How to choose an EDC-folding knife

Folding knives belong to the knives of constant carrying and the widest range of purposes. They should always be with the person, be used in everyday life, on vacation, on a hike, in extreme situations. In terms of the breadth of its application, it is the folding knife that is closest to the original, primitive version of the knife with which homo sapiens traveled around the world for thousands of years of their history.

How to choose a folding knife, what to focus on when choosing? The key qualities of a folding knife are: ergonomics (weight, size, ease of carrying, ease of grip, ease of opening, blade geometry), blade steel, handle material, lock, as well as secondary qualities: the presence of a bearing in the axial node, the presence of glass breaker, etc.

1. Ergonomics of the knife

The most important criterion for a folding EDC-knife (a knife for everyday use) is ergonomics, that is, the simplicity and convenience of its use. If the knife is made of premium, expensive materials, by a prestigious manufacturer, but it is uncomfortable to carry, does not fit well in the hand, is too heavy, difficult to open, etc., it will not be used by the owner in a permanent mode. People will intuitively put it to the side, preferring the more comfortable models. Ergonomics includes:

1) Dimensions

Folding knives are divided into small ones, with a blade size of up to 30-60 mm; medium with a blade length of 70-100 mm and large with a blade exceeding 100 mm. The best natural choice will be knives with average blade size. Smaller copies will not allow you to perform many necessary household works, and too large knives will hardly fit in your pocket, are not convenient to carry, and weigh a lot. The size is felt by a person intuitively and the most popular models of folding knives are knives with a blade of 80 mm.

2) Weight

The optimal weight for a folding knife for urban every day carrying is about 80-120 grams. Such a knife is not felt in the pocket, you almost forget about it and do not feel discomfort.

3) Comfortable to carry

The most important condition for a knife of daily carrying, is a convenient and reliable clip. Standard clips are divided into two types: high and immersion. Immersion clips allow you to completely "drown" the knife in your pocket, completely hiding it from prying eyes. The high-fit clip allows you to remove the knife as quickly as possible.

4) Ease of use

The convenience of using a knife is a very subjective concept, it depends on the size of the palm of a person, on his physiology, the intensity of work with a knife, etc. The most important factor here will be the "grippness" of the handle, it is important that it does not rub the hand, does not tire, and does not cause discomfort when used. This also includes the convenience of opening a folding knife. As an opener can be used: a button; a hole in the blade; the sleeve wrapped around the blade ("prong"); the round puck, wrapped around the blade from the spine ("tablet"); special lug on the underside of the blade ("flipper"), and cut under the nail, which was the most common on folding knives of the last century. Of all the options, the push-button opening and flipper are the fastest.

5) The geometry of the blade

The geometry of the blade directly affects such characteristics as the quality of the cut, that is, the ease of entry of the blade into the cut material, ease of cutting, etc. The best geometries for everyday use are considered: a triple wedge (straight bevels from the spine and simultaneously reducing the thickness of the blade to the tip) and a concave edge.

 2. Steel

Steel is one of the most important elements of a knife. It is steel that allows the knife to work effectively and the quality of the knife as a whole largely depends on its quality. First of all, it should be noted that the steel must certainly be stainless, carbon steels (including Damascus) require maintenance, and cannot be serviced properly on a folding knife. As for the choice of steel grade, it is necessary to take into account that most EDC-knives are not used for long-term intensive work and do not require ultra-high hardness. In most cases, rolled steel with a hardness of 58-59 HRC for these knives will be enough. Among the good steels for such knives can be called Bohler N695, VG-10, D-2. Powder steels have better characteristics of wear resistance and sharpness retention, but they significantly increase the cost of the knife. At the same time, the difference between the "old" powders: S30V and S35VN, which have been used for about 30 years, and the newest powder high-speed steels in domestic use is not significantly noticeable. This is because manufacturers of standard, serial folding knives usually do not raise the hardness of steel above 60 HRC. High hardness and maximum quality show steel on the so-called "limited series" (Sprint Run), which are produced in limited quantities and have a higher cost.

3. Handle material

On the handles of folding knives, several basic materials are most often used: titanium, aircraft aluminum 6061-T6, micarta, G-10, rhinoplastic elastron, hardwood. It is not possible to recommend a specific handle material. In this case, everything is determined by individual preferences. All materials have their drawbacks: completely metal handles will cool the hand in winter, wooden ones can crack over time, the mikarta can break and delaminate along with the chip, etc.

 4. Lock

Modern folding knife locks offer a large selection. The Frame lock is considered the most durable, reliable, and popular, it can be both steel and titanium. At the same time, the titanium frame lock must necessarily have a so-called steel "cracker", made of very hard steel, which will resist the rapid abrasion of titanium. The Axis Lock easy to use and aesthetically beautiful. However, the spring contained in it can be corroded and burst. The Liner Lock is very convenient to use, but often does not withstand high loads and intensive work with a knife and relatively quickly becomes unusable. In addition to the popular locks, there are less popular systems of fixing the blade, but knives with such locks are quite rare and expensive. 

 5. Secondary qualities

The secondary qualities of a folding knife include the presence of a bearing (including ceramic) in the axial node, glass breaker, and a lanyard hole. All these elements can facilitate the use of a knife, add comfort, but they are not of fundamental importance when choosing a knife. If you intend to use the knife in an extreme situation, you will need a hardened, aggressive glass breaker on the handle. If you need to open the knife quickly and smoothly, you will need a bearing, preferably ceramic. For easy removal of the knife from the pocket, some users use a braided lanyard.

All the listed criteria for choosing a folding knife for daily wear are subjective, and we suggest that you discuss them in the comments to this article.