Folding Pocket Knives

Gift: engraved folders are our most common gift order. Initials, a date or a short message, up to 20 characters.Common questionsWill a Damascus folder rust?It can if it is put away wet, because the carbon layers are reactive. Dry it, wipe a little mineral oil along the blade, and it will outlast you. If it will live in a tackle box or a boat, choose 440C instead.How do I sharpen one?A normal whetstone at roughly 20 degrees. Sharpen the edge, never the flats, or you will grind through the pattern.What blade length is legal to carry?Please check your local law before ordering.Are these made in the USA?Yes, forged and finished in our own shop. New to carrying? Start with how to choose an EDC knife. Looking for handmade pocket knives? Every damascus steel pocket knife made in USA on this page is forged in-house – real damascus pocket knives made in USA, with a clip that carries.

Pocket knives made in the USA, not assembled in the USA

There is a difference, and most of the pocket knife market depends on you not noticing it. A knife can carry a US brand name, a US address and a US price while the blade was ground eight thousand miles away and the only American step was screwing the scales on. We forge here. The billet is welded, drawn and folded in our own shop, the blade is ground and heat treated here, the scales are shaped and pinned here, and the person who put the final edge on it lives about twenty minutes from the forge.

That is why we are comfortable putting the words handmade and made in USA next to each other on the same page. If you ask us who made a specific knife, we can tell you their name.

Locks, patterns and what each one is for

Pattern	Lock	Blade length	Carry	Best for
Liner lock folder	Locking	3 to 4 in	Pocket clip	Daily carry, one-hand opening
Lock back folder	Locking	3 to 4 in	Clip or pouch	Harder cutting, hunting
Slip joint	Non-locking	2.5 to 3.5 in	Loose pocket	Traditional carry, restrictive states
Multi-blade	Non-locking	2.5 to 3 in	Loose pocket	Gentleman carry, gifts
Damascus gent folder	Slip or liner	2.5 to 3 in	Pocket or pouch	Dress carry, pattern on show

The pocket clip question

A clip is not a small detail; it decides whether the knife gets carried. Clipped to a jeans pocket the knife rides high, comes out the same way every time, and you stop noticing it. Loose in the pocket it collects lint, turns the wrong way around, and slowly migrates to a drawer. Most of our liner lock and lock back folders carry a clip; the traditional slip joints and multi-blades deliberately do not, because a clip ruins the line of a gentleman pattern.

Tip-up or tip-down, left or right: tell us at checkout and we will set the clip before it ships.

Carbon Damascus, D2 or 440C for a pocket knife

Pockets are damp. That is the whole problem. Our 1095 and 15N20 Damascus takes the finest edge and carries the pattern, but it is reactive, so it wants drying and an occasional wipe of oil. 440C stainless ignores sweat, rain and coastal air and is the honest choice if the knife lives in a work pocket. D2 sits between them: harder than 440C, more weather-tolerant than plain carbon, and the usual answer for someone who wants edge retention above everything.

More questions about our pocket knives

Are these pocket knives really made in the USA? Yes. Forged, ground, heat treated, handled and sharpened in our own American shop, not assembled from imported blanks. That is the whole point of the collection.

What is the best American made pocket knife for everyday carry? For most people a 3 inch liner lock in D2 or 440C with a pocket clip. It is legal in the widest range of places, it opens one-handed, and it will not mind a damp pocket.

Do handmade pocket knives come with a pocket clip? Our liner lock and lock back folders do. Traditional slip joints and multi-blade patterns do not, by design. Tip-up, tip-down, left or right is your call at checkout.

What is the difference between a folding knife and a pocket knife? Nothing, in practice. Pocket knife describes where it lives, folding knife describes how it works, and almost every knife on this page is both.

Is a Damascus pocket knife practical or just pretty? Both, if you dry it. The pattern is a by-product of layering two steels for performance, not a decoration printed on afterwards. Put it away wet and it will spot; wipe it and it will outlive you.

Can I have a pocket knife engraved? Yes, up to 20 characters, added as a paid option before checkout. Engraved folders are our most common gift order.

How much do handmade pocket knives cost here? Most sit between the entry Damascus folders and the premium limited pieces. You are paying for forged steel, real heat treatment and hand fitting, not for a brand name printed on an imported blade.

More reading

Browse the multi blade pocket knives, the D2 tool steel knives or the 440C stainless knives. For fixed blades, start at the hunting knives. Hand Made Steel Pocket Knife with Clip, USA Forged by Black Mamba Knives.

Most recently forged here: VG10 Steel Folding Knife, VG10 Steel Folding Knife, VG10 Stainless Steel Folding Knife Rose Wood, Pearl and VG10 Stainless Steel Folding Knife Rosewood, Pearl.

More reading. Short fingers and a stiff lock are a bad combination. Our guide to choosing a knife for smaller hands covers thumb stud placement, handle thickness and three finger handles.

Also in this shape: our pride knives, a two model run of rainbow honeycomb resin folders on 352 layer hand forged Damascus.

Buying for a wedding party? The groomsmen knife sets come as six matched knives, 15% less than buying them singly, and each one can carry its own engraved name.