The best karambit knives worth carrying

Tops Knives designed the original Devil’s Claw as an easily concealable blade with an intentionally short handle to reduce printing in most clothing. Having achieved that, they noticed that their hawkbill-style blade was essentially a karambit, and as a result, the Devil’s Claw 2 was created.

Made from the same, differentially heat-treated high-carbon steel as its older sibling, the Devil’s Claw 2 is tough, easy to sharpen, and holds an edge. The 1095 steel isn’t stainless steel, so Tops coated it in their proprietary Black Traction Coating for a durable layer of rust prevention. It’s slightly textured, allowing you to choke up on the blade for more detailed work. However, the blade is made to almost the exact same dimensions as the original’s, so the most visible difference is the slightly longer handle, and the addition of a traditional finger ring. This allows for a more secure, comfortable grip, especially when combined with the contoured G10 handle scales and jimping.

While the elongated handle can make concealing this karambit slightly more difficult than its predecessor, it’s still small enough to be easily concealed. Combined with the versatile Kydex sheath, finding the perfect carry position is limited only by your imagination. Whether you’re opening boxes, cutting nylon straps, or carrying it for self-defense, the Devil’s Claw 2 has you covered.

Unexpectedly, Schrade replaced the previous longtime selection for this category, the Steel Tiger. Their karambit, the SCH111, is not only cheaper, but also has the advantage of being made with 9Cr18MoV stainless steel. This gives it better edge retention and corrosion resistance than the older Aus8. Schrade went one step further by adding a Titanium Nitride (TiN) coating to greatly increase the corrosion and wear resistance of the blade.

The full tang is skeletonized for weight reduction, and it comes with a length of paracord in case you choose to wrap the handle for comfort. Also included is a break-away ball chain to let you set the included sheath up for neck carry. Due to its low cost, quality control varies, and some users received blades with dull edges. It’s also worth noting that the handle, at 3.5 inches long, may be too short for larger hands, but if you don’t have either big hands or a big budget, this karambit will do nicely.

Marine veteran Connor Toor started out tinkering with military-issued knives in his backyard, but his interests soon evolved and he began developing blade designs of his own. Today, the company that shares his namesake is dedicated to designing and building reliable, tough knives from premium materials, but not for a premium price. The Karsumba is no exception: Made in his small shop in California from American steel, this knife is built to last.

The knife features micarta handle scales made from green canvas, milled and contoured to comfortably stay in your hand without any hot spots. A more EDC-friendly design, they opted to not include the traditional finger ring, shortening the handle, while allowing for better ergonomics and easy concealment. The blade is made from American CPM S35VN steel which is a popular choice for everyday use due to its edge retention, toughness, and corrosion resistance. The more recent batches have been upgraded to CPM 3V, which is even tougher. Regardless of which gen you purchase, the Karsumba has a black MicraCoat finish for corrosion resistance and reducing reflections, and the blade is short enough to be legal in most areas.

While the knife is on the higher end of the mid-tier price range, you get more than what you pay for, both in quality control and high-end materials. This includes the black Kydex sheath that it comes with, which is compatible with Ulti-Clips and other mounting systems, allowing you to carry this however you want. Whether using it in a reverse grip for self-defense or a forward grip for utility, this cryo heat-treated blade will comfortably rise to the occasion.

The Bastinelli Kalinou is a traditional karambit with a modern twist. Bastinelli Creations is known for their aesthetically pleasing designs, clean lines, and especially for their karambits. Produced in Italy by Fox Knives, the Kalinou is modeled after traditional karambits, with a thin blade, needle-tip, and extreme recurve.

The Kalinou is lively in the hands at just under three ounces and is made from a single piece of Swedish N690 steel. This gives it good corrosion resistance and edge retention while remaining easier to sharpen than other popular steels like S35VN. The elegant, razor-sharp blade has a stonewash finish, which helps camouflage scratches while limiting light reflections.

The knife is finished off smoothly with a rounded tang and milled G10 scales, making it feel great in the hand, and comes with a Kydex sheath for multiple carry options. While it’s definitely not designed for utility use, and it’s a little on the pricier side, this classy Italian blade is the perfect knife for trained professionals.

The absolute most important thing about carrying a karambit for self-defense is, unfortunately, the most neglected: training. Without proper training, you’re likely to be ineffectual at best — and liable to accidentally hurt yourself or others at worst. Naturally, you can’t easily and safely train with a live blade, whether practicing solo, going through training drills, or sparring.

Cold Steel fills the gap with their karambit trainer, based on their popular Steel Tiger. Unlike the real steel variant, this mimicry is made out of Santoprene, which is a rubberized polymer. This gives the trainer rigidity while allowing it to be flexible enough for safe sparring. Just make sure to wear eye protection.

Arguably the most eccentric karambit on the market, the Provoke was originally created by knife designer Joe Caswell, of Caswell Knives, as an extremely compact folding karambit that could deploy quickly and intuitively. CRKT was quick to recognize the uniqueness of his Kinematic mechanism and come out with a production model. We opted for the variant that features VEFF serrations, but there are plain edge variants as well.

The Provoke’s handle is made from thick arms of aluminum, which helps keep the weight down a little. A stainless steel pocket clip retracts to sit flush with the handle when not in use, minimizing potential hot spots. Deploying the blade is quick and easy with a downward flick of your thumb. The chisel-ground blade is made from D2 steel, which is a semi-stainless tool steel that holds a decent edge. D2 is more rust-prone than stainless steel, so CRKT added a black TiN coating for improved corrosion and wear resistance.

Closing it is a little less intuitive than opening due to the placement of the liner lock, but the lock itself is easily disengaged once you get used to it. The Provoke is a little pricey for a knife made with D2 steel, but that cost is mostly coming from the kinematic mechanism. CRKT also offers a thermoplastic sheath, should you prefer belt carry over the low-profile pocket clip.

There’s no way around it, so we’re just going to up and say it: The Black Talon 2 is a dedicated people-opener. It has little to no utility use, and Cold Steel is unapologetic about that fact. Based on Spyderco’s Civilian, it was designed for only one task, and it did very well at said task. Cold Steel’s imitation is the greatest form of flattery and is beefed up in pretty much every respect.

Cold Steel started off with Andrew Demko’s ludicrously tough TriAd lock. Slim, textured handle scales made from American G10 ensure that you’ll have a solid grip, even in the most extreme conditions. The viciously recurved blade is made from premium American S35VN steel and is available in both plain and serrated edges. The Black Talon 2 features a visibly stronger tip than its predecessors, which corrects the fragile, needle-like tip that snaps off all too often on the Spyderco Civilian. Last but not least is the Demko Thumbplate, which allows you to open the knife automatically when drawing it from your pocket, similar to the Emerson Wave.

The Black Talon 2 is uncannily good at turning one piece of meat into two pieces of meat and isn’t something you want to casually handle. It’s one of a very few select knives that we’d describe as frighteningly sharp. Buyer beware, this knife is almost too good at what it does.

Need as small a karambit as possible? The Diagnostic from Bastinelli Creations might be exactly what you’re looking for. This blade is designed to be carried as a neck knife and has an overall length of merely 3.75 inches.

Manufactured by Fox Knives in Italy, the hollow-ground Diagnostic is made from a solid piece of N690 stainless steel and is coated in a tough black Cerakote finish. To make it as low profile as possible, Bastinelli shortened the handle to two inches. There’s room for exactly two fingers on this tiny claw, courtesy of a finger groove and a finger ring for your middle finger. While it’s not a full handle, it’s surprisingly comfortable and comes with a Kydex sheath and break-away ball chain for everyday carry.

As one of the most popular folding karambits on the market, the Fox Knives 479 is affordable and functional. While it’s available in many variants, the one we opted for features rough-textured G10 scales reinforced with steel liners. This makes it slightly heavier, but also helps it feel more solid in the hand. Combined with the ergonomics and spacious grip, even those with big mitts can use this folder comfortably.

A recurring theme of Fox Knives is that the blade is made from N690 stainless steel and is coated with their black Idroglider finish. There are three primary ways to deploy the blade: a thumb hole, an Emerson Wave on the spine, and a flipper tab. The Emerson Wave works fairly well once you get the hang of it, allowing you to draw and open the 479 with one smooth motion. The flipper tab is a different story, requiring a wrist flick to deploy the blade.

Unfortunately, it’s pretty common for the pivot to be fairly stiff initially, as it runs on unpolished phosphor-bronze washers. It’s a temporary setback, however, as phosphor-bronze is self-lubricating, and will become a lot smoother with time. Some users found the G10 to be too rough, while others found it to be just right. Its blade isn’t as curved as some karambits, making it easier to use for small utility tasks, while still being a good option for self-defense.

Based off of the Fox Knives 479, this trainer is almost identical but with two visible differences. The blade is made from 420c instead of N690 and has had the edge left completely dull, and the tip extremely blunted. The steel change makes sense, as you don’t need to worry about edge retention if you don’t have an edge, and 420c is tough enough for practice and sparring while remaining fairly corrosion-resistant.

The blade also has several holes drilled into it so that you can quickly distinguish it from a live blade. As an added precaution, Fox Knives changed the color of the G10 to red, making it virtually impossible for you to confuse this trainer with the real deal. That said, it is still going to hurt if you make contact, as the blade is still metal, so make sure to wear proper safety equipment and eye protection.