The 5 Greatest Knives Ever Made

Designs That Stand the Test of Time

There are many great manufacturers of knives for people to pick from these days but some knives and their designs have stood the test of time.  They may have gone through several changes and refinements but the original design remains for the most part unchanged.  Here is a list of the greatest knives ever made and why there variations are still in use today.







Bowie

The Bowie knife was and still is one of the most popular designs in North America.  The Bowie fight was popularized by Jim Bowie who famously used one during knife fights.  Although, the one Jim Bowie used may have been a variation on an existing design and these days many knives are classified as Bowie Knives.

The Bowie knife is heavy bladed with a short handle.  The blade itself can reach a length of up to 24 inches.  It's design makes it extremely versatile and can even be thrown by the wielder using the handle.

Khukuri (Kukri)

This is the standard knife used by the Nepalese army and more famously the Gurkhas who are highly trained Nepalese units that fight in the armies of other countries.  The most well know Gurkhas are the Royal Gurkha Rifles that fight in the British army.  The design heavily favours slashing and chopping rather than stabbing.

Khukuris are fearsome looking knives with inward curving blades with a heavy outward edge. Gurkhas use the knife as a tool but are very proficient knife fighters and use the weapon with great effectiveness in close combat.

Ka-Bar

The Ka-bar Combat Knife was first designed in 1942 as an all round fighting and utility knife for the U.S. military.  The U.S. Navy quickly introduced their own Ka-Bar Mk 2 and further refinements have been made ever since.

The original design used a 7 inch straight carbon steel blade and leather washers wrapped around a solid handle to prevent slippage.  Modern takes on the classic design have the single edge replaced with a dual edge blade and the leather replaced by a non-stick rubber substitute called Kraton.

Ulu

Originally, designed and used by Native and Inuit peoples, the Ulu was made for skinning and scraping mostly of animal hides.  It was used for many other tasks such as cutting meat, shaping show and ice and even cutting hair.  The are numerous different styles based on the people that made them and readily available materials but the basic design is the same.

The Ulu is a crescent shaped knife with the handle fixed to the top which is made to fit securely in the palm of one's hand.  It's design allows for maximum downward pressure to be applied.  The Ulu is considered a "push dagger" because of this and while push daggers are illegal in some jurisdictions the Ulu is exempt.

Traditional Ulu

Modern Ulu

Swiss Army Knife

Famous around the world for having multiple accessories built into one compact design, the Swiss army knife is probably the most well known folding knife ever made.  It was originally issued to the Swiss army during the late 1880s as an all purpose knife that was also used to service the standard Swiss army rifle.  After some years of use the Swiss army found that soldiers were using it to do other things, like opening cans of food but not as effectively as they could.  This lead the army to reissue the knife with other tools attached to it such as screwdrivers and can openers.

Swiss army knives of today have literally hundreds of different tool options even magnifying glasses and tweezers.  Though not taken seriously by the die hard knife aficionado they are still popular and one of a kind.