Gary Portman 
Outdoor stores push big survival blades with serrated spines, yet experienced long-distance hikers usually carry something tiny: a small folder, a Swiss Army knife on a cord, sometimes just a razor blade in the first aid kit. On trail a … Read more
The best everyday carry knife is the one you still have on you at 4 pm, and for most people that means small and light. My pick is the Spyderco Dragonfly 2: a blade a little over two inches long, … Read more
Most pocket knives that “won’t close” aren’t broken at all: the lock is doing its job, and it has to be released before the blade will fold. Push the liner or frame bar sideways, press the bar on the spine, … Read more
If you want one name to trust for a kitchen knife, buy WÜSTHOF. It’s the maker I’d recommend to the most people, and its WÜSTHOF Classic 8″ Chef’s Knife is the knife that shows why: forged in Solingen, tough enough … Read more
Knife sets are sold by piece count, and the bigger the number on the box, the better the deal looks. Count what’s actually in a 20-piece block, though: one chef’s knife, one bread knife, one paring knife, a utility knife … Read more
A budget flipper used to mean a gritty pivot, a wobbly blade and a tab that needed a hard flick of the wrist. Ball bearing pivots, D2 steel and properly tuned locks have since trickled down, and the best cheap … Read more
Buy the Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8″. It’s light, sharp and grippy, it’s the knife a lot of professional cooks learned on, and it’s cheap enough that you’ll use it hard instead of babying it. Spending more on a chef’s knife … Read more
Most people trim a brisket or a pork loin with whatever knife is in the block, usually a chef’s knife. It works, sort of. The blade is too tall to follow the curve of a fat seam, so it either … Read more
Bushcraft has a reputation for expensive gear, but the jobs a bushcraft knife does are simple: carving pegs and pot hangers, shaving feather sticks, splitting small wood and striking a fire steel. That takes a sharp, sturdy edge you can … Read more
Most “OTF knives under $100” sold online are one of two things: an unbranded import whose spring gives up after a few months, or a clone of a famous Microtech or Benchmade design sold under a made-up name. Real out-the-front … Read more