Modern EDC Folding Knives

The full sized Bugout in S30V, which is the steel that made the model: hard enough to hold an edge through a season of use and still sharpenable on an ordinary stone. The Axis lock is the part that matters for a lifetime of carry, a sprung bar rather than a liner, and Benchmade will sharpen and rebuild the knife for the life of the owner.

• S30V blade steel
• Axis lock, ambidextrous
• Grivory handle, under two ounces
• Maker sharpens and rebuilds for life

A one-handed folder with an assisted opening and a recurve blade, one of the longest-running designs in Kershaw’s range. The company backs it with a limited lifetime warranty and free lifetime sharpening, and the mechanism is a spring and a liner lock, both of which are parts rather than something sealed.

• Assisted opening, liner lock
• 3.4 inch recurve blade
• Limited lifetime warranty, free sharpening

A slim assisted-opening folding knife with a frame lock and a reversible pocket clip, small enough to carry daily. Kershaw covers it with a limited lifetime warranty.

• Slim frame-lock folder
• Assisted opening
• Kershaw limited lifetime warranty

A compact folding knife built around a compression lock that sits on the spine of the handle, away from the cutting edge. The mechanism is steel on steel with nothing to run flat, and the ambidextrous layout means it carries and opens the same way in either hand.

• Compression lock, opening hole, no spring
• Compact blade, pocket clip
• Plain edge, ambidextrous

A light folding knife with a VG-10 steel blade, a back lock and a glass-fibre reinforced handle. The opening hole means there is no thumb stud or flipper mechanism to loosen, and the handle does not chip or crack the way wood and bone can.

• VG-10 stainless blade
• Back lock, opening hole, no spring
• Reinforced nylon handle

A small all-steel assisted-opening folder with a frame lock. Kershaw covers it with a limited lifetime warranty.

• All-steel frame lock
• Assisted opening
• Kershaw limited lifetime warranty

A lightweight folding knife with a compression lock, an opening hole and a reinforced nylon handle. There is no spring, no assist and no thumb stud to loosen, so the only parts that wear are the pivot and the edge, and the edge is the one thing an owner can fix at home.

• Compression lock, opening hole, no spring
• Reinforced nylon handle
• Plain edge, pocket clip

A slim flipper with a button lock and a plain, rounded handle. The blade runs on bearings and the screws are standard Torx, so it can be taken apart, cleaned and tightened at home.

• Button lock flipper
• Standard Torx screws, user serviceable
• Slim everyday size

A compact frame-lock folder with a wide cleaver-style blade and a stainless handle. CRKT covers its knives with a limited lifetime warranty.

• Stainless frame lock
• Wide, short blade
• CRKT limited lifetime warranty

A very light folder with Benchmade's AXIS lock and a CPM-S30V blade. Benchmade covers its knives with a lifetime warranty and will sharpen them for free for life.

• AXIS lock
• CPM-S30V steel
• Benchmade lifetime warranty and LifeSharp service

The Griptilian is the Axis lock knife that most of the maker’s other folders are variations of, and the nylon handle model is the plainest version. Benchmade’s LifeSharp service sharpens, cleans, oils and adjusts an owner’s knife free for as long as they own it, and the limited lifetime warranty covers defects in manufacture.

• Axis lock, ambidextrous
• Nylon handle, plain edge
• LifeSharp free service for life
• Limited lifetime warranty

A small stainless frame-lock folder with a skeletonised handle and a pocket clip. The open frame has nothing to trap grit, and the whole knife is a few pieces of steel.

• Stainless frame lock
• Open frame, easy to clean
• Pocket clip