I haven't seen any user reviews from regular people surprisingly, so I figured i would do one. BTW, i have a terrible time trying to post pictures here, they always post as a url when I follow the instructions that I saw. I do it the same way as other places that it works, but we'll see if it works this time.
Initial impression: The fit and finish is good, no complaints with it. Feels solid, but noticeably lighter than the rat 1.
Blade: I'm impressed so far. I know it's magnacut, but someone being apprehensive about the quality/heat treatment of a sub $100 knife, with the steel that's had everyone having a cow the last few years is understandable. The blade is centered, no side to side or up and down blade play. However, the factory bevel is not perfect, as you can see in the picture of the blade tip. Definitely not a deal breaker, as it will get sharpened multiple times, and regardless, came pretty sharp.
I've gone out of my way to cut things that I didn't need to cut, such as cutting a 20" x 8" piece of cardboard into 1/2" strips, or whittling a 1" diameter piece of beech into a spear. Beech isn't as hard as rock elm, but it's still top 10% densest/hardest/highest btu hardwoods, for those who burn firewood. Pretty much anything in front of me that could be cut, was cut, and even did a little chopping on wood. After enough use that I would have had to sharpen the aus8 version twice, it's still cleanly slicing paper. Realistically I've probably used it as much as an average person would in 6 months (maybe more, I don't know, i see a lot of spotless knives) the past couple of days. The blade finish looks nice, no blemishes from the factory... Before i started using it that is. Can't really tell in the pictures what just needed to be cleaned and the imperfections I put in it, but I've spotted two small spots I've put in it when turning it just right in the light. I got some very light rolling towards the heel end of the blade from the chopping, but easy strop away, and no chipping. If you zoom in on the picture I took of that area you can see it. The detent is a little on the strong side, which i don't mind, some people may not like it, but i would rather have that than having the blade easily pop out.
Handle/scales: I think they did a good job on this g10. No blemishes, flashing, gate marks or anything like that. The feel and texture is very good. Not as grippy as the g10 on a spyderco para 2 or 3, but it feels very secure in hand, and shouldn't shred a pocket. It definitely feels better than the nylon on the rat series, and is slightly more textured, but i still think their nylon scales are pretty good. I expected the g10 to make it feel heavier than it feels, but then again the scales are fairly thin.
The size is great. I tend to prefer a larger knife, such as a rat 1, rift, para 2, or even adamas 275 etc. A mini griptilian for example, feels too small for me to edc, and this one feels noticeably more filling in the hand, but noticeably smaller than the rat 1. I have no reservations carrying this one, it feels substantial enough for someone who likes folders on the larger side. This one is 7.63" overall, 3.25" blade, 4.38" closed.
I used the rat 1 and mini griptilian in pictures to give a good size reference. Hopefully this helps someone who is on the cusp of deciding.
https://imgur.com/gallery/ontario-rat-1-magnacut-qE4hEUV#MxslkZp
https://imgur.com/gallery/ontario-rat-1-magnacut-qE4hEUV#2ClUu7L
Edit: before I clicked post it showed a different url for each picture, now it's a link to a gallery. Oh well, the pictures are all one click away.
Initial impression: The fit and finish is good, no complaints with it. Feels solid, but noticeably lighter than the rat 1.
Blade: I'm impressed so far. I know it's magnacut, but someone being apprehensive about the quality/heat treatment of a sub $100 knife, with the steel that's had everyone having a cow the last few years is understandable. The blade is centered, no side to side or up and down blade play. However, the factory bevel is not perfect, as you can see in the picture of the blade tip. Definitely not a deal breaker, as it will get sharpened multiple times, and regardless, came pretty sharp.
I've gone out of my way to cut things that I didn't need to cut, such as cutting a 20" x 8" piece of cardboard into 1/2" strips, or whittling a 1" diameter piece of beech into a spear. Beech isn't as hard as rock elm, but it's still top 10% densest/hardest/highest btu hardwoods, for those who burn firewood. Pretty much anything in front of me that could be cut, was cut, and even did a little chopping on wood. After enough use that I would have had to sharpen the aus8 version twice, it's still cleanly slicing paper. Realistically I've probably used it as much as an average person would in 6 months (maybe more, I don't know, i see a lot of spotless knives) the past couple of days. The blade finish looks nice, no blemishes from the factory... Before i started using it that is. Can't really tell in the pictures what just needed to be cleaned and the imperfections I put in it, but I've spotted two small spots I've put in it when turning it just right in the light. I got some very light rolling towards the heel end of the blade from the chopping, but easy strop away, and no chipping. If you zoom in on the picture I took of that area you can see it. The detent is a little on the strong side, which i don't mind, some people may not like it, but i would rather have that than having the blade easily pop out.
Handle/scales: I think they did a good job on this g10. No blemishes, flashing, gate marks or anything like that. The feel and texture is very good. Not as grippy as the g10 on a spyderco para 2 or 3, but it feels very secure in hand, and shouldn't shred a pocket. It definitely feels better than the nylon on the rat series, and is slightly more textured, but i still think their nylon scales are pretty good. I expected the g10 to make it feel heavier than it feels, but then again the scales are fairly thin.
The size is great. I tend to prefer a larger knife, such as a rat 1, rift, para 2, or even adamas 275 etc. A mini griptilian for example, feels too small for me to edc, and this one feels noticeably more filling in the hand, but noticeably smaller than the rat 1. I have no reservations carrying this one, it feels substantial enough for someone who likes folders on the larger side. This one is 7.63" overall, 3.25" blade, 4.38" closed.
I used the rat 1 and mini griptilian in pictures to give a good size reference. Hopefully this helps someone who is on the cusp of deciding.
https://imgur.com/gallery/ontario-rat-1-magnacut-qE4hEUV#MxslkZp
https://imgur.com/gallery/ontario-rat-1-magnacut-qE4hEUV#2ClUu7L
Edit: before I clicked post it showed a different url for each picture, now it's a link to a gallery. Oh well, the pictures are all one click away.
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