Hey everyone, David C. Andersen here coming at
you from the KnifeCenter. And with Christmas, at the end of this week, it's end of year wrap up
time. So we're going to be going over the best new knives from 2021, or at least some of my
favorites. So let's get into it. (Top 21 of 2021, David's Picks) So this best of list for
the end of the year is going to be a little bit different in that these are just what I like,
these things aren't ranked by any kind of score, sales don't go into this impact on the industry
don't necessarily inform every kind of ranking here. These are just the things that after a
whole year of seeing a bunch of cool new knives, these are things that still get me excited
whether it was released in January, or right here in December. We've got stuff throughout the
year. And really, it was all about kind of going through everything, which is a lot. We saw a lot
of knives here and just going through it all and seeing what piqued me again, seeing seeing what
was still getting me excited and getting me happy. And that's how we arrived at the top 21
knives, not just folders for 2021. Last year, we did a top 20 for 2020. Up to keep it going. And
next year, I have to wait and see I guess that's Thomas over there. If you guys are unfamiliar,
if you're new to this channel and tuning in for this end of year stuff, he's a little snarky,
but we like him. So far. Yeah, we I think we like he's cool. Give it time, like last year's
video also, we're gonna break this down. To keep it a little more manageable cuz this is a lot of
knives we're gonna go for sections based off three, three folders sections based off price,
and then fixed blades will get their own slightly smaller section, at least in relation
to everything else, we're going zero to $75 bracket, which covers a pretty wide range from
the true budget to the less budget, but still pretty attainable stuff, then we're going to go
75 to 150, which is another kind of neat tier, and then 150 and up sky's the limit. So it's the
Wild Wild West, essentially. But we'll start with the budget stuff and got him hidden here in
the bags. And yes, if you're on YouTube in your browser or your phone, you can go down and see
the list in the description. But that's no fun. Check them out after we take a look through
here. And I'm not going to rank each one of these necessarily either. These are just my five
favorite budget knives zero to $70 $75 for 2021. The first is a pretty new release. Find a place
to put these bags here. The Civivi cogent button lock flipper coming in at a base price of about
$70 and Civivi really knock things out of the park this year. I mean, just the sheer number of
releases they've put out in 2021 have been astonishing. And the fit and finish on them is
exceptionally good. And the build quality, it's all there even the materials are pretty nice in
this range as well. Could have this you know this section be entirely subbies but it'd be
boring, and it wouldn't quite be honest on my part either. The ones that truly excite me, are
like this guy right here, the cogent 70 bucks, like I said three and a half inches on the blade
length 14 C 28 and steel love that stuff. Choices of G 10 or micarta on the handles, deep
carry pocket clip reversible and that button lock. I mean the button lock elementum certainly
took the crown in terms of sales this year, even though it's been out for a few more months than
this knife has for sure. I really like this knife a lot better than the Elementum of the
shape visually is a bit more interesting to me. I like the grind on the blade. It's a high flat
grind. And I like that we've got that flipper tab which the button lock elementum doesn't have
an as such. You can do that all day long. Have a lot of fun with that. Certainly easy to access
works well in either hand keeps your fingers out of the leading path of the edge when you're
closing the knife, little extra degree of passive safety there. Gotta love it. Civivis
always come with a nice thin edge to got this excellent slicing profile even though it's kind
of a tactical shape. Great EDC right here. All right, next up is a Kershaw. This is the highball XL and I really dig this
knife to see probably guess this this is a video about knives I dig about $59 for this guy D2
blade steel, stainless steel framelock KVT ball bearings and just a really elegant profile mixes
a bit of kind of old school clip point shape on the blade with Course modern locking convenience
and more modern aesthetic as well. Speaking of that aesthetic, it kind of has this vibe that's
going to work across a pretty wide range of things, just basic EDC, or even slightly
gentlemanly as it gets slightly fancier look going on, thanks to kind of the blue accents
that you get including this over travel plate at the back, as well as the backspacer. I think the
Sebenza especially has really kind of codified the the matte metal with blue accents as being a
bit classier and a knife like this and can kind of trade on that heritage a little bit even
though it's a an unrelated knife, deep carry pocket clip. Again, just like that Civivi Keep
thing keeps things nice and subtle. And a lot of fun to play with to the action here is great,
you may think it's just a two hand opener since we don't have a flipper tab or a pair of thumb
studs. But you've got these dual Fuller's essentially on both sides means thumb action
works excellently like you wouldn't even know you're missing something there. And it's even
got just enough purchase here, you can do that middle finger flick thing with these guys works
really nicely, really elegant shape, good slicing profile, which something I definitely
appreciate. That's kind of one of the things I tended to prioritize overall, which you're going
to see a little bit of as we go through some of the next picks as well. Next one, a little bit different, not quite as
efficient of a slicer. But the new Becker, BK 40, made by Ka-bar now stands in my mind as one
of the better options in a sub $50 price range. This is a $40 knife for a good, slightly heavier
use outdoors knife or just all around utility blade that you don't have to worry about babying
whatsoever. It's a really solid design, blade length, three and a half off eight blade steel.
So you've got some stainless qualities there. And a handle that's based on the Becker mid size
fixed blades such as the BK 16, or BK 18. As such one of the few folders, anywhere that
actually has an ergonomic hand swelling, or hand filling grip with the swells going on here.
Nestle's in there really nicely. Hard to find at any price, much less a very affordable knife
like this solid design for any of those uses. I mentioned, you've got kind of a clip pointed sod
Buster style to the blade shape. You've got a wire pocket clip, which works in four different
positions. So you can carry it just about any way you like. You've got a liner lock to keep
things secure. You've got washers rather than bearings, good for the heavier duty kind of
gritty environments. Altogether. Pretty basic, yes, but super reliable, and super affordable as
well. All right, next up is a Kizer, this is the Kizer infinity. And honestly, this one could
have been any number of Kizer's but this is kind of representative of just how many good things
I've seen from Kizer this year in their more affordable price range. We're seeing things that
you previously only saw on some of their more expensive stuff trickling down into prices, like
this knife right here, which comes in at $59 such as contoured micarta handles ball bearings
in the pivot N690 steel on this particular guy, and a very elegant shape. But more than that,
they've been built extremely well. I think, as I mentioned at the top Civivi has kind of been you
know, dominating the budget landscape this year, especially but these last couple of years due to
their high value from their fit and finish and designs. And it's really good to see Kizer kind
of answering the competition and coming out with models that in my mind more than compete. This
knife right here is put together fantastically, especially when you consider that price. And you
guys know me, you know I like continuous curves, nice flowing lines to a knife design, which is
why I picked this particular knife to represent the Kaiser budget lineup this year. blade length
just under three inches N690 Like I mentioned, it's kind of cool elliptical shape kind of
reminds me a little bit of like a Canadian belt knife a little bit. You guys know I love my
fixed blades as well. The contouring and the swell on the handle there. works really nicely
that linen micarta feels great. You've got a deep carry pocket clip. You've got ball
bearings, and this is one of the few front flippers that can actually flip. You guys know
I'm never the best at that either. So all in all, definitely a win from Kizer. Alright, I
said I wasn't going to kind of rank these from like five to one and Each category but I am
going to award a personal favorite for this category. And if you've seen some of the videos
we did earlier this year, this should probably be no surprise to you guys. It's the Badlands
Vagabond from Civivi Another Civivi Knife in this price bracket on the list today. This knife
is only $40 knife, but the design elevates it beyond that price point. Simpler materials yes,
we've got FRN handle scales but the advantage of that versus g 10s. On knives this price range is
you get some of that contouring it's not just a flat scale, you know even that cogent which is a
great knife just has a flat g 10. This Badlands Badlands Vagabond feels so much
better, or just feels so good in the hand I should say. And the whole knife has a great
elegant agile feel to it everything you really want from a smaller EDC pocket knife, 9CR blade
steel which is metallurgically Something like 440C, about three and a quarter inches long.
Again Civivi always gives you that nice thin thin edge hollow ground. In this case, you've
got your choice of flipper or thumb studs for the opening action. Both work great, pops open
really nicely as you can see ball bearings in the pivot, deep carry pocket clip, which is
reversible hidden lanyard point. Really, I can't say enough good things about this knife in my
mind for folks looking for a budget knife right now. This is on my short list of recommendations
and pretty much sits at the top I'd say. Alright, now we're going to get into our next
price bracket, which is the 75 to 150 category. And again, covers a pretty pretty broad range.
And as you're gonna see, with a couple of the models I'm going to show here, there's a little
bit of flex into this less expensive category to it. Truth be told, I've been more excited this
year by the budget knives that have come out versus the more expensive knives. Because when
money is no object, you can do anything and achieve greatness. It is a lot harder to be
great in the budget side of things, both due to the monetary constraints and due to the stiff
competition these days. So when I say some of these knives flex into the less expensive
category, I'll show you exactly what I mean. With the first knife I show you here, which is
the new Kwaiken air mini from Boker and Lucas Burnley. I picked this particular version, or I put it in
this price bracket because the particular version that most appeals to me is this one
right here, which comes in about 82 which comes with cocobolo handles, but there are G 10
versions of this knife that are less than 75 bucks. So even though the range starts in that
lower price bracket, this one because it's the best in my personal opinion, sits it in this
category. Really cool to see this knife. I've kind of seen this as a reply to something like
CRKT's CEO and with the way you know production timelines work, I can almost guarantee this, you
know, I don't have any insider knowledge, but this was definitely in the works. Before CRKT he
unveiled their CEO flipper. So Boker saw the original CEO with its clean lines nice slender
profile and said we should get Lucas Burnley to modify his Kwaiken into a slimmer competitor to
that you've got the mini which is about that size, and then you've got a bigger size as well.
And it's awesome. The Boker plus line especially when they do this kind of treatment always feels
more premium than its price. You've got good materials you've got a nice horizontal satin
grain on the blade that right there elevates the the appeal of it and just the impression of it.
You've got a nice slender profile, great gentleman's executive knife deep carry pocket
clip, only the flipper tab sticks out when the blade is closed. flips open really nicely.
You've got an excellent elegant shape. Good good slicing characteristics Good day to day usage. I
will say if a knife looks like it's going to make a good letter opener probably has some good
vibes for a gentleman's knife and this is no exception. Alright, so this next knife also kind
of straddles the line between our first price bracket and this one because the the most
inexpensive versions of this knife start at 70 bucks. But this version I think is the think is
the best. And that's the CJRB scoria this version right here is a KnifeCenter exclusive
with pakkawood handles and an RPM 9 blade and the price on this is 80 bucks. Really excellent
design as soon as I saw this at blade show We knew this was a this was a contender for one of
our next set of exclusives and we wound up being able to launch our exclusive at the same time as
the standard model which was pretty cool blade shape. Just about a perfect drop point my
favorite blade shape three and a half inches long that RPM nine steel is a budget powder
metallurgy steel, which is something really cool to see proprietary to CJRB and ArtisanCutlery.
Their parent company really excellently executed handles to what I really like about them is
you've got height on the side profile to make sure you've got enough to hold on to, but
they've kept it fairly slim. So it's not bulky in the pocket. They you know, you could always
get a bulkier handle that isn't this tall that will fill the hand well. But for the types of
duties you're going to want this type of blade to handle. This type of solution works so so
well. Liner lock is inset nice premium touch there. You've got ball bearings in the pivot
here again, a flipper and a thumb stud pair of thumb studs, and even a milled titanium pocket
clip on this version was with some nice gold accents. Another kind of gentlemanly option here
to a little bit of a flex in between gentlemanly and just more general purpose, less fancy EDC
shape, so to speak. But it works great few, we've got a handful of really good versions,
including a couple exclusives. But even if you go with the Standard Model for 60 or 70 bucks
whenever it was really fantastic EDC design. Alright, next, let's get into another handle
material, we had some wood and wood like products here to start with in this this
bracket. Let's go with some FRN. In this case, this was actually a hard one to do. There were
two Spydercos that I was debating between wanting to put on the final list. The other one
was the straight spine stretch in K 390. But in the end gun to my head today anyway, I'm
choosing the salt to an LC 200 N. And kind of the reason for that is this is one of my
favorite versions of the Delica. Yes, it's not the Delica per se the scales are not
interchangeable, but it's the same shape to the handle. It's almost the same blade shape. It's
got a little bit more of a sheep's footie flavor to the tip of the knife you have a little more
drops, it's a little less acute. But I love that LC 200 and steel especially with the full flat
grind you get here slices well, virtually rustproof and some good toughness as well. And
the handles, like I said same shape. But to compensate for one thing, they removed the the
interior full length liners, and that removes weight a little bit to compensate for the
strength, they thickened the handles a little bit and the result is really nice has a little
bit more girth in the hand feels like you might be able to or you'd be more comfortable pushing
it a little harder. And the whole thing comes in super lightweight. I mean we're dealing with
about 1.9 ounces right there. Awesome. The green. I love that. I've said it before you kind
of get tired especially working at a place like this, you get tired of seeing every knife come
and just a black handle. I like to see things spiced up a little bit. And I love this color.
It's going to work great for keeping it from or keeping it looking more like a tool rather than
something that you might get some askance glances from some folks out there. I just love
it. It's everything that makes the Delica Great. With those kind of cool changes like the lighter
weight, the thicker handles the rust, virtually rustproof steel, you've still got the mid
mounted back lock the four position pocket clip, enough handle length to get most people through
the day and enough blade length adjust under three inches to get the most people through the
day as well. Keeping with the synthetic handles, this next one very different beast. The drop point Voyager four inch version from
Cold Steel, there's a five and a half inch version too, but I like the four inch version at
five bucks for these guys. So it really maintains the kind of Voyager identity of being
a working man's workhorse knife. And now with this drop point blade shape, it pulls it away
from some of the kind of tactical flavor just a little bit that this series has always been
known for and you've got an even more workman like Blade going on. I love the shape. Again,
kind of like that Kizer we looked at before there is a little bit of elliptical shape to the
drop point. As you can see there's a little bit of an upward angle on the steel there which is
awesome 10 By the way, it's just a really nice shape. Good cross section for the kind of things
I like to see anyway on a heavier use folder in that the steel is not super thick, but it's a
bit thicker than some of you know, something like that salt two, for example, but a bit
thicker for enough strength, but you've got a tall flat grind to maintain some of the slicing
capabilities really like that. You've also got plenty of handle length for most folks, you've
even got a space here, it's not a finger choil. But at the ricasso of the blade and the leading
part of the handle, you could choke up on there to get a little better close in work with that
blade, you've got the triad lock as well. So even though you've got an injection molded
handle here, that does have a lot of grip, you've also got pretty much according to Cold
Steel anyway, the strongest lock on the market. And if it isn't the strongest, it is right up
there as one of the strongest anyway, nothing to complain about there looks like a backlog. But
under the hood, improvements make it even more stable and even more long lasting. Hard to ask
for more of a hard working knife for 85 bucks, quite honestly, last but not least in this
category. And probably my favorite is the new SOG TAC autos. Really like what they did with
this series, they've slimmed it up with these aluminum handles here, it's going to carry very
easily. So if you're looking to daily and automatic knife going to be a pretty good
option. They've also now that more companies than just Benchmade can do crossbar locks. This
is one of the few other automatic crossbar lock knives out there. And the way they integrated
the functionality of the lock with the safety here, I think is ingenious, like it's the kind
of thing that you see and other people should be going. Why didn't I think of that, because right
now the blade is locked. It's not coming open until you pull back on that crossbar just a
little bit. And now you can see the red dot, which means the blade is ready to fire actually
still can't pull it out. But now you just pull back on that crossbar the rest of the way and it
launches the blade out really, really cool because there's only one motion to go through.
If you decide to lock that blade further in your pocket. There's no spine mounted safety or extra
switch to use. If you need to draw this knife and get the blade open in a hurry. You can do it
even if the blade is extra locked. Really love that rest of the knife. Let's describe it about
150 bucks right under our ceiling right there. 149.95 Right now, you've got a D two blade of
3.4 inch length. Get it in a tanto or a drop point you can get it in a shorter length and an
even shorter length still with like a little two inch version for California compliance. Net
version still comes with a pretty full sized handle as well. Really cool. If I were Dalian
and auto, you folks know I love my Kershaw launch one. It'd be hard for me to pick quite
honestly between these two because they are such an excellent design auto or not for a daily
carry knife. Alright, now on to our 150 and up category so sky's the limit. We'll stick with
some tactical stuff to start and the first one as I move on to pouch number two. coming in
first is the mini Adamas from Benchmade I love this little guy. It was really cool to see the Adamas family come
back for this year kind of re engineered tweaked a little bit for more better ergonomics that
just say more better ergonomics you did. Didn't mean to sorry, folks. But also a an upgrade to
crew where blade steel. Definitely a huge bump up from the D two these originally came with,
it's going to be tougher, it's going to hold an edge longer, as well, thanks to the particle
metallurgy construction going on. Interesting thing about this list. Like I said, these are my
favorites. I bought an Adamas this year but it wasn't a mini I bought one of the full size
ones, not because I like it better than the mini but I had more of a use for the full size one
than this mini. So even though I bought the other one, this one is actually my favorite. It
maintains the feel or kind of the attitude I should say of the full size. Adamas comes in
about 212 bucks right now, and you've got for a small knife. If you need something that feels
chunky and overbuilt. It's not too chunky, it's still got a good blade profile overall. But if
you need a small knife, you can push hard and are willing to spend a little bit of money for a
premium product. One of my favorites right now. deep carry pocket clip G 10 on the handles.
fills my paws really nicely. I do have slightly larger than average hands. I've got just enough
length on there. So if you do have truly large hands, it's might be a little tight for you. I
mean you might you might be running off the back. I wouldn't like that too much. Love the
crew were blade steel here love to see that and see more companies using that on production
level stuff. Three and a quarter inch blade, tough coating tungsten gray color in this case,
but you've got another color to check out the the full size if you want that one also comes in
a crossbar lock auto or manual version and the fixed blades are back to. Super, super awesome.
All right, next up is this knife right here. The Andrew Demko Custom Shop AD 20 S. Now the ad 20.
The full size US Made Knives, the AD 20 MG, or MG AD 20. Not sure how they prefer that did come
out last year. This year, the AD 20.5 came out a smaller imported version, the 20 s has an
important feature for me, that got me more excited about it than I did about the M4 premium
mg version last year. And that is you've got thinner blade steel than those versions. Again,
like I talked about with that Voyager this feels just about perfect to me, you've got enough
thickness for strength, we're at about an eighth of an inch there. But you've got a high enough
flat grind that it is going to slice efficiently enough, especially it'll slice efficiently
enough for a larger knife, you would need to or at least what I would want to use a larger knife
for now here's where things get interesting. It's a $350 knife for the G 10 handled versions
a little bit less but not that much less for FRN handled versions. You've also got a D two blade.
So you are paying a lot for the materials you're getting here. But you're also essentially paying
for the the patent on this new shark lock which is the little fin right up here works really
well as a little thumb ramp in the standard grip right here. And then if you go to choke up, at
least it's easy for me to put my thumb right in front of it so it doesn't really cause a problem
for ergonomics. But lets you flick the blade close and open while keeping your hands free of
that edge. Longtime viewers of this channel know that is also one of the My Favorite Things that
I look for in knives that I prefer to carry. You've also got a lot of strength with this
design too. And here's the other thing I want to say for a knife to be as expensive as this knife
is and come with the materials that aren't as premium that it does and still have me as
excited about it. That says something I can understand if if you're you would want to hold
out for something with you know quote unquote better materials I get that but it's still here.
It's still on this list because I think it is great. Even the jimping here actually is a
really nice little detail. As a little aside you've got almost a decorative pattern going on
it's almost like a file work jimping in a way although I think when you're talking Custom Shop
stuff jimping is filed in typically but you get my drift cool little little feature going on.
feels great in the hand actually feels going by memory here. It almost feels better than the
full size Adamas to me even though I bought one of those knives. There you go. I dig it. I'm
really glad to see that thinner blade steel right here. I mean, we had these last year or the the MG last
year it was a cool knife. I didn't put it on on the list even though it would have definitely
been deserving. But that changed to the thinner blade stock right there. It did something for
me. What can I say? Cool knife. Next up, we have an Italian knife and that is the Viper turn. Now
we do have an exclusive version of this that comes with jungle carbon fiber or jungle where
carbon fiber and a deep carry pocket clip. But I think this particular ram's horn version is my
personal favorite. I just love the natural material on a premium folder like this price on
this one about 218 right now. And I've talked about this knife a lot this year because the the
vibe of it the attitude the lines are just awesome. It has that vibe of being something you
might see or the blade shape anyway something you might see a custom bladesmith hammering out
and doing beautiful things with but on a folder. You've also got really cool ram's horn handles
on this one behind that titanium frame and bolster to now the versions without a pocket
clip do come with a small leather belt sheath works horizontally or vertically on your belt
loop. You've got a mid mounted back lock crown spine and crowned back spring and crown
backspacer which is pretty cool. It's also one of the few lock backs I know of that also has
ball bearings in the pivot and as a result, easy flexibility going on here and 390 steel three
and a quarter inches long ergonomics, it's not necessarily going to be a heavy user, this is
more about being a style piece. And when it comes to something like that, that is still
built exceptionally well, few out there can match what some of the Italian companies such as
Viper are able to pull off. Alright, next up is a real steel. And that is the Phasma. The more
premium versions of it especially, there are D two versions for considerably less money. But
this one right here, m 390. blade comes in about 212 bucks. And as you can see, I two hand open
to this because there's no flipper, there's no thumb stud, there is a thumb stud version, but I
really have been enjoying this particular version with no thumb stud, and a fuller
instead, I love the cleanliness of it. I love the effectiveness of this drop point blade, with
it's very needle like tip can do a lot of varied things, day to day with a shape like this, the
blade steel is thin enough, you've got a wide blade profile and a full flat grind. So your
slicing is going to be good enough as well, you've got a frame lock with a very narrow
cutout, which is something harder to pull off, especially in a production knife. And all the
edges on the inside of that are chamfered as well. Not quite sure how they pulled that off as
well as they did it's really nicely executed is clean from the back as well. You've got a single
barrel spacer there nice fat gold one, because you've only got two pivot point or two kind of
screws. On the front side, you've got that back piece and you've got the pivot itself. The stop
bar is mounted from the inside, you don't have external screws, they're super clean, super
attractive profile, deep carry pocket clip offset just a little bit to keep it off that
lock bar. Super cool. You can one hand open it, it's a little more deliberate than would be if
you're trying to do that all the time, you might want to go for the thumb stud version. But this
one feels so so good. I love it. But my favorite in this category is going to go to this next
knife. And it is I just realized I didn't go like crazy expensive on any of these. I mean the
350 for the Demko is is up there. But no like $1,000 flippers or anything like that. My
favorite one comes in just under 200 or 195. And it is also I think the newest release or the
newest thing to land here at the KnifeCenter. Anyway, version two of the giant mouse Sonoma a
lot of the reasons I love this knife are the same reasons why I love that Badlands Vagabond
from our first price bracket, you've got an elegant shape, you've got an agile feel in the
hand, it's narrow, it's sleek, feels great in the hand, you've got contouring, just like that, that
injection molded knife at the beginning micarta in this case, you guys know my Nordsmith brand.
No, I like a micarta and green micarta and yellow, kind of combo we've got green micarta
and brass here kind of has a similar vibe to it. Deep carry or folded over wire pocket clip,
which is reversible inset liner lock ball bearings in the pivot. Nice clean profile and
fold it up going to live very easily in the pocket. flips open really great. We got Elmax
steel here with that high flat grind, Crown spine going on. A little bit of jumping there,
kind of 1/3 of the way out. So you get a little bit for your index finger if you're doing some
tip work. Maybe a little bit with the thumb if you choke up, although this toy is a little too
small for my larger fingers. I love this thing. The sleekness of it is great. It's wonderful. I
don't know what else to say. So that's it for the folders, you guys. So we're 15 into our top
21 which must mean we've got six fixed blades to look at math checks out. Good because it's true.
We do have six fixed blades to check out let me move my pouches here a moment. There we go. All
right. First up, you guys know regulars anyway, know that I love a pocket fixed blade. One of
our better performing videos of this past year as well I should say. And Boker actually Boker
had a really big year this year as well. He's for me. Probably one of my favorite pocket fixed
blades you can get right now direct from the factory. It's the AK1 $240 It's a premium knife
but you do have a pocketable sheath. You've got an ulti clip stitched in. So you set that in
your pocket and lock it down over your ham. And that's not going anywhere. And it'll be very
easy to access this little fixed blade right here. So this is a Solingen Germany made Boker
This is not something that they've produced in China, you've got an RWL 34 blade really cool
powder metallurgy stuff, RWL Robert W. Loveless, in honor of Bob Loveless, who is fond of ATS 34
steel, which is not powder metallurgy. But this is the the powder metal version of that. Two
blade shapes, you've got a drop point and this kind of modified Warren clip wharncliffe II
thing going on. Thomas, what is it reverse tanto we call it a reverse tanto on the website. It's
a cool blade shape. And I actually do prefer this one to the drop point again even though I
am a bit of a drop point freak in general. Love the geometry blade Steel's thin enough you've
got a full flat grind, you've got a very usable tip, you've got burlap micarta handles two
different colors. In fact, I like the mustard color personally enough length for about a three
and a half finger grip for me enough to hold on to enough thickness that you could push this
through some heavier cuts without feeling like you're slipping off or anything like that. It's
just rendered exceptionally well. And it's a pocket fixed blade so it's already like the the
deck is stacked against or towards this in my mind anyway, they came out so, so cool. Next up
sure we're gonna put the sheaths for this Thomas. I'll put them over here. There you go.
Next up is another Boker and a much less expensive one. This is not a German made Boker
This is one of the imports from Germany to here technically is an import also. That is another
Lucas Burnley design from Boker. And that is the Cub Pro. The Cub has been out for a little while
now. But it was previously fancier. It wasn't until this less expensive version came out that
I really started to look at it closer. 90 bucks for this and you're getting micarta handles and
D2 blade steel. Good good length on it three and three quarters of an inch long. And to me this is going to make a great everyday
fixed blade if you can carry something this large because it's a bit slimmer, it's not a
super chunky grip, and you've got a nice ambidextrous sheath. As you can see, they're
going to be very easy to carry it as well. blade shape is great for utility. It is obviously or
at least I don't know if it's obvious or not. But this is also supposedly a kind of hunting
inspired design and certainly going to work for there. But for me, what really excites me about
the possibilities of this knife is potentially carrying it every day. It's just a great utility
knife. The micarta looks great, the copper pins and hardware look great against it. And
especially as those kind of patina over time, they're gonna look even better get a little pop
of red from the liners there. It is just so so cool. Especially partly because of the price to
really compelling to me. Alright, next up is another CJRB And that is the Silex fixed blade.
Really cool. They come in at about 70 bucks. And you guys know, in addition to being a fixed
blade guy, I also do and enjoy a lot of cooking. And to me, this is an awesome everyday carry
fixed blade, kitchen knife in a way. When they introduced this they were kind of trying to
position this as an outdoor blade and honestly I don't really buy into that too much. Utility
certainly kitchen even more. So you've got an RPM nine blade we talked about that steel
already. Just over five inches, you've got enough length, where this is essentially like a
petty knife going to be good for small station work where you don't necessarily need a full
sized chef knife. You've got a great profile to do pull cuts like a small sushi knife. You even
got a good profile for doing rocking cuts with it. It has a very gentle rock to the heel
doesn't slam down when you hit the cutting board. It does have enough length there that you
could certainly earn enough thickness. You could certainly use it for utility work. It's not a
hand filling grip. But again, I don't think it has to be that's not what it's for in my mind.
G10. I happen to like this, this beige color right here, but you've got green, OD green and
black. You've even got a kydex sheath. So very easy to integrate into all kinds of different
applications. You could take it on a camping trip, for your food prep, you could take it on
any kind of trip, especially if you're doing a rental and you need to ensure you're going to
have a good kitchen knife on hand for your food prep, you'll have it here. I think this is also
going to be a cool thing for some actual food professional food workers. Thomas and I have
worked in food service for many years he more than I, and he's got someone in his family who
still works in food service, and likes to have a chef's knife that she can have. So she doesn't
have to rely on what the cooks have abused through a ulti clip on one of these, which
Thomas did, and it's very easy to carry around, and always have this around, it's just the right
size. For that type of role. It's small enough, you can do the small stuff, except for like the
really smallest paring knife stuff. It's big enough to do the kitchen, chef knife type of
roles. And you can even break down some boxes and open pallet straps with it in a pinch. So
really, really cool knife, especially again, at the price really dig that. Alright, next up is
the lion steel H1, another Italian knife. And I'm not really a karambit guy. But this knife
really does it for me check out that sheath by the way, a couple different mounting options,
real high quality. But the design of this is also cool. You've got a couple of different
blade shapes. There's a drop point and this modified wharncliffe here, modified sheepsfoot
perhaps. And again, even though I'm more of a drop point guy, I like this blade shape.
Personally, it's not the first karambit out there to blend, a tactical karambit style handle
with a more utilitarian blade shape. Nor is it the most famous I mean, like the tops cut 4.0 is
a great example. But this one came out this year and I really love it and does something that production company form at least I don't know of
anyone else who does single piece handles like this. It's a single piece of micarta with a
channel milled out so that the tang of the knife Nestle's in there and is then bolted into place.
You get a bit of strength from that. Yes, but more importantly on a knife like this is the
comfort. No seams right here means no opportunities for those seams to raise a blister
and they're also do a very good job of contouring the handles and shaping them so that
they don't raise a hot spot through use either. Really like that blade length, three inches M390
steel. Again, good balance between strength and slicing with that stock thickness and that full
flat grind, almost full flat grind. stonewashed finish my favorite blade finish comfortable.
That crown spine is a very Italian trait I've talked about the crown spines a little bit but
not his relation to Italy. But they do it all around here and they do it inside the ring.
Everything is super comfortable in any of those grips, you might be using this blade, that's
gonna be a very awesome blade to mess around with and use day to day. Alright, next up is an
American made knife. The new Pro versions of books classic hunting knives. Case in point, the
119 special pro 190 bucks made in the USA, with a few key upgrades from the standard versions
first and most notably, are those green micarta handles rather than the black phenolic that they
use on the base version, chunky same kind of shape as the original fills the hand up. Not the
most agile shape overall, but very nicely done. And then the other big difference s 35 vn blade
steel here rather than the 420 HC everything has been addressed like all of the folks who wanted
a more premium version of this knife didn't want the the more budget oriented materials, you're
getting what you want with this guy. In addition to this, you've got some of their other you know
the similar style of hunting knives with the similar materials to the base version of this
have also seen the upgrade to this particular configuration. Really nice the sheath. I've
always been a really big fan of because of the way they do the snap. As you can see right here
reinserting the flap is out of the way you don't have to worry about accidentally slicing it with
the edge and then when you wrap the flap around, it sits on the inside of the knife rather than
kind of curling around. Usually they'd be curling around this side and snapping to the
front of the sheath. What I don't like about that, that this thing addresses is those can
kind of come loose if you get snagged on something as you're walking past a thing. This
just gonna brush on by and then when you pop the snap open it naturally pushes it out of the way
when you go to draw the knife so you don't even have to think about that. I love that design and
I love it even more now that this knife comes in it too. Alright, last but certainly not least,
in fact, I think this is my favorite knife of 2021 which surprises even me because this knife
before I show it to you Some things with it that I shouldn't like that normally I wouldn't like.
But this is the cool thing about working at the KnifeCenter is I get to pick up pretty much any
knife I want. And the knife you see in the pictures is not always there, the impression you
get from a knife in the pictures can be very different from the impression you get from a
knife. When you hold it in the hand. Same thing, the impression you get from a spec sheet doesn't
matter when you hold it in the hand. What does it do? So for me, personally, David C Andersen,
knife, my favorite knife of the year for 2021. Let's get it over with is the New Cold Steel
drop forged bowie. I should not like this knife people it is not it's not something that kind of
fits into any of the uses that I need a larger knife for price on it about 119 bucks. But it's
straight up. You know, it's a buoy, it's more of a fighting knife. Look, I don't fight. I'm a
lover, not a fighter, as they say, you've got synthetic stag in lays on the handle, again, not
something that typically excites me, it's got a cross guard at the back. So for outdoors uses
that's going to get in the way, which might be where I would use a kind of bowie knife. It's got an interesting cant to the handle,
which again is going to limit its usage for me for kind of choked up and carving tasks if I
needed to use this for smaller things. But as soon as I picked this up the very first time, I
was pretty much head over heels because the balance of this knife is astonishing. It is
alive in the hand, which I've never gotten from any of cold Steel's other drop forged knives in
the series, they've always been exceptionally strong. But they've always felt like brutes. Not
that that's a bad thing. But this thing, dances when you hold it in the hand, it's just every
time I pick it up, I just want to be doing this with it. It's so great. The angles of the handle
pointed forward really nicely. The 52100 steel is going to be super tough. The drop forged
construction is equally going to backup that toughness because you've got this huge, massive
single piece of the steel, the geometry of the blade is going to work pretty well. It's fast,
man, when you kind of swing this and throw it at a task. It just wants to go it's super quick, it
snaps forward as you use it. And with the efficiency of a grind like this, it's going to
slice through your stuff really great as well. I can't say enough good things about it quite
honestly, the sheath secure-ex You're probably familiar with a lot of cold steel stuff snaps in
similar to kydex, you've got plenty of lashing holes, and mounting holes for aftermarket clips.
If you don't want to use the standard nylon belt loop. Pick one of these up. And I can't say I
guarantee you'll be impressed. But I can pretty much guarantee. It's not what you were expecting
when you hold it. And for all those reasons. And because of the reason that this makes me smile
more than anything on this table. This is my favorite knife of the year. There you go. That's
it. That's the top 21 Knives of 2021. In my humble opinion, let me know what you thought of
my picks. I'm really keen to hear from you guys down in the comments really keen to hear your
favorites from the year as well. If you want to get your hands on any of these knives, we'll
leave links in the description as we usually do to take you over to KnifeCenter.com and the full
specs on all these knives are going to be there and if I missed any of the prices on these, it
wasn't intentional, but obviously the full prices are going to be on those pages as well.
Make sure you sign up for our knife rewards program while you're over there. Because if
you're going to spend your money on one of these knives today, you might as well earn some free
money to spend coming up here in 2022. I'm David C Andersen from the KnifeCenter signing off, see
you next time
