Cutting-Edge Blades: The Best New Knives for Every Occasion

Newest Knives for Cooking, Camp, and Carry

Dogwood Custom Knives Echo-3

Dan Eastwood of Dogwood Custom Knives recently released a production version of his custom Echo-5 fixed-blade field knife. The production knife, dubbed the Echo-3, has a 4.13-inch, flat ground blade of S35VN stainless steel with a stonewashed finish, a skeletonized full tang, and either G-10 or Micarta handles, offered in a variety of colors. Material quality is on par with most custom knives, but you’re saving some money with a production knife versus one that’s handmade, one at a time. The Echo-3 comes with a quality leather sheath from JRE Industries. The Echo-3 is a great way to get a custom designed knife without the wait time to get a full custom, or the price tag.

Specifications:

Blade Length: 4.13″
Cutting Edge: 3.94″
Handle Length: 4.49″
Overall Length: 8.62″
Blade Material: CPM-S35VN Stainless
Blade Thickness: 0.125″
Blade Style: Clip Point
Blade Grind: Flat
Blade Finish: Stonewashed
Handle Material:  Micarta or G-10
Handle Thickness: 0.75″
Sheath: Brown Leather JRE Industries
Weight: 5.36 oz. Weight with Sheath: 7.41 oz.
Designer: Dan Eastland Made in USA
MSRP: $199

www.dogwoodcustomknives.com

KABAR State and Union F01

State and Union is KA-BAR’s custom shop, and it’s doing some interesting takes on some of the traditional KA-BAR designs, as well as coming out with new things of its own. The F01 folder is one of the latter, and it’s the first all-USA-made folder produced by KA-BAR in over 50 years. The F01 is a one-hand-opening, lock-back design with a 3.25-inch blade of S35VN stainless steel. It has a low-profile wire pocket clip and G10 handles. It’s available in Ghost Jade with purple anodized hardware, Battleship Gray with teal hardware, and Olive Drab with orange hardware. It’s a simple, yet very functional design, but built with exceptional quality, and offered in some unique color options that make it stand out from the crowd of EDC folders.

Specifications:

Blade Length: 3.25″
Blade Steel: S35VN Steel
Rockwell Hardness: 60-62
Blade Thickness:  0.16″
Blade Width: 0.85″
Grind: Hollow
Shape: Drop point
Color: Ghost Jade, Battleship Gray or Olive Drab
Handle Material: G-10
Lock Style: Lockback
Overall Length: 7.35″
Weight: 0.2 lb
Manufactured In United States
MSRP: $175

www.kabar.com

UCO Gear Ingalls, Nason, and Tinkham 

UCO is best known for outdoors and camping gear, especially mess kits, lanterns and fire starting gear. Now the company has its own line of folding knives too. They use D2 steel blades, Glass Reinforced Nylon handles that have a terrain contour pattern on them for both looks, and texture. They’re available in Ocean blue, Coal gray, and Tiger orange colors. The two biggest models, the Ingalls and Ingalls Switch-LOK, and the mid-sized Nason are slipjoint designs. The little Tinkham is a liner lock with a flipper opener. The Ingalls Switch-LOK also has a secondary push button lock located at the pivot pin in case you want an extra degree of safety during use. The Nason incorporates a great set of scissors and a sturdy pair of tweezers making it a great EDC choice. MSRP’s run from $69.99 for the Switch-LOK down to $39.99 for the Tinkham.

Ingalls Specifications:

Open Length: 7.2″(182 mm)
Closed Length: 4.5″ (115 mm)
Blade Length: 2.6″ (67 mm)
Blade Thickness: .10″ (2.5 mm)
Knife Weight: 3.5 oz (99 g)
Blade Material: D2 stainless steel
Blade Shape: Straight back
Blade Finish/Color: Stonewash
Handle Material: Glass reinforced nylon
MSRP: $59.99

www.ucogear.com 

Gerber ComplEAT Cutting Board Set

Camp cooking is a skill unto itself, but having the right gear can certainly make things easier. ComplEAT Cutting Board Set gives you the tools you need for food prep in a handy, easy to store package. The set includes two dual-sided outdoor cutting boards, one bamboo and one polypropylene, a 3.25-inch paring knife, and a 6-inch chef knife. It all snaps together and nests in a storage tray that can also be used to hold food or other kitchen accessories during meal prep. It’s the perfect companion to the Gerber 16-piece ComplEAT Cook Set too, which is a great set of pots, pans, dishes and bowls, which also nests together for convenient storage.

Specifications:

9.6″ x 15.6″ bamboo cutting board
8.9″ x 14.3″ polypropylene cutting board
Two-sided cutting boards w/ juice grooves
4116 German stainless steel stonewash blades, corrosion resistant
Glass-filled polypropylene knife handles w/ lanyard hold
Rubber over-mold textured handle grip
Removable inner and base trays
Heavy duty locks
Dishwasher safe
Limited lifetime warranty
MSRP: $110

www.gerbergear.com

White River Knives Ursus Cub

A good compact fixed blade is hard to beat for an all-around outdoors knife, and the White River Ursus Cub is an exceptional example of the style. It’s a more compact version of the company’s Ursus 45, for folks who want the design and quality, but don’t need as much blade or bulk. The Ursus Cub has a 3.5 inch blade of CPM Magnacut stainless steel with a drop point profile.  It’s available with Brown or Black Burlap micarta, or OD and Black Micarta handle scales. It comes with a Kydex sheath and ferro rod making it ready to go for your next outdoor adventure.

Specifications: 

Blade Length: 3.5″
Blade Thickness: .130″
Overall Length: 7.6″
Steel: CPM MAGNACUT
Hardness: Rc. 62-64
Weight: 4.9 oz.
Sheath: Kydex
Made in USA
MSRP: $200 

whiteriverknives.com

TOPS Frog Market Special 

Another entry in the camp cooking category is the unique TOPS Frog Market Special. The Frog Market Special (FMS) was designed by my first editor and mentor, Steven Dick, based upon knives he saw being used by butchers and fishmongers in Vietnam. The FMS uses a 5.25 inch long, 1095 High Carbon Steel blade that’s just 1/16th of an inch thick. The thin blade has a bit of flex, and steep blade curve make it an exceptional slicer, while the fine tip is designed for boning meats. The FMS is a full tang design and has handle scales of Tan Canvas Micarta. It comes with a Kydex sheath and is made in the USA. While definitely design with camp kitchen use in mind, it’ll also work well for general utility chores as well. If you like the Frog market Special there’s a bigger XL version, and a new neck knife/paring knife sized version available as well.

Specifications:

Overall Length: 9.50″
Blade Length: 5.25″
Blade Thickness:  0.060″
Blade Steel: 1095 RC 56-58
Blade Finish: Tungsten Cerakote
Handle Material: Tan canvas Micarta
Knife Weight: 3.5 oz
Sheath Included: Yes
Sheath Material: Black Kydex
Sheath Clip: Rotating spring steel
Designer: Steven Dick
Made in USA MSRP: $235

www.topsknives.com

Editor’s Note: A version of this article appeared in TREAD Sep/Oct 2024