My few years hesitation on ordering a particular Ontario knife...

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

I ordered an Ontario Kukri this morning, breaking a hesitation to do so that had lasted a few years.
I have never actually handled one of these Ontario Kukri knives, but I have been interested in adding one to my collection. The reason I waited so long in ordering it, was because of the all too many reviews I read about Ontario being inconsistent on their grinds on these knives. I have two SP10's, and both have that way less than stellar grind thing going on. Anyhow, I wanted to add their Kukri, but sight unseen was something I didn't want to mess with. Then, a couple/few years ago, I read on these forums that Ontario, with the help of Toooj, was working on improving their product line, and the main grinds were to be part of that new focus. Well, now with years having gone by since reading about their improvement goals, I decided to take the plunge and order one.
Since my use of it is to add it to my collecting hobby, the quality of the grinds will matter much to me. That said, I'm hoping that my newly ordered Ontario Kukri arrives as a good representation of what OKC can now do

 

[Boggs]

PKJ....

I too have recently been eyeing the kukri... not sure why except i been thinking of an alternative to a 10” blade...

You’ll have to provide us with your thoughts once it’s received

 

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

PKJ....

I too have recently been eyeing the kukri... not sure why except i been thinking of an alternative to a 10” blade...

You’ll have to provide us with your thoughts once it’s received

Will do, Sir! I have some fairly recent OKC acquisitions, and they have been good on all grinds (primary and sharpened edges). Hoping for a continuation of that with the Kukri that's headed my way.
I will surely share my thoughts and some pics of it when it arrives

While on the subject of recently made Ontario knives, I imagine that the newer Kukri knife specimens by Ontario are now made from their 1075 steel (rather than their 1095). For someone planning on using them hard, they may prove even more durable than before (they used to be made of 1095).

 

[Steve6387]

My SP5 from a coupke of years ago was dull as dirt and the grinds were a bit off... but nothing a bit of time and effort didn't fix fight up.
I am not a great sharpener but can put a workable edge on a "reasonable" grind. For the price range these knives fall into, they are fantastic bargains. I just don't expect a perfect edge and grind.
Hopefully yours is great, but if not, the next question is....Is it close enough for you to make it great? If so, you'll have a great blade that performs well beyond it's price point.

 

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

I am not so focussed on the sharpening grind that is done to the blade at the end (after it's been powder coated and all). Although, of course I expect that Toooj's mentoring has helped them be more consistent with that as well. The main concern for me, are the grinds made before the coating is applied... the grinds that shape the blade to it's final form. As a collector of knives, the quality of a company's effort in that, does matter. Not seeking perfection, but I know that in the past, these grinds were often far from being acceptable by just about anyone that can appreciate the aesthetics of a knife.
This was something Ontario was well aware of, and the reason Ontario's Toooj was hard at work trying to add some finesse to the situation. It has been a few years since I read they were working on this, and my decision to purchase now is because I feel there is likely a better chance at finding these new improvements that have (hopefully) been standardized by now.

 

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

Below is a pic showing a couple SP-5 Bowie knives I purchased within the past few weeks (one in the display case, the other in my hand). Both were ordered sight unseen from an online vendor. They are my most recent Ontario Knife Company acquisitions, and both wound up being good in their aesthetics. So, again, with my luck being very good on these latest Ontario knives, I felt the time was right to see if I can get their Kukri at that same level of overall quality. I am thinking the Kukri, (because of it's size and shape), MAY be a bit more difficult to get just right, so I was testing the Ontario waters again with some of their other models before finally plunging into their Kukri. All signs, based on my latest Ontario knife purchases, point to Ontario indeed having made consistent improvements in the milling of their knives. If the Kukri winds up being as good as these other recent acquisitions, I will definitely be smiling

I noticed that Ontario does not list their Kukri as an SP series knife, even though it has all the SP series traits (handle, steel, and finish). They specifically have it under the Tactical section of their website. Although the Ontario Kukri usually gets decent reviews by folks putting it through outdoor bushcrafting activities, OKC listing it as a tactical tool, likely explains why the overall weight/balance on this model seems to be geared differently than some of their competitor's versions. It would seem that making it heavier would make it excel more in the wilderness arena, but would take away from it's "tactical" nimbleness. It would seem that they were aiming for their Kukri knife to be at a weight/balance that keeps it at that "tactical" level, with wilderness duties only being one use that they wanted the knife to do well in, (but not necessarily be what it excels at). In my opinion, it's that whole compromise thing... In this case, they likely wanted it to be a weapon/wilderness tool, (in that order).

 

[jamaljahda]

Will do, Sir! I have some fairly recent OKC acquisitions, and they have been good on all grinds (primary and sharpened edges). Hoping for a continuation of that with the Kukri that's headed my way.
I will surely share my thoughts and some pics of it when it arrives

While on the subject of recently made Ontario knives, I imagine that the newer Kukri knife specimens by Ontario are now made from their 1075 steel (rather than their 1095). For someone planning on using them hard, they may prove even more durable than before (they used to be made of 1095).

I've never had a problem with the 1095 although in honesty I only own two Ontario's a. Sp8 and a rat1. The sp8 has never let me down. It needed a different grind to be sharp but once I had it sharpened it has been my go to. I'm a hazmat tech a d I've used it to pry up 40lb drain grates for cleaning,chopped limbs to get me out of a bog once a have used it as a cleaver to separate a goat. I trust this so much it has earned its place in my shtf urban bag

 

[Roguer]

The OKC Kukri is an "American type Kukri" type "Heavy Machete" so to speak. It has a decently thick enough spine with its FFG to make it great at doing "Heavy" machete duties yet Kukri enough to do the usual Kukri stuff but also able to do more finer tasks due to its "thinner" blade and its design that lets one choke up on it to do those finer things. Oh and it can Chop pretty well also! Yes and baton as well pretty goodly.

 

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

Well, my new Ontario Kukri knife arrived today. I can honestly say that I'm happy with it.
The blade's main grinds, (that form the final shape of it's "flat grind"), and it's final sharpened edge, all pass my muster. Here it shares a picture alongside my most recently purchased SP-5 Bowie knife.

My recent small sampling of Ontario knives, (purchased within the past couple of months), have proven to me that Ontario and Toooj have indeed made great progress in the milling consistency of Ontario (New York factory) made knives. We are not talking custom here, but good work on very fairly priced American made products. Two thumbs up for their efforts and progress
The sheath is pretty much what folks all know by now, a very basic inexpensive blade holder. It would seem that the work on the knife is really what one pays for, a replacement sheath almost being a necessary purchase afterwards for any real long term use of the knife.
There are no regrets on this purchase, I'm happy to be adding it to my collection

 

[PocketKnifeJimmy]

Looking over the Ontario Kukri real good, I got to say, it's profile does justice to the shape of the many Khukuri knives I used to own from Nepal. Yeah, the flat grind is not the same principle, but the blade's shape is very much on cue.
I used to own quite a few Nepalese, (true Kami made versions), but, although the knives were very cool, their quality was also very iffy. Even the Himalayan Import models that I owned, could be a little spotty here and there, (when compared to knives manufactured by more modern methods). Hey, they do a great job with what they got and how they do it, no doubt about that, but.. they certainly can be very inconsistent, (to say the least).
One thing I had to acquire while owning them, was a set of small files. Why?... Well, they would often arrive having small fractures in their "cho". The hammering they would do to form the knife's cho, would often cause these small fractures, (which became the knife's weak point). So, I would use a magnifying glass to inspect the cho area carefully when I received a new Khukuri, and then would proceed to file out the cho area a bit if a fracture was present and not too far out from it. I seen this enough, amongst other things, to get turned off by it all. I think someday I will have to again own an original, but won't buy one sight unseen, since I know their inconsistencies are simply the nature of the beast.
It's obvious that you are more likely to get a more consistent known quality from a quality modern knife manufacturer. Lemons will slip out from time to time, but for the most part, the consistency will be there. Again, Ontario's grinds were more inconsistent in years past, but my recent acquisitions have made me feel more confident in ordering their products now sight unseen. They also obviously have modern heat treatment methods and equipment, and that is not a consistency one will find as commonly with folks churning out khukuris from cut up and hand pounded truck leaf springs. The heat treatment on those are going to vary widely from Kami to Kami, and knife to knife... Again, just the nature of the beast.