Knife Reviews

[kshitij]

Hi Guys,
I have decided to use and review all the knives i have acquired till now. Unfortunately most of them have seen little or no use at all and some i dont even have the heart to put to use. But hopefully that will change now

I decided to start with the knife that i actually use most often and coming to think of it, it is almost the only knife I really need (no, this realisation wont stop me from getting more knives!). So here goes...

The Ontario Old Hickory 7" butcher knife

Specs -
1095 high carbon steel
7" Blade Length
10 3/4" Overall Length
0.100" Blade Thickness
Weighs 5.4 Ounces
Made in USA

Design -
The Ontario Old Hickory has a wide curved belly which, as the name suggest, was designed for skinning and making quick work of meat. The angled tip must be to prevent accidental punctures while skinning. Though i have never been able to put this designs intended use to test, i kinda like the frontiersmans knife / trade knife look it has. One disadvantage to this design is that the knife tip isn't as good for piercing stuff. The stamped pattern adds to the vintage look and is the most appealing design feature of the knife to me.

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Handles -
The handles are just two squarish slabs of hardwood. Some may not like the blocky design of the handle scales and the lack of roundness to them but I like the way the knife feels. Initially when I got the knife, I thought i would round out the handle scales too but I have grown to like the feel of it and decided to keep it as it is. The two over sized brass rivets add to the visual appeal (actually to the lack of it).

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Out of the box -
The knife came in a blister pack. The edge was pretty dull out of the box. But it doesnt take much to fix that. With about 10 odd minutes of work you can have a hair poppin edge on this blade. The knife comes without a sheath and you'd have to get or make one if you want one. Given the price of the knife, I can live with the fact that theres no sheath included. I made one myself and it serves my purpose satisfactorily.

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In use -
The 7 inch length of the blade may sound too big but it doesnt feel so. The thin blade thickness keeps the weight down and the knife doesnt feel bulky or cumbersome to use at all. As compared to the other knives I have, I find the Old Hickory the most well suited for all the tasks that I may have for a knife at home. Most of all for food prep(try skinning an apple with an esee 5 or cutting a water melon with a bk2 ). I find the regular kitchen knives too flimsy for my liking, so this knife fits the bill perfectly. I use this knife to cut everything that needs to be cut in the kitchen, meat included. But what i truly love doing with it is caping tender coconuts, pure joy : The knife takes a lovely metallic blue patina with some use in the kitchen. Though not visible when viewed straight on but tilt the knife in the light and the blue shines through

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The edge retention on the knife is great, though i have used it only for food prep till now so this is excepted. Although once I used this knife to cut something on the granite kitchen table without a cutting board and there was some edge roll. But it hardly took anything to set the edge back up.

From the usage till now, i have a feeling this knife will make an excellent camp knife too. It wont make it to a "ultimate survival knife" or "one tool option" list but will do camp chores fairly well including making of tent pegs etc.

Summing it up, this knife for me makes the perfect everyday knife. It is affordable enough to be used without giving two hoots, is made of good steel, will take and keep an edge well, will serve well at home as well as while backpacking, wont attract any attention while being used outside given its camp/kitchen knife and non-tactical look and will most likely last you your life time.
Cheers.

*note:
If the stitching on the sheath i made looks shabby half way down, it is a result of having a super sharp knife which sometimes cuts trough things you dont want it to cut through. Hence had to do a quick fix on the stitches

[AnandNair]

Good work Kshitij. The Indian Knife review

I decided to start with the knife that i actually use most often and coming to think of it, it is almost the only knife I really need.

Isn't that the reality. though i have a few lying about, the one that i reach for is the "complimentary gift item" made by some German company

[kshitij]

The Indian Knife review

Anand,
Sadly the knife isnt made in India. Though I can't understand why indian companies arent making anything like this. It will hardly cost anything to make and can be sold at reasonably good prices.

[Mack The Knife]

Good choice, Kshitij.

Also try the 10" and 14" versions. They make decent micro-mini and mini machetes for clearing undergrowth.

Another versatile option is 7 3/4" Opinel No.118 Chef's knife. Costs approximately three times as much but I like it.

And then there are the Moras....but I wont hijack your thread.

[kshitij]

@Mack,
I considered getting the 10inch one but i already have few other 'larger' knives and dont find much use for them so dropped the idea. Got one more of the seven inch instead.
The Opinel looks similar to the old hickory 8in boning knife.

The thread is not about me, it is about knives. So you are more than welcome to hijack it and contribute with reviews, suggestions etc. Provided you are ready to include lots of knife pictures with every review/post

Added in 16 minutes 22 seconds:
I have been thinking about getting a mora myself, so a review/comparison of the ones you have would be rather nice.

[Mack The Knife]

I have been thinking about getting a mora myself, so a review/comparison of the ones you have would be rather nice.

That's a simple one....

All Moras are good Knivs. I'll get my coat, thank you....

Not in a reviewing mood but do try a few. They are good value for money knives for those who know how to use and maintain a knife.

[zombie]

Great job Kshitij.

As far as Indian knife makers are concerned, one major knife maker is our client. I had showed him couple of nice knives to nudge him in direction of making some basic but sturdy knives. He told me couple of things:

1. They want to cut back on production and want to start relying on imports (China) for items made as per their specifications. (Irony: I help them source another product - SS water bottles - from China.)
2. Kind of thicker steel required for making blades is expensive and hard to come by. **No idea on this one. Knowledgeable folks, please enlighten.**
3. Since it is a new product range for them, they will need to dedicate lot of effort and money for marketing. **This may not apply to smaller, but focused company manufacturing only camping/bushcraft knives**

But all is not lost. It is possible to get quality knives made in India, just that we need to find the right person. The manufacturer I talked to, claimed that his 'Atmospheric Hardening Process' allows him to make best knives in India. Again, no way to verify it.

Mora has some really good knives. They are simple and no-nonsense knives. Not flashy or 'tacticool', but gets the job done.

Kshitij, how about taking your reviews on YouTube to reach a wider audience?

[kshitij]

Hi,
Is the manufacturer you are referring to already making knives? If so, could you share a few images if possible.

I guess the major hurdle for any manufacturer would be the fact that most knives made and sold here are rather utilitarian and people may not be willing to pay a premium for better quality Indian made product. But something like this old hickory should be rather easy to make and sell.
Heck, most of the diy knives on this forum have taken more effort to make
As for doing reviews on youtube is concerned, there are already tons of yankee guys doing all kinds of tests and knife reviews. How much of that is applicable to a knife user here in india is anyones guess but they sufficiently showcase the knifes capabilities. So i wont have much more to contribute. But if i am to be to honest, i must say i am just too lazy to do that

Added in 2 hours 27 minutes 18 seconds:

2. Kind of thicker steel required for making blades is expensive and hard to come by. **No idea on this one. Knowledgeable folks, please enlighten.**

Thickness of steel is generally irrelevant as the cost is based on per Kg of the particular grade of steel. Most steel grades are fairly easy to source in India but one may have to pick up a substantial quantity if it is a rare grade of steel. But most of the common knife grade steels are rather easily available.

[brihacharan]

Excellent review Kshitij....
As you rightly put it DIY knives are painstakingly made with whatever steel is available.....
Besides buying good quality steel means buying quantity...which a DIY chap may not afford!
Lastly most DIY knives are made with rudimentary tools such as Angle Grinder, Files, Sanders etc. and many of them do not use the basic 'Bench Vise' to work with!!!
Most of the videos depict advanced tools like adjustable Belt Sanders, Dremel, Jigs for profile cutting & finishing etc....
Nevertheless the 'enthusiasm' with which our DIY chaps go about it is admirable!!!!!
Briha

[essdee1972]

Kshitij,

A very admirable initiative! 3 Cheers!!

And as for the knife making industry, I doubt any Indian company will be willing to invest a few crores in a product which they'll have to market, aggressively, for a few years before turning in a profit.

[brihacharan]

Kshitij,
A very admirable initiative! 3 Cheers!!
And as for the knife making industry, I doubt any Indian company will be willing to invest a few crores in a product which they'll have to market, aggressively, for a few years before turning in a profit.

Particularly so, since the demand locally for such specially designed knives are very few & far between...
Unless the manufacturers wish to export them, that too in a highly competitive market abroad

[kshitij]

Kshitij,
A very admirable initiative! 3 Cheers!!
And as for the knife making industry, I doubt any Indian company will be willing to invest a few crores in a product which they'll have to market, aggressively, for a few years before turning in a profit.

Particularly so, since the demand locally for such specially designed knives are very few & far between...
Unless the manufacturers wish to export them, that too in a highly competitive market abroad

Those are the exact reasons that despite having the setup and the infrastructure to put out possibly a few thousand knives a month, all I end up making are DIY blade blanks for the bunch of us

[zombie]

Hi,
Thickness of steel is generally irrelevant as the cost is based on per Kg of the particular grade of steel. Most steel grades are fairly easy to source in India but one may have to pick up a substantial quantity if it is a rare grade of steel. But most of the common knife grade steels are rather easily available.

I believe they are using SS in 440 grade. He didn't share other specifics.

I have attached a photo of their product I got off the Internet.

Glare.jpg

[kshitij]

Ka bar bk2

First off, i must say that i have not heavy used this knife. To be honest i have hardly used it So this is more of a "in hand" preview of the knife.

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The specs of the knife are:
Blade Length: 5 1/4"
Overall Length:: 10 5/8"
Blade Steel: 1095 Cro-Van
Handle Material: Zytel
Weight: 16 oz
Sheath Material: Black Glass Filled Nylon
Knife Made in USA; Sheath Made in Taiwan


The reason i bought this knife is, i picked it up in my hand. Thats it. Picked it up and i knew i had to have this thick, heavy, brutish and boderline pointless knife. I already had the esee 5, so my mental arguement while fondling this knife for the first time was "you aren't gonna get yourself to dirty the esee, so you might as well get this" and surprisingly that made sense at that moment.

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Design:
The blade design is rather simple, it is a quarter inch slab of metal that had a pry bar as its father and a knife for its mother. Blade length is right at about 5 inches and given its thickness, this neither makes for an ideal large chopper nor does it make an ideal small utility knife. It does however make the knife capable of playing both those roles in a pinch.
What i liked least about the blade though was the coating it came with. For starters, it was rather low quality and didnt look like it would take much for it to wear off. But what i really didnt like was the fact that it 'dragged' whenever I used the blade to cut something. So i promptly took the coating off and now the blade is all smooth with a forced vinegar patina. I like the blade much better this way as it has almost no drag while cutting through stuff now.

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Handle:
The handle scales are made of Grivory and are contoured with a palm swell. Really like the shape and build of the handle as it fits my hands well. The handle surface is rather smooth and this may make using the knife in wet conditions difficult, but i haven't faced any problems with it yet. I cut and peeled a watermelon with it, which was the wettest condition i was able to use the knife in and it worked fine. Though by the end of it, there wasnt much left that resembled a watermelon
After market G10 and micarta handles are available for the knife but i may try to DIY one in micarta for myself with the help of a fellow member.

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Out of the box:
The knife came with a plastic (or is it glass filled nylon) sheath. Happy with the sheath, the knife snaps into it well and stays inside. The knife has to be pulled out of the sheath with some amount of force. Which gives a secured feeling knowing that it wont fall out unintentionally.
The knife came fairly sharp from the factory. But I changed the grind to something i prefer over the factory edge.
One noteworthy point is that the bevels on either side are not even. I know that this doesn't affect the knife's performance much but it does come as an eye sore to a keen eye. This is probably one thing I'd like to change on the knife, would sure love an even grind.

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In use:
Like i said in the start, i havent been able to use the knife much yet. But heres what i think one could best use this knife for:
1. As a hand to hand combat tool against a battle tank. I am pretty sure the knife will win.
2. Field dress cars if you ever need to scavenge them for parts.
3. Carve up that elephant leg in the lunch box.
4. As an anchor for yourself if you happen to be in the middle of a storm/tsunami.
5. Pry open any door/vault/car if you happen to forget the keys.
6. Cut veggies you dont like, so that you may 'unintentionally' decimate them.
7. As Rajnikanth's butter knife.
Yes, all of the above are completely practical everyday uses for this knife.

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Summing it up:
So the BK2 may find little real world use to me. Also possibly if i ever have to wear it on my belt for extended periods, it will definitely make its weight felt, not in a gentle reassuring manner but more like a heavy pain in ass way. It will not slice through things but rather cut through them leaving behind a trail of blunt force trauma. It will make you feel like you are wielding Thors hammer but also make you realise that you dont have godly forearm strength. So all considered, it should come as no surprise that I absolutely am in love with this beastly blade!

[marksman_dd]

Very good reviews kshitij
Ka-bar looks mean and simple as compared to the esse on the pic, waiting for.more reviews...

With your experience it's clear that we guys have capabilities to make a combat knives to be used as kitchen knives[emoji1]

Vidhu dubey