Ka-bar/becker = made by ontario?

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precisionshootist

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Ok, the title is pretty self explanatory. I seem to remember reading some place recently that the Ka-bar USA made knives are actually manufactured by Ontario. Anyone know if this is accurate?

It would make sense to me but would like to know for sure.
 
Nope, Ontario doesn't make Becker or ka-bar knives. Ka-bar has their own factory in olean NY where they manufacture their knives and Becker knives.
 
Not at all. Two different places/ companies. It probably stems from a knife that was made by Ontario for the military that very closely resembled the classic kabar fighting knife. I could be wrong on all counts though :)
 
OP must be confused with "Ka Bar Style" military fighting knives made by both companies....they actually both make the same blueprint military knives.

The answer to your question is NO,but they both make similar military knives though.
 
I have been researching this a little bit. So far I've found nothing indicating Ka-bar actually has their own manufacturing facilities. At the same time I have found nothing concrete indicating they don't make their own knives. I'm not saying I don't believe the replies, I'm just saying I'm not convinced as some companies go to great lengths to conceal the true source of their products. I don't think that's a bad thing by the way but it's very common in the industry.
Becker knives were originally made by other companies also. I have noticed some very striking resemblances on some models of Ka-Bar knives and sheaths to Ontario knives and sheaths. Just the fact they are both made in the US of 1095 carbon steel with almost identical finishes seems to me it's likely they are both made in the same plants. And as I originally stated I read this but that could have been totally inaccurate information. Anyway still wanting to hear more opinions or better yet someone with definite inside information.
 
Ka Bar is owned by Alcas Corporation, now known as Cutco. It took me two minutes to find that on the Ka Bar website..........

http://www.kabar.com/history

Ontario Knives is owned by Servotronics. It also took me two minutes to find that on the Ontario website..........

http://www.ontarioknife.com/history

Basic web searching...I'm amazed you couldn't find that out on your own.
 
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Ka Bar is owned by Alcas Corporation, now known as Cutco. It took me two minutes to find that on the Ka Bar website..........

http://www.kabar.com/history

Ontario Knives is owned by Servotronics. It also took me two minutes to find that on the Ontario website..........

http://www.ontarioknife.com/history

Basic web searching...I'm amazed you couldn't find that out on your own.
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Yes, I have found that of course, and beyond. The problem is who owns the brand very often has NOTHING to do with who actually manufactures the product. Ethan Becker owned Becker Knife and tool but as far as I know they never manufactured any knives. All their knives were made by Cammilus and or Black Jack Knives. Same goes for the Cold Steel brand. They don't actually manufacture any of their knives and never have. Again, I'm not saying this is a bad thing at all as this is VERY common in business. I'm just trying to find out if Ka-Bar is a manufacturer or a do they simply contract the work out as the majority of knife brands do.
 
As T.L already stated they are owned by different companies.

From the OntarioWikipedia page:
Ontario Knife Company was founded in 1889 in Naples, New York. The company takes its name from Ontario County, New York (not, as a common misconception holds, the province of Ontario, Canada). They are currently located in Franklinville, New York, in Cattaraugus County, where most of their products are manufactured.
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And from the KA-BAR Wikipedia page:
Additionally, KA-BAR is the trademark and namesake of a related knife manufacturing company, KA-BAR Cutlery Co., Inc. (formerly Union Cutlery Co.) of Olean, New York, a subsidiary of the Cutco Corporation.
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They are two separate factories owned by two separate companies.

If you would like a more in depth answer you could ask your questions in this thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/872443-Ask-Toooj and you will get an answer from someone that works for KA-BAR.
 
I have knives made by both Ontario and KaBar and the KaBar knives are a bit higher in quality. I can get KaBar's 1095CV much sharper than Ontario's 1095, and the edge retention is better too. I have never seen anything which leads me to believe KaBar subcontracts out their knives to be made by Ontario, and additionally I have read over on the Becker subforum posts by KaBar employee Paul Tsujimoto talking about some of KaBar's manufacturing and heat treating methods at their facility.

The sheaths however might be similar because they are outsourced to the same supplier, but that is only my speculation.
 
Some of Ka-Bars newer items like the Zombie series and a good amount of their folders are made in Taiwan and China. Ontario also has at least one folder, the RAT 1 made in Taiwan. Before, I was assuming you were referring to fixed blades, and I think most of their fixed blade knives are made in USA at their separate factories in NY
 
They're both old companies from upstate NY who probably used the same source for the same steel. And identical Marine Combat knifes have been made by both for decades. Camillus, & Case too, I believe, made them too back in the day. They all got government contracts for them back in WW2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KA-BAR
 
I have knives made by both Ontario and KaBar and the KaBar knives are a bit higher in quality. I can get KaBar's 1095CV much sharper than Ontario's 1095, and the edge retention is better too. I have never seen anything which leads me to believe KaBar subcontracts out their knives to be made by Ontario, and additionally I have read over on the Becker subforum posts by KaBar employee Paul Tsujimoto talking about some of KaBar's manufacturing and heat treating methods at their facility.

The sheaths however might be similar because they are outsourced to the same supplier, but that is only my speculation.
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Excellent point about the sheaths. That could well explain the similarities. However there is more. Take a look at the Ontario "freedom fighter" series. These knives are almost identical to several models of Ka-bar designs, differing only slightly in finish and handle material. I did check out the threads in the "ask Toooj" section. I see his title is senior eng, product development and quality. I'm quite sure this person would know the answer to the question that I'm asking but It would be VERY unlikely he would answer it candidly. That being said I would not even feel comfortable asking the question at this point.

It would be like asking Lynn Thompson back in the glory days about the manufacturing process of those great Carbon V blades. I'm sure he would tell you all about the QC, materials, and how they build the toughest knives but its highly unlikely he would have revealed they were being made at Cammilus. That's not dishonest in my opinion and it's perfectly acceptable to not reveal who actually does the work. As the quality control, materials, design etc. etc. was Cold Steel but the actual production was done at the Cammilus facilities.

I also see the quality difference in the Ka-Bar knives over Ontario but again this does not mean anything. A manufacturer can make products at all manner of quality levels by simply adding or subtracting QC, changing material specs, etc. It's done all the time. I will use the Cold Steel example again. Back then there was nothing in the Cammilus line that approached the quality of the Cold Steel blades. Cammilus simply manufactured the Cold Steel line to a much higher quality spec.

I suspect this is the case with Ka-Bar but obviously it's still speculation based on observation and other minor knowledge of the industry. (nothing to do with this situation)


I hope I didn't wear you guys out beating this thing to death! I'm just a curious knife nut and fan of both of these brands.
 
Paul Tsujimoto, aka Toooj once worked for Ontario, and helped develop most of the fixed blade knives they offer. So, the similarity between the two, stems from the fact that the same designer once worked for Ontario, but now works for Ka-Bar.

And just to finalize the whole thread, no, Ontario does not make Kabar or BKT knives. The knives for Kabar and BKT are made at the Cutco facility, and assembled at the Kabar facility. Kabar is a subsidiary of Cutco, but wholly operated separately from Cutco.

Hope this helps.

Moose
 
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