Video V79djRJQrqE

[00:00] When I think of reliable, high quality knives, I like to think of American made. But not every knife made in America is high quality.

[00:14] However, some companies truly care about American craftsmanship, American durability, and American work, and high quality American tools. If you want a high quality modern American made knife, check out Half Face Blade.

[00:35] From kick knives, dive knives, fighting knives, kitchen cutlery knives, and even high quality folding pocket knives.

[00:47] The holders are using integral handles made from one solid piece of 775 T6 aluminum. The blades are S45DM, a high quality modern American blade steel.

[01:06] You can let your next knife let you down. Or you can just get something from Half-Based Blades. Bang! Sweet knives. I'm Jared and today we are going through 2025's best knives under $100.

[01:25] So this is the best knives under $100 of 2025. And we're going to get right into it. But we do have an honorable mention here. And the reason why it's an honorable mention is because I haven't tried it. Now, this is a Chavez Redenciana. This one's about $140 because it has LMAX steel.

[01:41] But they do have a D2 version with aluminum handles and a cross fall off. I think they're called the X-Lock, Crossfire Lock, same titanium clips, this clip, and the Skull Clip that you can get for like $70, $80.

[01:54] So, haven't tried it, but I do know Chavez knives are amazing. I have a lot of them, and I love them all from my premium ones to the, you could call mid-range ones. All of them are amazing.

[02:06] They do a phenomenal job. The fit and finish, their overall quality is just banging. but haven't tried the cross-bog one so I can't definitively say it but you know I would bet that it's really really awesome especially for the price so if

[02:19] you ever wanted to try Chavez there you go now this next one you probably can't even tell the difference between the two but one of these is only like what was it like 70 bucks I wrote down 80 bucks so one of these is in G10 and 20 CV and

[02:38] ones in off 10. I couldn't even tell the damn difference. So one's G10 and one's FRN. So one of these is only 80 bucks. The other one is quite a bit more and that's this one right here. So let's

[02:50] put this one to the side. But if you look, they're basically the same. There's a couple little differences, I guess, with the screws and the hardware. I guess I just realized that. Anyways, the Nano Shark. So this is the Demco Nano and you can get the Shark 80 bucks. It's

[03:03] really robust while having one of the strongest locking mechanisms, very fidget friendly, nice and thick in the hand so you have a really really good comfortable grip with a little compact blade. It does come in different blade shapes. Also, they have their Razor Shark, which is a replaceable bladed knife.

[03:21] It does come with a little tool so you can take this out. But this one is same locking system, same handle, same thickness, just a replaceable blade. So you can use this as like, you know, just a tool basically because that's what this is.

[03:36] This is one you can basically hard use on the job site So and you know It's still going to give you a decent cutting edge way more than most utility blades would get you then you also Just to mention it there is the shark cub for like these like 60 bucks

[03:51] The shark cub is like $72 and then you also get the 20.5 right now for $100 So I'm just giving you guys some other options to think of but those didn't come out technically this year like these ones

[04:05] so let's get to the next one now the next one is from CJRB and this is the Sasaya now the Sasaya I love this thing I think this thing is so awesome this is

[04:21] what I was wanting from a show-and-cutter I wanted it to be longer I wanted to be slimmer slicier and this it basically captured all of what I would want in a shielding cutter. This is some of the most comfortable ergonomics I've ever felt.

[04:37] Love the bottleneck construction. Then we have a leaf-shaped or shielding cutter blade shape that is going to be hyper-functional. The tip aims everywhere you are going, doesn't matter

[04:49] what grip or anything. And then because we have this, you know, bottleneck teardrop handle, it can'ts the blade at an angle. So you're trapping in the material. So it basically works

[05:01] Kind of like a recurve without having a recurve. Amazing action. Very slicey blade. And it is just a conventional plunge lock button lock, but they do a good job with it. Nice and solid.

[05:14] Great detent on there. Overall, I can't get enough of this thing. I love it. I think it is a phenomenal job. I would love to see them do the button compression lock with it, but man, oh man, did they do a good job with it. And nice acoustics.

[05:31] And there is multiple versions. This one's an ARPM9 aluminum bolsters with steel liners and G10 They do have a titanium one an S35VM and a wooden one with the same material as this one So there's a few different flavors

[05:44] next Sticking with CJRB we got this little guy, which what the hell was the name of this guy? Oh, man, I can't remember it the version the cgrb version now mine has a button lock but it has a very strong

[06:02] v10 like a really strong v10 and nice and snappy from flipper but very very snappy d10 they did a really good job with it mine is very solid it has an aluminum handle g10 for some grip and i'll just

[06:18] love the profile this if you like a compact small knife this is great great utility cuts great pinch grips you do have a full four finger grip uh you have this big finger choil love the plunge

[06:31] grind back there and i like the look of it of course i would love to see something like this in a larger package but if you're going to have a little compact knife this is where it's at really cool very lightweight by the way you almost don't even notice you have it it is super lightweight

[06:46] reversible deep carry clip AR PM9 steel we have the the PVD coating with the Cerakote aluminum handle and yes fidget friendly you have the front flipper and

[06:58] the reverse flicking hole or thumb flicking hole and yeah it's a banger let's get to the next one. Tenable, let's go to Tenable. So Tenable Knives is

[07:10] Concept's budget line and this is the Fenrir. No the Fenrir didn't come out this year But this version did which is their button compression lock version fricking love it They did a phenomenal job with it. So you have a very strong locking system with a great detect some of the best action

[07:27] I would say that this is basically the best fendler yet Because of the locking system being the way it is Phenomenal D-Tech action. These ones are more budget-friendly though. Obviously we have aluminum handles. This one has their 10 CR Damascus

[07:44] And then this one has the Nitro-V with the orange Cerakote coating with Cerakote liners. I think it looks pretty cool the way they did all the liners. And the only thing is they should have did the clip and maybe the hardware.

[07:57] I think that would have been really cool. Very fidget friendly, great ergonomics, great sweep blade. I did want to give one of these to one of my cousins because you know I like to give away some of my favorite knives that are under a hundred dollars so you know family members can beat the hell out of them you know and it not

[08:15] that big of a deal because they're not super expensive but they're super high quality and I try to pick my favorite ones when I do that. This one is an awesome awesome model the Fenrir.

[08:27] Can't go wrong with the Fenrir especially for this price. Now speaking of tenor bull still we have the Eagle Strike. Now the Eagle Strike comes in a lot of different versions as well. There are premium models of all these. Like I said this is their budget line. So we

[08:42] have Nitro V steel aluminum diamond handle diamond cut handle in aluminum with a crossbar lock. Very smooth on the opening and closing. Then this one has

[08:56] the same handle same blade and you notice this one has the grooves and this one does not. So this one has micarta and if you look you can see the blade it's the exact same blade everything's the same you just got these little cutouts right there. You know it adds a little more flair to it. This one you know is going to

[09:11] be a little bit more maybe warmer in the hand in colder environments with the micarta but it also can stain a little bit faster while this one you can clean easier might be a little bit colder. Both of them are very lightweight long big

[09:25] full-size knives great knives titanium mill pocket clips should have said that already You're getting you know a pretty good bang for your buck with this one nice strong lock beautiful drop point blade That's going to be very very useful for just about everybody and being a large knife. It's gonna fit just about anybody's hand

[09:44] New one that just came out and this is basically just honorable mention because I haven't had it long enough But I do like this model. I had the premium one and I really liked it It was a frame lock. Listen to that sound.

[10:00] And this is the Entity, the new budget version Entity from Tenable. So, you know, Concept did have their version, and this one has aluminum handles, the 14C28M straight clip point blade, beautiful blade, beautiful ergonomics, deep carry clip.

[10:18] And then this one, we got the pink one with the 10CR Damascus. beautiful beautiful Damascus same sound

[10:30] great great knives but yeah they do a good job with their regular button locks I already have spine wackies these did really well and what's that sound

[10:44] anyways uh-huh these are badass these are really cool they're only one deployment but it's a great deployment great lock great drop shot action you can reverse flick off of the blade but I can feel it's got a good detail. Like you can actually hear it.

[10:59] The way it pops open. Anyways this is the Tenable Institute. Great model from them. That's not technically on the list. It's just an honorable mention but figured I'd bring it up since it is

[11:11] brand new. By the way none of these are in any particular order. They are random. I love all these nice pretty. I mean there's some I like more than others but for the most part this is just a random list. Next is technically a premium budget knife. This is around a hundred dollars and it is

[11:29] the Migron Vapor an M390 in titanium with a titanium mill pocket clip and a cross bar lock. It's not an adjustable one I don't think. No not an adjustable one but it comes with look at this

[11:44] nice strong detent for a cross ball lock so very snappy deployment you got a slim handle so the thumb studs are really easy to get to very ergonomic

[11:56] super lightweight very slicey spear pointish drop point blade like I said M390 steel now they're not doing the best M390 ever but for $100 they're

[12:08] doing a damn good job for only $100 so I have no complaints for this knife you know considering all the materials and how awesome it is I didn't have a problem deburring it you know like I said it didn't feel as hard as maybe some

[12:20] m3 90s but it still was decent and well worth the hundred dollar mark the clip is reversible and in set and it does you know works pretty well you know it's got plenty of spring TA hardware all the way around so a lot of bells and whistles

[12:36] So, lots of bells and whistles on this guy for only $100. Next is the Boss Feed Martin. Now, the Boss Feed Martin comes with their top liner lock,

[12:49] which is a very strong, super solid locking system. And the beauty behind this locking system, kind of like the Fenrir we were looking at earlier, is it allows a good, deep, rapid opening with a strong, reliable lock,

[13:04] but you still have that button lock closing action. So you know when you're on the job, you're working or doing whatever, you can use both hands, get that knife out, make your cut, get the blade you know out of the way you know so you don't want to cut yourself while you're

[13:17] using your hands or you can just put the whole knife away until you need it again. But it's a rapid opening and closing and you can even use the button if you want to. But the button compression lock or top liner lock is one of my favorite locking systems. 154 cm aluminum handle on both

[13:33] these. You just have different color combos. We have a deep carry clip not inset but it does have flat screws and you can see this one's got the coated Cerakote blade and then we have the plain

[13:45] stonewashed finish. There is a couple different flavors and is other models of the Martin. So just depending on you know what uh your style color combo or locking system is. Not sure all the ones

[13:58] that are available but I'm pretty sure the the top liner lock ones are available. Not 100% but they are very very well priced. Is the O-Knife Duran. O-Knife Duran this is an awesome knife. This has

[14:14] an aluminum frame lock with a steel lock bar insert. Same reason why you do that on titanium. We have nitro v steel but the thing is is this has a hard anodized coating. So basically there's

[14:26] the process that they do with this aluminum which makes it much more durable and hard and then when they cerakote it it makes it much less likely to scratch so um the cerakote is also already

[14:38] really tough but you see how we scratched up right there and then it's pretty much you pretty much don't even see nothing on the blade to wipe it a couple times pretty much goes away like it's super

[14:52] durable. I did do a full video beating the hell out of these and it's incredible how durable they actually are. Beautiful drop point blade. Great ergonomics and another thing super fidget friendly. The detent is perfect. The thumb

[15:07] side is laying in a perfect place. Just super fidget friendly. Absolutely addicting. Then we have a deep carry clip that is in set with flat shoes and reversible. Love to see that. Great access to the lock bar. This is a banger. Now

[15:21] another one from O-Knife is the Ion. So the Ion comes in a lot of different versions. We got a titanium or sorry an aluminum liner lock version. We have a titanium frame lock version or a liner lock version and then we also yeah I think it's a liner lock.

[15:36] So we have a titanium liner lock version, a aluminum liner lock version and even a zircati liner lock version which is absolutely incredible. So lots of different versions. This one is the most affordable one with 14C28N and the

[15:52] micarta handle. We have an ultra deep carry clip so it goes as deep as you can go and it has great access to that lock bar and again kind of like this with the thumb stud action this has amazing flipping action. If you're gonna have one

[16:06] deployment you want it to be this good. Very comfortable flipper. A perfect amount of detent Like he says super snappy This is one I could sit here and fidget with all day In fact every single version I have is like that where it like man I can put them down once I get them in hand These are my two favorite knives from O

[16:28] The QSP Ripley. The QSP Ripley this had or has one of the strongest crossbar locks. I think the QSP has has really got their geometry down with their crossbar locks.

[16:44] Lock solid lockup, 14C20 at end drop point blade, beautiful stonewash, nice and slicey, but yet still very robust. This is a tougher knife, in my opinion. Listen to this.

[16:56] You can just hear that. Crossbar lock, that's how much resistance you got. So super strong work knife, deep carry clip, inset with slide screws and reversible. And yeah, just an awesome, awesome knife.

[17:09] The QSP Vault. Now, this one's probably my favorite one now because of the white and black. But this one was originally because I really like this micarta with the black. But they're very attractive knives.

[17:22] Using a crossbar lock. There are a lot of crossbar locks in this video because, you know, crossbar locks were very popular this year. You know, that and the compression locks. But, you know, we try to throw in wherever we can and whatever did the best.

[17:37] Deep carry clip. Beautiful drop point blade in 14C28. Then we have aluminum bolsters. Same thing with this one, except that this one has this white, I don't even know what it's called, some sort of acrylic,

[17:49] or I don't know, G10 with a coating on it or something. Not sure, but great action. Again, on the crossbar locks. And yeah, the only negative I had with this one was that stop in placement.

[18:03] You know, I wish that it was farther away. This one wasn't as bad as this one, but, you know, hopefully they wind up addressing those in the future. I don't think it'll be an issue with these ones, but we don't want it to wind up becoming an issue

[18:15] where the stop pin is just way too close to the edge. And then we have the Turtle Punk. Now, the Turtle Punk was one that kind of shocked me how good and how much I like it.

[18:27] This is a liner lock knife, but my goodness, does this have a very high-quality feel to it for a traditional liner lock. We have a 14C28M blade, somewhat of a tanto,

[18:41] but you can use it just like a drop point. You could sharpen this out if you want to. Decent access to the lock bar. Super snappy thumb stud action. Nice sound. That deployment, though, in the action,

[18:55] really, the liners, just the tolerances, everything feels very, very well put together. Deep carry clip inside with slide shoes and reversible. good access to those thumb studs and it is very ergonomic got a nice choke grip spot

[19:08] nice pinch grips and yeah really cool this is the turtle punk what a name not sure what my budget versions are but the curse all ridium yes it didn't come out this year but the mini

[19:22] did at least i believe it did and they had a ton of other versions like this my card and carbon fiber I know this is under $100 video so these ones don't really count but my point is they came out with a lot of versions of the iridium they had their

[19:36] launch series with the auto they had budget versions they had small ones like this one right here this is a representation of the small one this one is titanium with s35 obviously it's not under $100 but they do have versions

[19:49] that are they have all different colors and lots of different options from different blade shapes the Kershaw iridium is a great model it is using a crossbar lock and they do have USA made ones if you go with their launch series so awesome awesome

[20:03] model from Curve Saw they did a bang up job with it this is something like if you were wanting to get a Bel Air and maybe couldn't you know afford it you could go with the more affordable option

[20:18] of the Iridium. Next we have a very very affordable knife this is from Takray now mine's had a little bit of a regrind issue because I did snap the tip because this is so thin and so slicey which is

[20:31] what I love about it and it is incredibly lightweight the entire handle is made of G-ton with a thin layer of carbon fiber over the surface but the the liners are very small so this thing

[20:44] is ultra ultra light um has nice deep carry clips and set with flat screws very snappy action um Nice cross ball lock. Great purchase. So it's a very smooth action, you know,

[20:58] wharncliffe style blade. I would call it kind of a hybrid blade shape. But because of the ergos, it's super useful. This is a great one. And this is so, so affordable. Now, as far as Civivi goes,

[21:11] Civivi puts out a lot of heat every year. I have about nine knives just from Civivi. and I knew I couldn't put nine knives in this video.

[21:24] So I did have to wean some out, and I had to start cutting them out with the dumbest criticisms in order to make it down to these few. So let's talk about the few that I got. We got the Cedivi Neurohaptic.

[21:37] I love this one. I love the way this swells out right here, the way the flipper tab is. It just cranks out there. You also have the fuller. Beautiful sheep's foot blade, and this feels tough.

[21:49] I mean you have this flare like I said so like for poking and stuff and it's a button lock but they do the best button locks not only is it the strongest the most solid like it's the best action we have a deep carry clip that is reversible and then we have like this shred carbon fiber stuff

[22:06] not sure um I'm guessing that's what it is but I don't know it's some sort of material that uh looks shredded but it's really cool and the blade steel 14c or sorry nitro-beam and they go be a 14-steer very similar so awesome awesome knife I think it was kind of a tactical

[22:22] knife speaking of tactical this guy the rs7-1 it is a double hollow I like this because it's different it's not like everything else yes it has a dagger or spear point style blade we have

[22:37] a hollow here and a hollow here and the thickest part of the blade which is the center isn't that thick. This is very thin, very pokey, precision stabbing tool for sure. Lots of ridges, so lots

[22:51] of grip, and you have that flare up right there to protect you. It is a liner locking. Technically, it does have a wave feature. The wave is a little bit slippery for my liking, but it still has the flipper and thumb studs that launch out there. You can see how fast this thing deploys. I mean,

[23:06] this thing is a rapid deploying knife, and it is big. So because it's different, you know, Oh yeah, and it does have a titanium mill pipe clip. And my card is sealed, at least on this one.

[23:18] Super duper smooth. But yeah, you don't see things like this every day, especially if you're only from Civiti. And this thing has such a good balance. You feel like you have a ton of control over it.

[23:30] So I like it a lot. The next one is a new one from them. But wow, this one's very impressive. This is the new Mini Chacon.

[23:42] The Mini Chacon, mine has a beautiful demand. You wouldn't think this was under $100. Like, this milling pattern is stuff you see on customs that are $1,000 plus.

[23:55] Amazing action. Like I said, they always do the best button locks, whether it's the strength, the action, or anything. All of the above is the best on CDMes with their button locks.

[24:07] they do the best. This is only a three-finger knife but something about it man it just feels really really high quality. Absolutely love it. Aluminum handle and we have the 10 CR Damascus and then we have you know speaking of you know aluminum they do a really good job with their aluminum scales This is the Star Flare Listen to this

[24:34] Freaking love it. Absolutely love it. Beautiful wharncliffe blade. And it has nitro V steel with this beautiful satin finish. Nice plumb grind. Aluminum handle. TA hardware all the way around.

[24:46] Deep carry hook that is reversible. Nice countersunk button. again best button lock action and great button lock action and this one is very invidious well all button locks are and they usually make them reversible clips

[24:59] you got a very good ergonomic handle here even though it does taper down but the grips you got with this thing oh my goodness it's a workhorse of a nice very lightweight super slicey great action it's great everything and then we have

[25:16] the Pragma. Now, there was a couple other ones, like the Sentinel Strike 2. I can't find mine, but that one I absolutely love. I love, love, love that one. It's, um, they had a one-clip version

[25:31] that I really liked, but that was in, like, a D2 steel. The new version had 14-tier nitro V1 of the two, but it was a drop point dual ground version. I couldn't find mine, so, you know, it's not in the video, but I'm talking about it because I do recommend it, and I do love it a lot.

[25:45] This one is the Pragma, also in 14C28M, sheaths for blade with a satin finish and an aluminum handle. Very ergonomic. It's a great size. It's like my favorite size knife.

[25:58] You got the thumb set action. Again, amazing, amazing action. Deep carry clip, TA hardware all the way around. These knives from Cedidi are super high quality. I would say that they are some of the best.

[26:12] for when you talk about the best budget knives you know there's a like there's a handful of companies that fall in that category and you can never forget to add cedidi because cedidi they just kill it man they use the best materials with the best quality the best tolerances the best

[26:29] detents the best lockups the best everything i did have some criticisms this year with where they were putting their stop pins and that's why a couple knives got kicked out of this list but I'll tell you what man I could have went on and on with this list there was probably there

[26:43] was literally probably like five more I wanted to throw in this list but I did not you know I like to go it all I'm not going to 10 you know but I'm just showing you guys you know just representation um this is sick I would if you if I somebody handed me this thing what are you

[26:59] talking about right this just look at it right like this to me does not speak to me at all but But then you open it and you're like, oh crap. Oh shit. This thing is so, listen to it. Just listen.

[27:17] This thing has action like you'd expect from a handmade custom that's like tuned to perfection. It is so crazy how good this thing is. I love this thing. It's just Kara's knife, obviously, but, um, but yeah, this is just one example of a knife like it, man.

[27:35] He could have made the list, but there was a lot of other ones, you know. But anyways, let's get to the next one. All right, so the next company, or, well, next knife.

[27:47] Kaiser Mad Rat. The Kaiser Mad Rat, sorry, Mad Rat. natural geese feel shoes foot blade a little bit of purple with the beautiful canvas micarta love this natural brown sorry brown canvas micarta great action they do some

[28:05] of the best if not the best crossbar locks out there as they use the clutch lock which is adjustable and this one is adjustable love the pivot collar matching the thumb studs this is uh

[28:17] an awesome knife you know it's kind of like you know what you'd expect from like you know the the the bench made bug outs the you know the hoag deckers and stuff but just a lot more affordable

[28:29] with really really good materials and i like this one a lot now one of my favorite knives of the year is the new kaiser original two this one is the budget one but they do have premium ones like

[28:44] this one, S45DN in titanium. But this one right here is the budget version. You can see same blade shape, nitro V steel, or sorry, 14C, 14C28 in blade steel. I sharpened both of these. We have

[28:58] the clutch lock. My car descales on this one. There is a lot of other versions though. Like there's other blade shapes, three different blade shapes, multiple different handle materials, different blade steels. So I do have, you know, not one of each, but I do have a few of them.

[29:12] I have a couple of the drop points, some of the tantos. I have a premium tanto one. Very, very cool. Deep hollow grind, super duper slicey, very slim, very lightweight. But, you know, typically I would prefer a knife, you know, more this size, right?

[29:29] But sometimes I like a knife this size. It's lightweight. It's very ergonomic. It's slim. It's something I can get a lot of control over. I have plenty of blade to do anything I'm typically going to do with a knife.

[29:42] and I think this is very attractive. It's a good looking knife. Yeah there's nothing like screaming and getting crazy but I just love this drop foot blade shape with this deep hollow grind. That blade shape speaks to me. It absolutely speaks to me. So this is definitely one I really really like.

[30:00] And the last one is the new. Now it's not this one. I actually gave the one away. I got to get a new one because I love the new drop bear so this is the drop bear 2 but not

[30:13] necessarily this clip point version I like this spear point version I think that was awesome but it has the compression lock or a top liner lock whatever you want to call button compression lock and I gave away because I loved it so much I gave it to one of my uncles so you know that was important

[30:29] to me to give him something I really liked and since it was one of my favorites of 2025 I gave it to him so I need to get me a new one but that one has the button lock, I'm filming pictures up for you guys, I have done videos on it, so awesome,

[30:42] awesome knife, like I said, it has the drop point, or spear point-ish blade, beautiful, beautiful action with the, you know, that button lock that has the liner on the inside, blade seals, natural

[30:54] V, micarta, no, that, the one I had was the, the rich light micarta, but, you know, it does come in other handle materials, this clip-on version is also really, really good, and it might be even more up your style it does have a poke your tip so in fact this one might even be more useful for

[31:11] some people I do really like this one this one does have their clutch lock though which I do prefer that um that liner lock and I also don't like that the stop pin hits right there and I

[31:23] don't know what's going to happen when you sharpen it out because there's so much room in between the the the things right here so I don't know why they put it so close to there and I do think it'll be a a little bit farther back than it appears,

[31:35] or probably, yeah, it'll be fine. I don't think too many people are going to sharpen that all the way out, and if you do, you know, it's not a very expensive knife, and that is quite a bit of material, so I think it'll be fine.

[31:47] But, anyway, there you guys go, and I don't know if that's the same way on the, because with the button lock one, I don't think that's the same way. But anyway, there you guys go. I know it's a long list. I know it's a long list.

[32:00] There were so many knives this year, and I literally cut out 90% of them. So a lot of bangers in this list. All of them are great. You can't go wrong with any one of the knives that were in this list.

[32:12] So whichever one is your style, go and check them out. Maybe I will do my top five or something like that because it's just tough, man. It's really tough because there's some knives I just love equally.

[32:25] You know, it's kind of like the difference between like this one and this one, right? Like I love them both. I love them both. for different reasons. But anyways, there you guys go. Work hard, stay tough. Until next time, peace.