Ka-bar vs Ontario vs Esee steel heat treat...

L

lonestar1979

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Mar 2, 2014
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Who has best heat treat out of these 3 companies,and whats best overall bang for buck value out of these 3,my buddy is looking for a survival-utility-camping-bushcraft knife,and these 3 companies all produce similar knives.If someone owns all or any of these 3,please state any pros and cons,or maybe give some better alternative than these 3.Esse rat 3-6vs kabar becker models vs ontario rat and sp or ranger models....Which one out of all these give best performance and are best value for money?
 
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I’d be fine with any of those myself as far as performance goes. Design and finish would make the choice more personalized. Beckers work great and I have a bunch. Esee has a little better finish and I like the new sculpted scales they offer. Ontario knives have always served well but lack the cosmetic details the others get. I think the BK&T products offer the best bang for your buck of the knives you mentioned.
 
I agree with everything Bill said. If you are that worried about heat treatment don’t overlook Buck knives.
 
On the one hand, my ability to comment knowledgeably is limited because Beckers are the only ones I own of the brands you mention. On the other hand, Beckers are the only ones that have attracted my dollars, of the brands you mention. I don’t know that there is much to choose among them on performance or heat treat. Becker has the edge on value for money.
 
Becker's tend to be a couple of Rockwell points harder than ESEE, which I believe tend to be 55-57

I prefer slightly harder than that, personally .

LOVE the Becker / Kabar 1095CV steel and hardness / performance, personally.
 
HT is probably esee>becker>ontario.

I've had all 3. The ontario HT was subpar compared to ESEE. Though the difference isnt all that big. I like esee better between the 2, for a variety of reasons.

1095cv is sightly different than 1095. I think it tends to hold an edge slightly better than 1095, but it's harder to get that super crisp sharp edge with 1095 due to the larger carbide structure.

I only have the becker now. That's mostly because I love the blade shape (bk15). At the end of the day, pick the knife you want. None of them are perfect. If the esee4 had the blade thickness of the esee3, I'd have kept it. I gave the ontario to a buddy because I didn't like the length (really like 4-5" for edc).

Final thought. Blade shape and geometry has more to do with performance than heat treat in this instance. If you were debating a super-steel vs 1095, it would be a different conversation. But it's not.
 
All three of your choices are Good.
I love me some Beckers, and have a few Esee's too....

But I'd also suggest the maker L.T. Wright
They make a great variety of blade shapes, better handles and leather sheaths, if you like That...... Just a tad more money but not bad considering.....

It might be a good idea if you picked a few models You like, that we can discuss the pros/cons.
 
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