Need Your Help with Selecting Knife: Glock vs. Ontario 499 Air Force, or 498 Marine Combat

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Slimp

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Aug 8, 2022
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I'm looking for a fixed blade, self defense knife with open-carry.
Which of these would you recommend and why?

Glock Knife:

Ontario Knife Company 499 Air Force Survival

Ontario Knife Company 498 Marine Combat:

Links removed, read the site rules.
 
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I started with researching the Ka-Bar due to name recognition. I read that the Ka-Bar is inferior to the Ontario Knife 498, which is now mil-spec. That research led me to the Ontario knives and the Glock.

In other words, I'm not fixed on those, but rather am new to this and stumbling around trying to learn all the nuances of these knives, so I really appreciate reading your recommendations on better fixed blades.
 
OK, without getting into too much detail, here are my thoughts.

The Glock knife is not a great choice. The steel, and specifically the heat treatment - is inconsistent on these knives. It's ok as a "beater" knife, but not one I would trust for heavy duty use.

While Ontario has a long history and makes decent knives, they are made with stick tangs. While they are full length tangs, they do not have the thickness of a full-width full tang. That disqualifies them for hard use in my opinion as well.

I would whole-heartedly suggest looking at the Becker BK7 for not much more money. Quality heat treatment, full width full tang, and some of the best 1095 steel you will find on a production knife. Also, the handle ergonomics on Becker knives are second to none. They are by far, the most comfortable and versatile scales I have used on a fixed blade knife in any grip style (icepick, reverse, hammer, etc.)

There aren't many knives I own that I have 3 of. That tells you how much I like BK7's. These are my BK7's (with aftermarket scales and homemade patina):

3u8QGS6.jpg


J0SgNPN.jpg
 
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shane45-1911 said:
OK, without getting into too much detail, here are my thoughts.

The Glock knife is not a great choice. The steel, and specifically the heat treatment - is inconsistent on these knives. It's ok as a "beater" knife, but not one I would trust for heavy duty use.

While Ontario has a long history and makes decent knives, they are made with stick tangs. While they are full length tangs, they do not have the thickness of a full-width full tang. That disqualifies them for hard use in my opinion as well.

I would whole-heartedly suggest looking at the Becker BK7 for not much more money. Quality heat treatment, full width full tang, and some of the best 1095 steel you will find on a production knife.

These are a couple of my BK7's (with aftermarket scales and homemade patina):

3u8QGS6.jpg


J0SgNPN.jpg
Click to expand...
yep bk7....over the ones op picked but 498 is a solid knife....
 
Thanks, jbmonkey and shane45-1911. Amazon's best price is $120 for the BK7, about 2 times as much as the 498:
Link removed
Is that pretty much the going price, or is there a website that sells them cheaper?

shane45-1911, I like your FN carbine.
 
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Slimp said:
I'm looking for a fixed blade, self defense knife with open-carry.
Which of these would you recommend and why?

Glock Knife:

Ontario Knife Company 499 Air Force Survival

Ontario Knife Company 498 Marine Combat
Click to expand...
Are you going to use it for anything other than self defense? I have never had to use a knife in self defense but use them daily for other things. I own the bottom two knives, currently. The Glock knife look pretty bad to me. If you only wanting it for killing zombies and looking like a redneck kid at the country fair then go kabar usmc. The pilot survival is my personal favorite because of its smaller size, looks and feeling. I think it will be a more useful knife in the long run because the usmc is the size of a knife for firewood but has a sharpened swedge which makes it annoying for batoning. The pilot knife is also sharpened on the swedge but the size is small enough I don't think I would baton with it anyway. It also has serrations on the back, not for sawing wood but for cutting through the fuselage of airplanes, pretty neat if you ask me. If you want a more modern knife recommendation the cold steel SRK, as mentioned is pretty cool.
 
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Slimp said:
shane45-1911, I like your FN carbine.
Click to expand...

Thanks, and welcome to the forum, BTW.

Don't be too quick to jump on a knife yet. You will undoubtedly get many more quality recommendations. Take some time, do some research, and you won't be disappointed.

Also, Amazon is an "iffy" vendor when it comes to knives. They have been known to sell fakes and knock-off copies. Stick to a good dealer.
 
Thanks to both of you.

shane45-1911, can you recommend a couple of good dealers?

FYI, Amazon won't ship the Cold Steel SRK to California.

It would be only for self-defense. I have a Leatherman Multi-Tool that does most of what I need when I'm not at home (I don't do camping or much outdoor activity).
 
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shane45-1911 said:
OK, without getting into too much detail, here are my thoughts.

The Glock knife is not a great choice. The steel, and specifically the heat treatment - is inconsistent on these knives. It's ok as a "beater" knife, but not one I would trust for heavy duty use.

While Ontario has a long history and makes decent knives, they are made with stick tangs. While they are full length tangs, they do not have the thickness of a full-width full tang. That disqualifies them for hard use in my opinion as well.

I would whole-heartedly suggest looking at the Becker BK7 for not much more money. Quality heat treatment, full width full tang, and some of the best 1095 steel you will find on a production knife. Also, the handle ergonomics on Becker knives are second to none. They are by far, the most comfortable and versatile scales I have used on a fixed blade knife in any grip style (icepick, reverse, hammer, etc.)

These are a couple of my BK7's (with aftermarket scales and homemade patina):

3u8QGS6.jpg


J0SgNPN.jpg
Click to expand...
Thats a ill BK-7? I miss mine
 
Slimp said:
shane45-1911, can you recommend a couple of good dealers?

FYI, Amazon won't ship the Cold Steel SRK to California.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it is against forum rules to promote or link dealers that are not supporting sponsors of this site. Again, Google should help you find a dealer.

And please, don't even consider Amazon for knives.
 
I will suggest either the Cold Steel SRK or the Buck 119. The SRK is about $50-$60 USD while the Buck 119 is $70 USD. Just my humble opinion. Let us know what you decide.
 
If I was forced to choose those three, I'd choose the ontario marine. The glock isn't even a contender here.

The cs srk I must agree though is the best in that price range
 
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