sell me on okc

J

JoberSeven

Joined
Oct 5, 2013
Messages
302
i've been looking at rat7's, sp5's and 499's. and rtakII's. i don't own any ontario knives yet. i have some other priorities for my gear money at the moment.

in the meantime, i'd appreciate hearing your recommendations, experiences and all the knife porn you can post. i've looked through the photo thread, but it seems pretty quiet lately.

my intended usage for said knives is mostly camping and backyard bonfire prep. i'm also a closet tacticool-mall ninja.

thanks in advance!
 
My favourite is the Rat7. It's the perfect knife. I sanded off the black finish to get at the beautiful 1095 carbon steel that's heat treated to perfection. Just got an sp1 a little while ago. Another good choice. A bit more tactical w the sharpened swedge.

Also have an Rtak. Now that's a knife. Something moved when I pulled it outa the sheath the first time :)
 
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Hey Jober,

Thanks for considering us. I'm not going to try to sell you on OKC, because I work for the company and am obviously biased. Hopefully a few others can come in and tell you what they think. What I will say is that we have a lifetime warranty, have been in business since 1889 (meaning we were founded in the same year as that other OKC, Oklahoma City), and we have been a major military supplier since WWII. I just lurk on Bladeforums for the most part, but I'm here at least once a week except for the week of SHOT Show, and Toooj is a great resource as well. If you have any direct questions for me or about OKC, I'm happy to answer them, I just don't want to start telling you how great I think our products are since it will probably seem like a marketing line coming from me, and you're clearly looking for honest opinions.
 
RTAKII is well known as a big chopper. It doesn't have a perfect handle but a huge, very tough 5160 blade makes it well worth its price of about $90. I have a RAT9, almost had the RAT7 a while back but the deal fell through. For camping and "backyard bonfire prep", all of these are great knives. Can't miss with any of them. The emphasis with OKC seems to be on delivering big value for your money. There are other knife companies offering better fit n finish, but they'll cost at least 50% more for comparable knives.
 
That's quite the history. Not many companies can say that. Specifically one company that starts w E and ends in E. Very loud following. Can't stand them and will never support them. I can confirm the OKC warranty. Bought a used Rat7. The buckels on the sheath broke OKC shipped replacements and an extra one express mail no questions. None of my OKC knives have poor fit and finish. Actually perfect.
 
i've been lurking this sub forum a while. from what i've read, the customer service and warranty are great. thanks for the input!
 
Simply great cost to performance ratio is a major reason to get an Ontario. The Rat folders, (while not made in the US) far outperform their $30 price point. Solid construction, great ergonomics and the AUS8 steel is great in that price range. As far as their US made offerings, same holds true. I recently was in the market for a cost effective, US made, large utility knife for yard work, car camping, and general screwing around in the woods type activities. I narrowed it down to the Becker BK9 and the Ontario SP5. While the 9 is nicknamed "The king" for good reason, I just saw the SP5 as more versatile, with a superior sheath that was a good deal less costly... and both are made in the USA. Not slamming Becker as I am a big fan of them as well.

Sidenote: I am kinda shocked this forum doesn't see more activity as well. Wondering: As people get more into this hobby and start to spend more $$$$ do they start focusing on more expensive brands ??? I'm a user and not a collector. I don't set any real $$ aside for a knife budget, so knives like KA-BAR, Ontario, Buck, are sort of in my sweet spot as far as price / performance goes. Good solid users / performers that I don't need to worry about.. and I can sharpen them myself ;-)

Here's my rat 1 and my sp5, after the 5 baton'd some wood for a fire in my back yard.

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Guess RAT 7 or RTAC II would fit your needs.

Two I'd suggest would be the SP-51, SP-53 if a solid thumping and wumping hilt wasn't desired (SP-51 last of the last sunsetted batch can be found at ChestnutRidge knife Shop) as they are the best woods processing blades I've seen/used. The Woodsman 9" blade is a good one, shiney still 5160 steel and nice looking handle, its like the SP-50 only full tang handle. One great blade is the Marine Raider Bowie. A big hunk of 1095 a 1/4" thick and well...its a great affordable big chopper and camp knife!

I went a bit Ranger series crazy and got some out of production RD7s for my main carry woodsy knife, the 1/4" 5160 blade in my two use knives are great. Not a fan of full flat grinds, but on the RD7 it makes it an all round field knife. I got an RD9 for my large full flat grind. I got RD knives because of 1/4" 5160 steel and the heavy use thumping and wumping hilts. I use my knives HARD. The RD6 where that 1" differences between it and the RD6 is a big one to me that is. One thing nice about all RD knives though is the choil and the full flat grind makes them ALL capable of doing ok to decent woodsy craft stuff also. The RD Tanto...a great must have knife. Like a medium saber grind super heavy weight chopper and wood processor.

The two knives you are looking at for camping and wood processing will work, if that's the main purpose the RTAC II might be better. Me I use some "Stand Alone" knives when going out short term wilderhood stuff, but for expeditions I take a set of working blades, besides the saw and axe.
 
this is great input. keep it coming.

steve, i have a bk9, and it is great. as far as getting into the hobby, i started with a kabar 1217 because of the reputation. i don't regret it at all. it's my favourite thing i own. BUT... if i'd known at the time there was an ontario option for less i'd have given it a shot.

roguer, my 'main carry woods knife' is my kabar, my bk9, my bk11 and my spyderco delica. i have lots of pockets.
 
Hard not to love the 12xx from KA-BAR. A friend in the USAF gave me a 1219 and its a great general use blade. And if you already have a 1217 and a bk9, you are well down the path. Ontario has some great options.

Best of luck and enjoy.

Sent from my Android powered Samsung.
 
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Break a Ka-Bar batoning and you break the warranty. That's probably the one main "BAD" thing about them. For field use I like my OKC blades, note this is from a field use point of view not a Tacti-Stab point of view.
 
so i said "screw off responsibilities!" and picked up an sp5 instead of other purchases i had in mind.

it's pretty cool, i gotta say. though it's not very sharp out of the box. it's too clean as well. gonna have to fix that soon, and get some pics.

thanks for all your input. i look forward to my next okc purchase.
 
Want me to sell you on OKC and their products huh ? LOL

a) American Company.
b) American made.
c) By Americans.
d) Speaking of the ones I own-I would trust my life with them-seriously.
e) Can they be broken--yes, absolutely. Have I ever broken one---No.
f) Would I cry & loose sleep over it if i did----No. I would be severely saddened if it was one that was out of production though---not gonna lie about that.
g) I have batoned almost every fixed blade knife i own, 100+ or-. Have i broken any yet, no. (plug your ears & cover your eyes Toooj, lol) Including my 12" Ontario machete. It got stuck in a knot & the blade tip area was severely bent, but once I pounded/batoned it the rest of the way through, it went right back to being straight. That speaks VOLUMES about their heat treating, which they have down to a science.
h) They have awesome people working everywhere there in customer service, q-control, design, and the makers of the blades.

OKC series I LOVE, are the Spec-Plus series. Ones I own: SP-2, SP-17 Quartermaster, SP-8, SP-47, SP-51, SP-53, SP-10, SP-Kukri. I also own a bunch of Old Hickory product and an 18" sawback machete, 12" machete.





^^^^^^^^^^^If you look close, you can see how much it got deflected. It got worse as I continued . But it straightened back out ! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^






And finally, in recap & closing, high quality, hard use knives, by 'MERICAN Company, made by 'MERICAN workers, at working man's wages ! How can you beat all that. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, makes me want to buy another ! I See what you did there ? Got me wantin' another !

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ! GO 'MERICA !!! lol.
 
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Favorites of mine ? Yeahhhhhh-pretty much all of them.

Toooj---

you should see if you can bring back the SP-17 Quartemaster in a small run. I love that blade. Would be nice for others. Also, IIRC, your not a choil fan ? Anyways, would be nice to see a finger choil on the 12" machete, micarta handles, bowie the tip and call it a bushcraft machete. A small run of those would be awesome.
 
TwinStick said:
Want me to sell you on OKC and their products huh ? LOL

a) American Company.
b) American made.
c) By Americans.
d) Speaking of the ones I own-I would trust my life with them-seriously.
e) Can they be broken--yes, absolutely. Have I ever broken one---No.
f) Would I cry & loose sleep over it if i did----No. I would be severely saddened if it was one that was out of production though---not gonna lie about that.
g) I have batoned almost every fixed blade knife i own, 100+ or-. Have i broken any yet, no. (plug your ears & cover your eyes Toooj, lol) Including my 12" Ontario machete. It got stuck in a knot & the blade tip area was severely bent, but once I pounded/batoned it the rest of the way through, it went right back to being straight. That speaks VOLUMES about their heat treating, which they have down to a science.
h) They have awesome people working everywhere there in customer service, q-control, design, and the makers of the blades.
Click to expand...

Like TwinStick put here, these are the overall reasons why I tend to choose OKC even over Ka-Bar, SOG, Kershaw, etc. for camping/hiking/survival knives. I currently own:
  • 9430BM Ranger Night Stalker (NS4) - Overall utility knife for camping
  • 8902 Joe Pardue Utilitac II - Good size folder that is my emergency knife in my truck I keep with my Leatherman
  • JPT-2BS Utilitac Combo - Small folder for small tasks, EDC & around the house usage
  • Kukri Knife - Wanted a more versatile knife for camping/hiking then my NS4 and I was convinced of OKC over Ka-Bar's top Kukri for this review.

I'm a mild collector of folding knives having Kershaw, OKC, Spyderco & others. I also am a mild collector of fixed blades having OKC, SOG, Morakniv, Kershaw & others.

1st post btw, have loved this forum for a long time and after I started looking at swords and daggers decided to join since I always get quality info from bladeforums.
 
I forgot all about my prized OKC blade. A Justin Gingrich RD6 Signature Series. 3/8" thick of S7 tool steel goodness. I LOVE that knife. (Hang my head in shame) Even though I have never used it outdoors. Hard to believe a 3/8" thick blade can shave hair & paper, but it does.

My OKC Kukri (called a KLO -kukri like object, by Himalayan Khukri purists) -Notice the spelling difference, is wicked sharp, no lie. I did have to sharpen it, but no big deal to me. I was finishing up the sharpening right before I had to get ready for work. As I wiped the oil/metal debris off the blade with a paper towel, I looked at the clock to see the time, took my eyes off it for only a second & it sliced through 4 layers of the thick Bounty paper towel & sliced all 4 of my fingers. I was late for work that day. So, there is a LOT of truth to the stories that Kukri's have to/want to draw blood when unsheathed. It cut them so clean, i have no scars of it today. That was about 2-3 years ago i think. Don't take your eyes off that blade when unsheathed or it will bite you.
 
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JoberSeven said:
...it's pretty cool, i gotta say. though it's not very sharp out of the box...
Click to expand...

Mine was also real dull out of the box... And the primary grinds seemed off or inconsistent as well. I gave it some TLC. It took some elbow grease but after a few sharpening sessions, it now has a great 20 degree edge. I commented in another thread, for the $, I don't think it's a big deal and if you are going to get a knife like that you should know how to put a reasonable edge on the blade yourself, but it is mildly disappointing to have it arrive dull.

Not having a BK9 yet, I'd be curious as to your thoughts on the SP5 vs the BK9. Yes, I get it they are different and have different price points but so far.... Given what I do with mine, I am having a tough time justifying the 9.
 
If you are an outdoor knife person, you simply need a BK-9. They are totally different. The BK-9 simply chops better than you think it would or should. Not sure if it chops better because that is a individuals point of view. 1/4" thick for the SP-5 & 3/16" for the 9. Borrow one & see for yourself, if you can. The grinds on the blades of any manufacture, IMHO, are a quality control issue. Many people who are just getting started on their "knife journey in life" do not know how to sharpen yet. And I get that, because we were all there at one point. Many are simply turned off by not having a hair shaving edge on their blade from the factory. But as they progress on their "knife journey in life", they will realize that a Made In America product, that is designed for hard use, that is still available with the price point of the OKC and Ka-Bar products, is a REAL BARGAIN indeed. Then, start thinking of the fact that yes, there are knives made elsewhere that are real good as well, but are being sold at comparable and often MUCH more money & then wonder what they they pay & how they treat their workers ? Are they really the bargain some people think they are ?

Knives are like anything else. You are either into them---or not. Not too long ago, I can't tell you how many people said I was nuts to pay $600-$1200 for a mountain bike, when I could get one at W-Mart for $100. Obviously, those in the know, know there is absolutely NO COMPARISON between those 2 products, but some simply can not differentiate between the 2. IMHO, OKC and Ka-Bar. are still selling products that any working American can afford & as such, something working Americans can decide to buy with their hard earned dollars. That-in & of itself, is not so common anymore. Also, that is one of the ONLY things that I am PROUD to say about NY---that Ontario Knife Company, Ka-Bar, Cutco knives are still made here, about 1-1.5 hrs away from me.
 
so far the bk9 out chops my sp5. not done sharpening it though, so i'm not rushing any judgements. and to be honest, there hasn't been a whole lot of chopping going on around here anyway.

i need to get used to a sharpened swedge. in a hurry... i have a habit of whacking the back of my blade with the heel of my palm to split thinner peices of wood. wasn't my brightest moment, but no damage done.

twin stick, that first picture? holy sh*tsnacks! i'd barf if i saw one of my blades do that! glad it straightened out for you.
 
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