Ontario SP6 VS. Ontario SP43 (pictures & Video)

TheJeepster said:
I wish Ontario would get a manufactures forum on here so we could have a Ontario Heads group and show our SP's and Ranger Busch Series and out Rat I's and II's a the RTAK's and what ever else we chose to show.
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That would be cool. Here are some pics of my old workhorse. No, it doesn't have a hammer pommel, but it still drove many a nail. It's also developed a bit of a recurve from being sharpened so many times. I'm telling you, it's the basic tool we had for 6 years. Also I may have been 20 when I bought it instead of 18. Blade says 94.











To stay on topic, what did you want your knife for? I'll give you my 2 cents if you just tell me what you want it to do.
 
Well, not having either, the 6 looks "stabby" and the 43 looks "slicey":D So, I guess that could help lead you. I like Ontarios. About the only thing I can really add to the conversation is that either would be too long for me. A knife mounted on an armor carrier takes up a a lot of room and can be hard to get to/unsheath. Even an ESEE 4 seems a bit long for me. The HEST is perfect, if that tells you anything (and I'm tall and have more "real estate" than most. Anthing longer than that is going on a belt, which would be hard to get to because of the carrier... Good luck.
 
For actual anti-personnel use I like the SP1's point & sharpened swedge better. They usually need to be reprofiled to cut well, though. The factory bevels are a bit thick. For the price, you can afford to get both & carry whatever feels better. I've gathered up a lot of Spec Plus blades with much less legitimate reasons than you have.

The SP43 should be a better cutter & slicer due to the grind. It has 5160 with a sweet heat treat too, if that matters. Dan Maragni had a lot to do with the Gen 2s & even set up the heat treat. He has good a post on it here but I can't find it right now.

Here's a consolation link for the Gen 2 blades:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ec-Plus-Gen-II-Review?highlight=spec+plus+gen
 
glocker199 said:
From what I can tell, you are "they."
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I promise that this is my LAST comment regarding his end of the discussion but I am anti gun control for the most part. I am a gun owner and would like to stay that way and let people in the future do the same.
 
First I just wanna say thank you Jeepster for handling yourself so well, I thought this was going to get ugly fast.

Second, I wanna say I know nothing about combat knives, but I feel the SP6 looks too long for a fighting knife, but again that's based on just about nothing. Edit: I see they are actually the same length. In that case, I guess I vote SP6, being designed as a fighting knife while the 43 is branded a camp knife.

Third,
TheJeepster said:
I wish Ontario would get a manufactures forum on here so we could have a Ontario Heads group and show our SP's and Ranger Busch Series and out Rat I's and II's a the RTAK's and what ever else we chose to show.
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Totally. I think they make a great product for the price and wish they were a little more social.
 
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I have both knives and like them. To be honest though if I had to ready myself for hand to hand combat I'd grab my entrenching tool, not a knife. The Bayonet issued to me was the biggest blade I ever carried when out in the field.It was only there because we had to have it with us.The entrenching tool was always around for all the stuff we needed it for like digging and refilling cat holes, drainage around the tent to divert water away from the tent ( shelter half back then)

As cold and wet as it was any spare room or weight we would carry was either feet/boot/sock related or pogey bait because the food consisted of C rats ( that dates me too). We always knew when the battalion commander was stopping by because it was the only morning the chow truck pulled in with cold , soggy food. The Battalion commander or Sgt Major would always ask "When did you last have hot chow?" and we would say "about an hour ago."Pogey bait" was snacks like beef jerky, tins of spaghetti to heat up on sterno stoves ( also smuggled like the food), snickers bars, stuff like that. Without the extra calories and fat those nights got too cold to sleep through after a while. You need some fat and protein for slow burn during the night. It made those weeks outdoors with no heat sources survivable.

That was my generations version of "don't ask, don't tell". The folks knew we weren't getting any hot food but didn't want it to become an issue so we just played along and gave them the old "We're good here Sir!" , and continued looking after our selves. Newbies learned fast.

I did have a switchblade I carried for usual stuff like I carry my Endura now. Regular cutting stuff. If I was thinking about real combat I wanted my M16/203 at the least. We didn't do much room clearing stuff. We trained to blow a hole in the wall, toss grenades in and go in after everybody was dead. :)

No close combat. This was the time of Nuclear, chemical and biological warfare in central europe vs the soviet union and warsaw pact. Let me see you even find your carry "combat" knife after the 12th hour in MOPP 4.
 
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Can't go wrong with the SP6, but the SP43 has been on my radar for a while now. I think it would make a great camp utility knife as well as a fighting blade. Lots of real estate there upon entry. You would have to get a better sheath with either one. Wish we had more educators like you.
 
AntDog, I am from Amarillo too and some of my first fixed blades in my collection were from Knivesplus and I have been slowly collecting Ontario knives because of that store. I am also looking at adding the SP43 to my line up.
 
uWillPutYourEyeOut said:
AntDog, I am from Amarillo too and some of my first fixed blades in my collection were from Knivesplus and I have been slowly collecting Ontario knives because of that store. I am also looking at adding the SP43 to my line up.
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Awesome! I really loved that store (and Billy Fred's gun store right next door). I miss that place like crazy! I miss Taco Villa too.
 
Got the 6. Not for a camp knife though ( have many others) Tough knife , good steel. I think I would of been happy with Ontario's marine knife too. I like them more than Kabar's version. Sheath is nothing special but holds knife secure if straps are closed.
 
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