From the days of the earliest humans up to today, there have been plenty of weapons and tools that have been made, but one stood out above them all: the knife. Since the first knife was invented up to the present, there have been different kinds of knives. By the end of this article, I hope I have persuaded you to use this method of finding the best tactical folding knives.

What is a Tactical Pocket Knife?

For those of you who don’t know what a tactical pocket knife is, it’s a simple tool that has a lot of purposes. It can be used as a weapon, as a tool or as an eating utensil. Generally, a pocket knife is a blade that folds or slides into the handle. It’s normally four to five inches long and can fit into an average pocket. One of the major characteristics of a tactical folding knife is being able to fold it. Folding makes the knife’s length half the size and more portable.

There is a wide variety of pocket knives. The hard question when choosing a folding tactical knife is which is the best one for your needs. There are plenty of companies that claim to have the best knife. To simplify your decision, there are two questions that you need to ask yourself: one, why do you want a tactical pocket knife and two, what characteristics do you want in a knife?

What Is The Purpose Of Your Knife?

There are plenty of people that have or want a knife, but they don’t know why. You first need to think about why you want a tactical knife. Do you need it to defend yourself, do you need it to cut things open or do you just like to collect them?

No matter what your reason, you need to make a decision because each knife fits a different purpose. Obviously, there are all sorts of knives with exotic-shaped blades and handles, but those may be the ones for people who like to collect them.

A knife that is better for self-defense is not always exotic. In fact, most are simple in appearance. The most common tactical folding knife has two features: one, a spring-assisted opening system and two, a locking system. When used for fighting, the handle needs to be shaped for a strong grip and for maximum damage.The blades texture needs to be a combination of smooth and jagged. 

Consider the Most Important Part is Blade Steel

Naturally, the knife’s blade should be made of steel, but what kind of steel depends on what kind of job is required of the knife, as well as the environment that it will be performing in and even the willingness/ability of the user to maintain the blade between uses.

Cutting edges that have a high carbon alloy is generally more grounded and harder than their low-carbon partners and are frequently simpler to hone, yet they do have some huge downsides: their toughness means that they are more brittle, meaning that there is an increased possibility of breaking and chipping of the blade if it is used as a prying tool.

What's more, high carbon steel is essentially more disintegration inclined, implying that it requires more upkeep, for example, oiling and that conditions with numerous destructive components, for example, on a ship adrift with ocean shower and salt, will rapidly corrosion the blade. However, while high carbon blades may have some drawbacks, they excel in most other areas and are a solid choice for a survival/combat knife.

Stainless steel blades are harder and more resistant to corrosion than the other but everything is taken into consideration when making a blade. Whenever utilized for prying, the sharp edge may twist rather than break, which is altogether simpler to fix in the field.

Consider the Blade Edge

There are three major kinds of blade edges, smooth, serrated and combined. A serrated edge makes it easier to push cut into soft or flexible things.

Smooth Edge: A smooth edge makes it easier for a starting point to cut into things. Serrated or saw teeth edges are preferable for taught things like wood or brunches or bone.

Full Serrated Edge: Full serrated edge has so limited use. So only buy this type of knife while you need it for any special purpose.

Partially Serrated Edge: Some knives have a combination of both. These types of blades are highly recommended for best tactical folding knife. Because it can be used for push butting and saw cutting as well as you can use it for multipurpose chores.

Consider the Perfect Tip for the Blade

The shape of your blade will determine how well it cuts, making it an extremely important aspect to consider. Here I will describe top 3 blade tips those are perfect for folding tactical knife.

Clip Point: This type of blade tip is thin and flat. The back edge of this type of blade is sharpened and versatile. For an EDC user who wants a balanced blade, the clip point blade should be considered, as can be used for puncturing very well with good control.

Drop Point: The point of this type of blade is ideal for hunting, slicing or skinning comparing to the clip point knife. However, it’s much stronger due to its design, making it easy to skin animals with, as well as adds great control.

Tanto Point: This type of blade tip is designed as a great stabbing tool. The top of the blade creates a diagonal shape that meets at the spine, creating a very tough sharp point when compared to other blade styles. Tanto tip blade is better for tactical purpose comparing to the clip or drop point. The downside, however, is that this type of blade is not good for slicing.

What Would Be The Perfect Blade For Your Knife?

You can choose a single edge or double edge knife. The difference between the single edge and the double edge is that the single edge has one sharp side whereas the double edge has two.

One of the deadliest blades is the double-edge. This kind of blade makes it easier to attack, whereas a single edge must be flipped around to attack. This technique wastes precious seconds.

The single edge is a much easier knife for beginners to work with and they are less likely to injure themselves.

Another kind of blade is curved, shaped like a bear claw. The curved blade is quite interesting. When slashing at an opponent you are more likely to hit him because the curve gives a few inches of extra reach when fighting.

No matter what the shape of the blade, it always needs a sharp edge. Without the edge, you just have a fancy piece of metal.

What Would Be The Perfect Handle For Your Tactical Pocket Knife?

The only thing that is as important as the blade is the handle. Once you have decided that you want a pocket knife and how you will use it, you need to know what you want it to look like.

Starting with the handle, there is a great diversity. Most pocket knife handles are made from textured plastic. This is to reduce the weight of the knife and to shield the blade from the water. Some have one or two holes that you can put your fingers through, but many don’t.

When choosing a knife, having finger grooves and grip pattern in it makes it easier to hold. Rubbers, Micarta, G10, Molded Plastic are best for tactical pocket knife handle.

Another kind of handle is quite ordinary. It has a simple clip which is meant to clip to the waistband of your pants or the edge of a pocket. In fact, the clip gives you easy and quick access wherever you go. In some cases, pocket knives have a strong string woven in the side of the handle that can be used in surviving in the wild and that also makes for a comfortable grip.

What Colors Would You Choose?

Now that we have gone over the handle and the blade, we need to choose a color. If your preference for color, for example, is red or pink, find a knife that has those colors. But, if you’re often in a situation in which you need to defend yourself, red or pink may not be the best colors.

The best colors in those situations are dark gray or black. These colors are harder to see and make the knife easier to conceal. Combine the dark colors with some fast stabbing motions and your opponents will never see what hit them.

How Safe Is Your Tactical Folding Knife?

Before choosing a tactical pocket knife, you first need to know about safety. When picking a pocket knife, you need to ask yourself is this knife safe to use? Safety is the most important thing when it comes to any weapon or tool.

There are plenty of people who think a company would not market a product that isn’t safe. Unfortunately, some companies will do just that. Also, companies don’t know what you are going to use the knife for. Depending on what knives they distribute, they can guess what it is going to be used for, but ultimately it is up to the user.

So to make sure a knife is safe to use, you need to look for two things: one, a blade locking system and two, handle grip. A blade locking system prevents your hand from sliding down to the blade and keeps it safe in your pocket. It has no other purpose. Lock-Back, Frame-Lock, and Liner-Lock are the best mechanisms in modern time.

The ergonomic handle is to help your grip, but it has one other purpose and that is the same as the blade guard. The one that is safer is the hole for your fingers because that way the knife can't be taken away as easily.

Consider the Toughness of Your Knife?

The thing about pocket knives that people often don’t consider is durability. No matter how cool-looking a knife is, you have to ask if it is durable enough for your use. If you’re just collecting knives, then durability is not important because many knife collectors will never use their knives. But if you are a person that uses knives regularly, durability means a lot.

When cutting tough things open, you don’t want a knife that falls apart after a light stab or slash. A durable knife can be hard to find and can be expensive, but it is worth it.

Maintained and Routine Check-Ups on Your Knife

After purchasing a top quality knife you need to be able to take care of your pocket knife. Many people don’t think about maintenance when they have a knife. Once a month, you should sharpen your knife and make sure there are no rust spots on the blade.

If your knife has any screws, tighten them so your knife does not fall apart. If you have a string around the handle, judge the condition it is in. If it is about to fall apart, then replace it. Make sure there are no cracks in the handle.

After a while, you may see some blemishes in your knife but that is to be expected. If you keep it clean and perform routine check-ups on your knife, it will last a long time.

Conclusion

Humans rely on knives for many reasons (for defense, for dining, and as tools) and they always will rely on knives. And knives are like another early invention, the wheel. Both can be molded in different ways but for a wheel to work it must always be round and for a knife to work it must always have an edge and a handle. In the end, there will never be a knife that fits everyone’s needs because everyone’s needs are different.

Finally, knives are beautiful, and they are a great way for people to express themselves. People can add stickers or add some spikes or give it a crazy paint job.

The best thing about knives is there are many appearances a knife can take on from a curved blade, fancy handle, and an exotic color to a single edge, plain handle and a simple color like black. No matter the customization, there’s a knife for everyone. This method of finding the best tactical folding knife is a great way of narrowing down the choices.