiss Army knife is the classic cheap and useful, keep-it-with-you knife.

If you want a dedicated knife with a bigger blade, a Buck folder with a plastic handle will cost about $30 and last a long time with minor care.

Next step up from there would probably be the least expensive Spydercos, or a multitool if you want more stuff.

The Buck 110 is widely considered a "classic" folding knife, but it is way too clunky and heavy to make a good EDC knife. I have heard lots of good things about the Ontario Rat II, especially the D2 version which you can pick up for about $40, but have never tried it myself. The Rat II is generally considered a good "starter" folding knife. Personally I'd recommend going straight to Spyderco - for $100 you can get something really high quality which you will enjoy and use. I got my brother a Para 3 LW and it set me back $98. He seems to like it.

Spyderco Delica. Good steel that isn’t too hard to sharpen (VG10) and common enough that you don’t have to pay out the nose. Fiber reinforced nylon handle is strong and light.

Edit: without getting into the deep details of different steels, just keep in mind that many ‘higher end’ knives tend to be harder/more brittle than your every day Walmart special. This provides real advantages in edge sharpness and retention, but you don’t want to go using them as a pry bar as they are more likely to snap. Knives are for cutting, not prying.

Also, 20 min on YouTube to understand sharpening goes a long way.

For fixed-blade knives, Morakniv is extremely popular. They don't use the fanciest steels, and the design is outright boring... but it works really well, it's very cheap for what it is, and scandi grind is the easiest one to maintain.

Do you want reviews on specific knives or specific steels used in knives?

/r/knifeclub generally has decent reviews from time to time on the knives themselves (build quality, design, ergonomics, annoyances) and there are some ok YouTubers that review knives as a channel (this sort of content gets really repetitive and common themes for a brand start to emerge) but in depth steel analysis tends to exist mostly on blogs like the article linked or YouTubers that are more focused on knife sharpening skills, or content that overlaps on industrial or academic metallurgy.

Like most hobbies you can geek out on, you quickly reach a point of diminishing returns on your investment. If you don't plan on diving in completely and just want a single really high end pocket knife go budget $300-$400 (you may not spend it all), survey the landscape and buy what appeals to you most, otherwise you're going to sink a grand or two into sampling everything trying to discern the differences yourself.

DuckDuckGo gives me these domains in the first page:

Domain specific:

  https://bladereviews.com/
  https://everydaycarry.com/
  https://knifedge.net/
  https://knifeinformer.com/
  https://www.bladehq.com/
  https://www.bobsop.com/
  https://www.gearhungry.com/

Apart from results from reddit, twitter, nytimes, popularmechanics.com.

Search link: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=folding+pocket+knife+edc+re...

I absolutely love Nick Shabazz's youtube channel. I also occasionally check out Michael Christy's channel, which is pretty hardcore and aimed more at steel/sharpening enthusiasts instead of your everyday joe types. Bladeforums has a lot of smart people discussing knives, but I wouldn't call it a site specifically for reviews per se.

I'll see your PM2 and raise you the Benchmade Griptilian.

I like Spyderco a lot, but I made the switch to BM and haven't looked back.

I have a few gold class, I suppose this will be my next purchase: https://www.benchmade.com/15085-201-mini-crooked-river.html

Huh. I have a benchmade 940 and honestly I'm not a fan. The main thing is that I don't like thumbstuds for deployment, especially since the lock is sticky. Also the ergos never felt great; the knife is too slim for me. I never tried a griptillian, thanks for the rec!

The ergo's are personal pref, (although Spyderco always edges out in total quality).

I have a collectors version of the 940 (940-81), and def get what you're saying about the ergonomics.

Yeah, I think is the one I have too - it has S90V, right? Not a huge fan, I need to sell mine.

The 940-81 is Hakapella Damasteel

https://www.jerzeedevil.com/threads/benchmade-gold-class-940...

Uh maybe I'm just an eternal cheapskate but suggesting a $150+ knife as a starting point seems a bit ... rich.

No idea what to suggest instead, but suggestions are easy to find.

It’s for people who like to carry around an expensive item. If you need a knife for your work, odds are that a box cutter is the best choice since you don’t have to worry about dulling the blade. This is what I used to carry. Most people with the expensive EDC knives work in an office and use them for cutting open packets of m&m’s

Perhaps ... I was not trying to value-judge the carrying of expensive knives for non-critical everyday tasks; that's fine. I was questioning recommending newcomers to spend so much to find out if they enjoy knives. :)

Personally, if Morakniv [1] made a folding knife[+], it would probably be just right for me. :)

[1] https://morakniv.se/en/

[+] And someone made carrying a folding knife legal in Sweden ...

How about Opinel?

I have one smallish for picnics and such, but haven't tried their larger knives. I think I personally would lean towards something a bit more "modern-feeling"/technical.

I guess if money was no object, and I were more of an actual "knife-guy", I would try something from Fällkniven [1].

[1] https://fallkniven.se/en/home/

There is some truth to what you are saying: 95% of people really don't need a fancy knife with a high end steel. On the other hand, I think there's more to it than just wanting to "carry around an expensive item." I enjoy the craftsmanship and engineering that goes into making a nice knife. I find that a three-inch knife blade is useful in a way that a one-inch box-cutter blade is not, for example when I want to peel an orange or sharpen a pencil. I also carry a knife since I believe a knife may be helpful in an emergency situation - imagine, for example, you are in a car accident and your seatbelt jams. With a good knife you could easily cut yourself out - much harder to do with a boxcutter.

The Spyderco PM3 LW is supposed to be really good (I haven't tried it). It costs $98.