Reviews Celebrating American-Made Blades For America 250, Part 1: The Northwest Mike Searson June 29, 2026 Join the Conversation At RECOIL, we review every product fairly and without bias. Making a purchase through one of our links may earn us a small commission, and helps support independent gun reviews. Read our affiliate policy. Find out more about how we test products. The United States Semiquincentennial, also called the Bisesquicentennial, the Sestercentennial, or the Quarter Millennium, marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States signed on July 4, 1776. Our founding fathers went to war with the mightiest empire in the world because they dared to put a tax on their common breakfast beverage of choice. Imagine what they would have done over the NFA. In all seriousness, we are doing something a bit different with the Unusual Suspects for the rest of the year. We are going to profile only U.S.-made knives and knifemakers by the four corners of our great nation. Our typical “Knives by Theme” lineups will return in 2027. First up are a smattering of knives from the Northwest. While far from the sites of the Revolution, states like Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana have a rich culture of custom knifemakers and production factories which reflect the rugged individualism of the settlers who tamed this part of our country. From the pre-revolution French Trappers in search of pelts to the folks fleeing the onerous laws of California in the late 20th century, the Northwest saw the major launch of U.S.-made automatic knives, proving that these designs were safe and reliable. If you carry an American-made EDC knife, there is a huge chance it comes from this part of the country. It’s easy to see how dominant this part of the country is with great blades from Team USA. Truly, the onset of this article started out like most of our typical articles with players like Benchmade, Buck, CRKT, SOG, and Tops. We hope to see more AMTAC and MKC blades in the future, though. BENCHMADE MINI BUSHCRAFTER The Benchmade Mini Bushcrafter is a compact and versatile drop-point fixed blade intended primarily for bushcraft use. This lightweight design can be carried on the belt in a leather sheath. This one is flat ground as opposed to the traditional Scandi grind of a typical bushcraft blade. This seems to be more of an EDC item for the outdoors than a working bushcraft knife. It works well as a general-purpose fixed blade, but the company should have named it something else. The grip is fantastic and you truly could work this knife all day without getting a hot spot. Overall length: 7.58 inches Blade length: 3 inches Weight: 6.5 ounces Blade steel: S30V Handle material: G10 Price: $300 PROS: Very lightweight and comfortable to hold. Its size and shape allow it to ride on your belt like a compact hunting knife. S30V steel is very tough and this one came out of the sheath incredibly sharp. The handle is very comfortable and could be its best feature. CONS: You get a slot on the sheath for a sharpener or ferro rod, but they didn’t include one. TOPS KNIVES EL PIONERO A few years back, Ed Calderon of Ed’s Manifesto fame, designed a knife based on what is probably the most common knife design in the world, a paring knife with a slight clip point blade. Dubbed El Pionero, this model has a lot of features that Ed found useful on knives throughout his experience. The finger divot is a signature of his that he originally learned from his mother. It’s designed to make it easy to know where the edge is oriented based on where that divot is felt — but can also aid when extracting a knife that has been stabbed into something and may be somewhat stuck. The false edge of the clip point aids in stabbing as well. The Kydex sheath is low profile and easily customized by the end user to be worn in multiple configurations. TOPS Knives El Pionero Blackout Edition Fixed Blade Knife, Black – ELPO-02 $250.00 $173.99 Palmetto State Armory $173.99 Prices accurate at time of publishing. Affiliate disclosure. Overall length: 7.63 inches Blade length: 3.38 inches Weight: 4 ounces Blade steel: 1095 Handle material: Micarta Price: $220 PROS: 1095 is a great steel that is easy to sharpen, takes a ton of abuse, and comes back for more. Extremely good balance and the knife works well in both the forward and reverse grip positions The handle is shaped nicely and has a well-thought-out finger divot near the butt for quick orientation. CONS: 1095 steel is a carbon steel that is prone to rusting if it is not regularly oiled, the blade treatment will help here but remember to keep it well lubed. There is no lanyard hole, which is a must for outdoor or combat knives like this one. MONTANA KNIFE COMPANY BATTLE GOAT COY/OD Montana Knife Company (MKC) is an American knife manufacturer based in Frenchtown, Montana. The company was founded by Josh Smith, who at 19 became the youngest ABS Master Bladesmith in the world. Their designs are working hard-use fixed blades intended for hunting, culinary use, and everyday carry. The Battle Goat is a one-piece tactical fixed blade with a trailing point blade and a sheath set up for pocket carry. The 3 ¾-inch blade is Magnacut and the G10 handle has a brake with phenomenal ergonomics. The Generations Lifetime Warranty from MKC guarantees free lifetime sharpening, cleaning, and repair for any of their knives free of charge. Overall length: 8 inches Blade length: 3 ¾ inches Weight: 3 ounces Blade steel: Magnacut Handle material: G10 Price: $350 PROS: The trailing point blade turned out to be more useful than anticipated. Magnacut steel is renowned for rust resistance, structural toughness, and superior edge holding power. Fixed blades in the pocket are one of the best ways to EDC with the right sheath. CONS: There is no lanyard hole, which is essential for a real working knife. MKC knives are small batch productions and tend to sell out quickly, leading to long wait times or a high secondary market. AMTAC BLADES MAGNACUT JAEGER Bill Rapier is a living legend among the SEAL Teams and made a name for himself as a tactical shooting instructor. The Jaeger is his latest design for a working hunting knife that’s surprisingly good as an EDC fixed blade. The G10 handle provides a nonslip grip, and the Kydex sheath is designed to ride in the pocket or on the belt. The Pocket Fire sheath has a ferro rod and a soft Velcro side for other attachments. Paired with a dull blue trainer, the Jaeger gives you a complete system instead of just another hunting knife. This is one of those designs that lends itself to many purposes from hunting to EDC chores. With a few tweaks, it could make for one great fighting knife as well. Overall length: 8.5 inches Blade length: 3.5 inches Weight: 9 ounces Blade steel: MagnaCut Handle material: G10 Price: $600 PROS: Providing the benefits of corrosion resistance, edge retention, blade hardness and ease of maintenance, MagnaCut offers a lot for a daily use knife. The full package includes the knife, sheath, and trainer for a great value. CONS: If you’re looking for a fixed blade you can rig to your pocket, this one tends to ride a little high for that. Rapier’s knives are in high demand. Wait times can be long and secondary market prices are known to go high. BUCK KNIVES 110 AUTO The Buck 110 folding knife could very well be the best lock-back knife ever produced, if not the most iconic. We dedicated a full article to this most American of knives in our sister publication, RECOIL OFFGRID, a few years ago. While it’s still the best value in a sub-$100 folder, we took a look at the automatic version for this one. It’s made with a 420HC clip-point blade with a proprietary heat treatment. The Macassar ebony Dymondwood handle scales are accented by brass bolsters, liners, and pins. Buck Knives Buck Hunter 110 Automatic Knife $224.99 SCHEELS $224.99 Prices accurate at time of publishing. Affiliate disclosure. The automatic version is one of the strongest autos we’ve ever seen. The knife lacks a clip, but ships with a quality leather sheath for belt carry. Overall length: 8.62 inches Blade length: 3.75 inches Weight: 7.6 ounces Blade steel: 420HC Handle material: Dymondwood Price: $225 PROS: Still a classic all-American design that works. The automatic feature fires like a champ into a tight lockup secured by the lockback mechanism for a rock-solid working tool. The blade comes razor sharp and sharpens easily. CONS: A bit slow to deploy due to the sheath Slightly heavy for standard pocket carry CRKT XOLOTL AUTOMATIC The Xolotl (pronounced: show-low-tl) is an OTF auto from CRKT that is dimensionally like a fountain pen with a skeletal-like handle. Not skeletonized, but skeletal, the pattern on the G10 handle resembles a stylized ribcage with each bone representing one year of retired U.S. Army Special Forces Sniper Michael Rodriguez’s active-duty service. Built as a part of the Forged by War series, this knife is comfortable to carry in everyday gear as it is on a MOLLE vest. It deploys and contracts with a lightning-fast push of a button. The spear-point blade has a razor-sharp double edge, so it can excel in slicing as well as penetrating. Crkt Xolotl Automatic Automatic EDC Pocket Knife $282.99 KYGUNCO $282.99 Prices accurate at time of publishing. Affiliate disclosure. Overall length: 8.9 inches Blade length: 3.6 inches Blade material: MagnaCut Handle material: G10 Weight: 4 ounces Price: $349 PROS: MagnaCut steel is renowned for rust resistance, structural toughness, and superior edge holding power. The aesthetics are tops on this model — and OTFs are all about the look! This can act as a capable non-lethal impact tool when closed; it’s almost perfect in this role. The clip is reversible for right- or left-handed use. CONS: There is no lanyard hole. The double-edge blade and OTF action may face legal issues in some jurisdictions. SOG PENTAGON FX ELITE SOG Knives has been a fixture in the Pacific Northwest since their founding in the late 1970s, and this model was designed by a fellow PNW maker, Todd Begg. The Pentagon name has been used around a family of spear point or dagger-like profiles made by SOG since the beginning. This one is really geared toward soft targets but make no mistake, it will do a number on hard targets as well. PVD coating over the S35VN enhances both the rust resistance and the tactical look. The Micarta handle is nice and grippy as well. SOG Pentagon FX Elite Fixed Blade Knife S35VN Double Edge Da $449.99 KnifeCenter $449.99 Prices accurate at time of publishing. Affiliate disclosure. Overall length: 10.75 inches Blade length: 5.75 inches Weight: 7 ounces Blade steel: S35VN Handle material: Micarta Price: $450 PROS: Very comfortable in the hand in either the forward or reverse grip. Razor sharp out of the box. S35 steel provides excellent corrosion resistance and is a very capable steel. CONS: The profile of the blade may be problematic in certain jurisdictions with archaic laws surrounding double-edged knives. Why you can trust RECOIL Since our founding in 2012, RECOIL remains the premier firearms lifestyle publication for the modern shooting enthusiast. We deliver cutting-edge coverage of guns, gear, accessories and technology. 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