Ontario Bushcraft Field Knife 18

The review of knife is initial impression, it is yet to be seriously tested. It is very light, and very well made, scales are rounded smooth without hot spots and aligned with tang perfectly, and screws are flush with the scales which were little dried out but nothing to worry about, it was merely cosmetic, still tight fit to the tang. Little linseed oil and slabs regained lively color and appearance. Out of the box the knife was usable sharp, but there still is some work to be done, but it is just me; I really don't like micro bevels on knife, I like old time grinding to zero (regardless of grinding type) still found in some Europe and Sheffield made knives. Knife is cutting and slicing tool as I see it, so I do not see any advantage and purpose in micro beveled edges. Sheath itself is not some extra piece of craftsmanship, but it serves the purpose. Although, I will use leather some sheath. So, only downside for me was edge micro bevel, but that is thing with majority of factory made knives, but, to be honest, OKC made great job, the knife was ground without any imperfections. Four stars only because of sheath.

The review of knife is initial impression, it is yet to be seriously tested. It is very light, and very well made, scales are rounded smooth without hot spots and aligned with tang perfectly, and screws are flush with the scales which were little dried out but nothing to worry about, it was merely cosmetic, still tight fit to the tang. Little linseed oil and slabs regained lively color and appearance. Out of the box the knife was usable sharp, but there still is some work to be done, but it is just me; I really don't like micro bevels on knife, I like old time grinding to zero (regardless of grinding type) still found in some Europe and Sheffield made knives. Knife is cutting and slicing tool as I see it, so I do not see any advantage and purpose in micro beveled edges. Sheath itself is not some extra piece of craftsmanship, but it serves the purpose. Although, I will use leather some sheath. So, only downside for me was edge micro bevel, but that is thing with majority of factory made knives, but, to be honest, OKC made great job, the knife was ground without any imperfections. Four stars only because of sheath.

I would like to start my review by saying that I did not purchase my example of this knife from Heinnie Haynes, but I do own one so here are my thoughts about the knife. First the plus points, the knife looks great, a very comfortable wooden handle, it feels good in the hand, with no discomfort or hot spots when using the knife for extended periods, and the blade geometry is good. This is the cheaper version of the knife, and comes with a made in china nylon sheath, with plastic blade inserrt. The sheath has two retention straps, which hold the knife very securely. The sheath also has an accessory pocket in the front, which is just the right size for a small honing stone, which is just as well because I find that my example of this knife requires frequent re- sharpening. The blade is 5160 steel, which is a tough spring steel that is used a lot in the automotive industry, and is hardened according to the literature to 53-55 rockwell. I find the knife is fine for processing game, and food prep, but this is advertised as a Bushcraft Field Knife, so in my opinion it has to be capable of wood working bushcraft tasks such as notching and feather sticking. I found that this knife required considerable re-profiling of the edge, in order to perform to an acceptable standard when working with wood. So if you purchase one do not expect startling performance out of the box. I also found the edge retention to be quite poor, compared to other knives I own in 1095, 1075, and 9Cr13mov steels. I will be honest I like Ontario Knife Company products, I own an Ontario Rat 3 in 1095 steel that is one of my favourite bushcraft knives and performs great when working with wood. Unfortunately I have cheaper knives, that perform wood working tasks better than the Bushcraft Field knife, I can only assume that is because of the softer heat treatment on this knife, iif Ontario had made the knife in their 1095 steel, I think it would be a winner.

It's called a Drop-point guys :)