Best Automatic Pocket Knives For You

Automatic pocket knives are modern pocket knives which were traditionally called switchable pocket knives. These knives. The reason behind the change of the name is Switchblade act of 1958, when it became illegal in the United States for people to carry a switchblade, because gangs began to use it as an dangerous weapon.

Unlike Assisted opening knives, automatic pocket knives have a push button which is connected to the spring which further holds the blade. As soon as you press the button, the blades flips out with lightening fast speed. There is no doubt, automatic pocket knife has a better and easy mechanism but it can also be dangerous.

Attention: Don’t think of gifting this knife to someone who has no prior experience of using a switchable knife. Don’t let this knife go in the children’s hand. Also, make sure to check the state rules to don’t get into any legal trouble.

10 Best Automatic Pocket Knives:

1. Kershaw Cryo Knife

Kershaw knives are affordable and engaging with the vast collection of styles. These knives are excellent for daily tasks, and also classy enough for the formal occasions.

The 8Cr13MoV steel used in the blade is a Chinese steel. But, the blade holds a decent edge but is a little soft for our taste. The Kershaw “Speed Assist” makes the blade fly out with small effort. The blade opens extremely fast and without any resistance.The blade is quite decent if you take the price tag into consideration.

Handle & Ergonomics: The handle of the knife is pretty decent & constructed of titanium coated stainless steel. The handle is comfortable to grip, and we imagine that only those with the bigger hands will have any negative issues with grip.

A portion of the handle (knife frame) moves behind the blade to lock it into position during the use. This is a safety feature of the knife. 

Overall: It is a very average budget knife with a few insufficiency. It deserves a look at it if you have a small budget. It’s slick design and lightning fast opening mechanism makes it a best automatic knife under 30$. 

2. Spyderco Tenacious 

Spyderco is one of the best brands out there in knives’ industry. They have been making extremely useful knives fo their customers since the beginning. Spyderco Tenacious is a good automatic opening knife in the range of 40$. 

General Dimension & Blade: Spyderco Tenacious plan edge is made in the USA. The length is 197 mm (7.8 inches) when completely open and 113 mm (4.5 inches) when closed. The blade is constructed with 8CR13MOV steel which is stainless steel.

Though this steel is not excellent but still it is a medium range steel and holds the edge very well. Sufficient blade thickness unitedly with the flat grind and wide chord design give this blade added durability. The jimping on this blade is excellent, and thumb sits perfectly on the ramp, and it holds your finger in place.

Handle & Ergonomics: The handle is constructed of top quality material G-10 that makes it best ever handle to grab in the palm. Since the handle is constructed of the G-10 material, you can’t complain about the grip at all.

It sticks to the hand that helps you to complete your chores without any hassle. The knife has a smooth, gritty texture that won’t dig up your skin or chew up your pants when you put it in your pocket, and honestly, it feels very “amazing.”

Overall: The knife is made in the USA. Furthermore, handle and ergonomics are simply amazing. Also, the design of the knife is dope. The handle comes in two colors as you can see in the picture.​

High-quality products, great prices, and wonderful customer service. Spyderco Tenacious just did an outstanding job to make a best automatic pocket knife.

3. Kershaw Leek

The Kershaw Leek is one of the best-selling knives of all time, without any doubt. Many of you are already be aware of Kershaw, which has fast become one of the powerhouses in US knife production.

Blade: The Blade is constructed with 14C28N Steel. Sandvik 14C28N is a stainless steel sits firmly in the upper mid-range category. The edge performance of this steel is quite remarkable; it sustain a high level of hardness and resistance to corrosion.

Handle: The handle on the Kershaw Leek is constructed from 410 stainless steel with a bead-blasted finish. But, the handle is so slippery, and it’s little difficult to maintain a safe grip on the knife. 

Overall

The Kershaw Leek is a good  knife. It is elegant yet robust-feeling; the blade is sharp and expertly shaped; the handle is comfortable yet compact. On top of all that, the knife is made in the USA.

And if you’re looking for an automatic pocket knife in the range between 40 to 50$, then this knife stands out.

4. Ken Onion Blur

The best about Kershaw knives is their opening mechanism which makes their knives fit in many categories. Either you are hiking, camping, backpacking, or just going to a friend’s wedding, Kershaw knives will serve you well.

General Dimension & Balde: The overall length of blade is 7.88 inches. It weighs 3.9 oz that means it pretty light. The blade of this knife is constructed of Sandvik 14C28N Steel with Tungsten DLC black coating.

It’s built quality is outstanding, opens quickly and easily, and quality of the steel is adequate, the blade shape is very attractive. Blade strength is excellent. It Arrives sharp, stays sharp, and cuts with comfort.

It has speed safe opening mechanism which makes it outstanding. The spring-assist opener has an astonishing deployment speed, flipping the blade open in a fraction of a second with comfort.

Handle & Ergonomics: The handle is construed of 6061-T6 anodized aluminum with Trac-Tec inserts. If you look at the handle, you’ll see the roughness design in added to the handle to make it rough that eventually makes it grippy in the handle.

And, if you’re knife lover you know it always feels pleasant & comfortable to hold knives with such ergonomics. The handle is available in a variety of colors too, including the olive drab model as well as desert sand, red, and black. So, if you want a sexy design, then you should definitely look forward to it.

Overall: If we look, other knives with same features and opening speed, including automatics like Microtech and ProTech, will cost three times as much. Hence, this knife is a good choice and definitely makes it to the best automatic opening knives.

But, the clip is little tighter than we thought, so you’ve to careful while tucking the knife with clip & while tucking it off.

5. Ken Onion Leek Rainbow

The time you take the Rainbow Leek out of your pocket, people will start to stare. And who can blame them? The Rainbow Leek is nothing short of sensational. In fact, when it first came out, it was chosen for Blade Magazine’s Overall Knife of the Year award.

Blade: The length of the blade is Blade Length: 3 in. (7.5 cm) Closed Length: 4 in. (10.3 cm). The blade is a razor-sharp of high-performance Sandvik 14C28N indicates it can take care of a full range of cutting tasks.

The blade pops up with comfort and closes slow protecting your fingers.The blade is also covered with rainbow kind of color that gives it an elegant look. The steel used in the blade is stainless steel. You can smoothly and easily deploy the blade with one hand.

Handle & Ergonomics: The Rainbow Leek’s handle is pure stainless steel, and it offers a super-secure frame lock, as well as a Tip-Lock slider, which locks the blade closed when folded, for additional safety.

The entire knife picks up fingerprints like a mirror but wipes off on a t-shirt very easily. The handle isn’t grippy but feels comfortable in the hand.

Overall: Outstanding design with elegant color on the knife. The Blade is good and holds the edge very well. However, the handle is not that grippy. It’ll not stick to the hand when the handle is wet.

6. Buck/Tops CSAR-T 

As a collaboration between Idaho companies Buck Knives and TOPS Knives, the CSAR-T is a heavy duty folding knife that uses an ATS-34, stainless-steel, Tanto-style blade measuring 3.8 inches long and 0.175 inches thick with a Zirblast Finish for extra corrosion resistance that’s heat treated to a Rockwell hardness (Rc) of 59-61.

Blade: The blade is constructed of modified Tanto 154CM Steel Blade with the Zirblast finish. It comes under the category of tactical knives, so if you’re looking for a best hunting knives, then this knife is for you, definitely.

The construction of this knife is amazingly solid, and the knife blade locks up like Alcatraz. The liner lock is surprisingly thick and the sound this knife makes when it locks is incredibly hard.

Handle & Ergonomics: It’s handle’s quality is pretty amazing. The handle is constructed with Stainless Steel Frame Handle with Rocky Mountain Tread G10 Overlays. It maintains an excellent grip no matter if wet or oily. The “Rocky Mountain” scales that Top’s carves into this G10 handle really do afford an excellent grip

The “Rocky Mountain” scales that Top’s carves into this G10 handle really do afford an excellent grip. There is a great jimping (on top and the bottom) that provides great security with zero slippage.

Overall: This is a tough use tool/knife equipped to take punishment and is perfect for camping or going into combat and meant to be used for hard work. If you are looking for a great automatic pocket knife that you can give to your son who will give it to your grandchild, then look no further. This is an excellent best automatic pocket knife under 100$

7. Zero Tolerance ZT0350TS 

Zero tolerance is one of the popular editions is the knife industry. The 0350 is fully furnished with SpeedSafe for one-handed opening. Even in combat gloves, you can easily deploy the blade using the large, ambidextrous thumb stud or blade protrusion.

Note: The owner of Kershaw Knives, Kai USA Ltd. is headquartered in Oregon and also owns Shun Knives and Zero Tolerance Knives. And, Zero tolerance is one the best knives in the world right now.

Blade: The blade is constructed with S30V stainless-steel. Like said before, even in combat gloves, you can easily deploy the blade using the large, ambidextrous thumb stud or blade protrusion. The blade and cutting performance are amazing. In simple words, the blade is quite Sharp and tough, and among the best blades, we have used.

Handle & Ergonomics: Knife fits into the hand very well, the blade protrusion & grippy g10 handles make this knife very convenient to hold, feels very familiar in your hand, even with gloves on. This knife completely denies to let go of from the hand.

There is no better knife we have ever handled regarding grip than this knife. The G10, the jimping, and the flipper/blade guard work quite well.

The spring clip is tight but for a reason, holds well to thin nylon jacket pockets and has good clamping force. It Includes a quad mounting system for tip-up, tip-down, left- or right-handed clip carry.

Overall: If you are looking for a super durable  knife and don’t mind the weight then this knife is a good choice. And also, if you want an excellent heavy duty knife this is a great choice. This is an exceptional all around knife, and whereas it is overbuilt, it is not so large as to be difficult to carry.

It’s a super-comfortable cutting knife and its S30V blade keeps on going like an Energizer Bunny. If you’ve budget, we highly recommend you to buy this knife.

8. Zero Tolerance #0452CF 

Zero Tolerance #0452CF Sinkevich is an award winning knife. In our list, it makes it to the best automatic opening knife under 200$. If you’re looking for a high quality, and sexy design knife then this knife is for you, mean it. It has excellent steel made by Crucible and designed specifically for knife making.

Blade: The blade length is 4.1 Inch (10.4 cm); Closed Length: 5.2 Inch (13.2 cm); Overall Length: 9.3 Inch (23.6 cm). The blade is constructed of S35VN, stonewashed and satin finish is given to the blade. S35VN steel sharpens to a razor edge, holds it, and can be resharpened quickly.

The deployment mechanism is really incredible. The blade flies open and very open very smoothly. The blade is razor sharp and holds the edge very well. A perfect blade for an automatic pocket knife.

Handle & Ergonomics: The handle is carbon fiber with a stonewashed titanium frame lock. The 0452CF opens as smooth as butter with the KVT ball-bearing opening system and built-in flipper. The handle is very grippy it never slips from the hand.

Overall: If you’ve budget around 200$, then this is #1 choice for the automatic knife. The knife is big, and if your hands are big, then it will be an added advantage for you.