Top 10 folding knife brands

Folding knife is one of the many varieties of the traditional knife, the blade of which retracts into a special groove on the handle. The original concept of this model was borrowed from the equally popular Swiss knives, designed for the needs of military affairs. However, despite them, folding counterparts were designed to become a faithful human companion in urban environments - the main prerequisite for this was the small size.

Opening a folding (or penknife) knife, as a rule, is done with one hand: inertial (peg, hole) or in automatic mode (thanks to the button mechanism). Further fixation of the blade in the open position is carried out through the use of knife locks of several basic structures:

• linear (liner-lock) - fixation is carried out through the use of a flat spring that performs the pressing of the blade. In a further modification of the frame-lock (frame lock), this spring is considered part of the handle.
• backlock (back-lock) - the principle of fixation, based on the use of a lever system. The lever makes pressing the blade from the butt side, leaning on the spring in the handle on the opposite side.
• pin (axis-lock, arc-lock, plunge-lock) - the most numerous kind of locks, fixing the blade which is made with a movable pin.
• lock-clutch or viroblock (clasp-knife) - the most reliable mechanism for fixing the blade, based on the formulation of the swivel coupling with a special cut.

From the moment of the birth of such a specific niche to the present day, the number of companies producing folding knives has exceeded far a hundred. And if experienced users already have an idea about top brands, then it will be much more difficult for beginners to make a choice in favor of products of a particular line. In this regard, we have compiled a ranking of the best manufacturers of folding knives that have received recognition from consumers all over the world. The following parameters were chosen as criteria for selecting nominees for the top:

• brand popularity in Russia;
• the overall quality of the entire product range;
• price characteristic of the manufacturer;
• abundance of concepts, a variety of options for appearance.

Top 10 Folding Knife Brands

10 Zero Tolerance Knives

The case when the age of the company is not at all an indicator of current regalia and merit. Zero Tolerance was founded only in 2006, but for more than a dozen years, she managed to make more noise than some long-livers of this market segment. Enlisting the support of the pillar of the production of folding knives in the face of Kershaw, inventing the original style and thoroughly working for the benefit of quality improvement, the manufacturer managed to win over a lot of true fans of knives.

Despite the high price of the excitement, absolutely all product lines are used: those that have already been released, and those that are just preparing for mass sale.As the most promising developments of the brand, you can mention the model of knives TITANIUM KVT® FLIPPER ZT 0095 with a titanium handle and a blade of high-strength alloy S35VN and development number 0301, presented in different color variations with a blade hardness under 60 HRC.

9 Cold steel

Pretty young company for the production of folding knives, founded in 1980 in the California city of Ventura. It is positioned on the market as one of the “strangest” manufacturers, since in addition to knives, their product range is represented by broadswords and other exotic weapons. However, this atomization does not in the least prevent Cold Steel from saturating the knife market with quality products: the equipment of the product lines of the brand is truly chic.

As for the characteristic details, here the whole set of advantages prevails, however, with one small reservation. All knives of this brand are distinguished by a rather low level of cost, a high degree of durability of locks, as well as optimal values ​​of steel blade hardness (from 57 to 60 HRC). The disadvantage is that there are not so many folding knives in the Clod Steel line: the tourist and tactical fixed models took over the main representation. One can distinguish two representatives of the brand:

• TI-LITE 4 "ZY-EX HANDLE with a plastic handle, blade made of steel AUS8-A hardness 57-58 HRC;
• RAJAH III CTS BD1 ALLOY with Grivory handle and blade hardness of 59-60 HRC.

8 VICTORINOX

The official manufacturer of knives for the Swiss army, VICTORINOX is a full-fledged monopoly company of its country. From the very moment of its foundation (1884) and to this day, the main specialization of the brand remains the production of multifunctional folding knives - only their number has changed with age.

However, recently, VICTORINOX, as an experiment, began developing single folding blades for hiking and the needs of everyday wear. It turned out quite tolerably: the minimalist and inexpensive model HUNTER PRO 0.9410.9 with an ergonomic plastic handle dispersed in large quantities. Otherwise, all new and new models of Swiss knives (multitools) are being developed, for which, we repeat, the brand has monopoly rights. They appeared, by the way, in 2005, when VICTORINOX acquired the shares of the Wenger trademark and became the only legitimate manufacturer of army knives.

7 Gerber

Known and revered manufacturer of knives, the short name of which is very often confused with the brand of baby food. It was founded back in 1939 in the state of Oregon, at the time of the population craze for cold arms. Despite the mastery of the hammer and the anvil, historically, the first holders of the company have not yet mastered all the subtleties of forging blades for knives (and even more so for specific folding). In many ways, therefore, the company's “trick” was the constant striving for methodically improving the quality of its own products.

Today, Gerber Gear is the most advanced in terms of production equipment, thanks to which they were able to reach leading roles not only in the knife segment, but also in the class of all hand tools in principle. Traditionally strong representatives of this company are:

• E-Z OUT SKELETON, a lightweight and perfectly balanced knife with a blade hardness of 57-59 HRC;
• TACTICAL PARAFRAME TANTO - tactical mini-knife with a blade of steel 7Cr17MoV hardness of 60 HRC.

6 Emerson knives

The honorary line of the rating goes to another American brand, which has gained the greatest popularity among fans of folding knives. And, it is worth saying, quite reasonably: the quality of the products fully meets the high expectations of consumers. The beginning of the glorious history of the company Emerson was laid back in 1979.At that time, Ernest Emerson sold his first custom-made knife in his home garage. Extremely inspired by the process, an experienced master continued to do what he loved, and after only a few years he became the founder of a full-fledged tactical knives workshop. Today, Emerson Knives is not only famous for its unparalleled collaborations with other market representatives (such as Kershaw, Zero Tolerance and Spyderco), but also for its fabulous prices for the entire product range.

Among the prominent representatives of Emerson are:

• Roadhouse with a tanto blade profile and a hardness of 57-59 HRC;
• Gypsy Jack with an elegant bowie profile and hardness of 58

5 Benchmade

The next representative of the rating gave a start to the production forces in 1979 - at the moment when the market was already saturated with manufacturers of various levels. However, this did not prevent Benchmade from moving: the glory and recognition caught up with the company almost immediately. All this became possible for one simple reason: the company focused on the production of very popular at that time butterfly knives, of which there were relatively few on the market. However, this vector of development has become only a starting point for success.

The real fame came to Benchmade after the release of a series of folding knives, which the Griptilian 550 model won. 154CM steel was used as the material of the blade, heat treatment of which gave 60 units of hardness on the Rockwell scale. But the main edge was the cutting edge, very practical stretching along the entire blade.

4 Opinel

The oldest company for the production of knives, never deviated from the selected canons of behavior in a large market. Opinel is the most respectable haunter of the most prestigious tops, whose history will soon exceed the mark of 200 years. Starting the production of knives with the simplest peasant blades, a small family workshop from the city of Savoie slowly but surely moved towards its true goal. The desire to become a "national" company prevailed over the desire for profit, which has a beneficial effect on the future fate of good production.

The main characteristic of the folding knives from Opinel was the low cost and excellent hardness of the blade. In most cases, the price hardly crosses the threshold of 2000 rubles, and the average hardness reaches 59-60 units on the Rockwell scale (HRC). Confirmation of such optimal parameters are the model number 10 VRN CARBON TRADITION, as well as the scout instance number 8 VRI OUTDOOR EARTH-GREEN (whose hardness is slightly lower than average - 56-58 HRC).

3 Buck knives

Since its founding (1902), Buck has consistently been awarded the title of one of the best suppliers of folding knives in the world. Despite the fact that the manufacturing technology, in general, did not differ by novelty and innovation, the company's products always had a stunning quality. The reason for this is simple: recognized masters of blacksmith work, squeezing the maximum of the properties of hardened steel, worked on the blades. The change of epoch had a significant effect on the production methods, but did not affect the mechanical indicators of the products produced - all knives have quite a decent level of hardness (on average 57-59 HRC).

Since 1967, the 110th model of a folding knife has been a constant talisman of Buck. Made using the classic back-lock, which securely fixed the blade in the open state, it became a great companion in the hunt for small and large predators. No less distinguished and worn model Vantage, the price of which at this time is quite small, and the performance inspires hope for a very long use.

2 Kershaw

The timely appearance of the American giant, Kershaw, on the market is a fatal oversight of Gerber Gear.After leaving his famous employer in 1974, the talented master Pete Kershaw decides to open his own shop, the first products in which are fixed knives of his own production. After a series of new challenges and local victories, Kershaw Knives is taken to create folding models, relying on selected vectors of high quality and low price levels.

Today, the company is perhaps the most loyal supplier of folding knives to the market, providing users with a huge range of very low-cost developments at incredibly low prices. In addition, there are frequent cases of collaboration between Kershaw and other companies, such as Emerson, Zero Tolerance, etc.

Among the most iconic representatives of the company are:

• Link knife, with 420HC steel blade with a hardness of 57 HRC;
• Rick Hinderer KVT Flipper made from 8Cr13MoV chromium-molybdenum-vanadium steel with a hardness of 58 HRC.

1 Spyderco

In 1978 (a year before the founding of Benchmade) a very audacious and capricious company Spyderco saw the light of the day, now acquiring the status of an international corporation. While other manufacturers tried to saturate the assortment of goods with assorted products, this manufacturer focused on the production of knives with characteristic "spider" features. The origins of this type were not taken immediately: they were preceded by a painstaking search for "the very" original configuration.

Perhaps the most significant representative of the company has become “Lady Ann” in such a limitless world of knives. Spyderco Endura is a knife that deserves the status of the most recognizable, stands out for its aggressive appearance, sharpness of features and a very clear opening click. Made of VG-10 steel (corrosion-resistant alloy steel), the blade of this model has an optimal viscosity and hardness of around 60-62 HRC. Thanks to this combination, “Lady Ann” is honored with the great honor to crown absolutely the entire range of Spyderco from the start of production to this day.

Popular vote - who is the best manufacturer of folding knives?
We vote!

Kershaw

Opinel

Zero tolerance

VICTORINOX

Cold steel

Buck

Gerber

Spydeco

Emerson

Benchmade

Total votes: 333

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