This past week, I had the opportunity to take a look at two knives that are new production items this year.  Normally, I don’t pay much attention to what’s new, but in the first case the knife itself was odd because of its size (a folder with a 7 ½” blade) and in the second, the handle design was unique. I considered replacing my Cold Steel Voyager X2, which I’ve been carrying for about three years with one of these new folding knives. I also carry a Bowie knife with a 10 ½” blade on occasion, but a big Bowie is what it is, so there’s not really much thinking involved when choosing a decent one. Big, sharp, good blade steel. It will likely do what you want. My Bowie is an old Cold Steel Laredo with a carbon steel blade. It works. With folding knives, I like the Voyager but thought I thought I would do some research on the other two new knives so I could make a better-informed decision whether to buy one of them and give the Voyager a “rest.”

The first thing I learned is just how many knives there are out in the market and how little anyone seems to know about them. Once a knife has been out for a while, of course more information is then available. Whether it’s good information is yet another question. Before the Voyager, I carried an Emerson Commander. It seemed like a good knife, though it’s debatable whether they are worth the high price they carry. Once I had it pretty much worn out, I was led to understand that most people who buy Emerson knives don’t actually use them, they just carry them, leaving a large gap in real-world knowledge on whether they are worth purchasing. Of course, there’s virtually nothing out yet on the two folders I was considering. Blade shape, blade steel, handle material? There are dozens of opinions from plenty of self-described experts.

Ideally, I could give a concise list of very specific manufacturing attributes to look for when considering a new knife and you’d be a well-informed consumer. Since I can’t do that because I’m not a knife expert and don’t presume to be, I can only suggest that knives are not necessarily worth their price (like anything else) and if you make sure that the blade steel is better than what’s used in a butter knife and the lock to keep the blade open  is tough, then there’s not much else you can go with. You will get to wade through the mass of marketing to try and come up with what’s good and not so good regarding what materials the company has used to make the knife.

What I can do is comment on some of that marketing and a few basics to consider with any folding knife you plan to carry. If the company is saying they can prove they make a tough product, they probably do. If the company says nothing but has advertisements and web sites filled with what look like special forces commandos, that might be a good clue to pass. Something I learned and hadn’t even realized until last week: if you’re carrying the folding knife clipped to the top of your pocket, then that part of the handle that’s exposed needs to be a dull black color. Otherwise, it will really draw attention. My example is the 7 ½” folder that I mentioned earlier (a Cold Steel extra-large Espada). The approximately 3” of handle that protrudes from the pocket is highly-polished aluminum and is as noticeable as a nickel-plated revolver barrel. Can you open the knife quickly? Once open, does the handle keep your hand from sliding up onto the blade? The other knife I examined (a Cold Steel Spartan) has a handle that is specifically designed to keep the user’s hand in place. That knife may get my vote to carry next, though it has a 4 ½” blade rather than the Voyager’s 6” blade – both long by usual carry knife dimensions, but I tend to like larger blades.

Just use good judgment, be sure the knife feels comfortable, and then good luck. Or, do what I did. I asked my wife (she picked the Cold Steel Spartan and it is now in my pocket).