Table of contents for Complete Knife Guide 2025 in Blade

Rick Hinderer Knives offers two of its latest iterations of what industry observers say will continue to be a hot knife style for the foreseeable future—the automatic—in the XM-18 3.5 Bowie Auto and XM-18 3.5 Spearpoint Auto. The knives come in different handle colors and inlays and are basically the same design with the same dependable out-the-side automatic opening mechanism, but each offers its own different blade pattern and material. The 3.5 Bowie has a clip-point bowie blade of CPM S45VN stainless steel, while the 3.5 Spearpoint sports a spear-point blade of CPM 20CV stainless. In addition to each knife being a style to continue to watch in 2025 (see page 36), the steels bear serious eyeballing in the coming year as well as each makes the list of steels…

1. MAC2 3.5 FRAG/MCNEES KNIVES KNIFE TYPE: Tactical folder BLADE LENGTH: 3.5” BLADE MATERIAL: MagnaCut stainless steel BLADE GRIND: Saber HANDLE MATERIAL: Titanium LOCK: Reeve Integral Lock, aka framelock POCKET CLIP: Bent titanium  WEIGHT: 4 ozs. CLOSED LENGTH: 4.2” OVERALL LENGTH: 8.125” COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA  MSRP: $595  AVAILABLE: NOW 2.COLLECTOR SERIES MYSTO/HOGUE USA KNIFE TYPE: Manual folder  BLADE LENGTH: 3.4” BLADE PATTERN: Clip point  BLADE MATERIAL: CPM Magna Cutstainless BLADE GRIND: Flat  HANDLE MATERIAL: Carbon fiber  LOCK: ABLE Lock® ambidextrous crossbar lock enhanced w/Glow Rhino blue Tritium insert  POCKET CLIP: Deep carry, reversible WEIGHT: 2.4 ozs. CLOSED LENGTH: 4.4” OVERALL LENGTH: 7.8” SPECIAL FEATURES: Titanium thumb stud and backspacers anodized blue COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA MSRP: $319.95  AVAILABLE: Black Friday, Nov. 29, 2024 “IT IS PUMA SGB’S MOST POPULAR…

The world of classic custom knife collectibles is a fascinating fusion of history, skill and artistry that gives rise to enduring and aesthetically pleasing creations. Top examples are distinctive, breathtaking and fashioned by renowned makers, and collectors value them for their craftsmanship. From timeless styles to wondrous innovations, upcoming trends for custom knife aficionados are out there for you to explore. Based on the latest trends and predictions by veteran custom knife purveyors and collectors, some classic custom knives that are expected to be hot collectibles in 2025 include bowies, modern folders, and tactical knives, with advancements in materials and design elevating the latter two in terms of function and innovation, making them highly sought after. A number of top modern folders are coveted for their combination of old-world…

Predicting what will be in demand in any endeavor can be chancy at best, but we at BLADE® are lucky in that we have a wide selection of sources who specialize in what is already a specialty field—knives—to give you the straight skinny on what’s to come in sharp industry trends. Take factory knives, for example. BLADE field editor Dexter Ewing contacted four leading retailers from four different areas of the USA—the Northwest, Southwest, east Texas and the East/Southeast—to weigh in on what will be hot in the factory knife industry in 2025. Dexter and Co. deliver. As you might guess, knife enthusiasts from disparate sections of the land will likely be into different knife styles—and you would be right. There are similarities in the American knife user’s edged tastes,…

Predicting the future is an exercise in experience and intuition, and when it comes to the custom knife market those who are close to the action can offer some insight into the marketplace for 2025. For sure, there remains a mix of the familiar along with a bit of adventure and expectation. There’s also a word of caution from those who watch the market—and there is always excitement zsurrounding what lies just over the horizon. Standards such as everyday carry (EDC), high-end, stylized damas cus blades, and tactical knives that have evolved in the past three decades from the new “it” knives to the realm of classic style will remain popular. However, listening to the experts, the purveyors and observers who are close to the custom knife artists themselves, brings…

With a new year comes new opportunities, new adventures and, yes, new materials, new designs and renewed excitement in factory knives. Twenty-twenty-five is certainly no different, and it looks like a more exciting year than its predecessor. “Fixed blades will continue to be popular, especially with the bushcraft market,” says Jeff Loffer owner/founder of long-time knife retailer Cutlery Shoppe in Meridian, Idaho. Nonetheless, he indicates folders will continue to outpace fixed blades sales wise as they are easier to discreetly carry, with models such as the Benchmade PSK Axis Lock setting a new standard on the upscale side. The PSK is aimed at the outdoor crowd for bushcraft or camping. Designed by Bill McHenry and Jay Williams, the Axis Lock was the first of the crossbar locks to appear on…

This being the issue on the knife trends to watch in 2025 and all, your faithful scribe thought it appropriate to broach three things that may or may not happen but that I would like to see occur in the coming year: 1) With all the natural disasters impacting the USA in recent times, an industry-wide campaign to make and sell knives and accessories and donate the proceeds to legitimate agencies that provide food, water, medical supplies and other aid to those devastated would be most fitting. The knives and accessories could be those designed for survival situations and include though not limited to folders; fixed blades; hatchets; axes; multi-tools; bushcraft knives and fire starters; rescue knives; machetes; survival kits; portable saws; sharpeners; and other items such as flashlights, communication…