Most widely used Knife style?

I'd say folding clip point., in the last 75 years at least.

I'd agree the common two or three blade pocket knife has been used longer, by more people then anything else.

For combat knives?
I would have to nominate the Navy Mark 2, otherwise known as the Kabar.
(Most were not made by Kabar however.)

It was in continous use by our military for over 50 years.
No telling how many millions of them have been made and issued over the years.

rc

Victorinox.

Victorinox produces more than 12,000,000 Swiss Army Knives per year. Perhaps the most popular is the Classic. A Victorinox folder is also the most seized knife at all US airports ever since they started seizing them. It is also perhaps the most imitated style of knife ever made.

blindhari

I remember when almost every kid had a two bladed Barlow for a daily carry, even to school!
I still have some of those from years ago.

Probably two or three bladed slip joint folder in past years. But I'd have to say that slip joints are losing ground to lock blade "tacticool" folders.

It seems to me that fewer and fewer people carry and use knives save for in the kitchen. Guys at work ask to borrow my knife constantly.

I work in EMS and I see most people carrying tacticool Chinese folders that are garbage. Myself I carry a Kershaw leek for the past couple years and can see my self carrying them for many years to come.

Based on personal observation, the most common type of knife used for just about everything is a dull one. Amazing how few folks understand that a sharp knife is safer than a dull one.

In reality, whatever knife that you have is useless if it ain't sharp.
The Carbon Steel Opinels are my current daily carry and if the knife sees some use in a day, it's touched up in the evening.
Maybe a cardboard strop is all it takes but the blade is shaving sharp!

If my experience is indicative, kitchen knives have to be the most used. The knife that I use the most for opening boxes, packages, cutting tags etc... is my tiny Gerber 200 because it is always on my key chain. But that doesn't even come close to the Wüstof knives I use at least twice a day preparing meals.

I have a complete set of the Wüstof knives but I don't use them for the purposes they were intended. I tend to over-use the 10" Cook's Knife for everything from cutting meat to slicing and dicing vegetables.

I only move to another knife if the cook's knife is dirty and I don't want to stop and clean it. An example of this would be dicing up garlic. Garlic is sticky and if I'm in a hurry I'll put the blade aside for later cleaning and move to the next Wüstof in the block. An exception to this is slicing bread - I almost always use the bread knife for bread.

I also don't like using butter knives for butter. Regular butter knives tend to smash cold butter, but with a steak knife I can get nice thin slices of butter to put on toast and I can lay the butter where I want it so I don't have to mangle the toast spreading the butter around. I just lay the slices and let them melt - very little spreading.

In the 20s and 30s, the knife fighters mostly used a long single-bladed slip-joint, known as the "Muskrat". Nowadays, it'd be a 2-3 bladed slip joint, closely followed by the Swiss Army Knife. That's for those of us who don't go "Tactical", "surviving" the Urban Jungle, or local weedpatch in our cammie jockey shorts, coordinated with the full camo outfit!

During my teen years, I carried a large switchblade that I got from my uncle, who was a policeman. At least, till it started coming open in my pocket, which ended that in a hurry!

Used to be the stockman was the most common knife I saw being carried.




Then lock blade knives came out, and I see a lot more big lock blade folding knives. Drop point, tanto, you name it.

I know butterfly knives are not legal here but I have always wanted one of those to play around with.

Where is here?

I know some places consider them gravity knives, but am rather sure they are legal in many states.

I am sure they would be illegal as one hand opening knives in Canada.

-kBob

SVTOhio said:

I work in EMS and I see most people carrying tacticool Chinese folders that are garbage. Myself I carry a Kershaw leek for the past couple years and can see my self carrying them for many years to come.

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Super handy lightweight. My old g10 Leek remains a favorite.

I tried a few pocket knives / multitools but the thing I carry with me is a 4" Okapi folder with a ratchet lock. Picked it up at a open air market, it was totally dull, but a bit of work with a file and stones and it is functional.

Cheap enough that you don't fret using it as a tool for everything - from an improvised screwdriver, spatula, scraper, wood carving tool, knife, you name it - wherever you need a flat piece of steel it does it, and it has an aesthetic and a decently sized grip to it. It has stood up to use and abuse pretty well.

Barry the Bear said:

What knife style has been used the most in the US?

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I'd have to say butter knife is most used. Traditional slip joints are the second most used followed by modern folders.

IWAC said:

In the 20s and 30s, the knife fighters mostly used a long single-bladed slip-joint, known as the "Muskrat".

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IWAC, are you saying this was just commonly carried or commonly carried as a "fighter"?