Which Pocket Knife Brand Wins?

lightest knife tested

heaviest yet at that point in testing

by far the heaviest of all knives tested

nearly as heavy as the Buck

(lower = sharper on the sharpness tester scale)

described as not very sharp

only slightly sharper than the Opinel

moves into second place behind Smith and Wesson

did fairly well but not nearly as sharp as some other brands

performed about the same as CJRB

by far the sharpest yet, very impressive

third sharpest knife yet

moved into second position behind the SOG

even sharper than the Spyderco Tenacious

performed very well but not quite as sharp as some other brands

nearly as sharp as the Kershaw

took the lead from the SOG, very impressive

isn't very sharp compared to most of the other brands

performed very well but not nearly sharp enough to move into the lead

(about 3 lb) - this figure appears immediately before Ka-Bar is explicitly named as the next knife tested; it likely belongs to Smith and Wesson (first in testing order) but Opinel's own release-pressure result is never stated, so this number could instead belong to Opinel. See videoNotes.

not clearly stated in the transcript; see videoNotes on ambiguity with Smith and Wesson's figure

(about 4.5 lb)

moves into the lead, about 200 g less pressure than Smith and Wesson

nearly as well as the Ontario

moves into the lead

required the most pressure yet, about 180 g more than the Ka-Bar

about 82 g short of matching the CRKT

pretty stiff, about 400 to 500 g more than the other liner-lock knives

lockback refused to release and overloaded the original scale; retested on a different, larger scale at right at 13 lb

performed the best yet at that point, very impressive

also needed the larger scale like the Buck; took 12 lb

about 350 g more than the Kershaw

moves into the lead over the Kershaw, very impressive

required the least amount of pressure of all knives, very impressive, came out on top

described as very stiff

slightly better than Smith and Wesson

takes even more pressure than Smith and Wesson

very smooth

moves into the lead over the Ontario

very smooth but CJRB holds the lead

very smooth at midpoint but a little stiffer near fully open

nearly as easy to open as the CJRB

takes more effort than a lot of the other knives

extremely stiff, by far the most pressure to open of all the knives

performed better than average

large heavy knife but performed fairly well

takes a little less effort to open than the less expensive Spyderco Tenacious

ball bearing opening, extremely smooth, moves into the lead (best of all knives tested)

very smooth but not quite as smooth as the Zero Tolerance

started at 165, cut at 260 after 100 passes on ironwood with 5 lb weight; held up really well

started at 280 (relatively dull), cut at 370 after ironwood test; needed sharpening

started nearly as dull as the Opinel (~275), cut at 325; held an edge much better than Opinel

started at 185, cut at 270; almost as sharp as Smith and Wesson at that point

started fairly dull at 215, cut at 225; the dull start helped it hold up

started off pretty dull at 230, cut at 250; held up really well

started extremely sharp at 125, still very sharp at 200 after ironwood; the best result yet at that point

started pretty sharp at 180, dulled to 245 after ironwood

started pretty sharp at 150, cut at 225 after ironwood; performed fairly well

started even sharper than the Spyderco Tenacious at 145, cut at 220; held an edge just as well

started at 175, cut at 265; performed fairly well

started at 185, cut at 205; delivered excellent blade edge retention

started off a little too sharp at 120, which hurt it; cut at 265

started at 240, cut at 290

started off very sharp at 170, lost quite a bit of sharpness, cut at 290

(from a new/factory 165), even sharper than new

(from a new/factory 280), sharper than new

(from a new/factory 275), a lot sharper now

(from a new/factory 185), just as sharp as Smith and Wesson

(from a new/factory 215), the sharpest knife yet at that point

(from a new/factory 230, relatively dull when new)

(from a new/factory 125)

(from a new/factory 180), a two-way tie with CJRB for sharpest at that point

(from a new/factory 150)

(from a new/factory 145), sharper than new

(from a new/factory 175), sharper than new

(from a new/factory 185)

(from a new/factory 120), just as sharp as when new, no change

(from a new/factory 240), extremely sharp now

(from a new/factory 170), a three-way tie for sharpest with CJRB and Civivi

started at 125 post-sharpening, dulled to 230 after 30 hedge apple passes; struggled

started at 145 post-sharpening, cut at 215; performed slightly better than Smith and Wesson

started at 145 post-sharpening, cut at 200; performed slightly better than both Smith and Wesson and Opinel

started at 125 post-sharpening, cut at 240; not enough to take the lead

started at 115 post-sharpening, cut at 190; moves into the lead

started at 120 post-sharpening, cut at 225; moves into third position behind the Opinel

started at 120 post-sharpening, cut at 160; performed by far the best yet

started at 115 post-sharpening, cut at 230; about the same as CRKT

started at 120 post-sharpening, cut at 150; did a great job holding an edge, moves into the lead

started very sharp at 120 post-sharpening, cut at 145; tied with Spyderco Para 3 and Kershaw for best edge retention

started at 120 post-sharpening, cut at 145; did a great job holding an edge, tied with Buck and Spyderco Para 3

started at 125 post-sharpening, cut at 160; held up really well

started at 120 post-sharpening, cut at 145; three-way tie for first place with Kershaw and Buck

started at 120 post-sharpening, cut at 150; performed nearly as well as the Spyderco Para 3

started at 115 post-sharpening, cut at 165; very sharp but 20 points behind the leaders

no visible damage from the 48 inch drop onto mild steel; rated among the best (rating of one)

tip visibly broke off from the impact; quite a bit of damage

small bend to the blade tip, held up a little better than Opinel

really bad bend to the blade tip, about as much damage as Opinel

small bend, about the same damage as the Ka-Bar

quite a bit of damage, pretty bad bend, worse than CJRB

no visible damage, held up extremely well

pretty significant amount of damage to the blade tip

no visible damage, held up just fine (robust blade)

quite a bit of damage; narrator attributes this to the knife's heavy weight

pretty bad bend at the blade tip; narrator notes it is relatively heavy

extremely small chip to the tip, held up just fine

held up really well, looks nearly as good as new, no visible damage

very small chip to the tip; narrator notes it is a very light knife

very little visible damage, handled the impact very well; narrator notes it is a lightweight knife