Best Spring Assisted Knives in 2023

There’s no getting around the issue that tons of spring assisted knives simply don’t perform like they’re expected to. You’ll need the best spring assisted knife if you want durability and that snappy action that’s promised. We’ll guide you through what to look for and help you get better value for your money.

We want you to get a spring assisted knife that’s right for you. Our goal is to get the right knife in your hands at the right time. Spring-assisted knives can be incredibly fast and convenient – exactly what you want from a tactical or utility knife. Let’s go!

Top 7 Best Spring Assisted Knife Reviews in 2023

We’ve chosen 7 of the best spring-assisted knives to review. These are knives that have been carefully thought out. It’s not as simple as choosing the most popular (or the most expensive) knife. There’s quite a bit of consideration that goes into getting the right knife for you.

We’ve considered the price, features, material quality, design, weight, length, speed, reliability, durability, and more. We’ll help you get a clear idea of what will work best for you, and how the knife performs in the real world. Let’s jump into our best spring assisted knife review!

GrandWay Spring Assisted Knife

This knife has one of the safest and most simple linear locking systems in this price range. It’s efficient and doesn’t catch or jam like a lot of linear locks tend to do. We love that it’s dirt-resistant and doesn’t have those annoying and potentially harmful sudden closures.

There are thumb studs for both right and left-handed use that give this knife a convenient opening and closing action. If you’re not a fan of assisted openings, these studs help you open the blade seamlessly. You’ll notice that the blade finds the right balance between being tight and having enough mobility to open quickly via the thumb studs.

440C stainless steel offers quite a good balance between good edge retention and offering enough corrosion resistance to be a functional tactical and outdoor knife. One of our favorite features of this knife is the pocket clip. It can be mounted in a load of different ways, making a fantastic outdoor and tactical knife. You can slip in onto your belt; carry it on a boot or bag, and more. Overall, you’re getting one of the best spring assisted knife options at this price.

MTech USA Tac-Force Spring Assisted Knife

Here is a unique and gorgeous knife. The blue colored blade immediately stands out and catches your attention. You’ll love the utility you get from the serrated portion of the blade. It’s exquisitely sharp and gives you loads of versatility. While the handle seems a little on the small side, it’s very comfortable.

You can get a good grip and it helps to reduce the overall weight of the knife. The flipper gives you a speedy assisted opening that performs pretty consistently. One-handed closing isn’t as fast as some similar knives, but with a little practice, you’ll be doing it in your sleep.

The handle is quite textured and anti-slip. It’s a wonderful outdoor and tactical knife for field use as it comes with a glass breaker and belt cutter. You’re getting one of the best spring assisted knife and stunning addition to your EDC kit.

GrandWay Military EDC Pocket Knife

With 440C stainless steel and a handle made from treated wood and metal, you’re getting a knife with excellent material quality. It’s a utility knife with a glass breaker and an exceptionally sharp edge. Whether you’re doing light outdoor work or using the knife for self defense and protection, it’s a well-rounded and capable EDC.

This knife stands out as one of the more attractive options in this price range. It’s got a Rosewood handle that leads into a coated and treated stunning black metal. Your hand isn’t going to slip and the grip is super-comfortable. You’re getting a high-quality and durable pocket clip that can be reversed and mounted to almost anything.

If you’re into the outdoors or hunting, you’ll know how much of a bonus this is. The blade can be sharpened to a fine edge and it doesn’t wear out too quickly. It’s one of the better and smoother assisted openings we’ve used. The action is smooth and snappy when you press the button. The flipper helps with one-handed closing but takes a little practice to get used to.

Steinbrucke Spring Assisted Tactical Knife

Here’s a larger 3.4” blade to satisfy most EDC uses. There’s a serrated portion on the lower half of the blade that complements the already impeccably sharp cutting edge. This, combined with the textures and shaped handle, brings you one of the easiest spring assisted pocket knives to work with.

We love knives with tips like this. It has a powerful piercing ability and can handle heavy work without giving in. You’re getting slightly softer steel, which means you’ll need to touch up and sharpen the blade relatively often. On the other hand, you don’t need to worry much about chipping or scuffing the edge.

It comes exceptionally sharp out the box and is sharpened twice before being sent to you. These assisted opening knives are sturdy and robust thanks to the intelligent design and reinforced handle. It’s worth its price and will quickly earn its place in any tactical, utility, or basic outdoor set.

MTech USA Spring Assisted Pocket Knife

You’ll get super-fast rapid deployment of the blade. It’s easy to control and use one-handed for both opening and closing. There’s a linear lock to lock the blade in place for secure cutting. We think this is a very safe and trustworthy knife – making it one of the better choices for beginners or inexperienced knife carriers.

There’s a handy thumbstud on the top end (near the spine) of the blade. You’ll love this stud if you’re not a big fan of wearing out the assisted opening spring. You can get a snappy action with a little practice and it’s a solid knife to practice one-handed use with.

For the blade, you’re getting a stainless steel build with a corrosion-resistant coating to help it last even longer. The finish does come off with very rough use, so treat the knife well. You’ll find the handle to be comfortable textured and ergonomic. Using this knife for utility and basic tactical work is easy and strain-free.

The handle is a little more challenging to keep clean and doesn’t work too well for left-handed use. To sum it all up, you’re getting one of our favorite picks for the best spring assisted knife. It’s durable and will earn its place in your pocket in no time!

P.S. You’ll have a glass breaker and a belt cutter built into the handle for tactical and emergency use.

Zero Tolerance Spring Assisted Folding Knife

Here’s a compact knife that packs a punch. It’s super-sturdy and is fantastic for piercing and cut cutting. The overall profile of the knife is very slim and sleek, something you’d be able to use around the office. The wider blade helps to better balance the knife and adds decent cutting power.

We love G10 handles and this one is no exception. It’s incredibly well-textured and comfortable to hold. There’s almost no chance of this slipping and putting your fingers at risk. You’re getting an insanely versatile quad-mount pocket clip that lets you carry the knife on either the right or left side – without losing accessibility.

These high-quality spring assisted knives are corrosion, rust, and wear-resistant; and they look fantastic. It’s an ideal EDC for everyday utility tasks and can handle basic tactical use. It’s a knife that’s durable enough to use outdoors when you’re camping or hiking.

These knives are expensive, much more so than most of the options on this list. If you don’t want to sacrifice any performance or durability, this is a knife that gives you class-leading utility in a broad range of situations. It’s one of the top best spring assisted knife money can buy.

Kershaw Leek Spring Assisted Pocket Knife

To kick it off here is one of the most popular spring assisted knives. Perhaps, its most unique feature is a newish all copper handle. It’s comfortable to hold and surprisingly durable. Copper is denser and heavier than steel and this gives the knife a pleasant premium feel. Aside from that, you’re getting the age-old ultra-sharp edges that the Leek knife series is known for.

The edges are incredibly durable and you get the cutting power of a far more expensive knife. Edge retention and how easy the blade is to sharpen are essential to consider for any pocket knife. You’re getting top-class performance from this edge and re-sharpening doesn’t need to happen that often.

We loved the SpeedSafe assisted opening on this Kershaw knife. It’s snappy and consistent regardless of which hand you’re using to open it with. The blade is highly resistant to corrosion and scuffing. It’s going to look as good as new well into its lifespan. Overall, we’d say this is a top pick for best spring assisted knife for the money.

Why You Should Go with a Spring Assisted Knife?

We’re going to take a quick look at a couple of topics related to getting your next (or first) spring assisted knife. This will hopefully directly speak to your concerns and help you fill in any blanks you might have.

What are the Benefits and Disadvantages of Spring Assisted Knives?

Let’s start with some of the advantages. Spring-assisted knives are ultra-fast. With a little bit of practice, the speed can be compared to that of a switchblade. Of course, switchblades will always have the speed edge, but the issue is that they’re illegal in most places in the USA. Spring-assisted opening knives are incredibly safe.

To continue with our switchblade example, simply pushing the release button will trigger the blade, regardless of where it is. You’ll have to start this whole release process manually on an assisted opening knife. These knives are also incredibly easy to use as you don’t need all the muscle memory you would with manual knives and switchblades. The durability of assisted opening knives is another advantage.

If the release button ever packs up and stops working, you’ll still be able to get awesome speed just using the assisted thumb flipper. Let’s look at some of the disadvantages. Spring-assisted blades are quite a bit more expensive than their traditional manual opening counterparts. Good quality assisted opening knives aren’t as easy to come across, and you’ll pay a pretty price for them.

The mechanism and spring that drives the opening can wear out over time, whereas manual blades don’t have to rely on a release mechanism. These knives are also slightly less reliable than many manual knives as you don’t have 100% control over the opening action. With manual knives that you’re comfortable with, you know exactly how much pressure you need to put off the blade to open it at different speeds.

Are Spring Assisted Knives Good as an EDC Knife?

In case you don’t know what an EDC knife is, it’s an Every Day Carry knife. My first knife was spring-assisted, and I still have it to this day. To be fair, it’s gone through a fair bit of reworking, repairs, and maintenance over the years, but it still works.

They’re excellent knives for beginners as you don’t need to build up much muscle memory or learn the opening techniques required to get the most out of a manual knife. That being said, there are loads of die-hard manual fans that refuse to use spring assisted knives. In terms of their EDC capabilities, you’re getting everything you need.

They’re slightly less durable and consistent than manual opening knives, but they’re not going to let you down for EDC purposes. This is true for general use and basic utility. They might fall a little short when it comes to tactical and defensive uses, but you shouldn’t be using a pocket knife for those needs anyway.

Spring-assisted knives need a strict care and maintenance routine to make sure they last well and the moving parts don’t break down. This is a good habit to build and will carry through to all the knives you own – so it’s worth working on it now.

All-in-all, if you don’t have a ton of experience with EDC knives, spring assisted opening knives have a lower entry-bar and the learning curve isn’t as steep. You’ll get nearly the same speed as more experienced knife owners, without needing to invest all the time they did to learn the skills.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What Is the Easiest Opening Mechanism to Get?

A: A thumb stud is commonly the most favorable to have on a spring knife. You can usually produce a lot more force with your thumb than you can with other fingers. A thumbhole is also plain sailing for easy opening; the one that requires a little more practice is the “flipper” because it uses your index finger, which can be a little awkward at first.

Q: Is Spring-Assisted the Same as Automatic Opening Mechanisms?

A: They are not the same thing. The first part of the process has to be initiated manually, usually the first 20%, and then after that, the spring kicks in and does the rest. With an automatic mechanism, a push button or switch usually needs to be activated to open the blade on its own fully.

Q: Are Spring-Assisted Knives Reliable?

A: For the most part. A knife’s strength lies mainly in the materials used to construct it; a mere additional spring is not the reason for lower reliability. In some places, spring knives are illegal, so be sure to check out your area’s laws before buying.

Q: Are Spring-Assisted Knives Dangerous?

A: These types of knives are one of the safest types of knives you can get. Automatic knives can be accidentally released if the trigger button is pushed unknowingly; Fixed blades typically have to be sheathed, so if you are in a rush and don’t have time to sheath your blade or aren’t paying attention when putting it away, it can often end in getting poked or cut.

Manual blades can get dirty very quickly, making them difficult to open, meaning you’ll have to use more force to open the blade, which can be problematic. Still, it’s a fact that more people get injured while using fixed blades than any kind of folding blades, so you don’t need to worry too much.

Final Thoughts

Well done for taking control and making an effort to get the best value for your money! We’ve looked at quite a diverse range of knives in this review and hopefully, you’ve come across one or two that caught your attention. Take a little time to go over them again if you need to.

It’s important to keep your needs and goals at the center of your choice. Getting the best spring assisted knife is all about choosing something that fits your style and needs as well as possible. With it, you’ll feel more confident and capable of handling whatever life throws at you. Good luck!