Ontario Bushcraft Field Knife ??

T

theyoungone

Joined
Jul 19, 2013
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62
Does anyone have one? For me it seems aesthetically pleasing, and a natural classic.

http://www.ammoland.com/2014/03/ontario-knife-company-bushcraft-field/#axzz35Yq2aVy7

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However everything else about this knife is missing the mark for me. Maybe I am wrong. I don't get the choice of 5160 steel and having it only .12" thick. The steel will be too soft and thin for bushcrafty stuff. It would be easy to sharpen, which would make it good as a hunting and camp food prep knife, but it will rust because its uncoated carbon steel. The sheath seem simple...maybe a little too simple and what is with the red stitching (on a side note it seems like it would fit a Buck Pathfinder perfectly). The Paracord lanyard and fire starter seems hokey and a waste. The crazy part is the knife is selling for $80 to $90??? I just don't get it, especially when something like the Ontario AFSK 499 is made in the same factory, has a thicker stock of 1095 steel, leather handle and sheath and cost $40.

Now if this Bushcraft field knife sold for $40 I would buy one tomorrow. If it sold for $70 and used at least .13" thick 1095, AUS8, D2, 420HC or 440, I would consider buying one tomorrow.

Or maybe I'm wrong and this is an awesome knife for the money?
 
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I don't like the knife, primarily because it looks like a dressed up Old Hickory product, but I also don't get your critique.

The steel will be too soft and thin for bushcrafty stuff. It would be easy to sharpen, which would make it good as a hunting and camp food prep knife, but it will rust because its uncoated carbon steel.
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What do you see as "bushcrafty stuff?" Thin stock works great on wood and it's my understanding that a bush crafting knife is not a sharpened crowbar.

As for "rust," what of it? The scales come off. Either develop or force a patina and any subsequent rust is cosmetic, especially when the steel is easy to sharpen. The world did just fine for centuries without stainless steel sheath knives.
 
That's a nice looking knife.

1/8" thick is plenty thick for dang near anything you want to do with a knife really. Especially in a steel like 5160. I would pick it over AUS8 and especially over 420HC and mystery 440 any day. The price seems a little high but it's about equal to Beckers.
 
Nice looking knife, horrible looking sheath, really strangely soft heat treatment, insane price for what you get, even at the discount shops.
 
Shotgun said:
That's a nice looking knife.

1/8" thick is plenty thick for dang near anything you want to do with a knife really. Especially in a steel like 5160. I would pick it over AUS8 and especially over 420HC and mystery 440 any day. The price seems a little high but it's about equal to Beckers.
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But I thought in terms of Rockwell hardness...
5160 = 53
AUS 8 = 58
420HC = 59
D2 = 60
440c = 60
1095 =59-61

Seems like a soft metal, and a 1/8 inch blade would get chips, and rolls with basic woodworking on hardwood, and trying something like batoning even a small piece of wood would ruin the knife.

You are right about the Beckers though, the becker Tweener about the same size, with cheaper handle material but nicer sheathes, and they sell for about the same. Still I would trust 1095 crovan that is .167" thick vs .12" of 5160.
 
theyoungone said:
But I thought in terms of Rockwell hardness...
5160 = 53
AUS 8 = 58
420HC = 59
D2 = 60
440c = 60
1095 =59-61

Seems like a soft metal, and a 1/8 inch blade would get chips, and rolls with basic woodworking on hardwood, and trying something like batoning even a small piece of wood would ruin the knife.

You are right about the Beckers though, the becker Tweener about the same size, with cheaper handle material but nicer sheathes, and they sell for about the same. Still I would trust 1095 crovan that is .167" thick vs .12" of 5160.
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My bad. I didn't catch that it was at 53 rockwell. That is pretty soft.
 
theyoungone said:
But I thought in terms of Rockwell hardness...
5160 = 53
AUS 8 = 58
420HC = 59
D2 = 60
440c = 60
1095 =59-61

Seems like a soft metal, and a 1/8 inch blade would get chips, and rolls with basic woodworking on hardwood, and trying something like batoning even a small piece of wood would ruin the knife.

You are right about the Beckers though, the becker Tweener about the same size, with cheaper handle material but nicer sheathes, and they sell for about the same. Still I would trust 1095 crovan that is .167" thick vs .12" of 5160.
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I would like to know where you are getting RC 53 for this knife?? 5160 can be ht'd higher than that and be a very tough steel that holds a good edge. it is often used for choppers. as quenched 5160 is RC63 (cashen for reference) and can be tempered to high 50s very well.

as for 1/8 inch steel not being enough it certainly is but that is a matter of opinion. mora's baton just fine for many people and are less than 1/8 inch unless you get the new heavy duty ones that are 1/8"

as for rolling and chipping they have almost nothing to do with the thickness of the stock used for the blade and much more to do with heat treat and edge geometry. please do more research before trying to tout opinion as fact. I do not mean to be aggressive only to point out that there are many good threads on here that could help you to learn about different steels and the properties they possess. this looks like another decent knife from Ontario. not amazing but decent I'm sure. the price seems high to me. I would buy the sp2 before this but only because of price. 5160 vs 1095 is silly they are both good steels

Edited to say both good steels when HT is done properly
 
theyoungone said:
But Seems like a soft metal, and a 1/8 inch blade would get chips, and rolls with basic woodworking on hardwood, and trying something like batoning even a small piece of wood would ruin the knife.
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This is not true at all. I have a mora in sub 3/32" thick and I baton it all the time. Never had a breakage and I've never had a chip or a roll with that knife on the edge. IMO, 3/16" thick knives are over hyped for typical woods use. If you want a comparison, look at cheap imacasa machetes. They're typically less than 1/8" thick, they have a steel that isn't as good as 5160(1075 I think) and they will be about as soft. They get beat on all over the world without anyone complaining about them being too weak.
 
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moraldilemma666 said:
I would like to know where you are getting RC 53 for this knife??
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Ontario's website has the hardness for that knife listed as 53-55 HRC.

The knife kind of caught my attention but does seem over-priced for what it is (I think the Becker tweeners are a bit over-priced as well FWIW). Also I don't know what it is with Ontario always making their knives so soft, kind of a turn off to the brand for me.
It might make a decent camp knife but doesn't seem like anything particularly special to me, think I'll stick with a Mora for bushcraft.
As for the sheath, well to me it looks like some sort of old fashioned camping gear from the 60's or something. I don't know, not really my style... I'd imagine it would work well enough though.
 
Tye Possum said:
Ontario's website has the hardness for that knife listed as 53-55 HRC.

The knife kind of caught my attention but does seem over-priced for what it is (I think the Becker tweeners are a bit over-priced as well FWIW). Also I don't know what it is with Ontario always making their knives so soft, kind of a turn off to the brand for me.
It might make a decent camp knife but doesn't seem like anything particularly special to me, think I'll stick with a Mora for bushcraft.
As for the sheath, well to me it looks like some sort of old fashioned camping gear from the 60's or something. I don't know, not really my style... I'd imagine it would work well enough though.
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thanks for the source. that is a bit on the soft side though should be serviceable. if memory serves the rsk mk5 ritter mini survival tin knife is listed as rc51-53 and mine takes a good edge though doesn't keep it as long as I would like... maybe going for ease of sharpening in the wild? +1 to the mora. as for the sheath and price yeah not quite in line with what it is. funny though that Ontario takes flak for machetes being too hard...

edit: point of mention the rskmk5 doesn't do well with ferro rods from my experience the spine wasn't sharp enough from the factory and then doesn't seem to stay sharp enough for more that 20-30 strikes on the ferro rod after squaring it up. just an observation to share.
 
Maybe the hardness is a mistake on their website. I notice other pieces of information are missing like the "Blade Grind" which is listed on their other knives. Everything else looks in line with what I would expect from a "Bushcraft" knife so it looks good to me except for maybe the price.

BTW, I just bought a Condor Bushlore and was pleasantly surprised at how nice a knife that is, though I have yet to really use it. It'd be hard to compete with that knife if it performs as I am expecting (and from what I've heard). It's a lot cheaper but it's not American made.
 
thelastbestplace said:
Maybe the hardness is a mistake on their website. I notice other pieces of information are missing like the "Blade Grind" which is listed on their other knives. Everything else looks in line with what I would expect from a "Bushcraft" knife so it looks good to me except for maybe the price.

BTW, I just bought a Condor Bushlore and was pleasantly surprised at how nice a knife that is, though I have yet to really use it. It'd be hard to compete with that knife if it performs as I am expecting (and from what I've heard). It's a lot cheaper but it's not American made.
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That is the kicker with me. The knife has so much going for it. Good shape and size, handsome walnuts scales, USA made. Its just the steel choice and price is throwing me off. Think of it this way, a Short Ka-bar and a Buck Pathfinder are the same size, harder steel, USA made and cost around $40 to $55. I rather Ontario dump the silly Paracord braded lanyard and fire steel to shave a few bucks off the price.

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Also Ontario proudly mentions that the sheath was made by gun holster maker DeSantis. To that I say....Really? Don't get me wrong Ontario knives usually sell for cheaper as far as USA blades go because they skimp on the sheath, and the Bushcraft sheath is not that bad, but its not anything amazing and showing the need to bring in Desantis to help create.

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(On a side note the above pics are from a knife reviewer-retailer, I just wished I understood what language he was speaking)


Also the more I'm reading about 5160, you can make it harder than the RC numbers mentioned, but it seems Ontario did not take those steps. I kind of like the idea of a steel that is a bit softer to make it more flexible and easier to sharpen. However I would feel more comfortable if it was thicker than .12"

Its funny how much this Ontario Bushcraft Field knife upsets me. Its like a "Butterface"

Nice girl, fun personality, sexy body, but her face....oofff-ah, so ugly she will scare small children. Its a crying shame.
 
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Not to be a nudge but really don't think you will have any problems with using this knife because of it being.12" thick at the spine. I currently use a knife that is .093" thick and have no problems at all. Just depends on how you use it. .12" will be enough for any and all knife related tasks shy of and maybe even including stabbing and cutting car doors and cinder blocks which are silly things to do with a knife anyways. Preference is preference. go with what makes you happy at the end of the day as that is what matters most.
 
I think the thickness is just fine. But get that RC up to at least 55. It'll still be very tough, but it'll hold an edge better and will be able to support a lower edge angle without rolling.
 
Please do not link to non-supporting dealers. Your post was edtied.
 
Bastid said:
Please do not link to non-supporting dealers. Your post was edtied.
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Sorry, brain fart moment. I was hoping someone could understand or translate the Czech/Slovac review of the knife, without realizing the whole linking a knife dealer part.

It is funny that knife guys in the Czech Republic are already selling, buying, and posting Youtube reviews of this American made knife before actual Americans are.
 
Ive actually talked at length with Dan Maragni on the phone about this blade, Dan is always great to talk to, He is in very favor of the Carbon steel, 5160, he was the one responsible for the re-tooling of Ontarios SP2 line. For a blade out in the woods and constant usage, the Rockwell is perfect to being able to bring back a workable edge with minimal sharpening supplies.
 
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