ON6525-BRK Bushcraft Field Knife

This is a good, well made knife, but the complete product is not worth the price that is being asked (Currently $79)Every knife that I have bought from Ontario is well made, from quality materials. This knife is no exception. I have used it for a number of farm and woodlot chores over the last month. It has performed well, maintained a good edge, and shows no real signs of wear. I like the full tang construction and the rugged walnut handle with three bolts.The blade profile is decent for bushcrafting projects, although not exceptional. The blade and handle length is a little longer than most bushcraft knives, which is good for those of us with large hands. The shape of the handle does not fit my hands well, however. It is OK, but it never quite sits in my hand the way I want it to. I have a Helle Taiga that sits perfectly. Every time I pick up the Taiga, it feels like it was designed with my hand in mind. This knife I keep changing my grip on, trying to find the grip that will feel the most natural, but it just isn't there. This may be different for you. For comparison, my ESEE CM6 fits me reasonably well, and my Cold Steel Trailmaster fits me very well. The Taiga is the best though.The sheath is a problem. The stitching and materials are fine, but the design is poor. When you want to put the blade back into the sheath, you have to stop what you are doing and fiddle with it. The snap that secures the knife into the sheath also has to be fiddled with. Ontario wants to market this as a bushcraft knife, but the sheath design is a hassle. A proper bushcraft knife is easily accessible, yet secure in its sheath.The solution to the sheath problem would be to make or purchase an aftermarket leather Scandinavian sheath. At that point, though, you will have spent enough money that you might as well have bought a better knife. My Helle Taiga, for example, has laminated steel which is both strong and takes a better edge, a slightly thicker blade, a great sheath, a great handle, and tremendous fit and finish. It costs $30-40 more than the Ontario knife.If Ontario wanted to make this knife a better value, they could sell the knife without the sheath, or at least reduce cost by eliminating the firestarter, the firestarter pouch on the sheath, and the lanyard. Ontario probably thinks that these things will entice casual bushcrafters, and maybe they will, but people who use the knife a lot will not want that clunky lanyard, and will have their own favourite firestarter. They won't want to mess with this entry level firestarter. Additionally, locating the firestarter pouch on the side of the sheath just makes this sheath busier and more annoying. I am going to use the knife a lot, but the firestarter only occasionally. My firestarter lives in my pack. I don't want it on my sheath. Without the extra pouch on the sheath, without the firestarter, and without the lanyard, this knife probably could be $7-8 cheaper, and be a better value. Add in a better sheath, and this would be a good knife, worthy of taking into the forest and bush for extended trips. As it is, I will use this around the homestead and in the woodlot, and continue taking the Taiga when I am taking trips.

My first thought was, "This knife will never take an edge". Man, was I wrong. About two minutes on the diamond stone, and it was frightfully sharp. The back edge of the blade is ground off very flat and sharp. This is something I did not expect and had intended to do to the knife. It wasn't necessary. Ontario did it for me. This sharp edge on the backside is perfect for planing and striking ferro sticks. The sticks throw generous showers of sparks when raked across this sharp edge. When planing wood, this sharp edge produces fine shavings for starting fires. The ferrocerium stick that comes with the knife looks exactly like the ones sold through Coghlans. I have several of these, as they are my favorites. I don't use the steel strikers that come with the sticks. I toss them in the trash and use my knife to strike up a fire. No reason to carry dead weight. The nylon sheath, which is made in the USA by De Santis and has their label on the back, is very good quality. Stitching is beautiful and hems are perfect. Snaps are tight and strong. Back to the knife; The finish on the blade and handles is very good. A nice brushed finish. Nothing flashy. The handles are well fitted. They were obviously fitted to the knife properly after they were installed. There is no overhang and the wood goes all the way out to the edge of the steel all the way around. This should go without saying, but I've seen so many knives with pre-cut handles that were slapped on without additional fitting or finishing. The handles are smooth, but not slick. The knife is very comfortable in my hand and balances well. Overall, this is a very good knife. The only thing I would like to see different is, I would prefer a lanyard hole liner. But it's no big deal. I normally prefer a leather sheath, but I rather like this one. I feel the knife is well worth what I paid for it.

I like the size and weight of the knife itself. Unfortunately, the overall package is not up to the standard of the other knives I have purchased from OKC.The most disappointing thing is the sheath...it *looks* great and appears to be well-made. Unfortunately, the retention strap is too short, and will not snap over the thickness of the knife handle. It's almost like the female snap was installed backward. The plastic sleeve where the blade is inserted into the sheath does not provide adequate retention on it's own, so without the ability to snap the strap closed, the sheath is essentially worthless. I have another sheath on hand that I can use for the knife, but really disappointed I won't be able to use this one, which has the nice pocket for the ferro rod and striker.The knife itself is only adequate. The blade is pretty, but dull, and came with two noticeable nicks in the edge, which are going to require some significant time to correct. I do like the fact that the blade spine has crisp 90° edges as a proper bushcrafting knife should.The handle looks nice, but is not finished very well. There are several rough spots in the wood that are irritating when handling the knife. I may spend some time with fine grit sand paper and linseed oil to see what I can do to make the handle more comfortable.I've been very pleased with all of my other knives from OKC, so maybe I just got unlucky with this specific example.

When I opened knife first thing I noticed was that it has screws in handle instead of rivets as in picture no ferrel in the Land yard hole also hard to close handle strap bit tight I personally don't trust screws and would not have ordered it. Overall . Not too happy you get what you pay for

Another excellent knife from OKC. Blade was shaving sharp out of the box, the spine is sharp enough that each side has a little burr so using with the supplied Ferro rod is no problem. The Walnut handle scales are beautiful, well mated to the blade, perfectly contoured and the length of the handle is long enough to allow use by big hands and with gloves. My hands are large and I still have enough room on the handle to be comfortable. Scales are fastened to the blade with bolts, allowing for the removal of the scales to maintain the blade. There is a nice sized lanyard hole and a paracord lanyard/bracelet is supplied as well (roughly 15 to 20 feet of paracord).The blade is 5160 high carbon, full tang, solid, perfectly heat treated for toughness but ease of sharpening. Blade thickness measures exactly 1/8" (0.125), is a full flat grind, and evenly ground. Solid tip and beautifully executed drop point.Some folks complain about the sheath... let me tell you this, I'm a leather crafter & left handed, so every time I purchase a new knife, I make a leather sheath for it. This one can be used either left or right side, and is made in the USA by De Santis (gun holster maker). The Cordura nylon, YKK snaps, military spec thread for the stitching, kydex insert and quality construction make this a perfect match for this knife. I'll still make a leather sheath, but I will enjoy this sheath for a while.

Love the knife

very durable and well made item

It's very great quality and fantastic look.