What is a pocket knife?

A pocket knife is simply a knife with a blade that folds out or “opens” from the handle, where it is housed when not in use. The idea being that it will easily fit in the pocket for everyday carry. Generally, a pocket knife is either assisted opening or manual opening.

What is an assisted opening knife?

These knives are opened by the user employing either the “flipper”, which is a lever on the back spine of the knife or a “thumb stud”, which is a small stud on the blade. This action starts the deployment of the blade and a mechanism like a spring or ball-bearing finishes opening the blade and then it locks into place.

What is a trapper pocket knife?

This is a style of manual opening pocket knife that has two blades, which fold out from the handle. Traditionally, there is a spey blade and a clip blade, each having a nail nick so that they can be deployed with just an upward pull on the blade.

What is an OTF knife?

When you see a knife listed as an OTF, it stands for “out-the-front” and means that it is a knife with a blade that extends straight from the handle. An OTF pocket knife can be opened with a manual slide, with assisted opening, with an automatic mechanism or by using gravity.

How do I choose a pocket knife?

A good, quality folding pocket knife should be a tool that you can take for granted because it will be able to perform whenever and wherever you need it. Choose one that will perform the specific tasks that come up for you in your everyday life. For example, if you’re in emergency services, a rescue knife with an integrated seatbelt cutter and glass breaker would be perfect for you.

Pocket Knives - Automatic Knives, Assisted Opening, Butterfly Knives, Pocket Razors, Tactical Knives

351 Results

Full image of the Goldwing Butterfly Knife open and closed.

Angled image of the Butterfly Knife closed.

Goldwing 9" Butterfly Knife

$29.99

Kissing Crane Black Angus Pocket Farmer Folding Pocket Knife

Kissing Crane Black Angus Pocket Farmer Folding Pocket Knife

~~Price reduced from $24.99 to~~ $15.98 Save 36%

The Benchmade Casbah Automatic Knife has a push button to deploy the blade

The automatic knife has a CPM-S30V steel drop point blade with a black finish

The handle is black, textured Grivory and features a pocket clip

Benchmade Casbah Automatic Knife

$209.99

Kissing Crane Pocket Farmer Knife - Stainless Steel Blade, Synthetic Handle, Brass Liners

Kissing Crane Black Pocket Farmer Knife - Stainless Steel Blade, Synthetic Handle, Brass Liners

Kissing Crane Pocket Farmer Knife

$19.99 - $21.99

The full length of the Automatic Stiletto Knife on display

The automatic stiletto knife in its closed position to display the handle

The overall specs of the Blackwood Automatic Stiletto Knife shown in detail

The Blackwood Automatic Stiletto Knife shown in hand for size reference

A close-up look at the fileworking on the handle spine of the pocket knife

The automatic stiletto knife shown with the blade prominently displayed

Stiletto Autofire Knife

$39.99

Kissing Crane Genuine Abalone Damascus Trapper Pocket Knife

Kissing Crane Abalone Damascus Trapper Knife

~~Price reduced from $81.99 to~~ $51.98 Save 37%

The Benchmade OTF Automatic Knife shown both open and closed positions

The automatic knife's overall length open and closed

A close-up of the pocket clip and the slide trigger opener

Benchmade OM OTF Automatic Knife

$291.99

The Black Dagger OTF Knife in its open and closed position

A view of the textured handle of the pocket knife

A close look at the glassbreaker and the blade

A view of the knife with the trigger switch visible

A view of the full length of the OTF knife

Black Dagger OTF Knife

$89.99

Full image of the ShadowMaster Mini OTF Automatic Knife open and closed.

Close up image of the blade on the Mini OTF Automatic Knife.

Details and features of the OTF Automatic Knife.

ShadowMaster Mini OTF Knife

$32.99

Timber Wolf Gentleman’s Abalone Pocket Knife - Lock Back, Stainless Steel Blade, Genuine Abalone Inlays, Nickel Silver Bolsters

Timber Wolf Gentleman’s Abalone Pocket Knife

~~Price reduced from $50.99 to~~ $32.98 Save 35%

Timber Wolf Heirloom Pocket Knife

$25.99

Viper-Tec Mini Ghost Series Grey Double Edge OTF Knife

$69.99

POCKET KNIVES FAQS

What is a pocket knife?
A pocket knife is simply a knife with a blade that folds out or “opens” from the handle, where it is housed when not in use. The idea being that it will easily fit in the pocket for everyday carry. Generally, a pocket knife is either assisted opening or manual opening.
What is an assisted opening knife?
These knives are opened by the user employing either the “flipper”, which is a lever on the back spine of the knife or a “thumb stud”, which is a small stud on the blade. This action starts the deployment of the blade and a mechanism like a spring or ball-bearing finishes opening the blade and then it locks into place.
What is a trapper pocket knife?
This is a style of manual opening pocket knife that has two blades, which fold out from the handle. Traditionally, there is a spey blade and a clip blade, each having a nail nick so that they can be deployed with just an upward pull on the blade.
What is an OTF knife?
When you see a knife listed as an OTF, it stands for “out-the-front” and means that it is a knife with a blade that extends straight from the handle. An OTF pocket knife can be opened with a manual slide, with assisted opening, with an automatic mechanism or by using gravity.
How do I choose a pocket knife?
A good, quality folding pocket knife should be a tool that you can take for granted because it will be able to perform whenever and wherever you need it. Choose one that will perform the specific tasks that come up for you in your everyday life. For example, if you’re in emergency services, a rescue knife with an integrated seatbelt cutter and glass breaker would be perfect for you.