Ontario Utilitac II - Best modern folding knife under $30?

O

o4tg

Joined
Jun 12, 2013
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I just got mine in. Holy shit what a nice looking knife for $25. The blade grind is perfect, the liners and grips line up perfectly, the blade is perfectly centered, the liner isn't as thick as my 0350 but locks up really good, and much more. The biggest thing is how buttery smooth the action is though. The detents are strong but this thing is like snot on glass.

Now I just need to see how the steel holds up. I don't think I'll be telling people to get the Tenascious anymore. I'll add a more comprehensive review later because I do have a couple very minor gripes. Label me highly impressed for my initial review though.
 
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I agree 100%. It's a great knife for the price. A poor man's ZT0350. It's a little bit heavy, but so is the 350. Mine has perfect fit and finish as well and is very smooth.

 
Still not the best. Opinel for the money every time. Also CRKT Thunderbolt, and CK Folder. IMHO, of course.
 
I like the look of the Tanto for some reason. Never been a huge tanto fan but it has grown on me. I was thinking about ordering one from hearing others say good things about it. Now I definitely will, you can not go wrong for $25.
 
jimh0220 said:
Still not the best. Opinel for the money every time. Also CRKT Thunderbolt, and CK Folder. IMHO, of course.
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I've had my share of CRKT. To put it nicely, I will never buy one again. Isn't the Thunderbolt the one that's glued together and has non adjustable blade tension? Pretty sure I've seen quite a few reviews on that knife that were heavily unfavorable.
 
AddictedToGear said:
I like the look of the Tanto for some reason. Never been a huge tanto fan but it has grown on me. I was thinking about ordering one from hearing others say good things about it. Now I definitely will, you can not go wrong for $25.
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I haven't bought a tanto in a long time, but couldn't resist.

 
I've had mine for about 6 months, and it is one of my favorites despite being one of, if not the least expensive knives I own. I like it so much that I bought second Utilitac II, one for each hand. Bought one with the square handle and one with the roundish handle end.
 
o4tg said:
I've had my share of CRKT. To put it nicely, I will never buy one again. Isn't the Thunderbolt the one that's glued together and has non adjustable blade tension? Pretty sure I've seen quite a few reviews on that knife that were heavily unfavorable.
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Mine has screws holding it together last time I looked, and the blade adjusts with the tool they give you. To each their own. I have a bunch of CRKT knives and have only had one fail, and their CS dept treated me like gold. I like Ontario, but the BEST for $30? That's a huge stretch. I would think you could pick it apart like any other low end blade.
 
jimh0220 said:
Mine has screws holding it together last time I looked, and the blade adjusts with the tool they give you. To each their own. I have a bunch of CRKT knives and have only had one fail, and their CS dept treated me like gold. I like Ontario, but the BEST for $30? That's a huge stretch. I would think you could pick it apart like any other low end blade.
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Trust me, I'm trying. The only two complaints I have are the blade could be a more matte finish and the blade spine jimping could be sharper. Granted as stated, longevity is the real key and once I've formed that opinion I'll be public about it whether it's good or bad.

It has many features that downright impress me though. Like using stop pins to control blade movement. Most brands cheap out and cut the blade so the liner limits movement. Terrible idea. Then you have brands that use the thumb studs to control travel. A much better design, but thumbstuds are still exposed, regularly stressed, and threaded with no captivation.

Or how about the super thick pivot and large faced bronze bushings. They're bigger than my 0350's even, and it shows in smoothness. This while most CRKT, Gerber, Cold Steel, Boker, and others are still using poly bushings. This thing absolutely smokes my 0350 (when speed safe is out), my Kershaw Skyline, and my Buck Vantage in terms of smoothness. The 0350 beats it in lock up, but not the others.

There are just a bunch of little things on this knife that get overlooked you can't get anywhere else for even close to this price. Again I want to put emphasis on longevity/durability. Believe me, this thing will get a work out, but I have high hopes with the oversized pivot bearings and use of stop pins.


 
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jimh0220 said:
Still not the best. Opinel for the money every time. Also CRKT Thunderbolt, and CK Folder. IMHO, of course.
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The topic is best MODERN folding knife, not best folding knife of the late 1800s.

No matter the knife question that is asked here, you can bet your ass SOMEONE is going to answer Opinel or Mora.:p
 
glocker199 said:
The topic is best MODERN folding knife, not best folding knife of the late 1800s.

No matter the knife question that is asked here, you can bet your ass SOMEONE is going to answer Opinel or Mora.:p
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To be fair, I changed the title to that after his post.
 
Modern is as modern does. The reason Opinel still makes the Opinel and the reason they continue to sell like mad is that they work.

If anybody wants to put a so-called modern up against an Opinel in a hard use bake-off, I have an Opinel pass around going. Happy to see the Opinel busted. Just post pictures and if you have guts, post pictures of you doing the same thing with your preferred "modern" knife.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1097460-Opinel-Pass-Around-amp-Walk-About
 
pinnah said:
Modern is as modern does. The reason Opinel still makes the Opinel and the reason they continue to sell like mad is that they work.

If anybody wants to put a so-called modern up against an Opinel in a hard use bake-off, I have an Opinel pass around going. Happy to see the Opinel busted. Just post pictures and if you have guts, post pictures of you doing the same thing with your preferred "modern" knife.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1097460-Opinel-Pass-Around-amp-Walk-About
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No offense, but after seeing my buddy's broken lock that hapoened after he stated he stabbed a tree, I won't trust an Opinel enough to try using it hard. The Opinel is a great old time pocket knife, but i won't take up that offer for the things I do with knives simply for my own safety.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qKuZskDzmU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIKJxGhZC0U&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
Alnamvet68 said:
I believe this one is the best sub $30.00 folder....

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My buddy got a Zancudo and to me it just didn't feel right in my hand. It wasn't as smooth as my Utilitac either, but my only real dislike was the dealbreaker of how it felt. The handle was large but awkward, and the blade felt incredibly small. I know it's still like 2.75" or so, but it just seemed like it needed more in the blade and less in the handle. Though I must admit, ergonomics are quite subjective.

If I go by looks, I would think I would have the same issue with the RAT1, which was another reason I went for the Utilitac aince the RAT1 and Zancudo have such similar blades.
 
No use arguing Opinel vs modern... different knives for different tasks. I bet an Opinel could outslice a ZT every time, but...
 
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