Mitsuboshi Cutlery Ozark Trail Fixed Blade Knife

M

MBTull

Joined
Oct 16, 2008
Messages
300
Mitsuboshi Cutlery Ozark Trail Fixed Blade Knife Review

I was in Wally World and saw this fixed blade knife for $9.95. I figured, less than a movie ticket and if it does not cut, I can use it for a pry bar. The wood handle looked like crap, even through the plastic clam shell, so I picked up some tennis racket grip tape.

First, the disappointing features:

1. Plastic clam shell - I hate stuff sold in clam shells.
2. Nylon sheath - almost worthless, also stupid "Ozark Trails" label is sewn on the front.
3. Handle - thin, varnished and laser etched w/ "Ozark Trails"

As far as the problems above:

1. - As much as I hate clam shell packaging, it is a good excuse to use my contractor's utility knife.
2. I also used my CUK (contractor's utility knife) to slice off the stupid label. The sheath is barely usable, but it does cover the knife blade and is thick enough to protect you. Also, the knife in the sheath fits nicely in the back pouch of a Nite Ize Pockit. This inspired me to use the Pockit to store some fire making supplies along with the knife. More on that later.
3. Handle - thin varnished wood is not safe to use. The tennis racket grip tape solved the problem and also covered the stupid etching. It fits my hand nicely, it does not slip.

Once I got my hands on it, there were some good points:

1. Full tang
2. The top of the blade, where the handle meets, has 7 nice square cut outs. These make a great area to strike a fire steel
3. The blade is sturdy, about 5 inches and well balanced with the handle

Rough Use

The knife was predictably dull. Before sharpening it, I used it to pry a rock out of the ground and to dig a fire pit. It worked great and, for $9.95 it was worth it even if it never did anything beyond such rough use.

Sharpening

After that, the edge was really in bad shape, so I used a small metal file and re-created the bevel. Next my spydie sharpmaker and then a final hone on a color catalog. The knife was now sharp enough to slice the catalog to shreds. I have sensitive skin (and I am man enough to admit it!) so I did not dare shave with it.

A surprising feature

The square cut outs on the knife back are a great place to strike a fire steel. It really throws the sparks. Of course, it tears the steel to shreds, but, in a survival situation, I would go for the sparks. I can always get an extra steel.

Okay, that's enough for now. I gotta get outside. I will update this review and attempt to add some pix when I test:

Batoning

Fuzzy Sticks

Here is a link to the knife.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10298952
 
I thought this was spam for a minute!

Glad you are liking your knife.

For the price I would think a Mora would be better, but if it works for you, then thats great!!
 
Good review. Some pics would be helpful. I agree with the thesis of this thread though - sometimes you just gotta take a chance on a $10.00 knife. Every once in a while you get surprised and find something that works out okay.

I really like my little diamond back guide. In fact, I've resisted the urge quite well to get a higher end stainless steel knife for boat work because this one fills that niche nicely and I can focus my $$$ on carbon blades which I love more for bushy stuff.
 
j williams said:
For the price I would think a Mora would be better, but if it works for you, then thats great!!
Click to expand...

I thought about a Mora - couple of questions:

Can I baton with it?
Is it a full tang?
Can I use it to strike a fire steel?

Thanks!
 
I believe the #1 and #2 are full tang, or at least 3/4. The laminated steel does not throw as many sparks as the carbon steel version and I'ved used them to baton a couple times with ease.
 
MBTull said:
I thought about a Mora - couple of questions:

Can I baton with it?
Is it a full tang?
Can I use it to strike a fire steel?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yep, you can baton with a Mora, with common sense of course. Ive been quite impressed with what I have seen them put through. Siguy has one he carried for a long while, and it seemed to suit his needs rather well, and he uses his blades quite heavy.

1 and 2 are full tang I believe

The carbon ones throw sparks quite nicely.

Now, that said, I think if you like this knife, you cant go wrong.

I am not a fan of wal-mart, not a fan of chinese blades, and not a fan of the grind on that one, but I hate pukkos too, so to each his own, Its cool to see the cheaper blades reviewed, and I say if it works, and you use it, its money well spent!


What other blades do you own to compare it to? Oh, and welcome to Bladeforums bro!
 
i've walked by those many times wondering how they are, but mystery stainless doesn't really appeal to me. otherwise they look decent.

the moras (frosts model 1 and 2 are through-tang) are quite sturdy and hold up well to batonning in my experience. all moras throw sparks well from a firesteel once you square the spine with a file or course sharpening stone. some models come squarish already, and can throw decent sparks, but after you square up the spine nice and sharp it is hard to ask for a better ferro rod striker.
 
I'm curious about the handle. Was it too thin for your use or was it the state it was in that you didn't like?
 
PB,

The handle was too thin, too slick because of the glossy varnish and had a Ozark Trail logo etched into it.

The tape works great. I may get another to see if I can get the wood scales off and use paracord.
 
Here are some photos:

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q283/MBTull/knife01.jpg

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q283/MBTull/knife03.jpg

nite ize pockit with fire steel, PJ soaked lint in match case, matches in match case, Brunton life cards, metal file and duct tape wrapped around pencil

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q283/MBTull/knife04.jpg

knife and everything else in pockit

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q283/MBTull/knife02.jpg

tinder

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q283/MBTull/knife06.jpg

batoning
 
Hope you don't mind MBTull; I'll put the pictures in for you. If you 'quote' my post and have a look, you'll see the [ I M G ] tags instead of [ U R L ] tags in the quoted code. That's how you tell it to show the image. Cheers, Rick.

MBTull said:
Here are some photos:

knife01.jpg


knife03.jpg


nite ize pockit with fire steel, PJ soaked lint in match case, matches in match case, Brunton life cards, metal file and duct tape wrapped around pencil

knife04.jpg


knife and everything else in pockit

knife02.jpg


tinder

knife06.jpg


batoning
Click to expand...
 
As you can see from the photos, I had no problem batoning and making wood shavings for fire starting. I am still working on my fuzz stick skills, so any shortcomings there probably has more to do with me. As I said earlier, this knife really throws the sparks when you draw a fire steel against the squared off notches on the back of the blade.

I like the knife well enough to think about a decent sheath for it. I would like to build one myself, so anyone with suggestions is welcome to chime in. I am thinking about a horizontal carry.

With a little bit of work - grip tape and some sharpening and maybe a new sheath, this makes a great rough duty knife and a great knife for someone new to WSS. For safety reasons, I would discourage use unless you do something with the wood scales. Way to slick and way to thin to be safe. I suggest also that you carry it with a SAK for fine carving and whittling, such as a fig. 4 trap or a shelter.

Stay sharp,
 
MBTull said:
Mitsuboshi Cutlery Ozark Trail Fixed Blade Knife Review

I was in Wally World and saw this fixed blade knife for $9.95. I figured, less than a movie ticket and if it does not cut, I can use it for a pry bar. The wood handle looked like crap, even through the plastic clam shell, so I picked up some tennis racket grip tape.

First, the disappointing features:

1. Plastic clam shell - I hate stuff sold in clam shells.
2. Nylon sheath - almost worthless, also stupid "Ozark Trails" label is sewn on the front.
3. Handle - thin, varnished and laser etched w/ "Ozark Trails"

As far as the problems above:

1. - As much as I hate clam shell packaging, it is a good excuse to use my contractor's utility knife.
2. I also used my CUK (contractor's utility knife) to slice off the stupid label. The sheath is barely usable, but it does cover the knife blade and is thick enough to protect you. Also, the knife in the sheath fits nicely in the back pouch of a Nite Ize Pockit. This inspired me to use the Pockit to store some fire making supplies along with the knife. More on that later.
3. Handle - thin varnished wood is not safe to use. The tennis racket grip tape solved the problem and also covered the stupid etching. It fits my hand nicely, it does not slip.

Once I got my hands on it, there were some good points:

1. Full tang
2. The top of the blade, where the handle meets, has 7 nice square cut outs. These make a great area to strike a fire steel
3. The blade is sturdy, about 5 inches and well balanced with the handle

Rough Use

The knife was predictably dull. Before sharpening it, I used it to pry a rock out of the ground and to dig a fire pit. It worked great and, for $9.95 it was worth it even if it never did anything beyond such rough use.

Sharpening

After that, the edge was really in bad shape, so I used a small metal file and re-created the bevel. Next my spydie sharpmaker and then a final hone on a color catalog. The knife was now sharp enough to slice the catalog to shreds. I have sensitive skin (and I am man enough to admit it!) so I did not dare shave with it.

A surprising feature

The square cut outs on the knife back are a great place to strike a fire steel. It really throws the sparks. Of course, it tears the steel to shreds, but, in a survival situation, I would go for the sparks. I can always get an extra steel.

Okay, that's enough for now. I gotta get outside. I will update this review and attempt to add some pix when I test:

Batoning

Fuzzy Sticks

Here is a link to the knife.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10298952
Click to expand...

LMAO! I just sharpened my dad's this weekend..itll shave now. :) I was thinking...for 10 bux this isnt that bad of a knife...
 
MBTull said:
PB,

The handle was too thin, too slick because of the glossy varnish and had a Ozark Trail logo etched into it.

The tape works great. I may get another to see if I can get the wood scales off and use paracord.
Click to expand...

Should be able to get those scales off. looked like torx or tiny allen head screws held it on when i examined my dads....
 
This is great. It is a comfort to know that I am not the only Ozark Trail (OT) enthusiast. The only difference between us and those guys with their BRKTs and RATs and the like is that we have an extra $150.00 bucks in our pockets. I mean, when you get down to it, a knife is a blade and a handle. If you can get it sharp (which is not that hard to do) and do something with the handle, you got yourself a decent knife that you do not have to worry about, plus 150.00 left over for a bunch of other gear.

Now, if we can just find a decent sheath for it.......
 
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