Are Smith and Wesson Knives good

Smith and Wesson is synonymous with high quality firearms. What many people don’t know, is that Smith and Wesson (S&W) also makes knives. Well, that isn’t 100% true, S&W doesn’t make the knives themselves (more on that in the “history” section below), but they carry the Smith and Wesson name and are still part of the rich tradition of this quintessential American firearms company.

Smith and Wesson Knife Reviews

Browse all the S&W knife reviews at BladeReviews.com:

Smith and Wesson Knife History

Smith and Wesson began in the early 1850’s when friends Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson became partners marketing a lever action pistol. Their first endeavor wasn’t successful and they eventually had to sell the company, but that first company gave them the experience needed to launch their first big success, the Model 3 American, which was the world’s first caliber cartridge revolver. This was just a moment in the company’s long line of innovation. Smith and Wesson has continued to lead the industry for over 150 years.

Smith and Wesson first started manufacturing knives in 1974. As a company, Smith and Wesson is heavily focused on the safety and security business, and knives were an obvious step from their core activities. Smith and Wesson knives used to be manufactured in house, although for a period of time (1986-1993) Vermont Cutlery Co of West Rutland VT made knives for Smith and Wesson. Today Taylor Cutlery makes and sells Smith and Wesson knives.

A lot of the Smith and Wesson knives made today are manufactured overseas and cater to the police and military. S&W provides a lot of rescue, tactical, automatic and assisted open knives at affordable prices. These knives can double as good EDC options (where they are legal to carry) and S&W knives has developed a very loyal following despite receiving a lot of criticism as being cheap Chinese knives. Indeed a majority of the knives are made in Asia and I find the blade steels and manufacturing to be of decent quality. You have to realize that these are generally very inexpensive knives, so you get what you pay for.

Smith and Wesson’s Military and Police knives are some of the more popular S&W knives made today. These are large folding pocket knives outfitted with Multipurpose Assisted Generational Innovative Cutlery (MAGIC) technology, a proprietary technology developed by the engineers at Taylor Brands. These knives come in a variety of finishes including a flat black teflon coating, urban camo, or a kind of desert finish (a sand colored handle with a black or satin finished blade).

Anyhow, I’ve done reviews on a variety of S&W knives, from the edc folders to boot knives, to bayonets to survival knives – you will find all of that and more here.