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Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Why Trust Us?

Just because something is cheap doesn’t mean it’s poor quality. Plenty of the best pocket knives we write about from brands with excellent reputations—Coast, SOG, and Case, to name a few—have blades that are $50 or less in their lineups, made with similar materials, features, and lifetime warranties as pricier offerings, but for much less. There are also brands that stand out for making low-cost blades that are well built, such as Cold Steel, Civivi, and CJRB.

All of the fixed blade and folders below are lightweight and compact, which makes them excellent candidates for your EDC . They offer good corrosion resistance and edge retention, and are easy to care for.

Textured Handle for Grip

Gerber Zilch Pocket Knife

There’s a lot to like about the Zilch, but my favorite feature is its dual thumb stud for ambidextrous deployment. Another is its unusual, hollow spine which keeps it lightweight. I also appreciate its grippy, textured handle.

It won’t hold up to heavy-duty use but if you’re looking for a slim, lightweight EDC knife that you’ll hardly feel in your pocket, this is it—it weighs only 2.2 ounces.

Coast Contra EDC Folding Pocketknife

Our resident knife expert, Justin Park , recommends the Contra as the best overall value of all the pocket knives he’s tested. It features a wharncliffe nitride-coated stainless steel blade that maintains its sharp point, and while it’s made of a softer steel than higher-priced knives and tends to dull faster over time, the upside is that it’s easy to sharpen.

Its handle has a stonewash finish, which integrates the frame lock system for added durability. “I’ve used mine roughly near-daily for more than a year and haven’t broken or chipped the blade. It still looks like new,” Park says.

Comfortable Thumb Hole

CJRB Large Pyrite-Light Pocket Knife

This rugged pocket knife is made by CJRB, a lesser-known brand that “stands out for its affordability on handsome knives, though it deserves equal attention for its build quality and materials,” according to PopMech Reviews Editor Danny Perez .

Its wharncliffe blade maintains a sharp point so it excels at utility tasks. Made of AR-RPM9 steel, the blade features a great balance of corrosion resistance, toughness, and edge retention, plus it’s easy to sharpen. In a nutshell, you can expect it to perform like a standard modern steel pocket knife though don’t expect the blade to deliver the same level of quality at higher-end knives.

Civivi Folding Pocket Knife Baklash C801H

Civivi has been around for just under a decade but has built a reputation for producing high-performance EDC pocket knives at an affordable price. This flipper delivers fast, smooth deployment with the flip of the spine’s tab, thanks to ball bearings in the pivot.

Its stainless steel blade is made overseas but has good corrosion resistance and edge retention, plus a black stonewash finish, which hides scratches. There’s a cutout at the blade’s base (called a finger chortle) that provides cutting leverage, plus it comes with a reversible tip-up deep carry pocket clip.

Secondary Safety Mechanism

Cold Steel 1911 Folding Knife

This flipper is from Cold Steel, which stands out for its well-constructed, reasonably priced blades. The 1911 flipper’s design is reminiscent of the iconic semi-automatic pistol, with a classic black textured handle for a sure grip. The knife is fast to draw and deploy, and it has a secondary safety mechanism that’s essentially a backup lock for its lock to ensure the blade stays deployed during use.

Its 4016 stainless clip-point steel blade “isn’t the fanciest, but it helps keep the cost down and has good corrosion resistance,” says Park, noting that it needs to be sharpened more often.

Kershaw Brace Fixed Blade Knife

$29 $25 Amazon Also Consider

You may not think of fixed-blade knives as ideal for EDC , but they excel at some tasks that folders can fall short at. Easy one-handed use is perhaps the most obvious, but their full-length (or full-tang) construction means they’re sturdy, with a single piece of steel running from the tip to the butt.

Kerhaw’s Brace fixed-blade knife is just under 5 inches long and comes with a sheath, so you can comfortably carry it in your pocket. Its ergonomic handle is glass-filled with a grippy nylon overlay and its 8Cr13MoV stainless steel drop-point blade is tough and offers exceptional edge retention.

More Under-$50 Pocket Knives

Spyderco Ambitious Lightweight Folding Pocket Knife C148PBK

Coast FX411 Frame Lock Folding Knife 4-Inch Blade

Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops SWA25 Pocket Knife

SOG SOG Fixed Blade Seal Pup Tactical Knife

Deputy Editor, Reviews

Colin Aylesworth attended Binghamton University and is a Deputy Editor with the Gear team at Popular Mechanics and Runner's World, where he has been since 2022. Prior to joining Hearst Magazines, he worked for 11 years at U.S. News and World Report on the autos team.

His personal pursuits fit in well with the work he does for PM and RW. Aylesworth was on his college's club rowing team and has maintained a routine running habit through most of his adult life as a means of getting exercise and spending time outdoors. Running creates a hearty appetite, which brings us to Popular Mechanics. That publication's expertise in the area of grilling is relatable to Aylesworth, who is an adherent to charcoal grilling. In fact, he's been primarily using the same Weber charcoal kettle he bought on Craigslist in 2012.

Aylesworth also has experience in the lawn mower industry. Not only has he been mowing his and neighbor's lawns during adolescence, one of his more recent endeavors is a side gig of repairing and restoring gas lawn mowers given up by their previous owners. Since joining PM , he has gotten more involved with the publication's mower testing efforts and especially enjoys testing out new electric and zero turn mowers.

Rachel is the Deputy Editor of Reviews for Hearst's Enthusiast and Wellness Group where she supports Popular Mechanics , Runner's World , and Best Products. Her background is in service journalism and earlier in her career she worked as a daily newspaper reporter and book editor. She spent more than a decade as a staff editor and writer at TripAdvisor and Penguin Random House and her byline has appeared in Time Out New York , the New York Daily News , and New York Magazine. Outside of work, Rachel can be found planning her next trip, visiting museums and galleries, and walking her wirehaired dachshund in Central Park.

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