Best Knives at Walmart: A $750 Haul of Budget Knives Worth Knowing About

Introduction

Walmart has quietly put real effort into its knife aisles again, and the difference is noticeable. Where the selection used to be the same old standbys year after year, shelves now carry a much wider mix, from the store’s own Ozark Trail brand to Outdoor Edge, Buck, Swiss Tech, and, most notably, a proper lineup of Civivi folders.

This roundup covers the best of what one trip produced: nine knives spanning rock-bottom impulse buys to genuinely well-regarded budget EDC blades. Everything here is a budget purchase, so expectations should be set accordingly, but a few of these punch well above their price.

The Ozark Trail Budget Folders

Ozark Trail is Walmart’s in-house brand, and its folder lineup leans heavily on familiar designs at aggressive prices. The 7.5-inch folding knife, sold in simple cardboard rather than blister packaging, is the most livable of the group: a tanto blade in stainless steel, a tip-down clip, and a G10-style handle that feels a step nicer than the plastic-bodied siblings around it. It is light, a little hollow in the hand, and hard to be mad at for the price.

The rest of the family includes a $3.50 clearance liner lock that is genuinely dull out of the box, a set of $10 assisted-opening folders with a secondary safety lock and surprisingly decent bite to their edges, and the much-discussed 7.2-inch folding knife with a claimed D2 blade. That last one has been called a bugout killer, and while there is a hint of blade play and the D2 claim invites skepticism, $10 for a thin blade with good action is a hard proposition to hate.

Outdoor Edge Razor SX3 and SX5

Outdoor Edge made its name in hunting, and its Razor line brings a clever idea to everyday carry: replaceable blades. Press a button, the whole blade slides out, and a fresh one goes in, so the knife is always sharp without ever touching a sharpener. The blades are thin and ridiculously sharp, and each knife ships with extra blade shapes, including a wharncliffe, so you can swap profiles on the fly without changing knives.

Both the Razor SX3 and SX5 landed around $25 each, with a deep-carry clip and liner lock. It is a very practical concept for anyone who wants a permanently sharp edge without maintenance, and the current versions are a clear step up from the company’s earlier EDC efforts.

Buck 744 Sovereign

Buck has appeared on and off at Walmart depending on location, and the 744 Sovereign stands out as the best Buck option there for the money. It runs 7Cr17 steel, with a blade shape that leans toward a reverse tanto with a big belly, giving it a distinct silhouette that recalls some popular budget folder designs from other brands.

The one real complaint is grip: the steel-handled build is very slick. At $35, though, that is a reasonable trade-off, and it undercuts plenty of comparable folders while carrying the Buck name and classic styling.

Swiss Tech Fixed Blades

Swiss Tech’s fixed blades were the heaviest spend of the trip, and the surprise standout is the Haltbar survival knife. It is the only one of the group with VG1 steel, has serious heft, a very thick spine, a decent factory edge, and Micarta scales with brass pins in a bushcraft-friendly style. The included leather sheath is thin but comes with a belt clip, which is better than some knives ship with at triple the price.

The Stallern takes a similar survival role with 8Cr13Mov steel, aggressive jimping down the blade, a 90-degree spine, and a Micarta-wrapped ferro rod included, which is a neat touch. It was $35, though its sheath feels flimsier than the Haltbar’s. The Laked rounds out the trio as a more EDC-oriented fixed blade in D2 with a thick coating and Micarta over red G10 liners for around $35, paired with a snap-in plastic sheath.

Swiss Tech Multi-Tools and Folders

Swiss Tech’s multi-tools are a mixed bag. The larger locking multi-tool is clearly a take on the Leatherman Wave formula, with outside tools including a serrated blade, file, saw, and straight blade, plus locking drivers inside. The spring tension on the pliers is weak out of the box and long-term durability is a fair question, but the spring-loaded scissors are genuinely worth borrowing as an idea. It sits around $50.

The Hin leans Swiss Army knife style with a Tinker-like tool set, tight-spring scissors, and gray G10 scales instead of the usual slick red. It feels cooler than its inspiration and lands near Tinker pricing, making it a fun gift even if its own long-term appeal is uncertain.

On the folder side, the Balkan is the best pure EDC blade Swiss Tech brought: D2 steel, a crossbar-style lock, flipper action, good centering, G10 handles, and smooth bearings. The DoppelT adds a double-blade Barlow pattern in marbled carbon fiber that is a refreshing modern take on a traditional form, and the Gunuit impresses with anodized aluminum over carbon fiber inlay, black titanium-coated blade, and action that feels far more premium than its roughly $45 to $50 price suggests.

Civivi Comes to Walmart

The headline news: Civivi knives are now on Walmart shelves. Four models are available, the Brazen, Elementum, Mini Praxis, and Cub, all in the brand’s budget-friendly D2 configurations that have long been pushed as the best knives you could buy under $50.

The Elementum in particular is a classic for a reason. At around $42 it looks great, works great, and feels great, and it helped kick off the entire wave of excellent sub-$50 folders. The Brazen in red G10, the green and black Mini Praxis, and the blue Cub round out a lineup that previously required ordering online and waiting. Nothing about the product has changed: these are the same batches Civivi already produces, now simply reachable on a quick store run. That lowers the barrier to entry, makes an easy gift option, and puts real competitive pressure on other retailers to step up their own knife aisles.

Buying Advice

If you want the absolute cheapest functional folder, the Ozark Trail options deliver, with the 7.5-inch G10 model and the claimed-D2 7.2-inch folder as the picks. If you want a knife that never needs sharpening, the Outdoor Edge Razor pair is the most interesting concept here. For a classic name at a fair price, the Buck 744 Sovereign is the pick of the Buck shelf. Swiss Tech rewards shoppers looking for fixed blades and gift-friendly oddities, with the Haltbar and Balkan as the standouts. And if you simply want the safest bet under $50, the Civivi Elementum remains the benchmark.

Conclusion

Walmart stepping back into knives is good news across the board. The selection now spans from $3.50 curiosities to genuinely excellent budget folders, and the arrival of Civivi on mainstream shelves should push other retailers to follow. The best deal depends on your needs, but the fact that a single store run can produce a lineup this varied is itself the story.