Loadout Room approved EDC Knives

As you know there are a ton of choices out there when shopping for EDC knives. We have the advantage of testing and evaluating a lot of these knives in order to give you the reader an educated decision, so we have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn’t. I asked a few of the Loadout Room writers to give me their top picks were for EDC knives and why they choose what they did over all the others available on the market.

Spyderco Yojimbo2

Some knives are carried for their utility and some for self-defense. Individuals that are serious about self-defense will carry a dedicated fighting knife in their EDC. And you’ll never see them cutting open a box or prying something with that knife. A dedicated fighting knife should be kept in a pristine, sharpened condition as if your life depends on it. The Spyderco Yojimbo2 is one such knife. I’ve decided to take self-defense more seriously and the Yojimbo 2 is my new companion on this journey.

Kershaw Blur

The Kershaw Blur is the current “King of the Hill” when it comes to EDC blades for me. The well-balanced assisted open, aggressive texture on the handle and the scary sharp edge on the tanto blade keep this on me ahead of all others.

Hogue X5

Durability and craftsmanship are two of the things I look for in any knife I decide to put in my EDC lineup. These reasons are why I have chosen to carry my recently acquired Hogue X5 Folding Knife. With a name like Hogue, I know that a lot of time and effort have gone into designing a quality product. With a blade designed by Allen Elishewitz, I know that absolutely no corners were cut during its creation.

The smooth opening action allows me to get the knife into play quickly, no matter what the situation is. A spear point blade is perfect for just about any application, and the CPM154 steel is strong enough to withstand the daily use that I will be putting it through. Although I haven’t carried it for long, this great knife has quickly found itself in my short list of EDC knives.

Kershaw Dividend

Being situationally aware and resilient businessman these day, I usually wear one or two different clothing options for a variety of activities. During normal working hours, I am either wearing a suit or business casual attire (i.e., a sport coat with khakis) and when I get home or have a day off I am back in my low-visibility, low-profile normal wear. As part of my EDC load out my knife options have to be diverse due to the material of the pant type, and pocket design, and keeping with my low-vis mindset, no pocket clips showing. For my business suits I chose the Kershaw Dividend, the Dividend is extremely lightweight, has a very smooth finish, and thin handle that makes it perfect for silk or cotton front pockets. The Dividend can also be hidden in the waistband behind your belt if you find the knife is moving too much in your suit pants. The second knife I carry as part of my EDC as mentioned in either business casual or normal wear is the Kershaw Blur as it is in between a heavy utility knife like the Kershaw Cryo and heavier than the Dividend. The handle has a sure-grip that can be used in any weather with out slippage and is sturdy enough to be that medium weight EDC.

Emerson Commander

The Emerson Commander knife is a battle-tested blade and approved by the Navy SEAL Teams as an edged weapon. Originally this knife was developed with input from Navy SEAL Team 6 members, and later made available to the public beginning in 1998. The wave opening feature allows you to deploy the blade as its pulled from your pocket making it quicker than auto knives, and in some cases quicker than a concealed fixed blade.

I pocket this knife more than any other that I own due to its ruggedness and simplicity. The hardware used on the knife is all standard Phillips or flat head screws (no crazy torx or allen heads). The chisel ground blade makes honing the edge in the field extremely easy. Although this is a little heavier than most EDC knives, the weight is worth having a purpose driven tool on me everyday that may end up saving my life.

Hogue EX-AO3 Auto Knife

My newest knife addition is my Hogue Automatic knife. This side opening automatic is one of Hogue’s newest knives. This particular model is the Hogue EX-AO3. This knife sports a 3.5 inch blade and polymer grip. It uses a simple push button design and I chose the drop point style blade to keep sharpening easy. In my state I can conceal carry an auto knife with my CC permit and find one handy for my day job. It’s a tough design and the blade flies out with some real oomph to it. The blade can open in a standard or ice pick style grip. I like the ability to easy open the blade without using inertia, or a thumb screw. A simple button gives me instant access to a small and effective blade.