This is the first year that they’ve added an EDC Knives category to the annual Ballistic’s Best project, and I was deeply honored to be asked to handle it. We spent an awful long time putting together the list of knives to evaluate. We wanted a range of price points, features, and brands. The end result was a collection of ten knives, some folders and some fixed blades, that are geared toward the EDC knife user.
Ballistic’s Best EDC Knives: Testing Protocols
One of the most difficult parts of this project was determining the testing and evaluation protocols. Reviewing knives is an inherently subjective endeavor. With a handgun or rifle, you can be a bit more objective, particularly with accuracy. It either hits the target where you want it to or it doesn’t. Knife performance is a little more nuanced.
After a lot of thought and discussion, we landed on a series of evaluation categories.
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Aesthetics: How does the knife look? How well is it put together? Is the knife visually appealing?
Ergonomics: How does the knife feel in use? Is it comfortable or awkward? Does it seem to make the job easier or harder?
Sharpness: Is the blade sharp right out of the box, or does it need to be touched up before you can really use it?
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Ease of Carry: These are all EDC knives, so is the knife easy to carry? Is it comfortable throughout the day? How easy is it to deploy when the knife is needed?
Carving: This is where we start to get into the knife’s performance. How well does the knife handle typical carving and whittling? Does the blade geometry allow for fine detail work?
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General Daily Tasks: We’re testing each knife using a few different mediums, including corrugated cardboard, paracord, and nylon webbing. Each material is cut numerous times, with the goal being to see how well the blade cuts and slices.
Food Prep: This is an important use of an EDC knife for many people. We’re cutting up apples and cheese to see if the knife is suitable for quick lunch chores.
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Edge Retention: At no point during the evaluation phase are we honing or sharpening the edge of the knife. We want to see how well the knife retains its edge.
Value: For many, this might be the most important category. Does the knife seem to be worth the price? While this is largely subjective, we’ve been around the knife industry long enough to recognize whether a knife’s MSRP is out of place or not.
Meet The Evaluators
I tapped two fellow knife nuts to assist with the testing. Between the three of us, we have well over 120 years of practical, hands-on experience using knives in a wide range of applications.
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Steven Paul Barlow is a former police officer and firearms instructor, and a lifelong outdoorsman. As a former contract editor, he edited various publications. He was the EDC columnist for well-known publications and his articles have appeared in numerous magazines.
Craig Caudill is the Director of Nature Reliance School, where he teaches tracking, survival, and self-reliance skills to civilians, law enforcement, and military personnel across the United States. He’s the author of Traditional Bushcraft and Essential Wilderness Navigation, a longtime contributor to some publications, and the designer behind the Shemanese Companion Series knives with LT Wright Knives. When he’s not teaching or writing, you’ll find him testing gear in the Kentucky woods or filming lessons for the growing Nature Reliance School online community.
Ballistic’s Best 2025 EDC Knives Contenders
White River Knives Apex
White River Knives has had a long-standing relationship with Smith & Sons Knives. The Apex is a Smith & Sons design manufactured and produced by White River. It has a distinctive shape, with the handle curved in a way that you don’t often see with EDC knives. Given the unique design, this was a knife we were excited to get our hands on.
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The handle’s contours provided a rock-solid grip and the overall design lent itself to outstanding control over the blade. The MagnaCut blade was razor sharp right out of the exceedingly handsome wood display box, and it retained that edge very well throughout the testing process.
The only major slight was that the handle sometimes gets hung up on things as you move about, due to how the knife stands off a bit in the Kydex sheath. However, the belt clip is removable and one could easily drop the knife and sheath into a cargo pants pocket or lash it to a pack strap instead.
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Benchmade Dacian
The Dacian is a dagger-esque fixed blade. It’s slim and trim, with a needle-sharp point. As of this writing, it comes in three different iterations: black micarta, brown canvas micarta, and blue denim micarta. It was this last version that Benchmade provided for our review.
The sheath is a leather over Kydex affair and is simply gorgeous to behold. It really looks amazing next to the blue denim handle scales. The blade needed no touching up prior to being put to use. As nice as the handle is, it’s pretty thin and those with large hands may not find it comfortable for extended use. The edge retention wasn’t quite as good as anticipated.
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Overall, reviews were mixed on the Dacian. This one might be better suited for urban or suburban EDC as opposed to wilderness settings, as it isn’t geared well for bushcraft tasks.
Bark River Knives PSK EDC
The PSK in the name stands for Personal Survival Knife. The original PSK was designed to fit into a small survival kit. This slightly larger EDC version is intended for daily carry and use. At just a bit over six inches overall, it’s well-suited for pocket carry.
Bark River Knives uses a convex grind on their knife blades, resulting in a deceptively sharp edge that holds up well to a lot of real world use. Combine that with MagnaCut steel and you have a knife that’s ready for work. The blade is a bit short for food prep chores, but it’ll do the job in a pinch.
This knife ranked highly with all three reviewers. It’s comfortable to use and easy to carry, two aspects that are critical for a great EDC knife.
Spyderco Shaman Lightweight
The Shaman has long been one of Spyderco’s most popular models. The Lightweight edition has the same powerful look, feel, and performance as the original. It just drops a little weight as well as lightens the price tag a touch.
The pebbled texture on the handle is very much a love it or hate it affair. It’s definitely not going to slip from your hand. However, one of our reviewers noted the texture caused the knife to catch in his pocket upon deployment a few times. The compression lock on the Shaman Lightweight is located on the back of the knife, which can take a little getting used to. The wide blade is capable doing some serious work.
The Shaman Lightweight ranked high on all work tests. We also felt it was a tremendous value for the price, given the quality of the knife.
Buck Knives 791 Range Pro
Buck Knives has long had a reputation as being a working-class brand. For many of us, our first good knife bore the Buck logo. The 791 Range Pro isn’t fancy, but it doesn’t need to be. Barlow said, “You might say it’s one of the Glocks of the knife world. It’s not fancy, but it’s dependable.”
The 791 Range Pro is lightweight at just under three ounces. The 154CM steel blade holds a good edge through standard knife duties. It’s slim enough for impromptu food prep, but thick enough to be reliable for rougher work. However, the handle is a bit thin for extended use if you have larger hands.
The knife is a good value for the price. It’s American made and held its own against other knives that are far more expensive.
MKM Pocket Tango 1
As the knife’s designer David C. Andersen has said, the MKM Pocket Tango was designed to be your everyday dance partner. It’s a handsome knife, more akin to a gentleman’s knife than something you’d see on the farm. But looks are deceiving, as the Pocket Tango punches well above its class.
All three of us really liked the Pocket Tango, and all three of us had issues with the sheath. The knife has a Nessmuk-inspired blade profile. Carving, push cuts, and the like were simple and easy. The canvas micarta handle is comfortable, with just enough real estate for a solid and secure grip.
The sheath is well-made and looks great. But the internal magnet proved troublesome. It didn’t release the knife very easily. There were also concerns about the magnet interfering with a compass if you’re taking the knife out on the trail. The Pocket Tango is enough of a value, though, that getting a third-party sheath may be worth it.
CRKT Bamboozled
There’s some excellent DNA in the Bamboozled. It was designed by Ken “Kenny” Onion, Jr., the son of legendary knife maker Ken Onion. It uses the same Speedsafe assisted opening mechanism that Ken the elder designed. This is the first commercially produced knife designed by Kenny.
The Bamboozled opens lightning-fast, owing to the Speedsafe technology as well as IKBS bearings. The flipper is easy to use without being in the way. Barlow stated, “The skeletonized flipper is not overly pronounced; it protrudes just enough to be easily reached by the index finger.” It carries nicely in the pocket, though it is only set up for right-side carry if you’re using the pocket clip.
With a price tag under $100, this knife is a steal. The D2 steel blade holds a great edge and this knife is built for actual use, not just sitting in a drawer.
Kershaw Knives Launch 21
Kershaw’s Launch series of automatic knives are perennial favorites in the industry. They’re robust, snappy, and ready for action. The Launch 21 is a spinoff from the Launch 16, with a different colorway as well as a drop point rather than tanto blade.
The Launch 21 features Flat Dark Earth aluminum handle scales. Black G10 inserts are textured for traction and grip. As Barlow said, “This knife is absolutely beautiful.” It isn’t just a looker, either. The knife has it where it counts. The CPM M4 blade arrives sharp and stays that way through a ton of use. It snaps open with authority and locks solidly in place.
Caudill said, “This was my favorite and will be my new EDC.” I think all three of us will be carrying the Launch 21 regularly. At just a bit over $200, it isn’t a cheap date. But in this case, you get what you pay for.
Hogue Knives Mysto Manual Folder (Water)
Hogue Knives has a well-earned reputation for excellence. Their designs are top-notch and the execution is typically flawless. Their Mysto series features an elemental theme, and we were provided samples of the Water installment in that series.
The Mysto is a manual folder. Its Blue Canyon Richlite frame is etched in a topographic map theme. This adds visual appeal as well as texturing for a positive grip. The MagnaCut blade has a stone tumbled finish. With an overall length of 7.8 inches, the knife has plenty of reach. The blade is relatively thin, giving it an edge when it comes to more detailed work.
Interestingly, we were sharply divided on this knife. It was one of Barlow’s favorite knives in our test group, while Caudill felt the handle was too thin and seemed insecure in his grip.
Spartan Blades Talos II “Starburst”
Designed by renowned knife maker William W. Harsey Jr. and produced by Spartan Blades, the Talos II has a lot going for it. It’s billed as being a “precision EDC knife” as well as a statement piece.
The Talos II is a short knife, just a bit more than three inches when closed. That makes it easy to carry. Barlow said, “With all of these knives laid out on a table, this is the one I chose most often when I had to grab and go. It was just so handy to drop in a pocket.” However, the short and thin handle also led to some discomfort and control issues when putting the knife through hard work.
We all agreed that the price point was a little high for the Talos II, even though it’s a Harsey-designed knife and made with good materials. It’s not a bad knife, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark.
And The Winner is…
The overall winner in the 2025 EDC Knives category was the Launch 21 from Kershaw Knives. It scored 43.01 out of a total possible 45 points. Second place with a 41 score was the Spyderco Shaman Lightweight.
Specifications
Ballistic’s Best 2025 EDC Knives Scoring
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