10 Best Neck Knives (Review) In 2020

The first thing you’ll notice about the CRKT Minimalist Bowie Neck Knife is the way it looks. Thanks to its compact, carved blade and beautiful handle, it sticks out as one of the best-looking neck knives on the market. The handle is really the main attraction. It’s ergonomically designed, with perfectly shaped holes for three fingers so you can get a really solid grip. And, it’s made from a polished, resin-infused material that is finished in dark green and black. The blade is bead blasted to make it perfectly smooth and it comes in a variety of styles to suit your cutting needs.

The sheath is made from glass-reinforced nylon, which makes it both strong and lightweight. And, importantly, it isn’t too bulky when you drop it down, underneath your shirt. This is an essential feature on any neck knife, so it’s something to look out for. The handle includes a fob for extended grip, so if your hands are on the larger side you’ve got something extra to hold on to. If you’re looking for the best neck knife, we think we’ve found it. But, if you don’t agree, it comes with a limited lifetime warranty, so you can always take it back. Our guide to the best Karambit knives features more amazing blades like this.

The SOG Small Fixed Blade Knife is a little bit less subtle than the last knife we looked at. It’s still small and lightweight enough to hang it around your neck and hide it from view, but it’s got an altogether more aggressive design. The handle is covered in a textured material and still has small grooves for your fingers. It’s not quite as ergonomic as the CRKT knife, but it feels pretty comfortable in the hand. The thing we do like about this handle is that it’s basically an extension of the blade because the whole thing is made out of one piece of metal. This makes it stronger and less likely to break if you have it for a long time.

The sheath is pretty cool, especially for people buying a knife for the aesthetics. It’s made from hard-molded nylon and is covered in tiny grooves that almost makes it look like a weapon itself. Plus, it has a little skull wearing a beret logo, which gives the knife a sinister look. All in all, this is one of the best neck knives money can buy. The only thing we don’t like is that the necklace isn’t heavy-duty enough and could easily be ripped from someone’s neck. For more similar options, check out our guide to the best keychain knives.

Some of the neck knives on this list are clearly designed for self-defense, even if the company doesn’t specifically say so. However, the Morakniv Eldris Fixed-Blade Pocket is a different kind of tool. This knife is designed for the survivalists and outdoor adventurers that need a reliable and versatile camping knife. It even won the 2016 Scandinavian Outdoor Award, which is given for products that mix functionality, quality, innovation, design, and sustainability.

The first indication that it’s not designed for self-defense is the blade. It’s very short and very sharp. The technical name for the blade is a square-edged ground spine blade. But basically, it’s designed primarily for carving wood. It can also be used as a striker with fire steel if you don’t have access to a lighter. The second indication is the all-weather sheath. It has a built-in click lock that protects the blade from moisture and anything that could corrode or blunt the blade. This is super important for survivalists because you can wear the blade without worrying about the conditions. The other advantage of this high-quality sheath is that it stays in place when it’s hanging around your neck – there’s no chance of it falling off the blade. To sum it up, if you need a reliable knife for an outdoor adventure, this is the one for you.

As you might have guessed from the name, the KA-BAR TDI Knife was designed with law enforcement in mind. When a suspect is attempting to take an officer’s handgun from them, this knife can be used as a last resort. It was actually designed by a retired police lieutenant, so you can rest assured that it’s fit for purpose. One of the most striking things about this Ka-bar knife is that it is curved like a banana. The reason for this is that it fits better in the hand and makes it easy to use in a self-defense situation.

Aside from the knife’s design, it’s really well made and durable. It has a hard plastic handle that fits comfortably in the hand and an AUS-8A stainless-steel blade. Probably the most impressive thing about this knife is the sheath. Unlike the other knives on this list, it’s made from hard plastic and is made to be mounted onto some protective clothing. In fact, it’s really designed to sit on a belt, rather than around your neck. The sheath stays in place and you can pull the knife in and out of it.

You might be wondering why one of the simplest looking knives on this list is also one of the most expensive. Basically, the Spyderco Ark Personal Defense Knife is really high-quality. When it comes to knifemaking, the price of the knife is almost always determined by the quality of the materials. The blade is machine made from h-1 steel, which is a nitrogen-based alloy that doesn’t rust and almost never breaks. It might not look like much, but this little knife is really hard-wearing. The handle is made from Nylon that has been reinforced by fiberglass.

This Spyderco knife is pretty obviously designed for self-defense. It doesn’t have any features that would be useful to a survivalist or outdoor-types, except for the fact that it’s a great knife. The blade is curved so that it can have as much length as possible, without making it long and cumbersome. Plus, it comes with a neck sheath that is difficult to rip off or turn against you in an attack. This knife is one of the best self-defense neck knives on the market. The quality is amazing, but you’re going to have to reach into your pocket.

The Boker Magnum Lil Friend Micro is one of the cheapest neck knives around. We had to include it because, at less than $20, it’s a great value option if you don’t want to go and spend hundreds on a beautifully crafted knife. Instead, this knife just does the basic things right. The first thing you’ll notice is that it’s absolutely tiny. Whilst the handle has been designed to be ergonomic, it doesn’t really work that well because it’s so small. If you have large hands, this thing will get lost in them.

It comes with a Kydex sheath to cover the blade. Kydex is a good material, but the sheath isn’t well fitted to the blade. You could put it in the oven and heat it up if you want to remold it. One thing that we don’t like is that it comes with a flimsy necklace that could easily be ripped off your neck. We’ve seen this on a few neck knives and it’s not ideal. We’d recommend replacing the necklace with a lanyard that can’t be ripped. As a defensive weapon, this neck knife is pretty useless. But if you’re looking for a tiny utility knife, this is an excellent budget choice.

Now back to something more expensive. The ESEE Knives Izula-II was a strong contender to be our Premium Choice, and we’re still choosing between this knife and the Spyderco Ark. The main reason we like this knife is its versatility. It’s bigger and sharper than a lot of the knives on this list, which means it’s great as a utility, self-defense or a survival knife. You could even use it to cut into your steak after a long hard day in the woods. Of course, because of its size, it’s not as subtle as knives like the Spyderco Ark, but you have to sacrifice something for that versatility.

The blade is made from 1095 steel, which is commonly used in professional cutlery. The reason is that it’s super hardwearing and stays sharp. The only downside is that it will rust and stain if you don’t look after it properly. If you choose this knife, you’ll have to keep the blades properly lubricated and cleaned. The handle is completely removable and made from grippy canvas material. It feels fantastic in the hand, even without the need for finger grooves. We also like the solid sheath. It’s similar to the Spyderco’s sheath, which is one of the best in its class.

Cold Steel are pretty well known in the knife industry and one of their best sellers is the Cold Steel Secret Edge. It’s a small and lightweight neck knife designed primarily for self-defense purposes, but it can be used in survival situations as well. There are two main reasons we like this knife: its size and the way it looks.  First of all, we think this is probably the perfect size for a neck knife. Some of them are so tiny that you can barely hold them in your hand and others are too large and heavy to hang around your neck. This one fits right in the middle. And secondly, it has a perfectly symmetrical look about it. The three finger holes in the handle and the symmetrical blade give the knife a consistent look that really stands out.

Another cool thing about this cold steel neck EDC knife is that they’ve made it cheap without compromising the quality. Instead of using G-10 plastic on the handle, they’ve used a cheaper nylon plastic with the same grip and durability. All in all, this is a fantastic knife for the price.

The Ka-Bar BK11 Becker Necker Neck Knife stands out on this list. Instead of having a comfortable plastic handle, the whole knife is just one piece of steel. The main advantage of this is durability. Because it’s so simple, there’s nothing that can go wrong. The handle won’t wear down after years of use. But it does make it more uncomfortable to hold, especially if you’re using it as an everyday utility knife.

The steel is 1095-grade, which Ka-Bar is well known for using. This high-grade steel will hold its sharp edge much longer than a normal kitchen knife, but it’s much more brittle so you have to be more careful not to bend it. The sheath is a hard plastic one that is much bigger than the knife itself. The upside of this is that your knife is always safe, but it does make it quite chunky around the neck. However, it’s not so heavy that it’s going to give you a bad neck. Overall, we really like this neck knife. However, if you’re looking for a comfortable, everyday utility knife this isn’t the one for you. Buy this knife if you care about the quality of the blade over everything else. For more amazing blades like this, check out our guide to the best boot knives.

Our last neck knife is the Boker Plus Gnome Fixed Blade Knife. It’s towards the cheaper end of the scale and it’s one of the tiniest knives we’ve featured. In fact, it’s a pretty similar size to the Boker Lil Friend. You’ll notice that on the handle it only has one finger groove. Unlike the bigger knives, you can only really hold this knife with your thumb and forefinger, which means it’s not the most accurate cutting tool.

Due to the size, this knife isn’t really a self-defense weapon, it’s more of a multi-purpose utility knife. But it works pretty well in that regard. We really like the green canvas handle. It might not be as hardwearing as the more expensive neck knives, but it feels great in the hand and makes this one of the coolest looking knives around.