Ontario Afghan Review: Survival Blade

I don’t think I’ve talked about Ontario Knife Company (OKC) other than their falling out with Randall Adventure Training and ESEE knives. Welp, Ontario makes some pretty bad to the bone knives. Their fixed blades are great and affordable, and most of their folders are awesome too. The Afghan is part of a series of knives inspired by combat hardened soldiers, AKA the Ranger Series.

USE: The Afghan has a 5.375 inch drop point blade. It would make a great hunting knife, camp knife, or food processing knife. It could function as a fighting knife, but it would be more suited for chopping or slashing.

DURABILITY AND STEEL: The Afghan is 1/4 inch thick! Good luck breaking it. The drop point is a fairly strong design, so I would say that this is a very strong knife.

The steel is 5160. This is a very resilient spring steel. It’s used in many high impact designs that need to flex. 5160 has very great resilience, it’s easy to sharpen, but can rust fairly quickly if not taken care of.

5/5

ERGONOMICS AND TEXTURING: The Afghan is thick in the handle. I have large hands so it fits me well. However, it could be too large for medium or small hands. The mircata feels and looks good. There is a fairly deep finger choil to choke up on knife and do fine work. There is not a lot of texturing or gimping so I don’t think it would perform well in a tactical role.

3.5/5

SHEATH: Ontario gives you a pretty good nylon sheath that can be incorporated into MOLLE webbing. It holds the knife securely with two retention straps. I like the sheath. It has been on my pack for a couple years now and never had any issues. The sheath has a small pocket on the front for a sharpening stone or fire starter. Overall, It is a functional piece of gear.

4/5

COST: Ontario stopped making the Afghan. When they were making them, they were going for around 60-75 bucks. It was a decent price for a good everything fixed blade.

4/5

FINAL THOUGHTS: I know, why would I review a knife that no one can get anymore? Well, I honestly didn’t know they stopped making it. I recently lost mine on a hunting trip and I was hoping that I could get another, or something like it. On the other hand, you should check out the rest of the Ranger Series. They are more combat oriented blades, but are made with the same quality as the Afghan.

OVERALL RATING: 4/5 Good to Go

Cold Steel Leatherneck Review: Stick ‘Em

I recently got the chance to go on a bow hunt for hogs. After some bad luck, I was offered the chance to knife hunt wild pigs. Lucky for me, I packed my Cold Steel Leatherneck Tanto. The results were epic.

USE: The Cold Steel Leatherneck is a modernization of the USMC fighting knife from KABAR. It has a blade length of 7 inches and comes in a tanto or clip point. It’s a combat fighting knife forever and always.

DURABILITY AND STEEL: The Leatherneck comes with a blade thickness of .2 inches. I bought the tanto because it was something different from all my KABARs. The tanto point is very stout and good for thrusts. The clip point has more universal capabilities.The handle is made of Kraton. Kraton is a very strong and weather resistant synthetic.

The older models, like the one I have, come with Cold Steel’s AUS-8. It’s a mid grade steel that I have talked about in many other reviews. However, the new ones are made with D2. D2 is a semi stainless, tool steel that is very hard, keeps and edge for a long time, and it fairly hard to sharpen when the edge finally does run out. I would choose the new D2 model.

5/5

ERGONOMICS AND TEXTURING: The handle and guard are formed very well. It feels very good, almost deadly, in hand. The Kraton handle is textured and easy to hold on to even when you’re staring down a 300 pound hog.

5/5

SHEATH: The sheath is Cold Steel’s Secure-Ex sheath. It’s made of Kydex, but it does stick a little when hanging off of your belt. The knife sticks and the sheath moves around with it. I noticed that I took it off my belt while running through the brush because it would hang up. For a fun knife or a cheap knife, it’s good. For a quality combat knife, it needs some work.

3/5

COST: You can get your own Cold Steel Leatherneck for around 55-70 dollars for the older AUS-8 model or 70-85 dollars for the newer D2 model. I think these are both good and fair prices.

4/5

FINAL THOUGHTS: If you’re on the fence about this knife, I would say just get it. I was impressed with how well it performed on those wild pigs. It punched through hide, slipped past bone, and tore through heart. If it will do it to a 300 pound pig, it will perform when you need it. It was bloody work, and it did what it was intended to do. Here is a picture of mine.

Honestly, it was perfect for the job.

 OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5 Badass

Benchmade Mini Reflex II Review: Best Auto EDC

I can’t tell you how much I like Benchmade Knives. I really think that they are the premier knife company in the United States. They just make great blades. The Mini Reflex is, by far, my favorite auto blade. I know that is a bold statement, but the Mini Reflex II gives me everything I want out of a automatic EDC knife.

USE: Like I stated before, the Mini Reflex is an every day carry knife. With a blade length of only 3.17 inches, I would recommend a more lengthy blade for defensive work.

DURABILITY AND STEEL: The Mini Reflex has a thickness of .10 inches. That is about average for a folder. The thickness tapers down to a fine point. It’s a good knife for fine work, but nothing heavy duty.

The steel is Benchmade’s 154CM. They use this steel in about 70% of their knives. It’s a good quality, stainless steel. 154CM has good edge retention, it’s easy to sharpen, and has good rust resistance.

4/5

ERGONOMICS AND TEXTURING: The ergonomics on the Mini Reflex are good. It fills your hand and the deep finger choil in the handle is comfortable. For such a small knife, it feels very good. There is no gimping on the blade, but the aluminum handle scales are textured very well. I would like to see a little bit of gimping on the lower spine, but it may take away from the clean look of the knife.

4/5

ACTION AND LOCKUP: The Mini Reflex has one of the fastest actions I’ve ever seen on an auto knife. It shoots out fast with a loud snap. There is little to no vertical and horizontal play. It’s amazing that Benchmade could get an action this fast with a lockup this tight.

5/5

COST: Benchmade doesn’t make a cheap knife. However, the quality of Benchmade is renown in the knife community. You can get a Mini Reflex II for 160-180 dollars. That’s a fair price for the quality of American craftsmanship you’re getting.

4/5

FINAL THOUGHTS: There is only one gripe I have with this knife. It has a safety. I know, I know. It’s so it doesn’t shoot out in my pocket and explode my pants off.

“OMG WHY DIDN’T I TURN THE SAFETY ON!?”

The problem is, I have pulled this knife out multiple times and the safety has been accidentally turned on. If you absolutely want a safety Benchmade, then put it somewhere it won’t actuate every time I put my hand in my damn pocket!

OVERALL RATING: 4/5 Good to Go

Benchmade Pagan Review: Carbon Copy

Benchmade doesn’t make as many out the front knives as Microtech. However, the ones they do make are outstanding and compete with knives like the Ultratech, Scarab, and Troodon easily. For a while, all they offered was the Benchmade Infidel. The Infidel is a great knife, but at 400 dollars it is hard for an average joe to spend the money. Now, the Pagan drops the price a little bit without losing quality.

USE: The Pagan is a defensive/tactical knife. The blade is 3.96 inches, and comes in either a spear point single edge, or a dagger. This is an good length for a double action OTF blade that can be deployed in a pinch.

DURABILITY AND STEEL: The Pagan is fairly thin at only .10 inches thick. Spear points and daggers are meant for sweeping slashes and precise thrusts. It makes sense in the philosophy, just be careful with that tip.

The steel is 154CM. This is a good quality steel used by brands like Benchmade and Emerson in the bulk of their knives. It isn’t a super alloy used in space ships, but it’s a good quality, all-around strong, stainless steel.

4/5

ERGONOMICS AND TEXTURING: The Pagan feels good in your hand. The actual shape of the handle fits large hands well. The button is easy to reach and there is gimping where it needs to be. Overall, I think it is successful.

5/5

ACTION AND LOCKUP: The action on the Pagan is fast and locks up fairly tight for an OTF. There is a little play, but that is normal in all out the front knives. The button is easy to actuate for deployment and retraction. With how long this blade is and how fast it comes out, I would have to say that Benchmade knows what it’s doing when it comes to making quality OTF blades.

5/5

COST: The Pagan will cost you around 360-380 dollars. Some guns cost this much. They didn’t really  cut the price too much. After tax, you’re still over 400 dollars. I love the knife, but it didn’t really expand Benchmade’s OTF market, but more like gave you the option between chocolate, and dutch chocolate. No one knows the difference.

3.5/5

FINAL THOUGHTS: The Pagan and the Infidel are the same knife. The Pagan doesn’t have that parkerized looking finish that the Infidel does, and it doesn’t have the blood groove the Infidel does. It’s the Infidel, just with a different finish. This isn’t a bad thing. The Infidel is a great blade. However, I wish they would have just made a different design and expanded their OTF line instead of changing a couple small things and the name.

OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5 Badass

Cold Steel G.I. Tanto Review: 20 Dollar Fighter

You know my opinion on Cold Steel’s martial blades. They are badass, and many of them are affordable. They may not use the best steel, best sheaths, or best handle materials with their cheaper blades, but they keep their core function. The G.I. Tanto is yet another addition to the Cold Steel legacy.

USE: The GI Tanto is a fighting knife. It sports a 7 inch tanto blade. The tanto’s main purpose is to produce devastating effects on a thrust. A secondary use would be a good, large throwing knife.

DURABILITY AND STEEL: The GI Tanto is built like a tank. It is .16 inches thick and has a full tang. It would be very hard to break. The tanto is also well known for having a stout tip. This allows it to punch through soft tissue and remain intact.

The steel is 1055 carbon steel. This is a very resilient steel used in many machetes and other high impact blades. However, 1055 has terrible rust resistance.

4/5

ERGONOMICS AND TEXTURING: The ergos on the GI Tanto are decent. I do not like the plastic handle scales. I tried to replace it with 550 cord and it felt worse. The plastic ones aren’t terrible, but they could get slick when your hand starts to sweat. The guard is effective and will protect your hand.

3.5/5

SHEATH: The sheath is Secure-Ex. It is molded plastic with a nylon belt loop and a retention strap. This is a very cheap sheath, but it keeps the knife secure with no wobble. I don’t think you can ask for more out of a sheath. It isn’t pretty, but it’s damn functional.

4/5

COST: The GI Tanto will cost you anywhere between 98-165 Chinese Yuan… or just 15-25 dollars. This is a damn good price for a pretty decent fighting knife.

5/5

FINAL THOUGHTS: This is a Chinese production knife from Cold Steel. One thing I hate is that it has a giant stamp above the handle that says CHINA. However, this knife costs almost nothing. It’s a fair trade in my book.

OVERALL RATING: 4/5 Good to Go

KABAR Baconmaker Folder Review: The Frugal Folder

I love KABAR. Well, I love their fixed blade knives much more than their folders. The Baconmaker is an overseas produced knife from KABAR. It seems like KABAR doesn’t really care to get into the high quality, folding knife game. Which is ok, but the Baconmaker is a decent knife if you only have a couple bucks to spend.

USE: The Baconmaker is a low cost EDC knife. I can’t see it being used in a tactical role. It sports a slightly recurved blade. It may be a decent knife for processing small game.

DURABILITY AND STEEL: The Baconmaker isn’t the most robust folder in the world but it is adequate. The blade is 3.375 inches long and .11 inches thick. This is an average thickness to a light utility knife. The handle is made of some kind of weird glass reinforced nylon (GFN-PA66) that has low wear resistance.

The Steel is AUS-8. This is a basic blade steel. KABAR’s AUS-8 in the Baconmaker has decent toughness, ok edge retention, and good rust resistance. It’s basic.

3/5

ERGONOMICS AND TEXTURING: The ergonomics on the Baconmaker are good. It fills the hand, but the cheesy handle material flexes and makes it feel weird while gripping it tightly. The handle scales do produce a good texture with its funky stippled design. However, there is no gimping anywhere on the knife, so I would not recommend using this knife for any hard EDC tasks.

3/5

ACTION AND LOCKUP: The Baconmaker does come out quickly and easily. It deploys with an ambidextrous thumb stud. The lockup is good. Considering this knife spent some time rolling around the bottom of my truck and getting stepped on, I am surprised it still locks up with no horizontal or vertical play.

4/5

COST: The KABAR Baconmaker can be yours for 20-30 dollars. An Ontario RAT-1 and RAT-2 are around the same price and seem to be a little bit better built. If you love KABAR like I do, go with the KABAR Dozier.

3.5/5

FINAL THOUGHTS: The Baconmaker is an OK knife. People can argue the price point all day, but knife companies like Ontario, Cold Steel, Spyderco, and CRKT make cheap folders that are a little better built.

OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5 Good Enough For Government Work

Cold Steel Roach Belly Review: Cheap Everything Knife

I have gone over how Cold Steel makes awesome martial blades. They make awesome knives, period. Cold Steel gives you a large amount of function and steel at a moderate and fair price. However, the Roach Belly is an all around great deal on a medium sized, fixed blade knife.

USE: The Roach Belly can function in many roles. Camp knife, kitchen knife, and defensive knife are the main ones I see it shining in.

DURABILITY AND STEEL: The main drop off on the Roach Belly’s robustness is the fact that the tang of the knife only extends halfway down the handle. This lack of a full tang or even 3/4 tang will show in hard use. The blade is .10 inches thick and 4.5 inches long. It has a semi-scandi grind. This means that the grind doesn’t go all the way from the flat to the edge. There is a secondary grind for the edge.

The steel is 4116 Krupp stainless. This is a mediocre stainless steel that is about as adequate as AUS-8. It has moderate edge retention and toughness, and good rust resistance.

3/5

ERGONOMICS AND TEXTURING: The Roach Belly has good, yet simple ergonomics. The traction plan is decent as well with a deep finger choil and good gimping to keep your hand from sliding over the blade. Overall, I would grade this category as decent.

3.5/5

SHEATH: The sheath is made of cordura. It is the most basic sheath you can get. It holds the knife in very well with only tension and has a nylon belt loop. The sheath is functional enough, but not pretty.

3.5/5

COST: This is the selling point of this knife. You can get yourself a Roach Belly for 12-20 bucks. It’s a freaking must have at the price. Instead of going to Applebees and buying a 12 dollar cheese burger that isn’t that good and a beer for the price of a six pack, go get a Roach Belly. You won’t be sorry.

5/5

FINAL THOUGHTS: There are plenty of cheap knives out there. You can go to any mall in America and stop by that shitty knife kiosk. There you can buy an Mtech or whatever other Chinese piece of crap. The Roach Belly is a good knife backed by a great company. I love mine, and the fact that it was only 12 bucks makes me love it even more.

OVERALL RATING: 4/5 Good to Go

KABAR USMC Fighting Knife Review : American Legend

I know what you’re thinking. You’re a Marine, you can’t give an unbiased review of the USMC Fighting Knife. You’re right. The USMC FK was the knife made for the Marines by KABAR so that Marines could stick bad guys. Cause in the immortal words of the Navy Times in 1994. “Marines know how to use their bayonets, Army bayonets may as well be paper-weights.” Marines like to stick stuff, and I will leave that to interpretation.

USE: The USMC FK is a…guess…. a combat fighting knife. It is a 7 inch blade with a finger guard. It has two purposes. Picking your toes in country, and disemboweling and eviscerating human beings. It may also function as a camp knife or bushcraft knife.

DURABILITY AND STEEL: I have personally put USMC Fighting Knives through some pretty grueling stuff. I have batoned wood, dug, stabbed it in trees, and cut various types of media with it.

The steel is 1095 Cro-Van. This is a carbon steel that is common in most bushcraft and outdoor blades. It has very high resilience, good toughness, and is very easy to sharpen. However, it rusts faster than the titanic on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

 Yeah about like that after 10 minutes in wet conditions. That is why it needs a coating.

4.5/5

ERGONOMICS AND TEXTURING: The USMC FK feels right in your hand. I have always gotten the leather handled one because that is the only way Chesty Puller would have liked it. It fills the hand and doesn’t produce hot spots during hard use. Because of the guard, the knife doesn’t need much traction. I would say it is, overall, a well formed handle and guard.

5/5

SHEATH: The sheath that comes with the leather handled fighting knife is leather. I have never used the molded plastic one so I can’t attest to its quality. The leather sheath does the job well and looks damn good doing it. It has a belt loop and a leather latch. My only gripe is that the sheaths are made in Mexico. Nothing against Mexico, but this sheath is housing an American Legend.

4.5/5

COST: You can have this piece of American badassery for 65-75 hard earned Susan B. Anthony Dollars… or just greenbacks. For the amount of knife you’re getting and the quality of knife you’re getting its a pretty damn good deal.

5/5

FINAL THOUGHTS: The KABAR USMC Fighting Knife is a true piece of American History. I may be a little biased, but this truly is a good knife. When I walked off the parade deck in Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego my mom gave me my first KABAR. I still have it and I always will. It is something that will be with me till the day I die and I have no doubt about that. If you don’t agree that’s fine, it’s a free country. Always remember though, “Freedom is not free, but the U.S. Marine Corps will pay for most of your share.” Capt. Ned Dolan USMC (Ret.)

OVERALL RATING: 5/5 Ready for War

Spyderco Lionspy Review: When Worlds Collide

The Lionspy is a cool knife. This is a weird mash-up between Spyderco and the Italian knife company Lionsteel. Lionsteel makes some great knives like the Opera and Molletta(SR1 or SR2). Apparently, someone at Spyderco decided that the Molletta needed a Spyderhole. Thus, the Lionspy was born.

Use: The Lionspy’s blade measures in at 3.625 inches which makes it a good utility/defensive knife.

Durability and Steel: The Lionspy is one of the thickest folding knives I have ever seen. At .18 inches thick it is a hefty blade. I can’t imagine it ever snapping unless you put it in a vice and hit it laterally with a sledgehammer multiple times. This knife should be able to handle hard EDC tasks. With the long belly and stout point, I would say this is one of the most robust blades I have ever come in contact with.

ELMAX is a premium steel that is being heavily used by top end knife companies. It is hard to find a better quality steel at the moment.

5/5

Ergonomics and Texturing: The Lionspy has very good ergonomics. The titanium scale fits well with the black g10. Your hand sits deep in the grip and gets good control of the blade for defensive use. There is a small amount of gimping on the spine right before the Spyderhole that grips just enough to lock your thumb in. The scales are fairly smooth but do give a small amount of traction. Overall, I think the traction plan is decent considering how deep the finger guard is.

4/5

Action and Lockup: The Spyderhole deployment has always been a favorite of mine. This blade comes out with a loud snap. The frame lock has no vertical or horizontal play. The blade is heavy and sometimes needs a wrist flick to fully deploy. However, the action is smooth and the lockup is tight.

4.5/5

Cost: The Lionspy is an expensive knife. It will cost you anywhere from 275-315 dollars. Considering the blade steel and titanium handle scale, the knife is a decent buy. However, blade centering on mine was off. When I tried to correct it, it made the blade too tight to deploy. At the price point I think this is a major oversight.

2.5/5

Final Thoughts: I like this knife. Every time I pull it out someone wants to see what it is. The pocket clip came really tight so I had to open it up a little. Also, Lionsteel likes to have this little disk that locks the blade open and “converts it to a fixed blade”. Believe me, this is not as strong as a fixed blade knife. Its a weird option that I wish they would have gotten rid of on the Lionspy. It comes with a weird, proprietary wrench to mess with the pivot and a soft case. All that being said, I believe this is a good knife. However, it has some issues that shouldn’t be present on a knife that costs 300 dollars. It takes away from the badassness of the blade when it can’t be centered, or the pocket clip is abnormally tight. Functionally, it works well, but the fine touches are all messed up.

OVERALL RATING: 4/5 Good to Go

Spyderco Military Review: Reporting for Duty

Spyderco is one of the best manufacturers in the business. Some people say their knives all look the same because of their patented “Spyderhole”. Personally, I think Spyderco makes a knife for anyone, anywhere. I don’t care if you are a college kid or a seasoned combat veteran, Spyderco has a knife for you.

As legend has it, the owner/lead designer of Spyderco was asked to make a knife he would find suitable to send with his own son to combat. That is how the Spyderco Military was born.

USE: The Spyderco Military is meant to be a folding combat/utility knife. It comes with a ridiculously sharp 4 inch blade. It weighs 4.2 ounces, which is pretty light for a large folding knife. The Military also functions as a large EDC blade when you aren’t overseas in a combat zone.

DURABILITY AND STEEL: I have carried my Spyderco Military for about a year and half (off and on). This knife can do any EDC task out there. It can slice and stab for days. I have had to resharpen once or twice because of the heavy use I have put it through, but it comes back with a vengeance every time. It has a basic liner lock, which is not the strongest locking mechanism, but I haven’t had any issues with it so far.

The steel is CPM-S30V. This is a premium grade stainless steel that is almost top of the line. Truly, there are only a couple other steels I would prefer in a knife, and most of them cost twice as much as S30V.

5/5

ERGONOMICS AND TEXTURING: The Military has outstanding ergonomics. It almost feels like an extension of your arm in forward or reverse grip. Seriously, it literally turns you into the T1000 from Terminator.

ok, maybe not literally, but it feels damn good.

The traction plan on the Spyderco Military is very good. The G10 scales provide a perfect amount of traction that doesn’t tear your hand up. Furthermore, the gimping on the spine and underside of the blade locks your hand in and provides amazing control.

5/5

ACTION AND LOCKUP: The Spyderco Military, like all Spydercos, uses a thumb hole deployment. The thumb hole is easy to find. The blade comes out smooth and fast. There isn’t much I would change in this knife when it comes to action.

The lockup is tight even after a year and a half of use. There is no vertical or horizontal play.

5/5

COST: This blade will cost you anywhere from 130-160 cold, hard, American greenbacks. With the materials and American craftsmanship, I would say that is a fair or slightly above average deal. Other knives at the price would be the Benchmade Griptillian, Mcusta Katana, Zero Tolerance 0350, and the Spyderco Police.

4.5/5

FINAL THOUGHTS: This knife is honestly a must own for anyone looking for a larger folding knife. I love mine, and it has yet to fail me.

Overall Rating: 5/5 Ready for War