Here are 10 knives that we think are excellent for Every Day Carry (EDC). There are a lot of great knives out there. We don’t want to mislead and say these are the best of the best. Our recommendation is based on the idea that these are knives are a great value and therefore should be at the top of your mental list when searching for an EDC knife. We’ve tried every knife listed here.
Freeman Outdoor Gear Fixed Blade 451
The Freeman Outdoor Gear Fixed Blade 451 is a rugged, tough and a heavy duty knife. This knife won´t break or worn off so easily and will definitely act as the leader of your EDC ‘gang’. With its Kydex Sheath the FOG451 is almost the best you can have. Comfortable, robust and above all – flexible & dynamic upon user needs. Jeff’s decisions on design and his pick of material results in an outstanding knife.
Should you want to get this knife, visit G-Gear in Germany. They are an official distributor of Freeman Outdoor Gear in Europe, with high selection of knives and a quick shipment.
The Studies and Observations Group SOG Kiku Knife
Matsuda and SOG really hit the mark with the development of the folding Kiku, they’ve won awards for the fixed blade series before and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some again. The price tag sits at $180.00 from the SOG website and while this may seem steep to some, it will pay for itself with time. The Kiku blade is a great blade that sits as a top contender when considering a new pocket knife. This may be the last knife I have to buy and I would strongly recommend this product to anyone.
Bark River Bravo 1
I took this knife with me on a week-long camping trip. I used it every day to prep the fire wood, which mostly included batoning it through wood, food prep, and some carving. I beat the hell out of this thing for a week straight and it shows little to no wear.
I know the price tag may seem like a little much, but for what you get it’s worth every penny. The knife comes with a no-questions asked lifetime warranty – you break it or damage it and they will replace it, period. You can also send it back for reconditioning and all it will cost you is postage. When it comes to good quality gear, spend once and cry once.
The Southern Grind Jackal
I put the Jackal back on my belt and jumped back on the KLR650 to finish out the trail ride. It was a complete luxury knowing I had a fixed blade knife that could handle almost any chore I threw at it. My only very small complaint is that after so much use cutting the saplings, creating the tinder, and shaving the magnesium, the handle began creating a small blister on my hand. Not a huge deal at all, and happens with most knives. I’ve only had a couple knives where this was a non-issue. It’s often a tradeoff between long term comfort and having a great grip in multiple environments like when the handle is wet from rain, blood, or just perspiration.
Overall I really like the Jackal. It’s a terrific all around knife. It’s affordable enough for the materials and sheath you get. It feels great in my hand, like it’s an extension of me. It’s big enough to handle most tasks, yet small enough to not be cumbersome. It holds an edge very well, and the blade shape and geometry allows for multiple applications. Aside from the very minor issues mentioned (tek-lok and long term grip fatigue) this is a knife that hits all the marks of a perfect investment.
The Southern Grind Bad Monkey
The Southern Grind Knife Company’s Bad Monkey knife is a hell of a knife and that’s why It’s being highlighted today. Sure lots of knives can be great and we have featured many of them here on the site, Emerson, Kershaw, Gerber and many other top brands, but this one is just inches ahead of the pack. Before we dig into why it’s so great and is my new daily carry knife, lets look at the company itself.
The Southern Grind Knife Company is owned by Zac Brown, the frontman and namesake of The Zac Brown Band, a popular country music group based out of Atlanta, Georgia. The company was founded in 2009 by Zac Brown to produce knives that are built to be “both ruggedly dependable and highly functional”. The company currently only makes five models of knives, but they are all 100% designed in house and manufactured in Peach Tree City, Georgia.
The specific knife I was sent to test and evaluate by our good friends over at Spotter Up Tactical is the Bad Monkey Tanto Serrated. This knife is packed with features and honestly has replaced the Emerson CQC15 Mini that was my daily carry knife up until a few weeks ago. Don’t get me wrong I like the Emerson but sometimes an upstart comes along and makes you rethink how you do things. Lets check out the specifications and figure out why I’m so high on this knife.
The Boker German Expedition Knife
Basically, it’s a really great knife for hunters, campers, and wilderness travelers. But that’s pretty much it. It’s definitely not a daily carry or EDC blade and it’s way to big to be a tactical blade. It’s domain is in the wilderness for sure. The G.E.K. is listed at $339.00 on Boker’s website, which in my opinion is a little on the high side for a blade like this compared to some other knives in the “expeditionary category”. But in the end you do get a very well made knife made from a great company using top quality materials (minus the weird leather sheath). One thing that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in purchasing a G.E.K is that you also purchase the micarta scales for the handle as they offer a contoured shape providing a more secure handle feeling, but still keeping the basic ergonomics in tack. The skeletonized handle looked cool, but it just didn’t give me the secure feeling of nice quality micarta scales. Overall, I really liked this knife and gave it a 7.5 out of 10.
Gerber Strong Arm Fixed Blade Coyote Brown SE
Gerber has introduced to the market something that has a lot of versatility and comes well under the affordable market; at less than a hundred dollars this knife has a lot of pluses. The Gerber Strong Arm runs in at the MSRP of $86. The Strong Arm is made in Portland, Oregon.
Those looking for a good Everyday Carry (EDC) knife, particularly budget minded buyers, should look at the Gerber StrongArm Fixed Blade as a very sensible option. It comes in a killer looking Black color or a nice, flat colored Coyote Brown. It is available in fine-edge and serrated models and is easy to sharpen. It really is a good value in a fixed-blade knife and should serve you for years to come.
One of the features I like the most is the sheath’s versatile MOLLE carry. The knife can be carried horizontally or vertically, on your person, or on your rucksack. Because of the holes I could mount it on my body armor, belt or backpack if I wanted to.
This is not a costly knife. It is dependable, good looking, well-balanced, and multi-purpose and all for under $86.00. Great price for something that will help you on your adventures.
First Edge Survival Knife
https://youtu.be/E0n_mw8F6cA
Boker Applegate Fairbairn Knife
The blade is very strong and comes with a steel coated in a nitrate to eliminate corrosion and glares. Basically it is one solid and strong, sharp and pointy piece of steel and will cut easily without sharpening it upon first use. The fingerguard is one piece, and integrated with the blade & tang. This means it’s not going to break easily. The tang reaches out of the end of the handle and can be used as a windowbreaker.
The Micarta hande is beautiful and contrasts well with the silver colored blade. The grip is a textured, green canvas Micarta. The largest use for Micarta is for high strength electrical insulation, knife handles and handgun grips. It has been used for heat shields too. This means it is durable and resistent to wear and will give you a great grip even when it is wet or dirty.
The fingerguard is gorgeous. It is curved nicely upwards and is comfortable upon the tips of the thumb and forefinger when pressed against it. Pushing or pulling is made easy by the stable guard and full, strong tang. Boker uses an American bead blasted 440-C high performance stainless steel hardened to HRC 58. This type of steel is hard, is easy to sharpen and holds up well.
This knife is exceptionally well balanced and finely crafted. The scabbard needs improvement but overall this is a great item to have. Old school meets new school-Retro is in. This is something I’m keeping and won’t part with easily.
Tanto Knife from FIRST TACTICAL
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