Ontario Quality?

2

2WORLDS

Joined
Jul 17, 2005
Messages
6
What's The Difference In Quality Between Ontario And Kabar? Also How's Their Spec Line? 2worlds
 
HI 2worlds,i have never used any Kabar knives so can't comment on them.I do use and own Spec plus Kukri (thinner newer version),SP8 Machette,Marine Bowie ,Navy MK2,Taskforce and waiting to receive a Quartermaster.As you can see i obviously like the spec plus line ,they are good value and the big ones are great beaters.The only real down side as far as i'm concerned is the handles.Very abrasive when extended chopping,can be fixed by cord wrapping/wearing gloves.Well priced beaters.
 
I have a ka-bar and an ontario m-10 bayonet. The m-10 is obviously a very different knife to the ka-bar and spec series, but it's still manufactured by ontario, so I guess that might count for something.

As far as quality goes, I personally would put it up against a ka-bar. It's a bunch heavier but that's probably due to it being a different kind of knife. At the end of the day, I'd be looking at the features of the knife that are going to be the most usefull to you.
 
I have a decent helping of Kabar's and Ontatio's. Both are excellent values IMO. It seems that the Ontario's take a good edge a little quicker and easier than the Kabar but the difference is slight. IMO, no knife, custom or production gives you as much knife for the dollar as Ontario.
 
Ontario's heat treat has been spotty for a number of years now, has there been any improvement in their heat treat lately?
 
fudo said:
Ontario's heat treat has been spotty for a number of years now, has there been any improvement in their heat treat lately?
Click to expand...

I think you hit the nail on the head. Some are good, some aren't. Some have sloppy grinds, some look good. In their Mark II (issue marine combat), both the Camillus and the Ka-Bar have much better fit and finish. The RATs seem very well done, though, as does the new Marine bayonet. I have their Survival Bowie and I love it, but I had to regrind the edge (but I even do that on Busses). My friend's Ont 18" machete snapped into on a pine sapling, but mine has done fine, even on hard oak. Their QC has been spotty.
 
I've owned a KaBar and I recently got an Ontario ASEK. The KaBar was very sharp out of the box. Fairly impressive quality for the cost. The Ontario on the other hand was about as sharp as a kitchen spatula. The grind was atrocious. This is the knife they give to air force pilots? Anyway, after hours of very aggressive sharpening on all sorts of stones, diamond and ceramic rods, I can now open my mail. Sigh.
 
Sorry to hear that about the ASEK. I have three of the old AF pilots survival knives. The Camillus is much nicer than the Ontarios are, even if they did put the guard on upside down. Every Ka-Bar I own came with a very good fit and finish, but unfortunately, Ka-Bar doesn't make the AF knife. I would have thought the ASEK would be nicer than thier older models. The new Gerber LMF II is a great survival knife.
 
I have several ka-bars and ontarios and like them all. The ka-bars have better quality control so if it's looks you are after i would suggest the ka-bar and i have heard as well that ontario has had heat treat problems but i have not experienced problems with mine and i have used them pretty hard but some of my ontarios have the worst grinds of any knife i have seen including cheap imports.
 
Cliff Stamp noted inconsistent results among large Ontarios while comparing several knives, seemingly related to heat treatment. Some too soft, some too brittle. The write ups were several years ago, perhaps they've tightened up QC since then.
 
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