Ontario Bushcraft Woodsman
- Thread starter Revolverrodger
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- Apr 17, 2012
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- 244
I see them out and available right now on several sites, so I guess that is the answer? I am right about to purchase a new Ontario knife, something along the lines of this knife. I was going to get a RAT-7 because that is the blade size I wanted and the handle fits my hand perfectly. I'm a little worried the handle on this one won't be large enough for my big hands...
I also have a gripe about OKC. As someone who lives only about an hour from the factory, I would love to be able to drive there and buy it right from the factory. I recognize I would pay more, but it would add to the nostalgia/sentimental value of the knife.
I may order one of these tonight. I will order one of these tonight I guess I should say....
I also have a gripe about OKC. As someone who lives only about an hour from the factory, I would love to be able to drive there and buy it right from the factory. I recognize I would pay more, but it would add to the nostalgia/sentimental value of the knife.
I may order one of these tonight. I will order one of these tonight I guess I should say....
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- May 25, 2011
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These are available now?
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2012
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- 244
Mine shipped out from Midway USA yesterday and I should have it Thursday. Not sure if I am going to like it, might be a little thick for me and the handle might not be big enough for my large hands. But if I sell it, it will be to get another OKC knife, either another Blackbird or a RAT-7. Wish they made uncoated RAT-7's...
OntarioKnifeCompany
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So... it turns out that, yes... it's out. I actually only found this out about 10 minutes ago from Dan Maragni (it's fair to say I've been out of the office a lot lately).
Any contest ideas?
Any contest ideas?
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Looking forward to getting one of those !
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- May 25, 2011
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- 788
Awesome news!!
Could we get some thoughts when it arrives? Perhaps some pics as well?
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Don't be scared to be brutal with it !
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- May 25, 2011
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Looks like a beast, how is the handle?
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2012
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- 244
So.... this knife is interesting. I guess first off, let me say, I am not a fan generally of big knives, and this is a big honking knife.
I've owned, and quickly traded or sold, an ESEE Rat 5 and a Becker BK2, because I did not like having such a chunky blade.
My perfect knife is probably the ESEE 6, but I really only want to buy a knife made in Olean NY, since I live in this area, and I want to support the people who work there.
Other knives that I have had and sold because they were not quite what I wanted:
The new KaBAR Dogshead
Esee 3
Becker BK4 Machax
and I have owned, and sold, THREE Ontario Blackbirds.
I've also had a half dozen or more mid to high end handmade knives from Turley, AA Forge, Helm Forge, Lon Humphry, KFU, Backwoods, Koster, Gossman, etc. All have gone away except a Big Chris Hunter that I got and is my hunting knife for life.
Some I traded because something was off for me in either the size or shape or grind of the blade, or the handle, or in the case of the Turley, because I could not justify owning a $600 knife and never using it.
Obviously I kept going back to the Blackbird because I think that is ALMOST the perfect knife for me, I just want it to be about an inch longer.
I have large hands. Not enormous, but I generally wear between an XL and an XXL large glove. So I was worried about this knife because the handle looked so small in all the photos.
The handle looks small because the knife is enormous. It is the same thickness as the BK2 or ESEE 5 from what I can tell. But the blade is Gigantic. The cutting edge is over 8 inches long. As you can see in the photo, the blade came razor sharp.
Aesthetically I am on the fence. It is strange to see a knife this large with an uncoated blade, I am just so used to things like the RTAK II or the other larger knives. I think having it say Bushcraft on the side might be a little too cheesy for me, like the zombie stuff. Fun, but then gets a little played out. The wooden handles are also very meh to me. Mine is already all sorts of dinged up and I have only had it out of the box for 15 minutes. It got scarred up just from snapping the sheath closed, so I expect that to get worse quickly.
If you think you have a knife handle like you get from the makers here on BF or other forums, that will take some abuse and still look good, I don't think you will be happy. I feel like need to do something to treat this wood right away to prevent further damage and moisture getting in while out in the field.
The sheath is nice. It's not amazing, but it is a lot nicer than the sheaths a lot of productions knifes come with. For comparison, I like the stock sheath the blackbird came in. I dislike the stock sheath a lot of the Beckers come with. But in my mind, you are paying for the knife, the sheath is just a bonus. I think they could skip the paracord and the firesteel. Most people buying this knife probably have that stuff already. The firesteel seemed decent enough to me. The paracord bracelet... Meh.
In hand, it feels a lot better than I expected. The handle feels nice, is about the perfect size and thickness (I just traded a Koster MUCK because the handle was too small, or that might have been a forever user for me). This feels much better in my hand than the muck, and also, than any of the Beckers I have had.
The balance point is right at the choil, exactly. I think it is pretty well balanced. It does weight a ton, but it IS a chopper, and it does feel like it would be an excellent chopper at that. I think my hesitation is because I am still wanting Ontario's version of the ESEE 6. A roughly 6-7" knife without an overly thick blade, with a nice beefy handle, that will baton wood till the cows come home and also function as a great camp knife.
For me, personally, this knife is an inch too long, and too thick in the blade, but for someone looking for a burly chopper without blade coating and with a comfortable handle, I think you will be very pleased with this.
I'm going to put mine up for trade on another forum (where I more regularly post) and continue my search for my perfect camp/bushcraft knife. Not knocking this one, it is just bigger than I need or want. (And I am a big guy, 6'7" 360)
I applaud OKC for continuing to try and innovate and try new things.
Quick List:
PROS
- Good Balance
- Razor sharp out of the box
- Love the FFG and blade geometry
- Handle feels very good in hand
- Beefy. This is a chopper. Pure and simple.
- Sheath is pretty decent.
CONS
- I very much question the durability of the wood. I already scarred mine and will have to highlight that in my trade post.
- I don't love that it says Bushcraft on it. To me that is sort of like someone who puts a huge 4x4 sticker on the windshield of a Jeep Wrangler.
I'm not knocking the blade on size or thickness, because I knew that going in it was probably going to be too long and thick for what I wanted, that is a personal preference sort of thing, not something to take points off. I'm also not taking points off for the paracord or the firesteel because those are freebies, and having spares of things is always good.
I think for you guys who want a big chopper that you can also choke up on (the choil is spacious and comfortable, and when you get your finger in there the knife gets even MORE comfortable in hand) you will be pleased. Just know that the way the wood handles are, after you start using it, it is going to be a USER, there will be no going back.
Part of what bugs me is how huge the knife is, especially with that giant choil, but when you choke up on it, it feel amazing, and when you go back, you can see the knife wants to chop like mad. So really, OKC has designed and made a very usable knife here. They sort of cover a few bases with giving you different options for using it.
Overall, I think this is a terrific knife.
Frankly, the more I hold it and play with different grips, the more inclined I am to keep it. If it had micarta handles, I probably would, too. It comes down to my personal preference of not wanting/needing a chopper (I have a Coal Creek Pole Hawk I need to write a review for still! But that is a 'forever' tool for me) and honestly, with the Hawk, I really don't need anything bigger than the blackbird, but I guess my preference is for that thinner, 6-7" blade.
This knife is about 14.5" from tip to tail. I want something more like 11.5" Otherwise I would have considered the RTAK. I think I just need to get another RAT 7 and call it good.
TL
R:
If you are looking for a chopper that is a heck of a user, with great feel in several grip positions, you are going to love this knife.
(I realize my post meandered, I just kept picking the knife up and playing with it!)
I've owned, and quickly traded or sold, an ESEE Rat 5 and a Becker BK2, because I did not like having such a chunky blade.
My perfect knife is probably the ESEE 6, but I really only want to buy a knife made in Olean NY, since I live in this area, and I want to support the people who work there.
Other knives that I have had and sold because they were not quite what I wanted:
The new KaBAR Dogshead
Esee 3
Becker BK4 Machax
and I have owned, and sold, THREE Ontario Blackbirds.
I've also had a half dozen or more mid to high end handmade knives from Turley, AA Forge, Helm Forge, Lon Humphry, KFU, Backwoods, Koster, Gossman, etc. All have gone away except a Big Chris Hunter that I got and is my hunting knife for life.
Some I traded because something was off for me in either the size or shape or grind of the blade, or the handle, or in the case of the Turley, because I could not justify owning a $600 knife and never using it.
Obviously I kept going back to the Blackbird because I think that is ALMOST the perfect knife for me, I just want it to be about an inch longer.
I have large hands. Not enormous, but I generally wear between an XL and an XXL large glove. So I was worried about this knife because the handle looked so small in all the photos.
The handle looks small because the knife is enormous. It is the same thickness as the BK2 or ESEE 5 from what I can tell. But the blade is Gigantic. The cutting edge is over 8 inches long. As you can see in the photo, the blade came razor sharp.
Aesthetically I am on the fence. It is strange to see a knife this large with an uncoated blade, I am just so used to things like the RTAK II or the other larger knives. I think having it say Bushcraft on the side might be a little too cheesy for me, like the zombie stuff. Fun, but then gets a little played out. The wooden handles are also very meh to me. Mine is already all sorts of dinged up and I have only had it out of the box for 15 minutes. It got scarred up just from snapping the sheath closed, so I expect that to get worse quickly.
If you think you have a knife handle like you get from the makers here on BF or other forums, that will take some abuse and still look good, I don't think you will be happy. I feel like need to do something to treat this wood right away to prevent further damage and moisture getting in while out in the field.
The sheath is nice. It's not amazing, but it is a lot nicer than the sheaths a lot of productions knifes come with. For comparison, I like the stock sheath the blackbird came in. I dislike the stock sheath a lot of the Beckers come with. But in my mind, you are paying for the knife, the sheath is just a bonus. I think they could skip the paracord and the firesteel. Most people buying this knife probably have that stuff already. The firesteel seemed decent enough to me. The paracord bracelet... Meh.
In hand, it feels a lot better than I expected. The handle feels nice, is about the perfect size and thickness (I just traded a Koster MUCK because the handle was too small, or that might have been a forever user for me). This feels much better in my hand than the muck, and also, than any of the Beckers I have had.
The balance point is right at the choil, exactly. I think it is pretty well balanced. It does weight a ton, but it IS a chopper, and it does feel like it would be an excellent chopper at that. I think my hesitation is because I am still wanting Ontario's version of the ESEE 6. A roughly 6-7" knife without an overly thick blade, with a nice beefy handle, that will baton wood till the cows come home and also function as a great camp knife.
For me, personally, this knife is an inch too long, and too thick in the blade, but for someone looking for a burly chopper without blade coating and with a comfortable handle, I think you will be very pleased with this.
I'm going to put mine up for trade on another forum (where I more regularly post) and continue my search for my perfect camp/bushcraft knife. Not knocking this one, it is just bigger than I need or want. (And I am a big guy, 6'7" 360)
I applaud OKC for continuing to try and innovate and try new things.
Quick List:
PROS
- Good Balance
- Razor sharp out of the box
- Love the FFG and blade geometry
- Handle feels very good in hand
- Beefy. This is a chopper. Pure and simple.
- Sheath is pretty decent.
CONS
- I very much question the durability of the wood. I already scarred mine and will have to highlight that in my trade post.
- I don't love that it says Bushcraft on it. To me that is sort of like someone who puts a huge 4x4 sticker on the windshield of a Jeep Wrangler.
I'm not knocking the blade on size or thickness, because I knew that going in it was probably going to be too long and thick for what I wanted, that is a personal preference sort of thing, not something to take points off. I'm also not taking points off for the paracord or the firesteel because those are freebies, and having spares of things is always good.
I think for you guys who want a big chopper that you can also choke up on (the choil is spacious and comfortable, and when you get your finger in there the knife gets even MORE comfortable in hand) you will be pleased. Just know that the way the wood handles are, after you start using it, it is going to be a USER, there will be no going back.
Part of what bugs me is how huge the knife is, especially with that giant choil, but when you choke up on it, it feel amazing, and when you go back, you can see the knife wants to chop like mad. So really, OKC has designed and made a very usable knife here. They sort of cover a few bases with giving you different options for using it.
Overall, I think this is a terrific knife.
Frankly, the more I hold it and play with different grips, the more inclined I am to keep it. If it had micarta handles, I probably would, too. It comes down to my personal preference of not wanting/needing a chopper (I have a Coal Creek Pole Hawk I need to write a review for still! But that is a 'forever' tool for me) and honestly, with the Hawk, I really don't need anything bigger than the blackbird, but I guess my preference is for that thinner, 6-7" blade.
This knife is about 14.5" from tip to tail. I want something more like 11.5" Otherwise I would have considered the RTAK. I think I just need to get another RAT 7 and call it good.
TL
R:If you are looking for a chopper that is a heck of a user, with great feel in several grip positions, you are going to love this knife.
(I realize my post meandered, I just kept picking the knife up and playing with it!)
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2007
- Messages
- 3,821
This is exactly the knife I am looking for !