Large Survival Knife Testing: SP53

A by request review of the Ontario SP53 Bolo. Yeah it kinda' sucks. I tell you why in the beautiful knife clinic. Take a break from the snow in this video filmed last summer with puppy Macie.

[@nutnfancy]

Remember TNP Patreon gets the videos first and some never post on the main channel! Here's some TNPr comments from Patreon, join the fun and full flow of TNP content: www.patreon.com/Nutnfancy "David Goodridge Hope your not hurting your shoulder. 2w Derek W Tiller Puppies need their naps!😄 2w Ben Have a Gen II SP50 for backyard campfire work, does an excellent job. The sheath is absolutely awful tho lol 2w Matthew Sauers I bought the SP50 on your recommendation years ago. It was a good buy that continues to serve well. With the weight forward shape of the SP53, you'd think it'd be a better chopper. Disappointing. That said, thanks for continuing the Nutnfancy Knife Show. Always good to see you testing up in the clinic. Best. 2w The Nutnfancy Project You are welcome. Try the Kukri if you're looking for that chopper. Wow. Thanks for being here Matt. 2w godfatherUSA BIG KNIVES DON'T SUCK. Keep them coming, love my SP51....a batoning machine! Don't usually chop with knives, except when testing, saws work so much better. Is the Sawvivor still in the rotation? 2 2w The Nutnfancy Project Indeed, Thanks godfather, and yes the Sawvivor is still my go to saw! Ain't found nothing that beats it in all these years. 2w Zak Orendorff Love these knife clinic vids nutn. It's so nice up there as well. 2w The Nutnfancy Project Thanks Zach...it's a nice change of scenery and pace for us in content flow. I was waiting til winter to post this one. 2w Load 1 reply Lon N Thanks for some Sunday entertainment with the KRV crew. I bought an Ontario kukri after your review a few moons back. It rides in my truck with the rest of the tools. It's my go to for clearing brush and heavy weeds, and has batoned plenty of kindling out camping & fishing. Keep the info coming - and I enjoyed the dogness post-script. 2w Jerry Hall Looks like you are exerting more energy than you want to chop with that knife. You be needing another nap after using it. 2w The Nutnfancy Project You are correct! I love taking naps out there. That SP53 sucked for chopping. 2w steve garrett nutn, break out the waorani!!!! OMG its one of the coolest tools I have bought from your reviews. I actually prefer it over a hatchet for general camp fire prep. up to about 4" the waorani will eat up branches like an angry beaver. It has saved the day for me twice. first time out in the desert my coleman camp stove broke. I found some scraps of iron laying around and about 5 minutes later the waorani had chopped up enough wood to have a nice camp fire and cook the ribeyes. Another time I had a group of scouts and forget to put in the firewood. No problem The waroani actually chopped up enough wood for an entire troop of kids to cook hot dogs and make marsh mellows for smores, and have enough wood for even a nice fire the next morning. I carry 3 axes in my truck, they seldom come out. The waroni completely kicks ass. I have also fell trees with it, up to about 11-12" in diameter. (bored on a scout camp, LOL) spent an entire week chopping up wood with it at camp steiner in the unitas. its been sharped several times and still works like new. Way way underrated. 2w Bismarck Wow, its surprising to see an SP 'fail' like that. I have an SP1 that I have ran through the wringer and it is still great. Curse of the mountains, I guess. 2w Chris Hibler I don’t think anything short of a super sharp Gerber axe would have delimbed that tree. Wrong tool for the job. As you suggested, heal of the boot would be better. That is an odd looking area. Healthy birch trees sprinkled within a ton of dead wood. 1 2w Jeremiah Fichter I bought an SP43 last spring. I was planning to get an SP53, but not now. 2w Jeremy Cunningham I had to send my Rtak2 back to Ontario after driving it through a knot that was pretty bad. It got through the knot but it looked like someone hit it with a ball peen hammer. Never broke. I told them I was basically spliting would with it and they emailed me a return label and replaced it with no questions asked. So my experience with OKC was great!! 2w alexander getty Thanks for taking the time to do this review Nutn!Morris #TeamDogness 2w Chuck Norris I use this as a fav edc folder. 2w Ernie OMG, what a cute dog. 2w Ricky Kurtz Hey LTC, nice video !!!! How’s the puppy ?? Ricky from IBM 2w Nathanw18 Great video, not so great knife. 2w Ryan Reese That would be awesome Patreon give away even if it’s not HOF! Good luck guys 🤙 2w Carl Bailey Good to see the Dogness flash back and a blade to avoid except maybe when your daughter brings home a new boyfriend. 2w Michael Rodman Man the view of the trees and mountains in the background looks like something movie producers would use as a green screen to film. Such a gorgeous day out there, makes me want to get in the mountains come spring time and do some chopping with my Buck Hoodlum. 1w George H Vickers hey nutn do you run your pocket knifes dry or with a drop of lube ? 1w Brett Arnold he runs wd40 on them bro. he also mentioned it in the beginning of the vid 1w Load 1 reply david rockwell Fixed blades induce an energy that folding knives fail to evoke. The ability to tackle tough jobs, shrug off abuse (mostly) and always ready for action. The vista of TNP knife clinic and effort to reach such a location is greatly appreciated. Thank you for the continued effort and dedication."

[@ryanreese5885]

I’m loving watching the videos a couple times. 🤙

[@bmonci1]

BUFF WSO here...thanks for these Nutn. Bought an SP43 the other day after digging through all the profiles of the series and watching the SP50 vid. Was considering this because I couldn't find the 43 initially, but didn't like the bolo or weight aspects. Guess I made the right call. I wonder if the SERE dudes would be up for letting me sew it into my survival vest. ;) Cheers, Repo

[@owenvisser2511]

Love your vids nutn

[@lonewolfsbushcrafttravels]

nutnfancy cool 😎 👍

[@aaronwilcox5673]

This is what nut'n channel used to be. Nice to see a video return to it.

[@Hill_Billy_Without_A_Hill]

Yeah, now its all about farting and yelling in funnels.

[@aaronwilcox5673]

True that.

[@trevorl440]

Lol, hammering on the end of a kraton handle. Yes, that might cause some problems. I have the SP53 and enjoy it very much. I did need to re-profile the edge, not happy with the factory one. That's such a cute puppy, having a mountain power nap!

[@chaconfc13]

mr. nutnfancy I'm sorry but I have to disagree with your review I recently purchased s p 53 and I've seen that it works phenomenally for chopping and processing wood even doing finer detail carving with the out-of-the-box sharpness

[@julesthurongi1223]

It’s Dan Maragni’s personal favorite design...

[@Eurotrash4367]

10:25 - Nutnfancy is the luckiest guy on KZbin. Whenever he goes to the mountains to test a new knife he always finds a perfectly flat pre-cut piece of firewood that's the perfect size for batoning. I can never find wood like that when I go in he woods.

[@EthanBlakeProductions]

Thanks for taking the time to hike out and record this video. I know it's a lot of extra work. I love these types of tests, though. Thanks!

[@ddaverr]

My interest in knives is near null. But, when Nutns in the wild, im watching.

[@nutnfancy]

Nice!

[@rushrule1]

nutnfancy, not nice, everyone should love and carry a knife😃

[@EverydayAmerican]

Same.

[@subspaceanomaly]

@@rushrule1 I think everyone should love and carry a frisbee. We're all different

[@Ramcharger.Outdoors]

She just needs more time in the woods. I do miss these outdoor trips.

[@ammocraft]

Agreed...the only reason I'm not a Patreon is I don't watch much of the content these days. Used to love the knife clinics and the adventures in the woods. In fact, half my knife purchases from a few years back are the "fault" of this channel! ;) What would be good is a 1min excerpt to KZbin from the Patreon-only videos so people could see what they were missing and make a decision whether to subscribe.

[@olliebarwise7264]

You're a lucky man Nutn, those are some gorgeous views.

[@abouttime7504]

I agree. Great view.

[@MonstersArmory]

Absolutely loving the sound clarity man. The mic is working amazing. Great vid thanks

[@themoodybobby1]

Can really tell you havent been out as much as of late. Good to see what really built this channel again imho.

[@RhysTucker2603]

I'd love to see more big knife use in a winter backpacking trip in TNP! Those were the days!

[@gaozhi2007]

Man, this is a throwback! I miss these outdoors vids.

[@lonewolfsbushcrafttravels]

To be fair you did hammer the handle with the log

[@dlrmon1]

Ontario has a batch of SP53 knives in 5160 that are thinner than other Spec Series knives causing the handles to come loose. Many recent purchasers have complained of the same problem.

[@dlrmon1]

I purchased a new Sp53 to try the 5160 steel. My handle loosened with first use also. I noticed that my older model Sp53 has a thicker blade. I’m guessing this is why my handle is annoyingly loose. Ontario sent me another one and the handle was loose out of the box. Ended up exchanging it for an SP8.

[@ChrisLoew]

Thanks for saving me the trial and error and sticking with my current blades

[@jeffersononetwo]

I have this Ontario and a handful of others from OKC ... I've used it to baton logs for years and i usually carry a small sledgehammer to beat it through - its beat up but sharpens well and will take a beating! thick blade - i love it

[@Matt_Iifts]

This makes me miss the old backpacking vids with Allie. I loved watching all those

[@Carolinacaveman]

YES! Another big knife video! woooohooooo! Also, i got this knife for a friend like 2 weeks ago and iv been argueing with myself about just keeping it even though i have the trailmaster. This big knife videos are what got me onto nutns channel and to see new ones does my heart good. Love the Sp-53

[@joeyjones9041]

I have the SP10 Raider Bowie and it's a beast of a chopper and good at batoning. I chopped an 8" tulip poplar tree clean in half with it no problem. I will say, i ditched it for a Tops Silent Hero for my cutting and a Husqvarna 26"Multipurpose Forest Axe for my chopping and wood splitting.

[@wpherigo1]

Luv your in field reviews! Been watching them forever. Dog ness is still so young.

[@gtwn99]

The TNP knife show continues! Thank you!

[@brettlincoln8664]

I have an sp-50 and sp-51.. they are easy to keep razor sharp in the field and have stood the test of time. :)

[@jacobpoucher]

GREAT VID NUTN tripple owl on the shed here. Ill stick with my rtak2 i bought per your recomendation,has never let me down.

[@uvdpuqhcpenfyalf]

Thanks for this video! Looks like a lot of work

[@rudyo8409]

It's a work horse of a tool. I've heard they have named it war hammer" I have 1 and like it very much.

[@jacobpoucher]

Lol

[@Rev8]

Keep on truckin TNP 2020 longtime supporter, got your stickers on all kinds of stuff

[@matthewlovejoy9820]

Hey nutn awsome video. I know your always preaching light weight synthetic clothing for the out doors and I just discovered the wrangler outdoor pants while on vacation in the smokey mountains and I decided pick up a pair to try out. I was wondering if you have seen these and would love to know what you think of them as a hiking/lower profile tactical pant.

[@Ash__7]

That scenery is incredible

[@stevanoutdoor]

Kudo's for using dead wood standing only! Before I go machete my go to big knife is the Ontario SP5 (I modified a bit). I think the bolo/recurve blade is adding more weight than necessary. Beautiful scenery. Good honest review.

[@Hill_Billy_Without_A_Hill]

Man we need some updated reviews of tactical vests/chest rigs. Whats out there, whats good? Any good buys for the money 2020?

[@Wingman115]

Love the views at your location my friend.

[@jerrybobteasdale]

Would be curious to compare heavier SP83(saber grind) and vs SP52(full flat grind)

[@rebelyell2741]

They say they fixed that problem with the handle loosening now. I’m about to get a 53 and the SP5

[@Gunfreak451]

Love these vids Nutn! Bring some motorcycle vids. God bless!

[@blakeh458]

Love the mountain vids!!

[@andyharlin8613]

Hey nutn. I finally got a good constant angle sharpener. What angle do you recommend for large field knives like these? Pretty high, I'd guess.

[@super66craig]

That blade is a flat taper so it's best ground to 17° to 23° and finally a micro bevel on the edge with just a few strokes lifting it to 25° to prevent edge ruling or chipping.

[@Hill_Billy_Without_A_Hill]

Wonder if you could mod the handle with a becker handle, how that would feel?

[@chuckcribbs3398]

Is this one of the five knives you carry every day as part of your EDC?

[@ratfinder7812]

Hey Nutnfancy... A little off topic, but I am very interested in your opinion and or thoughts on the Mitt Romney and Mike Lee since you are a resident of Utah...

[@xDark007x]

Thumbs up for the ridiculously cute dog.

[@blue_ridge_shooting7668]

I'm glad to see that a man in his late 50's to early 60's behaves the same way I do with a knife in the woods. Throwing it into stuff.

[@ammocraft]

Early 60s....ha ha, that's going to get you shadow banned! lol

[@blz346]

Love the knife clinic.

[@77MKmusic]

What are your thoughts on K-Bar knives?

[@jefffaulkner4576]

I have one of these. First thing I did was strip off that coating which is very sandpaper-like. It grabs. Ground down the edge 1.5 degrees on both sides and polished the blade to the point of ridiculous. I have no issues with it now, chops great. That belly can really get deep. Axe and kukri are about the only things better. Batoning. It does great, but I always use a wooden wedge as a backup. Kind of surprised Nutnfancy doesn't do that. More outdoor videos dude!

[@ammocraft]

Classic TNP content....great stuff.

[@dubgrug89]

15:50 "ohhh what do we have here?" Nutn's greatest joy is breaking knives LOL

[@tackleberryc6472]

Great knife

[@MrJorddy123]

I would love to see you review the Kershaw camp 10. I would add some skateboard tape around the bottom to keep your hand from slipping down.

[@impermanenthuman8427]

What do you think of the Kabar Becker BK9?

[@ArcticGator]

i have a hand i broke a long time ago so there is this big lump of bone in it and certain handles just crush my tendons between that lump and the handles, the spec plus series of knives and the Ka-Bar kukri all have the most comfortable handles i have used on a big choppy knife, for straight up batoning the best one i have used is that (original saber grind version) of the schrade schf42 or jess-x knife, its big thick blade and high saber grind really splits wood, took it on a four day camping trip last year, used is a my loaner chopper and it split stuff i would have had trouble splitting with my kukri, the kukri is definitely my best chopper though, even out chops a few axes and tomahawks i have.

[@davegoodridge8352]

I’m guessing you filmed this before you hurt your shoulder?

[@ghostuscoyote]

Looks like an old summer video. Those mountains sure don't look like that around this time of year!

[@WORRO]

Nice review. I hated seeing the problems with the knife. I have the same blade but sure ain't used it hard enough to qualify saying much. Thumbs up and cute pup ~John

[@VikingBagsYT]

Much respect from everyone here at Vikingbags!

[@taylorschuller8386]

I have the new version of the drop forged survivalist and I love it for processing firewood. I came super sharp and does well chopping. I still prefer a dedicated axe with branches bigger than 1in.

[@chriscarr6016]

“Now that’s a knife” says Dundy

[@AppleJack76]

Love my SP-50.

[@dcardenal]

Love the time capsule back to good weather. Try a TOPS Nata for a great chopper.

[@julesthurongi1223]

Still like mine! 😽 Definitely a different creature than the SP50 or Rtak2…. Much love nutn. Main thing that sold me on this design was Dan Maragni in a magazine talking about how the SP52 and 53 were his personal favorites for heavy woods use, and that he modeled them heavily on Philippine bolos. YMMV obviously. 😄 Hope you and the Fam are doing well. 👍

[@adamboylan2307]

I like it when a gun guy does a knife video. It’s very important to choose a good knife.That puppy won’t run out of ammo. That was why i chose to be much pickier with my knives for long term survival. Guns are very useful for hunting for food, and defending yourself at longer distances. But you certainly need something else for many other tasks. Like shelter building and fire prep, food prep, and many other tasks so just pick the right tools for the job, and your own personal skillset.

[@Cole4737]

Nice shoulder rehab! 👍

[@dougyanez1710]

I have a kabar 14" grass machete with a Kraton handle, designed by the same guy who did the SP series handles. I have done extensive batoning with that machete and had 0 problems with the handle coming loose. It does get a very, very slight bit of wiggle which is hardly noticeable at colder temps, but never had any serious issue like seen in this video. And yes, that blade needs a full convex or full flat grind. That low saber grind really kills chopping penetration.

[@cuttheknot4781]

Just like the good old days of Nutnfancy. Thanks buddy!

[@standook]

large blade up a mountain is the reason i subbed you years ago.

[@mark2tech]

I can watch this for hours

[@elwha6025]

I have this knife as well and I believe it's true benefit is in batoning. It just cleaves wood in half but like you said it's not that great for chopping due to the stumpiness of the grind. To me the RTAK II is just a bit light for heavy work.

[@ABACUStoPC]

Looks like the video was shot during summer time. Love the wilderness testing (and cooking) vids

[@nutnfancy]

Nah, we just did a real good job de-snowing the surroundings. Took a bit of work with the hair dryers but it turned out aight. -Doodle

[@lancegaerte6778]

Love it😂^

[@brandondavis8005]

Sweet dog. Just taking it easy.

[@TacticalPlumber]

My two favourite types of videos you put out were shot show reviews every year and your outdoor trips.. You dont seem to do either anymore :(

[@SerpentLord]

I bought an SP6 simply because I liked the looks of it. Bought it from Knifecenter and you can read my review there. I haven't wailed on it yet. I think it can take it. I wouldn't hammer on the Kraton handle though, it's too soft. With what happened to yours, I'd say they must be glued and molded on. Btw, you can get an RTAK II now for $90! Now to do that rough batoning work I bought the big KA-BAR you recommend(discontinued too). It has a little harder handle but I'd still be careful. Thanks for the knife video!

[@mforrest1508]

The realest guy on KZbin . Still rocking that wd40 baby 😂. I’d like to see the a1 pro vs standard a1. 👍

[@americanpatriot661]

My survival knife is a cheapo schf9 with 1095 carbon steel and couldn't be happier. I ditched the sheath it came with for a custom kydex.

[@maselbac]

Bullshit review Great knife Amazing knife

[@jeffstone7912]

I own an original Bolo knife dated 1913 with the flaming bomb SA for Springfield Armory. It was my grandfathers that served in the Philippines in the early 1900s. Navy Corpsmen were issued bolos during World War II. They could use them to make litters and use around aid stations.

[@stompnucustoms2616]

old school destruction. Stomp Strong Nutn Crew! Hell yes

[@stansbornak8116]

When the time comes, I will retire to the countryside and start batoning wood!

[@grendle81]

I love the KRV's

[@harpjason208]

Some win, some no so much. Thanks fir the tag along.

[@jakep111]

So your shoulder's alright?

[@fredsmith9788]

What part of Utah is that?

[@paultorgerson8776]

I own and use Lon Humphrey Retribution, Bark River Crusader and sp53. SP53 is amazing, especially for the price. It chops small rocks in Twain. I own three.

[@Darkmattersfrank]

Allie would have not been napping :) Macy needs to step up the mountain dog game

[@mtnshooter2487]

Where can you buy thr bolo ? maybe not !

[@gnarshread]

I have a Ka-Bar Kukri that I take with me 90% of the time I'm camping. It chops like a champ, you can split wood with it with enough persuasion and I've even used it to cook meals. I'm not saying its be best knife for the job but I am very please with it. Also it is soooooo much lighter than a hatchet.

[@razorrook218]

2:20 They definitely did not discontinue the SP53 its still out there on Amazon and all the other websites. They did drop the steel from 5160 to 1075 which I don't like

[@sawdust6968]

Ontario got in a batch of of steel where the stock is slightly thinner and doesn't fill out the handles cutouts, instead of remaking all new handles they went right ahead and put them on.another KZbinr had the same problem.

[@BlackLabrador183]

Why not use a mini hatchet?

[@lifebythehorns]

Do you want shoulder surgery?! Because this is how you get shoulder surgery! Lol

[@1987rx7guy]

Gonna have to watch the old Allie vids again 😢

[@301joey1]

I dont do reviews and I am not a troll, I did spend my pre teens, Teens and early twenties cutting and chopping a lot of firewood, A LOT!!!...Going through knots with anything is hard work and that dead fall you were chopping sounded almost like pine, it gets harder as it dries if its not laying on the ground wet and rotting...Try a little more finess and a little less bull chopping...What a view, your a blessed man to be able to be there, again im not being a troll, rock on man!

[@acampmier]

On my lunch break...lol he called it

[@tygre7]

Macie!

[@compact1620]

I want to watch Deadwood now.

[@herbertbrewer4175]

Okc knifes are designed to baton the handle from the side and the end thru 6 inch diameter logs and not get loose. Plus baton into the hard gravel with no chipping. And chop like a pro even if you dont know what your doing. At least I think that's what the box has written on the side.I think but I didn't have my glasses on when I read it. So dont quote me on that.

[@JHunt6352]

I think you should review the pocket knives instead of big knife like sp53.. It's too big for you..

[@jamesfarmer1523]

Large blade knife review yes please

[@bluesteel.4424]

Been a while!

[@HighSpeedNoDrag]

Cutting on Dead Wood?