The Best Kershaw Pocket Knives For Everyday Carry

With even a tenuous familiarity with the knife segment, you’ll no doubt be familiar with the Kershaw name. For nearly half a century, the company has built its name on delivering high-quality, highly-utilitarian blades at an accessible price point. And as one of the most eminent knife makers in operation today, we thought we’d carve out the time to shine a light on the firm and take a deep dive into its history and what makes it unique, along with a curated selection of its catalog in the form of our picks for the best Kershaw pocket knives. So, without further ado, let’s go into it. 

Peter Kershaw was an avid hunter and outdoorsman residing in the Pacific Northwest. After years of using existing production knives when off-grid, Pete eventually decided to try making his own blades primarily for hunting and fishing. This ultimately lead to him starting a small independent knife company out of a cement plant in Lake Oswego, Oregon. As this fledgling firm blossomed, demand began ramping up, eventually to the point where it exceeded Pete’s production capabilities, prompting him to seek out a manufacturing and production partner with the Kai— an established Japanese corporation with more than six and a half decades of experience crafting bladed tools. 

Around this same time, Kai — which already owned Shun Knives (and still does) — had already been wanting to increase the number of products it was exporting to America, and Kershaw’s knife company served as the perfect vehicle to accomplish this goal. So, in 1974, the Kershaw brand was officially born, operating out of Portland, Oregon. Kershaw would almost exclusively focus on producing hunting, fishing, and other outdoor-focused knives for the first few decades of its existence, though the dawn of the 1990s would ultimately mark the end of the “classic” Kershaw era and usher the company into its modern identity that we know today. 

Not only did the 1990s see Kershaw start expanding its product range, but it also began investing ample resources into research and development, kicking off a spirit and tradition of innovation that lives on to this day more than 30 years later. In addition to utilizing state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques that benefit from extremely tight tolerances, Kershaw also began using a myriad of different technologies and advanced materials that have since become commonplace in the modern knife world. 

This includes debuting its first liner-locking knife in 1995, as well as unveiling its patented Sub-Frame lock and rolling out its exclusive Composite Blade technology all within the same decade. In 1998 Kershaw also debuted one of the first-ever assisted-opening knives — courtesy of a Ken Onion design, which bring us to our next point about the brand; the fact that Kershaw routinely taps some of the most eminent knife designers on the planet to pen its blades. In 2006 — a decade after opening a new U.S-based production facility, Kershaw and its parent company would introduce the Zero Tolerance brand as an avenue of selling more top-shelf high-dollar knives — which were becoming increasingly popular in the early-to-mid aughts — without tainting or watering down the Kershaw brand, as a major part of its identity lies in delivering high-quality, high-performance knives that offer tremendous value and bang for your buck thanks to their accessible pricing. 

Now producing a million knives annually, the Kershaw brand remains in operation today, going as strong as ever. The blades that it produces continue to offer ample utility and solid performance in rugged and accessibly-priced packages — a fact that’s made Kershaw incredibly popular amongst laborers, craftsmen, and the working class demographic inn general. And, while the knife segment has become increasingly inundated with competitors, Kershaw has managed to remain at the forefront of the space, largely thanks to its unwavering commitment to quality, value, and innovation. 

Kershaw designs and builds its blades being guided by fore key principles; quality craftsmanship and construction; utility; innovation; and value. Rather than trying to churn out ultra-budget-friendly blades or super-expensive knives, Kershaw operates in the middle. It’s knives are made From rugged yet affordable materials and feature solid build quality. Overseas manufacturing and an overall focus on keeping costs down ultimately allows Kershaw to sell its admittedly robust knives at accessible — but not cheap — prices. The mass scale at which it produces its knives also plays a key role in Kershaw being able to deliver such reasonable prices while still being able to utilize quality materials and assembly.

What’s more, Kershaw also puts a decent chunk of its revenue back into research and development in a bid to remain an innovator in its space. From deployment methods to bearing systems to locking mechanisms, Kershaw has long been able to go toe-to-toe with the more premium brands in the knife segment. Another way in which Kershaw is unique, is that, instead of focusing on a few main areas or sub-segments, the brand produces a wildly diverse range of products, including a ton of different types and styles of knives, as well as items like scissors, multi-tools, axes and hatchets, kitchen knives, and other cutlery-adjacent items. Kershaw’s operations also currently include its USA-Made product range, which allows the company to deliver even more high-quality blades that are assembled with an even more meticulous eye — without having to produce knives through the Zero Tolerance brand. 

Since day one, Kershaw has been designing its knives to stand up to daily use. This not only dictates the material selection and much of the knife’s build quality, but also aspects of the overall design that impact how easy it is to clean, sharpen, and generally maintain the thing. While its knack for innovation, the diversity amongst its product catalog, and the scale of its manufacturing are all impressive, at the end of the day, what really makes Kershaw special is the delicate balancing act that it’s managed to pull off since the early ‘90s, delivering genuinely high-quality cutting tools that offer exceptional bang for your buck thanks to its always-reasonable prices.

Kershaw Shuffle

Best Keychain Knife/Compact Pick: A bead-blasted handle made of glass-reinforced nylon and cut with deep finger grooves to prevent slipping or disarmament, the Shuffle has Kershaw’s unique K-Textured grip so it takes real dedication to drop this. A reversible clip lets you go tip-up or down depending on your mood. It’s got an odd, stubby little look to it, but once you actually pick it up, you see how naturally it conforms to the contours of your grip for an easier overall experience that really does make it feel like an extension of your hand. Made with 8Cr13MoV steel, it’s not going to be the greatest piece of hardware out there, but it can take and hold an edge respectably, especially for mundane, everyday letter-opening level tasks.

Kershaw Bralwer

Best Budget Pick: We may say it is cheap, but that is merely because Kershaw wanted an inexpensive knife that brought their style and quality to anyone, regardless of how much they have in the bank. The rapid flipper opening lets the Brawler display its wicked Tanto blade with a minimum of effort. That nasty blade itself is 8Cr13MoV steel that’s as useful for menacing an attacker (or taking one on) as it is at cutting through twine or ropes. It’s a slender 4 ounces and only about 4 inches when folded up, making it a moderately sized EDC knife. The quad carry pocket clip and glass-filled nylon handle are good for just about every user of any knifing experience.

Kershaw Cryo

Best Value Pick: The Cryo is a unique blade that seems to be one of the most polarizing pieces you can carry. At 6.5 inches with a 4.2 ounce weight, it is a little short for being a really strong long knife, and a little clunky for a really light knife. We feel that this mixture does fill a need that has been largely ignored by manufacturers. When famed knife maker Rick Hinderer designed the Cryo for Kershaw, he had a true vision. The hefty belly, hollow grind, and small swedge combine to give you a beefy blade that’s particularly handy for those with larger hands who want a shorter blade that still has some heft and grip.

Kershaw Blur

Best Tactical Pick: The Blur is one of the most famous knives by a man who is known for little besides his knifecrafting and superb metalworks. The 6061-T6 anodized aluminum handle has a nice DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) coating so it can take more abuse and stand up to years of adverse weather without rusting out or breaking down. Trac-Tec inserts in the handle along with the SpeedSafe opening system allow this to come out quickly with one-handed flick that’s safer and won’t cause snags or delays. The end result is comfortable, blinding draw speed with a little wrist action.

Kershaw Leek

Best EDC Pick: The design of the Leek is meant for hunters or anyone who needs a one-handed knife that isn’t going to give them fits when they only have a few fingers free. With a wide variety of styles, you can always count on the 410 stainless steel handle, housing the Swedish-made Sandvik 14C28N stainless steel blade. Totally ambidextrous, lefties won’t need to find a strange position to get this to flip out on a moment’s notice. The standard Leek comes with an all-alloy handle construction, but if you need a little more grip, there’s a glut of coating options to choose from so that you can find the right level of grip for your job. Naturally it comes with SpeedSafe for easy and reliable opening that will never hurt.

Kershaw Launch 1

Best Automatic Pick: Though it’s always produced high-quality cutting tools, in recent years Kershaw has ventured into more premium territory with its USA-Made lineup which offers even better materials and superior craftsmanship and quality control — traits that are all present in spades on the Kershaw Launch 1. This American-made automatic knife is constructed around a black-anodized aluminum handle with a red Bullseye push-button deployment. Comprised of just two machined aluminum slabs mated together, this handle also features a deep-carry tip-up pocket clip and an American flag laser-engraved onto its non-show side. When pressed, the Bulleye push-button quickly fires out the knife’s 3.375″ drop point blade, which is composed of Crucible Industries’ American-made CPM 154 blade steel. What’s more, in typical Kershaw fashion, the Launch 1 punches well above its weight, delivering similar to performance to its markedly more expensive counterparts while offering substantially greater bang for your buck. 

Kershaw Knockout

Best Workhorse Pick: The pocket clip actually tells you almost everything you need to know about this knife: It’s a four-way meant for deep pocket carry, and it is just that kind of pragmatism that defines the Knockout. Completely made in the United States, the cutting surface is Sandvik 14C28N steel set artfully into a 6061-T6 Anodized aluminum handle. Everything is given a good DLC treatment to keep it harder and longer lasting than comparable medium light knives. It’s meant for pocket EDC so you’ll find that even with a closed length of 4.6 inches, it manages to make itself scarce and avoids trouble getting to your keys, flashlight, wallet, or whatever else you happen to be lugging around.

The Best Spyderco Knives For Everyday Carry

Want to check out another selection of high-quality, industrial-grade workhorse blades that are sold at a reasonable price? Then be sure to head over to our guide to the best Spyderco knives for everyday carry for a deep dive into the legendary Colorado-based bladesmith.