Only Knives

Designed by Doug Ritter of "Equipped to Survive," the Adventure Medical Kits Pocket Survival Pak earned positive reviews from survival instructor Cody Lundin and many other back-country professionals. Toss it in the day pack, the backpack, or the pocket to make sure you've always got something useful on hand.

The basic ...

Multi-purpose gear for hikers, backpackers, and other outdoorsmen gets better every year. If you make the Buck 731 X-Tract LED Multi-Tool part of your kit, there's at least one extra thing you can leave home, and possibly more. This 6.4-ounce toolkit lightens your load.

This compact multi-tool offers several useful ...

Leatherman's back with an even stronger version of the original Leatherman Super Tool. The Super Tool 300 Multi-tool offers the strongest pair of multi-tool pliers Leatherman makes, plus several important basic improvements. The company has enough confidence in this model to guarantee it for 25 years.

The heart of any ...

Possibly many of today's backwoodsmen are a little embarrassed to carry a tomahawk, but I wouldn't think of leaving mine at home. In camp, I'm always looking for an excuse to use it. This very affordable Trail Hawk from Cold Steel weighs a little more than my ...

The Case Pen Knife was once the favorite of statesmen and shopkeepers as well as anyone else who dealt with the written word. Although "pen knife" has become synonymous with "pocket knife," this particular model was built with a special purpose in mind.

The Case Pen Knife with yellow ...

Open the Cold Steel Spartan and you'll probably say, "Wow! That's a big knife!" All the details of this pocket clip folder inspired by the Kopis sword of ancient Greece actually work well. Like it's ancestor, the Spartan is made for cutting meat.

In today's world, the Spartan is well ...

The Cold Steel Point Guard neck knife looks like it could even be practical for more than a last ditch threat. With serviceable G-10 handle scales and a minimal grip that works well, this is more than the knife you hope you'll never use.

Weighing just 2.8 ounces, counting ...

When Ginsu entered the outdoor knife market in 2008, the company put its best foot forward. The Ginsu Damascus Clip Point Folding Knife introduces high-end Japanese cutlery steel to the folding hunter design. It's a bold move you may really like.

The kitchen cutlery ancestry of the Ginsu Clip Point Knife ...

Unless you're accustomed to struggling with the wrong size of knife for the fish you happened to catch, you may wish you had the money or the space to carry a full set of fillet knives with you. Kershaw makes fixed blade fillet knives from six inches blade length to ...

Many freshwater fishermen will find this 7-inch Fillet Knife from Kershaw to be all the knife they need. Take good care of it, and you'll have money left for other important gear.

At 12 inches in overall length, this is about as much knife as you'll want to ...

The Kershaw Fillet Knife with 9-inch blade offers functional quality and a price appropriate to a knife which usually gets the worst treatment possible. A little maintenance keeps it in good shape.

This version of the Kershaw fillet knife is 14-1/4 inches long with enough flexible, slender fillet blade to ...

Manufactured by Petzl of Monaco, France, this colorful knife intends to meet the needs of alpine climbers. Light in weight and easily opened, the Petzl SPATHA will be most popular with people impressed by the name.

With high carbon stainless steel blades and polycarbonate handles, the SPATHA offers few ...

Gerber's Back Paxe offers backpackers a versatile camp tool small enough to carry conveniently into the deep woods. While it doesn't provide full-sized power, for some uses the Paxe outperforms a survival knife of equal weight.

If you build things when you go to the woods -- like primitive shelters ...

Years ago, any hunter looking for a good field knife expected something this good. Today, the Cold Steel Search and Rescue Knife passes all the old tests and a couple more. Standard issue for Navy Seals undergoing underwater demolitions training, the Cold Steel SRK fits in just as well ...

The 30-30 Folding Hunter from Columbia River Knife and Tool was designed by former Alaskan hunting guide Russ Kommer. The knife's build eliminates unsanitary gaps and shields important working parts from the mess that's an unavoidable part of field dressing game.

The 30-30 also looks great with a hollow ground ...

This personal tactical folder designed for Boker Plus by martial arts instructor Jim Wagner may be just what you need if you carry a knife for urban emergencies like cutting yourself out of a safety harness or smashing an occasional car window. Although the Reality-Based Plain Blade serves ...

The ideas behind this unusual and very practical urban tool resemble a knife design from Becker Knife & Tool, now a part of Ka-Bar. The Boker Plus Cop Tool uses concepts similar to a tactical tool Becker designed for police SWAT teams. It's more tool than knife and makes ...

Knife maker Kit Carson created his series of M16 Knives with custom-built machined titanium handles. The Columbia River Knife and Tool M16-14T Big Dog Tanto now brings that superior quality to CRKT's production versions.

Ounce for ounce, the 6AL4V titanium in the Big Dog's machined handle is stronger and ...

If you think this camp axe from Snow and Nealley looks a lot like a tomahawk, you're right. The Hudson Bay axe pattern was hot stuff as trade goods throughout the Great Lakes during the days of the Fur Trade, and versions of this versatile pattern ...

Ceramic blades get better every year, and although owners still need to relearn a few basics of use, knives like the Boker Plus Anti-MC could make you happy simply because they're razor-sharp and stay that way.

The Boker Plus Anti-MC combines two modern materials to create this elegant pocket ...

Made for cleaning larger fish, the Berkley Breaking Knife includes an advanced blade coating to extend blade life.

The ten-inch Breaking Knife is intended for butchering and is most useful for the largest dividing cuts. The high carbon 5CR13MV stainless steel blade flexes but is firm enough for straight ...

The Gerber 45905 Camp Axe is a good size for canoeists and hunters able to carry larger gear on their backwoods journeys. Although it's nearly indestructible, the wrap-around handle style does limit the cut compared to traditional builds.

That's really the only drawback to this axe's nearly one-piece construction. ...

In May 2010, Blade Magazine listed Benchmade's 585 Mini-Barrage among the most popular knife choices for women. This Warren Osborne design is for women or men who want the functionality of the full-sized Barrage in a small package.

You don't lose much when you choose the Mini-Barrage. This knife's blade features ...

The two-bladed trapper pocketknife has been a common pattern for many American knife companies for generations. Bear and Son -- in business since 2003 -- aims to make the same thing, but better.

Compare the Bear and Son slip joint Trapper to other versions and you'll notice one big ...

Knife maker Kit Carson designed CRKT's M21-14DSFG Desert Big Dog for Special Forces use in desert warfare. A blade coating of titanium nitride and handle scales of G-10 give the knife its desert brown hue. Beneath the sand-brown exterior, the knife is all metal with frame and liners ...

Until now, I hadn't seen a Swiss Army Knife with a laser pointer, but the Signature Laser neatly solves the classic problem of pointing things out. You'll no longer have to explain where something is -- just paint it with the laser beam. This would have been extremely handy ...

The India Stag Bone Slimline Hunter from Bear and Son Cutlery of Jacksonville, Alabama, will be a useful companion anywhere you'd need a rugged light hunting knife. The knife lives up to its name, with a blade well-designed for field dressing small game.

The trailing point style of ...

Designed by Liong Mah for the I.D. Products division of Columbia River Knife and Tool, the Eat'N Tool gives hikers and sportsmen a simple pocket multi-tool and mess kit in a stout 1.5-ounce package.

The Eat'N Tool is just a little too pointy for the pocket but comes with a ...

One of the oldest pocket knife styles, the Barlow came to America during the 1600s and was a common tool on the American frontier. This new version of the Barlow, released by W.R. Case in August 2010, brings a new steel to a knife that's a part of American ...

Since 2006, W.R. Case has offered a select few types of knives with special high carbon Damascus steel instead of the high carbon stainless steel in common use today. The Case 6092 Whittler Pocket Knife released in August of 2010 is one of the latest examples.

The Damascus steel used in ...

Released in August 2010, the Case 6098 Canoe Pocket Knife adds the beauty of modern Damascus steel to a well-known W.R. Case & Sons design. Owners now have a chance to return to the good old days of high carbon steel that really holds an edge.

Only 3-7/8 inches long ...

The Case 6093 Tiny Trapper condenses all the good qualities of a versatile outdoorsman's pocket knife into a package small enough for inconspicuous daily carrying. Damascus steel and the strength of one of W.R. Case's best knife designs make even the Tiny Trapper good enough to trust.

At just 2-3/8 ...

One of my favorite Case pocket knives, the Trapper seems just right for the pocket and the hand with a simple shape that fits the palm securely and two practical blades perfect for every situation. Ron Yellowhorse adds Navajo workmanship and symbolism to these Case Trappers, but includes a few with ...

Produced in limited quantities from one to 500, the Yellowhorse Whittler knives from W.R. Case depend upon traditional Navajo craftsmanship as well as proven Case pocket knife design.

The Half-Whittler knives created by Ron Yellowhorse offer the most striking patterns, using such rare materials as slabs cut from fossil mammoth teeth to ...

Everything's a little different about the Yellowhorse series of Case collectible knives, but there's enough familiar Case styling in them that you'll find them comfortable instead of just artistic. Using the Case Saddlehorn knife as a basic pattern, David Yellowhorse created many one-of-a-kind knives as well as several limited edition runs.

Each knife ...

On the fringe between total custom work and very limited edition runs, these knives are truly one-of-a-kind but belong to a small family of specially created artworks. If you've seen every knife Case ever made, look again.

The Case Yellowhorse knives with Damascus steel blades use familiar Case knife types as ...

Case's 25th Limited Edition series starts off with a classic favorite, the Texas Toothpick. This time the knife displays unusual crimson jigged bone handle slabs and fancy Limited Edition etching on the blade, but you'll also find the familiar styling and practical features expected of this well-tested design.

The long taper ...

Part of a limited edition of only 500 knives, the commemorative Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gift set from W.R. Case includes a stylized Case Trapper knife and an enameled Zippo lighter from the company which now owns W.R. Case. This collectible gift set will look great on display, but the knife ...

The Hobo Gift Set from W.R. Case fits in anywhere and actually does offer survival basics as well as practical camp cutlery. Experts get by with a knife and a firestarter -- Case throws in fork and spoon plus a handy belt pouch.

This 4-1/8-inch-long pocket folder with jigged amber ...

Leatherman offers two of their best tools in this combination set. The Core Multi-tool still ranks as the most rugged Leatherman Multi-tool made, and the lightweight Crater C33LX pocket clip folding knife offers two one-handed opening options.

The Leatherman Core weighs 10.8 ounces but that extra weight means more strength and ...

Combining quality with lost cost, Cold Steel's Pendleton Lite Hunter counters the idea that to get the best, you pay more. Cold Steel's budget fixed blade hunting knife won the 2010 "Best of the Best" Hunting Knife award from Field & Stream magazine.

Designed by custom knife maker Lloyd ...

Here's a throwing knife that doesn't skimp on quality. Cold Steel's Perfect Balance Thrower has enough weight for a satisfying hit and construction tough enough to withstand the battering any throwing knife takes.

One thing you don't want to do with most knives, whether they're fixed blades or folders, is use ...

Even though it looks too simple, the round eye of this very basic frontier axe makes it one of the best choices in camp axes. Unless you insist on driving tent stakes with the hammer poll of a tomahawk there's seldom need for more than a good chopping edge.

In many ...

The Cold Steel Spike Tomahawk brings back an old frontier style that was more fighting tomahawk than camp axe. The spiked poll of the axe is obviously dangerous, so if you're going to use this one in the woods, be careful. The backswing gets a little hazardous.

In fact, even ...

The six-inch blade of the Rajah II serves either as a camp knife or a brush chopping bush knife with enough weight and size for effective work. Built in the style of the famous Gurkha kukri, this design by Andrew Demko adds modern materials and Cold Steel's high-tech ...

The favorite field and military knife of Nepal's Gurkha regiments inspired the Rajah III from Cold Steel. Recreating the broad and heavy blade of a kukri knife in a folding clip knife style is right in line with Cold Steel's philosophy.

The Rajah III is the smallest of the gurkha ...

Wenger used important features of the Alinghi yachtsman's knife in this large folder designed for the modern woodsman. Advanced ergonomic body details include rubberized inserts for better grip and comfort. It's a great design if you expect to use a knife for hours instead of minutes.

The non-slip grip of the ...

Wenger's Evolution Lock Swiss Army Knife improves the simpler flat-sided Swiss multi-function pocket folders by adding ergonomically correct contours to the knife's body. The result is more comfort and more security with a non-slip shape scientifically designed to fit the hand.

Three of the knife's blades, including the 2.5-inch ...

The Wenger Micro Tool Chest Watchmaker's Knife could also find a place in the pocket of any technician who works with precision parts. Although the tool set is designed specifically for work on watches, the scale of the tools could fit the world of micro-electronics as well.

If you collect unusual knives, ...

Eight multi-purpose blades give the Alinghi Yachtsman a total of 17 functions. This sensible assortment of strong tools makes the Alinghi an excellent multi-tool for anyone who works with rope, rigging and machinery.

Wenger designed the Alinghi for use on yachts, but any outdoorsman would find this knife handy. The mechanics tools ...