There’s no real way to explain the pricing structure of knives. Brand, materials, function, and country of origin all play a role in retail pricing. But still, the numbers are all over the place.
Perhaps nothing complicates all that more than the $10 Ozark Trail 7.5” EDC folding knife, sold exclusively at Walmart. It’s been on the market for a little while now, but a couple of months ago, it started to get a lot of attention on the internet — so much so that it’s sold out in stores and online.
Dubbed “The Ozark Grail,” the internet stands divided on whether this 7.5-inch pocket knife is actually dependable. Purists note it is strikingly similar in form and function to Benchmade’s Bugout, which starts at $180 and is one of the highest-grossing pocket knives on the market today.
But the Bugout isn’t without its own faults (it’s a medium-duty knife at best), and this $10 Ozark Trail knife addresses that by adding steel liners that beef up the core and eliminate handle flex.
In short: I beat the snot out of this knife, and though it looks like it, it still functions just as well as the day that I took it out of its clamshell packaging in the parking lot at my local Walmart. This $10 Ozark Trail folding knife from Walmart may not have a backstory to brag about. In its place is an underdog knife with the form, function, and materials I expect in knives 10 times its price.
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Overall length
7.5″ -
Blade length
3.3″ -
Blade steel
D2 -
Blade shape
Drop point -
Grind
Flat -
Hardness
60-62 HRC -
Lock type
Crossbar -
Carry
Right hand, Tip-up -
Weight
2.9 oz.
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Hardworking D2 steel -
Highly reliable crossbar lock -
Great ergonomics & fast, clean operation -
Unbeatable price
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Extremely high demand and limited stock
Ozark Trail EDC Folding Knife Review
Design & Features
Ozark Trail did its homework with the design and execution of this knife. The Ozark Trail 7.5-inch Slide Lock Folding Knife is a versatile, everyday carry pocket knife aimed at the outdoor crowd.
It sports a 3.3-inch D2 drop-point blade that can be actuated by an ambidextrous thumb stud. Ball bearings around the pivot further aid the opening operation on the knife.
It also boasts a crossbar lock — not only the strongest and most reliable knife lock around, but it also allows for opening and closing the knife with one hand.
There’s no way of avoiding the similarities between this knife and the Benchmade Bugout. Where the Bugout has metal plates that support the pivot and lock, the Ozark Trail carries a full steel frame, from tip to tail. This addresses flexing issues and gives support to both the pivot and lock. Additionally, it does so without adding weight to the knife, which tops out at 2.9 ounces.
Other aspects include a nondescript orange plastic handle scales and a right-hand, tip-up pocket clip. There’s also a black coating on the blade to help stave off rust and corrosion, above and beyond the protective properties of the D2 steel.
First Impressions
Growing up, Ozark Trail always struck me as a value brand. My family bought Ozark Trail tents for a fraction of the price of big-name tents and hoped they’d get us through a season. I’ve found the brand’s products durable and reliable enough for family camping, but not on par with higher quality brands for anything backpacking or trekking related
With that in mind, I walked into this $10 Walmart knife test with low to moderate expectations.
When I first handled this knife, I sat in my truck in the Walmart parking lot looking for build imperfections or a lack of finish work. I found none.
All the layers matched up, and the blade sat perfectly down the center of the handle channel. I saw no marks on the handle scales where they came out of the mold, and felt no wobble in the blade. Then, I spent the next 20 minutes driving back to the house, flicking the knife open and closed.
As someone who’s tested knives that touch the $1,000 mark and all price points up to it, I really can’t make sense of this $10 knife. It seems like the company must take a loss in profits just to upset the industry. D2 steel may now be considered a value steel, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less potent than in the days when it was highly sought after.
The crossbar lock is the strongest, most reliable, and most widely adapted lock mechanism on a folding knife. And from the frame up, this knife is solid and durable. This is easily a $40 knife by today’s standards, if not more.
There had to be a catch.
In the Field
I found tons of complaints about this knife online, many of which are unsubstantiated. Out of the box, I had no blade wobble nor any issues with the crossbar lock itself. However, you can find some dyed-in-the-wool knife nerds claiming otherwise. This is a common practice when things seem too good to be true. People will go to great lengths to find something negative to say about unicorns.
But I don’t think their findings are genuine.
I spent a month beating the hell out of this knife, but not outside the norm of any other knife I test. I tested it like any other knife, because that’s how it’s going to be treated. In between using it in real-life situations, I cycled the knife as many times as I could when I had some downtime.
It became a habit and I stopped counting at 1,000. There was no blade wobble, no wear on the pivot pin, and the lock worked just as well as it did the day I removed it from the packaging.
One thing that has always bothered me about the Bugout is how the handle flexes. As I stated previously, the inclusion of steel liners on the Ozark Trail eliminated that. Another concern I have had about the Bugout is how well it would stand up to lateral torsion, or side-to-side flexing.
So, I batoned the Ozark Trail into a piece of wood and flexed it left and right, fully expecting it to snap — but it didn’t. After that, there was a little blade wobble, but I easily fixed that by retightening the pivot screw.
(Where) Can You Get One?
I have never seen so much hype around a knife in my life. In the world of knives right now, nothing has more attention focused on it. Suffice it to say, the fan-dubbed “Ozark Grail” is sold out online.
However, there are rumors that you can find them on shelves at random Walmarts throughout the land. If you’re out getting cat food, it might be worth taking the walk a few aisles over to see if you’re in luck.
That said, you can sign up for alerts when this knife comes back in stock online. If you want to get your hands on one now and don’t mind paying a little extra, there are plenty of them on eBay. The markup isn’t terrible — I saw a few for around $30, which is still a good deal for this knife.
Conclusion: Should You Buy?
After a month of real-world use, the “Ozark Grail” has my stamp of approval. The coating on the blade is starting to wear off and the blade could use a rehoning, although it is still fairly sharp. But these things are to be expected. I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, aside from the knife being orange and black and giving off some serious Halloween vibes.
In my expert opinion, there is no reason (besides being sold out everywhere) that you shouldn’t buy the Ozark Trail 7.5-in. knife; you could easily trust it to get you through day-to-day life or any outdoor adventures you have planned. For $10, it’s truly an anomaly, but, as I said, knife pricing doesn’t make sense.
