We purchased each of these knives at retail price, and our trusted team of knife experts put them through the wringer. Our testing process includes roughly 80% “real world” use, with the other 20% as laboratory-style, objective measurements to back up our experience.
Blade Quality
We start with a visual check of the factory edge out of the box, looking for burrs or defects before anything else. We'll check for proper centering and spacing of the blade as it sits in the handle, and make note of its shape, style, and especially the steel alloy used. All of these clues us in to the manufacturer's intention with their design – it's one thing to make a claim, and another to deliver on it.
We use a classic paper slicing test to assess the sharpness of the factory edge, then slice cardboard, cut 5/8" braided paracord, and whittle branches to better understand its overall cutting ability. We end up carrying each of these knives for roughly 1-2 months, so other subjective tests occur naturally, but these four objective cutting tests give us a 'control' group we can use to compare knives against one another.
Finally, we test the corrosion resistance of each blade. We use a 3.5% saltwater solution – to approximate the salinity of seawater – and mist it on a taped-off section of the blade four times over a 24-hour period.
The tape is removed, and the knives are cleaned with soap and water, then we examine the effects with a macro camera lens.
Ease of Use
This metric is all about deployment and storage – how easily it is to open and close a knife? Scores are given based on how reliable the opening and closing actions are, how often 'false starts' happen, and how easy it is to disengage the lock.
The lock type is also scrutinized, as more advanced locks tend to be safer (and quicker) to use. Construction quality is evaluated, as this will determine what kind of force a knife can safely handle, with higher scores going to more solid builds.
Carrying Comfort
This is a measure of how nice a knife is to carry daily in a pocket. The overall form factor matters a great deal here. Skinnier knives will score better, as will ones with flat grips that rest securely against your leg.
Weight is measured on a kitchen scale, and the pocket clip scrutinized. Clips that are too strong or 'sharp' – which would cut up the fabric on the edge of your pocket over time – lose points. We look for handles with a smooth texture that doesn't resist sliding in and out of a pocket, and more rounded edges that won't hurt your knuckles as you reach past them into your pocket.
Grip
We evaluate the handle material, looking specifically at durability and checking manufacturer claims. The knife is given a score based on how it feels in the hand, the specific texture that the handle has molded in, and the finish.
Grips that fill your fist better and that fit all four fingers (of an average adult hand) get a higher score. Comfort also plays a role, as does how secure the knife feels while performing high-pressure cuts. Finally, we'll evaluate how grip changes when wet, with points given for handles that work just as well wet as dry.
Sharpening & Cleaning
Each knife is intentionally dulled by pulling across a piece of rebar several times, and confirming dullness with a failed paper cut test. We then resharpen each knife with an at-home sharpening kit – we use the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker.
One full process is completed per the kit's instructions, which takes about 10 minutes per knife. Another paper test is performed, and a score is given for how it compares with the factory test done for our Blade metric above. If it scores under a 5/10, we'll run another full sharpening process and repeat. A final score is given for how long it takes to get back to factory sharp.
Evaluating a knife's cleanability is as simple as running under a fast tap, with an old toothbrush, approximating how easy it would be to get between the handle and into small crevices in the liner or lock mechanism.
Conclusion
Together, these tests reveal clear winners and losers. Our final aggregate scores are built from each metric's scores, weighted by importance per what we feel best summarizes a knife's worth to the consumer.
