Top Ranked Utility Knives of 2023

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The Irwin Utility Knife receives our top ranking amongst utility knives. It offers the best overall features at a very reasonable price. Read below for tips and considerations, overall rankings, and further resources.

Considerations and Tips

It’s not uncommon to lose your utility knife so find the right balance in features and cost. You can sharpie your name on your knife to help keep it from walking away.
Utility knives typically come in folding and fixed length flavors. The folding variant is good when frequent pocket carry is involved while the fixed size can be better for prolonged use.
Most utility knives and utility blades don’t enjoy getting wet. Keep your knives and blades dry when you can.
Utility knives can also be called box cutters. If you need a knife dedicated to cutting boxes, consider a specially designed box cutter where the blade is covered to help prevent accidents. Check out the Pacific Handy Cutter if you’re interested.

Rankings

Irwin

This utility knife is hard to miss with its hi-visiblity color . We like the color as it should help you from losing it. The fullsize metal handle helps provide comfort during extended use. Within the handle five blades can be stored. The included blades from Irwin are a step above your typical utility knife blade which is a nice bonus.
Craftsman

The Craftsman utility knife is a folding model design with spring assist to aid single hand opening. It features a design which provides good thumb grip to aid in precision cuts. Blade changes are easy using its push botton blade release. The Craftsman comes three replacement baldes stored in the handle a lifetime warranty.
Kobalt

This utility knife from Kobalt is a folding design that includes a locking mechansim. The handles are made from aluminum and provide a lightweight yet quality feel. A total of eleven blades are included and the knife as a quick change buttom to help make blade changes go quick and smooth. The attached clip makes pocket carry a breeze. Do note that the knife does not offer built-in storage of replacement blades.
Milwaukee

The Milwaukee utility knife features a folding design with push button open and close. Also like the Klein, a wire stripper is built-in as well as a pocket clip. One unique feature of the Milwaukee is its wire cutter is available in the blade closed position.
Black + Decker

The Black + Decker is a no frill affordable folding utility knife. The knife has a quick blade change mechanism, features an aluminum case, and has a pocket clip.
Fiskars

The Fiskars utility knife is of a folding design but manages to provide supurb comfort through its grip and ergnomic design. Blade changes are simple and there is a button to support opening and closing. The knife does not come with a pocket clip and does not allow blade storage within the handle.
Dewalt

This full size utility knife from Dewalt has comfortable handle and thumb grip that is great for extended use. The knife features a quick release botton to help with blade changes and comes with five replacement blades that are stored within the handle. The durability can be hit or miss so buyer beware.
Klein

The Klein utilty knife features a folding design with an unlock botton allowing one handed opening and closing. There is a button to help make blade changes easy and the aluminum handle has a nice feel to it. There is a pocket clip and knife has a solid but compact feel to it. The Klein model comes in with wire stripper cutout making it handy for electrical work.