Knife Madness 2022 Bracket Challenge – BladeHQ

Join the madness on our Instagram page! Cast your votes and help determine the winners!

With all this talk of brackets, comparisons, and overall champions, we thought it would be fun to add knives to the madness! We’ve created five brackets: handle materials, steels, opening mechanisms, lock types, blade shapes, and blade finishes. Sales data determines contestants and seeds, but you get to choose the winners!

The games will take place on our Instagram page. Follow us there and check our stories for matchups. Vote for your favorites, and the winners will advance! Check back here to see up-to-date bracket standings and commentary on matchups.

At the end of the tournament, we will select a knife that includes the winning features and give it to one of you lucky folks! To enter the giveaway, fill out the entry form below!

In round one, we’ve got 24 matchups across six brackets!

Let’s start this party with blade finishes, where satin takes on its premium cousin, the mirror polish. We think that satin, and its lower cost and maintenance, will win this one. Next, stonewash and spectrum (or rainbow) are going at it. Stonewash hides scratches, but the rainbow just highlights them, so stonewash gets our vote. Acid wash and patina square up next, and they’re so similar it’s hard to say. Lastly, PVD (physical vapor deposition) is going up against Cerakote, and that one is too close to guess!

Over on steels, S35VN takes on XHP. S35VN has more sales behind it, but XHP’s performance might just steal the win. It’s a battle of the high end with M390 and S90V, but only time will tell who wins. Budget king D2 is staring down bushcraft champion 3V. They’re both tough and have an edge on each other, so it’s hard to call it. Finally, the premium M4 takes on the rugged and reliable 1095. M4 is a little niche, but 1095 is everywhere. Will performance or prevalence make a winner?

In handles, the crowd-favorite G-10 takes on the lightweight champ FRN! G-10’s strength and rigidity have earned it a spot on hundreds of great knives, but don’t FRN’s color options and accessible price! Aluminum is going head-to-head with the newcomer Ultem. Aluminum is less expensive and is known for keeping aircraft in the sky, but Ultem is almost as strong, and it sure looks good! Titanium will duke it out with fellow metal copper. Titanium is a staple of knifemaking, but copper has a devout fanbase, so it should be an exciting match! Finally, carbon fiber and micarta will square up. Carbon fiber has space-age tech and steel-like strength, but micarta has the best hand feel in the biz, and it doesn’t look bad either.

In locks, the frame lock takes on the wildcard fixed blade! The ability to fold makes the frame lock our bet. The bar lock will challenge the lockback, and these two titans will create an exciting match! Next, the classic liner lock takes on the tactical button lock. It’s hard to say if the liner lock’s abundance can beat the button lock’s fidget factor. Finally, the compression lock takes on the new Shark Lock, and that’s the match to watch!

In openers, the flipper takes on the front flipper. The flipper is the clear favorite, with more sales data and options to back it up, not to mention its ease of use. The humble thumb stud goes up against the OTF. OTFs are sweet, but they get pricey and are complicated. Will the thumb studs simplicity and abundance prove superior? The push-button auto squares up to the old-school nail nick. Traditional or tactical? Who knows? Lastly, the cult-favorite thumb hole is up against the thumb disc. The thumb hole is the favorite, but the disc has its fanbase.

Next, we have the blade shape bracket, where the drop point and the dagger play for a win. The drop point is the utilitarian favorite, but the tactical crowd might show up for the dagger! The spear point takes on the reverse tanto. The reverse tanto has unrivaled tip strength, but the piercing performance of the spear point earns it our bet. The good old clip point is up against the tactical tanto. That one is hard to call. Last, we have the cleaver and the Wharncliffe. The cleaver looks cool, but we think the piercing power of the Wharncliffe will take the win.