It’s that time of the year. The time of year when we look back and reflect on all the incredible offerings this knife community has to offer. The companies below can always be counted on to deliver the most jaw-dropping blades and innovative designs each and every year. 2025 was no exception. Keep in mind, these are just a few of my favorite blades of 2025, and I can’t help but share with you, the SKILLLSET reader.
Strider Knives
Strider Knives is a California-based company owned by Mick and Marisa Strider and managed by Josh Lee. They have a reputation for building bulletproof knives for “high speed, low drag, individual.”
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This year at Blade Show, Mick Strider handmade some Damascus folders, with Meteorite as one of the base materials. Meteorite is seldom used as a base material in Damascus because it’s expensive, and is mainly made of iron, which is challenging to work with.
These custom-made knives had a ticket price of $8500, with plenty of people jumping at the opportunity to purchase them (There were only two available). Forest Strider is another important person at Strider Knives. If you haven’t figured it out, he is Mick’s son. Forest is an innovator and creator, just like his father. This year, Forest unveiled a new finish called “Partizan Camo.”
This camo pattern is extremely popular in Eastern European countries.
Forest replicated the pattern but added his flair by using lasers, heat, and a fair amount of hand polishing to make this camo stand out. This year, Strider Knives focused on innovation and enhancements to its current product line.
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Blackside Customs
Blackside Customs is a company based in New York. They are known for creating knives and gear to enhance your everyday carry lifestyle. Everything they make is made in small batches to ensure excellent quality control of the end product. This year, Blackside Customs owner Hank Greenberg collaborated with Strider Knives on one of Strider’s fixed blades, called the SLCC, and put their own spin on it. Similar to how Shelby would modify a Ford Mustang. Except that Blackside produced their own SLCC, instead of modifying a Strider that had already been made. Blackside also unveiled their first folding knife, which just so happened to be an auto called the “Bad Idea.”
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The handle is made from 6061 aircraft aluminum with a hardcoat to increase rigidity. The blade was made of Magnacut, with a titanium backspacer, titanium hardware, and a stainless-steel pivot bearing their logo. The Bad Idea had a ’90s tactical vibe, with modern machining and technology. This is, without a doubt, something worth checking out (Base price $400). Blackside Customs continues to push the envelope of what’s cool in the knife community, always outdoing their last offering, and securing their spot on our cool blades of 2025 list.
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Heretic Knives
Heretic Knives is a Florida-based company owned by Tony Jr. and Jessica Marfione. They specialize in making out-of-the-front automatics and other incredibly well-made knives, all made in the USA. This year, at Blade Show, they unveiled an upgraded version of a knife called The Hydra (This one was called Hydra V4).
The Hydra is a modern version of a single-action out-the-front (OTF) knife. It fires with the push of a button, which is hidden under a tear-drop safety. To retract the blade back into the handle, press the firing button and pull back the charging handle, as on an AR-15 platform. While there are mechanisms that allow a blade to open and close with one button, this mechanism offers a hands-on mechanical way of showcasing fine machining, similar to a hand-wound watch.
Now, while that’s cool and all, their biggest hit of the show was a new coating called Cel Shading. The Cel Shading technique is painting the desired material to give it a comic-book look. Heretic, while not the first to do this, did it the best and with conviction. They showed up to Blade Show with almost their entire lineup with the Cel Shading finish. So, in other words, these tactical knives looked like something out of a cartoon or a comic book.
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Microtech Knives
Microtech Knives, based in North Carolina, is owned by Anthony Marfione. If that name sounds familiar this far into the article, it’s because his son is Tony Marfione Jr., of Heretic Knives. Suppose you have never heard of Microtech. Well, as of now, they’re considered to be the Rolex of the knife world. Microtech knives have been pioneering the automatic knife demographic for 30 years. They are known for making some of the best out of the front (OTF) knives, along with side-opening automatic knives. You will see Microtech knives in John Wick, 24, and plenty of other shows and movies.
This year, Microtech conjured up two awe-inspiring creations. The first was a custom knife called the “Masterpiece”, which was built in the custom shop by Anthony Marfione and his custom shop team. The Masterpiece features a stainless steel chassis with inlays (carbon fiber, coral, Meteorite, pearl, and abalone, to name a few). The blade has a mirror finish with a matching inlay.
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What makes this knife different from other OTFs is that it has swing guards that pop out and retract as the knife opens and closes. It’s described as doing brain surgery when assembling one of these knives. The base model for a Masterpiece starts at approximately $20K.
The Finest Cutlery
On the flip side, Microtech also unveiled its new line of kitchen knives. They combined the essential kitchen knife lineup with their personal touch of style, showcasing modern design with top-notch machining. A big benefit of having a kitchen line is that it allows big-box stores to carry it, thereby increasing brand awareness.
Chris Reeve Knives is based out of Idaho and is operated by Anne Reeve and her son, Tim Reeve. Chris Reeve Knives (CRK) is known for making some of the most bulletproof, well-constructed knives on the market. Although they make fixed blades in addition to folders, CRK is primarily known for its folder line. CRK mainly builds frame lock folders that are relatively simple, finished with stonewashed blades and bead-blasted titanium handles. They do offer a unique graphic line with random (and some themed) laser-cut graphics. CRK also makes Damascus blades year-round.
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Because of their limited production and close-to-perfection fixed blades, they usually don’t bring anything super crazy to Blade Show. This year, they brought a handful of fully DLC’d folders that were available only through a lottery system. The way the lottery system works is that if your name gets called, you have the right to purchase the knife at the retail price. Because of the limited quantity brought to the show, if you score one of these lottery knives, you can sell it for 2x-3x the original table price. Chris Reeve knives focused this year on coatings for their big Blade Show piece.
Honorable Mention
Tuff Writer is a company based in Arizona and owned by Tommy Leatham. Tommy used to be the manager of Monkey Edge and is now the new owner of Tuff Writer. Tuff Writer currently produces some of the best pens in the everyday carry market. Their original mission statement was to build indestructible pens that could be used as a defensive tool in non-permissive environments (places where you can’t bring a knife or a firearm).
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They offer a variety of material choices for their clickers or pens with a cap (copper, brass, aluminum, titanium, Timascus, etc.). While Tuff Writer has morphed into a lifestyle brand, they still make pens that can be used for self-defense. Tuff Writer this year focused on coatings and cool finishes, such as making a pen with the old-school Nintendo colors.
