OK-223 Knife Review - Needs A Little Work

[@dogonmountain6445]

Looking forward to seeing a cut test. Looks like a lot of knife for the money for those who like to tinker.

[@MikeyD8716]

I have this knife… I love this knife. Mine is great. If you let go of the lock while it’s closing it won’t bounce. The steel is also pretty good. I’ve used mine a lot and it has a pretty good Heat treatment.

[@BladesOnABudget]

Glad to hear that! And yes, you're right about letting the lock tab go early. That helps. Thanks!

[@kaaaaa8691]

If ur holding the lock bar it will always bounce out. What makes you think it would behave in any other way?

[@BladesOnABudget]

It bounces out even when not holding it. Detent is just a little too weak. Very different than their OK81.

[@volcanicxb]

Wow... my detent is the exact opposite! First... thanks for the honest review. Like you I have the 81 and it is indeed a great knife... and the action on it is basically flawless. Kinda expected the same with this one. My 223 requires a crazy amount of force to open and pulls in tight on closing. I even messaged them about it today. I saw this video and am wondering if i should even mess with it. I may just work it a bit to see if it loosens any before opening it up. But tbh after seeing what you found inside I'm thinking it may be best to crack her open. Those washers and the bur have me wondering. But thanks again for the video! ETA... And subscribed to the channel. 👍

[@BladesOnABudget]

Thanks man. I'm assuming you've already tried loosening up the pivot screw a little? Seems like the Quality control on these isn't exactly up to par. If only I could borrow some of your detent! 😂

[@AszszAszszYjin]

I'm using the C148 Ambitious Lightweight (spyderco ambitious clone) and BM Mini 533-3 S90V (benchmade mini bugout clone) from them. I dont know if spyderco was treat heated properly, the edge was burnt during sharpening or the steel is not CPMS35VN, because it refuses to hold an edge. I also had to sand down the edges on that knife blade (not the cutting edge). Their mini bugout with carbonfiber scales is holding up much better. Fair for the 25$ knife I would say. I guess opinel and mora are still in another league with the quality of their knives but lack design that can be operated with one hand.

[@BladesOnABudget]

All of their non-OK branded clone knives (anything with Spyderco or Benchmade's logos on them) are made with relatively inexpensive and unknown steel. None of those are really the steel that it says on the blade (no chance of having S35VN). Only the OK-branded knives have a chance at having the real steel indicated on the blade. And even some of these may be "suspect". But yeah, my CF bugoout replica seems to hold up better than many others too. 🤷‍♂️

[@W3OY-RAY]

Nicely done. Great to see that your objectivity remained. I get quite a lot of stuff from lock pick manufacturers and always keeping perspective is important. Bravo. Just a heads up… those super thin washers… I’ve seen them in other companies knives as well to help centering and stuff. They use them like shims. I’ve even found them in a CJRB Ekko. It’s almost like some knives pass QC… then some that fail, they MAKE pass QC by tinkering with them.

[@BladesOnABudget]

Thanks Ray. Others have said that the washers may go in between the blade & bearings to provide a smooth surface for the bearings. That makes some sense as the bearings "pockets" in the blade are really rough. So maybe there. I'm trying it. Definitely NOT the best QC over there. But I DO love the OK81 a lot still. Way better in many ways. I'm an amateur lock sport guy too. Although nowhere near as good as you! I've enjoyed those videos! 👍

[@milwaukee6023]

Pretty easy to figure out how hard a material is with a material tester

[@BladesOnABudget]

Any idea how much those cost or where to get one?

[@MatthewHartsuch]

Just ordered a 535 and titanium 81. I've had an OK-81 in the past and really loved it, but the grinds were very uneven. I think I'm most worried about a burnt edge, because I had a buddy with the M390 version that had the edge roll/chip really easy and he thought it was a bad heat treat, but I think it's more likely a burnt edge.

[@BladesOnABudget]

Yep. Both the OK81 & OK223 have really uneven grinds. They're both headed for the sharpener to get reprofiled to 18 degrees. But I do still love the overall quality of the OK81. Please give me an update when you get the Ti 81. I'm really curious about that & would love to know what you think. 👍

[@1ohmwrecker]

Yeah my yojimbo 2 needed the lock bar area cut out too. Idk why they don't? 🤷‍♂️

[@BladesOnABudget]

Yojimbo? Was it an OK branded version? (haven't seen those yet) Or Spyderco branded? That's pretty surprising (and disappointing).

[@1ohmwrecker]

@BladesOnABudget yeah it's spyderco branded. It turned out to be one of my favorite knives tho!

[@MikeyD8716]

I just checked mine again. Mine does not bounce out at all even if I hold down the lock bar. Maybe because I tightened and used blue loctite.

[@BladesOnABudget]

Well damn. I am hearing from others that there's a lot of variability in the quality of these. Someone else said they have 3 of these and they're all different too. Just lousy quality control. I guess that's what you get when you play in this game. But mine does seem to stick shut better when I let off the lock tab right away. Still not great. But better. 👍

[@TheTriFyre]

Damn, Fred! You'd think they'd send you a GOOD one...

[@BladesOnABudget]

Yep. You would think... They kinda know I'm going to do a video on it! 😂

[@TheTriFyre]

@@BladesOnABudget exactly!

[@williamsipe1151]

Could you replace the two thin washers with a single washer of equivalent thickness? Also, my finger frequently gets stuck in the square hole. That never happens with my spydercos.

[@BladesOnABudget]

Others have suggested that those thin washers go between the blade & bearings. They may be right as that "pocket" in the blade where the bearings fit is very "unfinished" & rough looking. So I'm trying them there for now. That kind of makes more sense. They don't need to be thick - just need to provide a smooth surface for the bearings. 🤷‍♂️

[@Pony5950]

Those thin washers are called shims usually used to remove excess space or play within a mechanism.

[@artemsmolyar2108]

Where can I get that skiff bearings bro? What is the dimensions?

[@BladesOnABudget]

Google Skiff Workshop & you'll find them. I also have links on my website at bladesonabudget.com. (I can't put other links in here.) The bearings for the OK81 and OK223 are 5mm x 1/16.

[@artemsmolyar2108]

@@BladesOnABudget Thank you

[@kerrydiecast1484]

Tried to orderd a knife from ok,but would never let my payment go tru.tried more than once.

[@deinhorn2]

I had the same problem a few weeks ago, use the “Steady Pay” option and you should be good to go… it’s just below the regular credit card payment selection.

[@BladesOnABudget]

They must be having some issues. Several others have said the same thing in the last day or so. Too bad for them! They're missing out on sales. 🤷‍♂️

[@Digital_Kyle]

Yeah, I don't know what is going on with their payment gateway. I haven't been able to get it to work for Texas since a week before Christmas. As soon as I enter my state and zip the payment area in checkout says it failed. I emailed the company in china and they offered to do a bunch of really hacky stuff, which frankly I thought might be a scam, so I passed. They really need an American distributor with an American payment gateway. I have no idea how others are getting orders through unless they are using that steady pay feature.

[@OnlyGamingClips]

My fav budget knife is still the aluminum scaled crossbar lock Vosteed Raccoon. That's a rad budget knife.

[@BladesOnABudget]

I agree. The Raccoon is a very popular knife for good reason! 👍

[@iodip5634]

Have you tried using one of those small ballpoint burrs to slightly enlarge the detent hole? If the problem is the detent ball not engaging well enough with the hole that could help, but if the problem is the detent ball, it’s a little bit more of a complicated process to replace the detent ball

[@BladesOnABudget]

Yeah, good call. I can see its not dropping down into the hole like the OK81 does. I tried a little bit with the files, but don't want to create a "ramp" around the hold that could make the detent even softer. I might see about drilling the hole slightly larger. That should be fun. 🤬

[@wayneanderson991]

If OK-Knives is smart they will take your review into consideration and make the necessary changes to turn their knife into what it could be. By the way the blade bounce you experience with the para style knife is no different than the originals. I have several para 2's and they all have the same issue, it's just part of the original design.

[@BladesOnABudget]

Well I guess that's good to know. Except I'd really love to find one that doesn't bounce. It's a close to perfect size & ergos for a great EDC. But the bouncing is just too much for me. 🤬

[@wayneanderson991]

@@BladesOnABudget You could probably fine tune your knife with fitted washers so you could set the tension for your desired action. With the compression lock it's all about the timing of the lock bar release and blade drop speed so the detent ball can engage at just the right moment into the blade. Slightly more depth to the detent whole in the blade might help also. The blade bounce is just more problematic to solve with the compression lock design. Good luck!

[@davidv7403]

Good honest review. I like it. Do you own a genuine Para 3? You will immediately love it if you get one. They are 100% worth every dime. I prefer the LW version of it.

[@BladesOnABudget]

Not yet. Several replicas - including a LW. But I keep hearing from a bunch of people that the real Para 3s have the same bounce out problem as the replicas. That makes me a little nervous.

[@Aa-ron22]

Gotta love your honest reviews

[@BladesOnABudget]

Hey Aaron! Thanks man! :-)

[@hockeymack]

They're named OK for a reason it seems...🤣

[@BladesOnABudget]

😂 perfect!

[@vemund77]

Can't think of a more blatant copy of spyderco.

[@BladesOnABudget]

Except maybe the ones that actually have the Spyderco logo on them. 🤷‍♂️

[@N2EWSRadio]

I have 3 of their OK-223 knives, two OK-81s and 5 of their Spyderco counterfeits. I like them all. But they ARE weird. They're all different from each other when it comes to where the washers go, how well the detent works, whether or not lock access is open, etc. They're unpredictably different even comparing what are supposed to be two identical models. So buying from OK is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. I will say this, though, out of all the OK branded knives and OK sourced counterfeits, the most common issue I have with them is that they have sharpened a nice bevel on one side and put almost no sharpened bevel on the other. Sometimes the difference is minor, sometimes dramatic like what you showed. But it's common enough that I re-profile every knife I get from them, day one, 17 degrees each side. I only have the Precision Adjust Elite, not the professional, but it works well enough for that.

[@BladesOnABudget]

😂 My "Forrest Gump" knives! And yes, my OK81 is unevenly ground on both sides too! (although the overall quality of the OK81 is still really good). Both are getting a new 18 degree edge ASAP!

[@rshear618]

“Tribute” is a funny way of saying cheap and lazy clone

[@MikeyD8716]

Also don’t cut all the way down to the guard when making access to the lock bar. You want to leave it up about 1mm maybe a little more. If you go too low the blade will show. The G10 versions are even worse.

[@BladesOnABudget]

Good tip. I didn't cut this 223 all the way down. But I did cut back the 81 all the way. You can see the tip of the finger choil when closed. But not really an issue for me. Still a very good tip! 👍

[@MichaelWalker-de8nf]

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