The closing of Ontario Knife Co , Franklinville, NY

[@bunsonhoneydew9099]

Ontario Knife is in Franklinville NY. 26 Empire St, Franklinville, NY 14737. Franklin NY is in the Northlands near Saranac Lake in the east. Franklinville NY is the southern western part of the state.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

Thanks for the correction. I’ll take care of this.

[@wbwills2]

Sometimes there is actually something to learn on here. Thx guys.

[@The_Watchful_Eyes]

Franklinville is south of Buffalo in western NY nowhere near Saranac Lake which is in the Adirondack North Country about 70 miles south of Montreal.

[@bunsonhoneydew9099]

@ Google Franklin New York. Where is that?

[@ron1836]

Huh? I live here and we are NO where near saranac lake! Haha. That's like 300-400 miles away in the adirondacks.. we are south of Buffalo near the pa state line...

[@StephenWorth]

My dad carried a Chicago Cutlery butcher knife from the 50s in a generic sheath on his belt. A lot of people in his generation carried butcher knives as camping knives. He spent a lot of time on a cattle ranch in the 70s, and the cowboys all admired that knife. The steel had a beautiful patina, it could be easily sharpened and it held an edge. The simple wooden handle was grippable, even when wet. Knife collectors always focus on the military knives, but the core of Ontario’s line were the Old Hickory butcher knives. They are rugged and last forever.

[@maxpinson5002]

Professional meat cutters have been using the same basic patterns for many years because they work. Shame that you can't just go buy a new Old Hickory off the shelf like I used to years back. The ones I use are very sharp

[@joejones9520]

@@maxpinson5002 poem or comment?

[@maxpinson5002]

@@joejones9520 Why would it matter?

[@mjex1965]

I've got several ontario knives, even Chicago cutlery. And NO they don't hold their edge well...

[@RichardKut-j7m]

Chicago Stock Yards was the greatest in the world.

[@robward4109]

NY state is a terrible place for business

[@jeffsmith8197]

It's run by democrats who want to be Soviet Bolsheviks. All Democratic-run cities and states are hell-holes. I live in the Socialist Illegal Immigrant Paradise of CT. So I ought to know about blue-hive-run hell-holes.

[@residualkarma]

Thank you for the update on Ontario. Historically they have been one of my favorite knife manufacturers.

[@smacksmack5976]

I have a dozen or so like them

[@Stans_Cutlery_Universe]

Good informative video. I hope that the new owners keep the quality up and production in the US. Have a great blessed day.

[@Jimthechevywheelman]

Document everything

[@JoelPerri7777]

Living in WNY my entire life, Ontario, Kabar, camillus, and early case, were all located fairly close to each other. You will still find old knives from all these companies at antique shops, flea markets, garage sales. There’s a town called Salamanca, that has a huge antique mall that has pre war knives from most of these company’s for great prices. If anyone is ever in southern WNY, I suggest going to the Salamanca antique mall, if you’re looking for old knives for cheap, they are def there, you just gotta look around. Place is so big, you can’t really see it all in one trip. Cool video, love my old hickory knives!

[@P_RO_]

I had some friends in West Valley and they pointed out the Franklinville factory in passing during some of our travels there. Long history of small manufacturing and knives in that area for sure.

[@CNYKnifeNut]

Same here in CNY. A lot of antique shops I go to basically start throwing their old knives at me once they see I'm slightly interested and willing to spend more than $5. Just the other day, I got an old Canadian Belt knife and an original (~1930s) Remington Bullet Knife for $55.

[@JoelPerri7777]

@ that’s awesome. Those early Remingtons are hard to find, where ppl aren’t asking a fortune for. I went to another antique mall closer to me, and as soon as I asked about pocket knives, it’s like the floodgates open.

[@Knife_Collector]

I collected Schrade and Camillus, sold almost all of the Schrades, and still have maybe 150 Camillus knives left. People today don't carry knives like they use to, might in part be because of laws they are scared to break, but when they do, they want fancy clip on's, not traditional knives like everyone had decades ago, when even kids had a folder in their pocket. Then there is the glut of cheap imports that looks cool. The US makers finally started coming out with belt clips, or pocket hangers, but the price of US made vs imports made it a losing battle. Now Schrade and Camillus are China made.. so sad.

[@JoelPerri7777]

@@Knife_Collector I’m with ya on the Camillus knives, they really are great. I collect shrade as well, but what I really like are the knives Camillus made for other company’s. Got a few Moore maker they made that are fantastic. And of course the Remingtons, but also the frontier series by imperial they made, or the pre code buck knives they made, along with the knives that have “high carbon steel” stamped on the tang, that I believe were made specifically for Sears. I was lucky to get a knife by Camillus that they made shortly before they went under in 2007, it’s a modern flipper knife, with micarta scales and 1095 steel, made in the USA, at their factory outside Syracuse NY. Shrade, camillus, western, queen, love them all and sucks they no longer are around in their original form. The new Queens that are made by Bear and son for SMKW are nice, but it’s just not the same. It’s a shame I didn’t get into collecting until 2020, well after all those great American company’s closed. Be well, and stay sharp friend.

[@CHUCK-lx3jm]

As a Virginian I hope Blue Ridge Knives that is Virginia company in the Shenandoah Valley will do the the brand justice.I hope they improve and expand the line all in the USA.Go Blue Ridge,Go OKC!

[@mondaymotivator_]

Apparently BRK is just a distributor from what I heard. I feel like they'll just end up contracting manufacturing overseas and slapping the American OKC name onto some foreign made blade. I wish ESEE or some other manufacturer bought out OKC instead to continue making them.

[@Richard52517]

One of the best knife companies I have ever used. Quality and price was outstanding. I have several Ontario's from the older K-Bar, The Spec Plus Fighter (which I've had for at least 30 plus years), The Spec-Plus Raider Bowie, to include from the early 70's the large machete which I used in the Army to current use now. The original Machete I lent in the 90's to my neighbor and after several months was returned to me with damage to the blade. I was able to regrind the chip and resharpen it to ''good to go''. I finally after purchasing a newer Ontario machete gave my original to a worker doing a job at my home in N.C. I really love this company so who ever takes it over hopefully will continue the quality and price point will remain the same..

[@addicted2knives171]

Always love all the knowledge that comes with your videos ❤

[@azmaddog6]

I picked up several Ontario knives manufactured before being sold, one being the U.S. Navy dive knife. It was a present for my son upon his graduation from Navy E.O.D. school where he earned the "CRAB".

[@notlisted-cl5ls]

yer wife has that name too , but with an S on the end

[@davidkurle5418]

This was a great bit of history👍Cheers, buddy!

[@bdh3949]

Thanks for the information about Ontario, I've been wondering what will happen. I'm one of the folks who wanted a few OKC_USA knives before they were scarce so I picked up one of the smallest and one of their largest fixed blades. Cool knives.

[@scpatriot5270]

Thanks for the information sir👍🇺🇸

[@WilliamsKnifeLife]

Nice history. I'm glad I got my Ontario SP knives before they went out of business and prices of existing stock skyrocketing. I didn't get all the models I wanted, and now they are more expensive than I'm willing to pay. I might get another SP knife if the price is right.

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

The quality of their products was terrible

[@mikewashington-se6qw]

My RAT & SP series fixed blades are very good quality. Maybe because they're older, but they are well made & hold an edge well

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

@mikewashington-se6qw hmm I think maybe you are not such a good judge of quality? The specplus knives have been terrible quality since the early 90s. I got one in about 1993 and I sharpened it with a file. It was no harder than a cane machete. The bevel on the edge was 45 degrees.. Ontario knife company has had problems for a long time. Management not knowing knives.. workers not knowing their work. A lack of skilled hand workers but also lacking up to date machines. Their heat treatment and quenching process and quality control was very very bad. They didn't have anyone who could properly put an edge on a knife for more than 35 years in the factory..sad crippled by their own ignorance

[@darrenkeller9251]

Bluridge has responded to my query regarding the production of OKC knives saying they are working on getting production of the U S made knives up and running. That said, almost all U S. Models have been out of stock for a year or more (likely once purchased stock was sold off). The imported model's (Taiwan) Which are the RAT 1 and RAT 2 are in stock on almost all models. From what I've seen, the U.S. manufacturing barely has a heartbeat, but remain hopeful it may come back at some point.

[@WilliamsKnifeLife]

@darrenkeller9251 That's good news. Thanks

[@USMCGrunt-jd8je]

I have several OKC knives and love them all. They are s sturdy, cut great and get the job done

[@bradbrown5659]

I have a couple of their Machetes. used to go to the shows and buy them for $20 dollars. now they have doubled in price. 18 inch Military type. I have a K-bar copy they made also and some SP01 knife . big blade with a rubber handle. these are from 25 plus years ago.

[@superbug1977]

Interesting information. Thanks for the video.

[@jay-by1se]

I carried them in the army when I couldn't afford a better knife. They did a great job for the price. Zero complaints.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

I carried the Camillus Combat knife and I also carried the Air Crew knife (the Ontario number is 499) Both were excellent. The Spec Plus knives are actually quite good. I know the big complaint is the sheath but I honestly have no issue with Nylon sheaths. They are light weight, not that noisy, and dry quick;y

[@BrewCityRider]

Enjoyed your OKC chat, they are one of my favorite brands - especially the SP line. The new OKC actually had a booth at this year's shot show with a limited number of models. Hopefully they will bring back all the old stuff in time.

[@SuperSaltydog77]

I'm bummed to hear about Ontario. I have the 6 1/2 inch Marine Spec Plus version. Good tool.

[@propblast82nd]

Seems like nowadays as prices go up quality goes down 😢

[@joeminter901]

Very interesting episode. Thank you.

[@ColdHarborOP]

I really appreciate your take on this and all the information in the video. I'm hoping for a better, brighter future for Ontario and Old Hickory as well.

[@theswinginrichard]

I feel like the us knife industry is in trouble

[@maxpinson5002]

It is The Case knives I bought in the 80's and earlier are way better fitted and way sharper than the couple I've bought in the last 10 years or so. IMO they're trying to fulfill the collector put-it-away-in-a-drawer-and- never-use-it market instead of the carry-it-and-use-it-daily market. I can find oodles of special collectors editions and Case pocket knives with expensive scale materials and limited edition sets, but I haven't seen any of the old plain delrin scale plain finished knives in a while. I think they sold those as their Working Man's line. Oh well. . .

[@davem4193]

​@maxpinson5002 I concur. I bought a Case trapper workman series a year ago. I had to do a ton of work to the blades to get it usable. It's a decent knife now but I'll never buy another Case. Not worth the money.

[@Gterr1971]

I'm glad they actually offer sheaths now for the old hickory line. I've used the French fur trapper type old hickory for decades in an old kabar sheath.

[@HeavyMetalHiking]

Nice history lesson on Ontario, thanks!

[@scottmcintosh2988]

Thanks again Tobias nice to hear from you !!!

[@dongkhamet1351]

Going by what I heard, OKC really ripped ESEE off and had genuinely terrible business ethics. The management drove the company into the ground. It seems there may be some poetic justice in their machinery going off to serve ESEE in the end.

[@comfortablynumb9342]

I have an Old Hickory cleaver that I use to chop stuff up in the kitchen. It's really nice. And it was $25, totally affordable. So I hope they keep making the Old Hickory stuff, with good steel.

[@deniskozlowski9370]

It's a sad story. I guess we can only hope for the best and expect the worst.

[@mikem201]

Ontario RAT1 is my everyday folder. I give them for Xmas presents. I'm going to stock up on a dozen of them now they're going under.

[@mainewoods1862]

I edc the Rat 2 and stocked up a few years ago when there was talk of the end. They had such a large variety of well made knives and many at a very affordable price.

[@pawel0727]

I have an Ontario pilot knife and it took a lot of effort to sharpen it, but I managed to do it. Now it's great. The knife is from 1991.

[@williamkennedy1550]

Thumbs up, subscribed. Very nice video. Love all your honest reviews. ❤❤❤❤❤

[@TomSherwood-z5l]

I had no idea they were going out when I saw a magazine article showing an Old Hickory Kephart knife they made, and their website said "sold out" about a week ago.

[@9999plato]

The first knife I bought as an adult with my own place was a Chicago cutlery knife. It was basic inexpensive snd reminded me of the knives the mates carried on the fishing boats in my home town of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn NY. I have many knives now but still have that knife many years later. Why not? It’s a good basic piece of carbon steel.

[@nicolasgruman635]

I'll be honest I'm an outdoorsman, all I use are Case, and Buck knives. They are amazing and USA made

[@escapetherace1943]

Right I'm not sure I'm going to miss Ontario and their 1075 steel. What a loss rofl, I can buy simple carbon steel blades anywhere.

[@darylwaynebrady]

Amen to made in the USA I carry mostly case But I have to admit to having a soft spot for victorinox also

[@Maryland_Kulak]

Nice chat; thanks! I like 1095 carbon steel, but I’m totally okay with 1075. Softer steels may not have good edge retention, but they’re easier to sharpen just using a stone. Do any of us really take a knife like a USAF survival knife or Mark 3 trench knife out into the woods and use it so much that it dulls?

[@MASC440]

Love my SP53 - powerful chopper for Australian hard woods.

[@gibrigg]

SP 53 is a phenomenal tool. One of the best ever.

[@WildBlueYonderDay]

Agreed, I've reprofiled the edge on mine and it's lethal now.

[@HOSTILEMGTOW]

Reminds me of when Lynn Thompson sold cold steel.

[@maxpinson5002]

The old Carbon V Cold Steel knives I have are excellent cutting tools and reasonably priced. I wish I'd had the foresight to buy duplicates

[@alanrice39]

Thanks Tobias

[@superseries7007]

Kitty 🥰🐈‍⬛.

[@danielburke4113]

New York State has a history of knife making. Sad to see another one gone.

[@philkearny5587]

New York state manufacturing *is* history.

[@singingtoad]

Thanks for sharing about this topic, we can only hope things get better for OTC and they at least operate in some capacity in the USA. 👍Take care my friend and Cheers!

[@madtownangler]

Most of the old hunting knives in our old basement were just kitchen knives that were well over one hundred years old I used one of them in high school for deer hunting I just made a cheapy sheath out of some scrap leather. The people that built out house butchered down in the basement. They had some stairs that came down the back of the house and would lead pigs and sheep.right down there. They had the old fashioned huge sinks downstairs with the knives stuck between the sink and the wall And had a bunch of scents for trapping stored above. I broke one once and we had to get a hotel room for a few days. That's when my dad took them all down and threw in a box. My parents still have one of those knives they use in the camper.

[@matthewhaine1322]

I hope they continue to operate in US and do well. They were a good company.

[@isaacs_knives_and_knowledge]

Blue Ridge has owned Ontario for 18 months. Hasn't done anything. Colonial Knife Corp out of Rhode Island is making some of the fixed blade designs like the pilot survival knife. M3, and machete

[@JuaneDosesII-wj6dd]

Thanks great job!

[@franbrinda]

Ontario knife co. Was started in my hometown of Naples N.Y, in like 1886.

[@GolfRemoEchoGolf2]

I bought a few Rat #1 flolders with the carbon fiber scales last year when they closed or was bought out ( what ever happened ) the Air crew knife ,

[@marksanders8028]

Thank you for the information. Can you tell me if and when they changed the Old Hickory kitchen knives to 1075 from 1095? Was it when they changed the scales form hickory to walnut?

[@davem4193]

The change from 1095 to 1075 was fairly recent, within the last 10 years I believe.

[@marksanders8028]

Thank you very much.

[@davem4193]

@@marksanders8028 you're welcome. I have some of the newer production 1075 Old Hickory butcher knives and they perform beautifully. I also have some antique Old Hickory that are 1095.

[@marksanders8028]

Can you tell me, did they make the switch to 1075 at the same time they switched form hickory handles to walnut?

[@davem4193]

@marksanders8028 I don't think it was at the same time. I think the walnut handles have been around longer than the 1075.

[@beaurex4756]

It is sad to have lived through and witnessed the collapse of American manufacturing. The $15 Benchmade 290 clone of the $300 'real' version I got from Aliexpress is beyond my wildest expectations in every respect of quality, fit and finish. The blade is probably 440C, but the grind is nice and even and it's razor-sharp. How is it the Chinese can make this and SHIP if for 1/20 of the Benchmade price?

[@dongkhamet1351]

Benchmade are renowned for being pricey. Some other real considerations are that it is much more expensive to design, test and develop a modern knife design than to simply plagiarize said design. So not only are Chinese labour costs a fraction of the US equivalent, but they saved on all that design investment. Of course they also have options in terms of materials that are close in terms of quality but far more economical eg blade steel. With modern CNC and industrial practices, excellent fit and finish can be obtained and 440C can be an excellent steel in my experience. Possibly some Chinese products are being sold at or below cost in the USA as part of a greater strategy to cripple and dismantle what remains of US industry. There I speculate.

[@maxpinson5002]

Back in early June 2024 I sent an email to Benchmade customer service about one of the Benchmade knives I've had for years. Other than an initial computer generated message that acknowledged my email I've yet to hear a peep from anybody at the company. I was getting frequent advertisements clogging up my mail inbox, but that's it. Just me- I don't need their overpriced crap. I can easily dress animals with some of the knives I paid $30 for back in the 80's, or the Old Hickory I bought at an estate sale for $5 taped in a bundle with 4 other knives. I guess you could say it was a dollar for it. Sharp as a razor

[@Gerald-do9yg]

​@@dongkhamet1351 That seems like some rather spot-on "speculating"! So many of the old-line cutlery firms have been forced out, firearms, tools, automobiles, so many products are made off-shore! Hopefully, the new fair-trade and tariff measures will stimulate domestic manufacture! Blsgs, gg 🙏🙏✝️✝️❤️❤️🇺🇸🇺🇸🙋☝️☝️☝️

[@mikeD1234]

@@Gerald-do9ygno shot. It doesn’t even make sense from an economic or business standpoint. Trump is the embodiment of the Dunning-Kruger effect and he’ll never try to learn new things or admit fault so he’ll just bulldoze ahead with bad ideas.

[@beaurex4756]

@Gerald-do9yg When you say "forced out," do you mean 'couldn't compete'?

[@xusmico187]

what is the source for the USMC OKC3S? the sheath is crap. no seperate NSN so when the thing cracked blade and sheath has to be pulled...

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

I'm not at all familiar with that one or the M9 Army Bayonet. The price for either of them is way more than I'm willing to spend. I have heard they were bad. I bought the ASEK used. And even then I was looking for ever before I could find one at a price I was willing to pay.

[@kenibnanak5554]

I would like to hear more about the military knives on the belt on the wall. Which ones are they? I suspect one is an M-1 bayonet, but what are the others?

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

The bulk of them are Bayonets...Two M1 Bayonets, M4-7 Bayonets, a few other ,military fighting knives. I will try and do a video on the knives in upcoming video. I'll make sure to mention which ones were used in what war. And which are more correctly considered "reproductions"

[@kenibnanak5554]

@@KnifeChatswithTobias I noticed the M1 and the apparent lack of a Cattaraugus 225Q. :) I was pretty sure there was probably an M3 or M4 up there, but can't really tell which of course. No Navy Mk II?

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

@@kenibnanak5554 , I'm still on the hunt for a reasonably priced Q225. I do have several other WWII knives but not on the wall. A couple different knives knives used by the Army Air Force Crews and Mk1 USN knife but no Quartermaster knife.

[@kenibnanak5554]

@@KnifeChatswithTobias Don't forget the PX KBar raft knife used by Tarzan. :)

[@SuperRtrtrtr]

Ontario Knives are good. I own dozens of them. All of my U.S made ones were very dull yet all of my Taiwanese ones were razor blades. I'm not shedding any tears.

[@escapetherace1943]

OKC is trash, the only blade they didn't make out of absolutely bottom barrel carbon steels are the rat knives, and I've never liked the ugly aesthetic of those. OKC knives are a "better than nothing" company.

[@SuperRtrtrtr]

@@escapetherace1943 I love my rat folders and my Purdue folders. As for the fixed blades, only one broke but clearly you're extremely dissatisfied. Knife collecting from most companies are hit and miss sometimes. I hear you.

[@escapetherace1943]

@ oh their blades are alright, and alright is all you need. My favorite thing they made was the sp-8 machete

[@lewjac3]

I purchased many knives from them directly about 20 years, love the high carbon steel, sorry to see them go.

[@KnifeDetector]

Oh know!!! Ontario makes great knives.

[@citizenVader]

My first knife was the pilots' survival knife you started to show us. It was a 67 edition from an MP guard my father knew here in Denmark, but I sadly lost it. Now, many years later, I managed to get hold of two new ones, and I aim to give one of them to my son, so it is a sort of tradition I have begun. He just needs to be of legal age before he can use it.

[@richardmcginnis5344]

i have an old pilot survival knife from ontario and a newer spec plus sp3-93 it looks just like the m-5 bayonet without the pin

[@MarlinWilliams-ts5ul]

I remember when Collins Company shut down. My grandfather worked there many years.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

That was before I became an avid Knife Collector. The Collins #18 is legendary! Not to mention so many other knives and tools they made.

[@LegionTacticoolCutlery]

Great info thank you!

[@Thereal111t]

Yeah, I had heard that they’re gonna set up someplace down south and move some production there. I remember thinking it was a neat idea actually for the old Hickory knives to be made into outdoor knives, especially since the butcher knife in particular was being used by bush crafters and woodcrafters Some of them even being modified to have a shorter blade and having their handles replaced, I remember thinking it was neat that they were keeping with that trend. Yeah we’ve got a bunch of knife companies around here. We had Franklinville, but with Ontario closing you got Ka-bar Cutco in Olean, which is about a half an hour south of Franklinville and then about another half an hour south and west is Bradford Pennsylvania, where we have case/zippo.

[@CSGraves]

I was down for some OKC history, but wasn't expecting your visitor! I hit like right around the 3:00 mark Half of my knife block is full of Old Hickory knives, & I recently put some brass aftermarket scales on a Rat 2 that I reground to be super keen.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

She's a sweet kitty. I like the Old Hickory knives and have several but I'm also a sucker for older knives made by Chicago Cutlery. The Rat 2 is a great knife. From what I read, the production of Ontario Rat knives out of Taiwan is not suppose to be affected with the sale of the company.

[@wbwills2]

Watched some of your stuff before. Like & subscribed today. You have it bad with the blades & stuff. You have forgotten more info about them than I have ever known or will know. Know a little about old Ontario though .old army machete was my favorite. Sharpened it down to almost a fat belt size knife.let a friend borrow it and away it went. Long dull story. Will spare you. Takem easy. Thanks.

[@alexishatjialexiou7509]

Great video! It's good to spread and appreciate the history of these old knife companies.👍🏻

[@guycalgary7800]

SP3-94 ontario is one that i just picked up one day at a army surplus store , i never see them around.

[@The_Watchful_Eyes]

New York State is not a hospitable state for business especially if you are manufacturing firearms and knives.

[@STARFLEETC0MMAND]

Hope The SP8 Mini Machete Comes Back. Thanks For The Update. ✌️🖖

[@jayztoob]

I really hope OKC knives will come back. I grew up with carbon steel knives, and that's what I use and carry daily. Expensive Stainless Steel just doesn't hold an edge like a cheap carbon steel knife.

[@bigjim55able]

Thanks for clearing up several questions I had. I was out of the knife loop for a while and wondered what happened. Didn't SMKW buy Queen?

[@kenibnanak5554]

I have known about a dozen women who kept paring knives in their pocket book or purse as laws in that place did not provide easy access to small pistols. If they said they carried it for self defense, then they carried a concealed weapon and could be arrested and charged, but if they said, for cutting string or opening packages, then the carry was legal. If later used as a deadly instrument, oh well one does what one must. I don't recall if any of them were 'Old Hickory' brand.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

The first knife I carried as a kid was either some kind of small kitchen knife, either a paring knife or steak knife. I didn't have a pocket knife so it was kitchen knife when we went exploring in the woods or fishing. The sheath was always folded cardboard and electrical tape. I wasn't the only kid carrying a kitchen knife when "exploring"

[@BladesRKing]

Nice chat! I live in CNY close to many of the has been knife makers. I think Utica still makes knives but not sure if made in America anymore.

[@jthunder57]

I've been fortunate to pick up seven Ontario Knife Co. knives (no dups :) ). I like 'them a lot. Joe

[@jthunder57]

Mine are all pocket knives except for a Bird & Trout knife and a pairing knife. Joe

[@markmosher7720]

Most of the products are made in China or Taiwan. I worked there breafly in 2022 and there was only about 50 people including management and office personnel. They never had enough inventory to ship to customers. The previous owners didn't have a clue of how to run that type of company plus they only paid minimum wage.

[@patricegarnierlobo25111967]

many of my favorites knives they comes to ontario knives company !!!!

[@rnkmode1876]

I'm so glad i got my SP1, SP6, and SP10 Before the buyout.

[@ericstarr9399]

Aww kitty visitor! Great video with good information!

[@1joshjosh1]

I am happy I bought 3 of them

[@e.s.1920]

I really enjoy this channel

[@StevanOutdoor]

I have a few of the older models Ontario and do like them. Mostly the SP models and I'm sure they are 1095 steel. I used the SP 1 and SP 5 on many trips but that's some 25 years ago.

[@greghagos]

just saying howdy from north of Buffalo, NY! Up here we know all about Ontario & Old Hickory very well and how Franklinville is now destitute. There was hardly any work down in the southtowns to begin with, but I got 1 question for you Mr Tobias, with Cutco Kabar asking $1000 for a set of kitchen knives despite being guaranteed and no questions asked do you think they can hang on as well? I mean 1 G is alot! Keep up your fine work!

[@ron1836]

Franklinville just had a GIANT cheese plant built there. Cuba cheese moved from Cuba to franklinville and just completed the plant a few months ago. Place is massive.

[@greghagos]

Glad to hear it! Friends of mine in Wellsville & Bolivar had to commute to just short of Rochester to make a living ,compared to the Buffalo area not that much happenin' down that way, Allegany County is the poorest in all of NYS, Chautauqua Co may not be far behind...

[@ron1836]

@greghagos yeah we don't have too much going on here. But that means also that you don't need much money to make it. I make around 900 a week and I have more than I need. Course I don't have kids either. I actually work in allegany county. But live in cattaraugus.

[@greghagos]

Having a dog house wood burner & cuttin' wood is probably in the mix as well, I luv it for the shack fer fishing & huntin' near Steamburg but not all winter, It bothers my shoulder but I'm sorry to see PA go down the tube, they even shop in NY for alot of things...gas was more there in the Rusell/ Scandia area than Salamanca...milk was waay more in PA...I dont know if thats changed as I haven't gone to PA since I visited Zippo/ Case...I hate to think that Case & Cutco are going to be forced the way Ontario went!!!

[@BeardedVirginian]

Blue Ridge told me they are moving it to VA and will manufacture them there but are still working it all out

[@mikeboyce21]

Im fairly certain that they changed over to using 1075 steel around 2018.

[@stevehanner824]

Well sure hope they stick around!

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

Im sorry but you are simply wrong about 1095 and 1075 steels. This is common incorrect talk in the knife "community" that these numbers are so so important for our knives.. and not the hardness, heat treaf and tempering and blade geometry... For a knife both 1095 &1075 are excellent. Nobody ever made a machete from 1095 in this world.. in a factory at least ..It is a tool steel used in high quality files, shop tooling and chisels. For a machete 1040, 1055 etc are the steels that were always used. These are just what you need for a machete. For a hunting knife, bayonet, utility knife or butchers knife 1055 is just fine. As they will dull from other reasons before they lise edge due to friction. We obcess over steel when we dont understand it. If i was making wood working tools id use 1095, if i was making knives for cutting leather... 1095... If i was making blades for processing food i would use 440c .. if i was making kitchen knives 420m. A kabar type knife doesn't need to be 65 Rockwell.. it needs to be about 54-56 rockwell .. a machete needs to be 48-51 rockwell . A billhook 56-58.. .. i would use a high carbon steel on an adze 1095.. Or for a quality large axe id use 1095 . Fir a meat cleaver no need.. more like 420m .. Hard longlasting blades need protection from edge damade so yoh use them in things that are used carefully. Plane blades, wood carving tools, leather knives. Multibladed pocket knives need to avoid snappjng and chipping and be rust resistant .. 420m. A knife used for horses hooves.. probably 1095.. it must be very hard and last a long time. .. we seem to always demand the most expensive steel but then neglected the heag treatment and hardenjng and edge geometry and actuial use of the knife

[@HardtoHandelBestofHandel]

Comment of the decade! Thank you

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

@@HardtoHandelBestofHandel thanks . Yes I worked in the knife industry on and off for much of my life. The trickery by manufacturers about steel and the lack of practical knowledge from the consumers is the issue. In the pastor 70 years ago manufacturers would use one or two steels but would perfect the hardness and hardening. As hand grinding and forged blades were replaced by stamped machine ground blades edge geometry became worse and worse. As it's easier to grind on a machine and then satin finish and put a rather obtuse edges.. where as old blades were drop forged with the bevel of the grind on the blade then ground slightly convex and the edge finely glazed on on what is called a glazing wheel . A soft but abrasive leather or wool loaded grinding wheel (they can even be made of paper) A company might have used 2 grades of steel . One cheaper grade and one more expensive. Something like 1095 and 1055 .. the tools with lower tempers that were more likely to be used in a varied environment would use the cheaper steel.. the specialist tools the higher grade at a much higher hardness.but these two steels would be perfected by the staff in the company. Even when stainless steels became dominant they would usually only use 2 grades at most. One higher grade and one lover but both of a good quality. The 0.3% carbon junk stainless came in cutlery use later in the 60s and 70s with the Japanese, before that most stainless steel knives used good steel. For example most forged english table knives from stainless steel from the 1950s have 0.5% carbon in them and 18% chromium. Great quality they are typically 57-58 Rockwell. Far better than most knives today to be honest, they used quenching jigs for everything and right after quenching they would go straight into a linseed oil tempering bath to soak to ensure the grain structure was good before the final temper.. quench and immediately into the linseed heated bath. Additionally people understood .. back in the 30-40s that stainless benifits far far more form forging that carbon steel actually does. It's why our stamped stainless knives break much more easily than carbon blades. But if you drop forged 440c as it was designed to be done it can hold its own very well with carbon steel. Stainless steels are drop forging steels. They don't like being stamped and grind after hardening.. but you drop forged them and they develop a good structure. In modern knife making many of these things are lost.. I see people grinding on belt grinders without coolant.. people quenching without a press or jig to press the blades 😑.. also knife makers and even factories cold straightening blades or hammering them.. temper.. straighten hot. Always grind wet .. These factories now offer 10 or 15 steel grades .. steel from multiple manufacturers... Each steel is very different some not really made for knives at all. Then they fail at hardening any of the steel they have.. spiderco, Gerber, benchmade etc... so on. But also these Japanese companies are a total mess you can take 5 knives from the same steel from different batches and they are wildly different in hardness or grain structure. This is not how you make a knife. Victorinox is a good example they use one or two steels. But change the hardness depending the use. Cheap steel. The pocket knives are soft and dull quickly but are very hard to snap or chip.. they are not for carving a house out of.. they are pocket knives with thin blades that even when dull will push through your potato or sandwich or stick when camping, their butcher knives are as hard as their pocket knives . With the same steel for their paring knife they just make it softer to make it less likely to break.. while their wooden handled knives are intentionally harder because these are more likely to be used with more care. If you've got a Rockwell tester you can see the difference for each type.. that's the correct way to do it. The stainless .55% carbon steel they use is good for general use. They vary the hardness only within the optimal range as especially stainless steel has a small window where it's both ductile and hard and outside of that it's soft and breaks and bends (soft stainless springs are very mushy because of this) easily or far to brittle. If you have a knife factory stick to 1-3 types of steel.. a basic good stainless, a very hard stainless and a high carbon low alloy steel for impact resistant blades like axes, machetes and the like

[@davem4193]

Thank you, I have 1075 butcher knives that perform beautifully. It's amazing how many people just repeat "1075 bad, 1095 good" without knowing anything about steel.

[@tobiasfreitag2182]

I have very little idea of the different steels that are out there, but I found that most of my favorite knives are made of steels that are looked down at as infirior.... My favorite fixed blades are all made of 420 and 1075.... My favorite kitchen knives are made of 1075.... My favorite folders are made of 440 ..... They all do their job perfectly well, keep an edge and are easy to get back to an razors edge

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

@@davem4193 yes 1075 is a great steel.. on a butchers knife at about 55-56 Rockwell it cuts smoothly on the butcher steel and sharpens easily, it's a great steel and at a lower Rockwell like that it holds the edge well and long

[@uweyaa]

I have a SPECPLUS MARINE from 1995,it works very good. Sad this factury is closed!

[@tennesseesmoky9012]

I still have my first hunting knife… an Old Hickory Paring Knife bought at a flea market for $1.00

[@georgesakellaropoulos8162]

As long as they keep making that 22" machete. Best machete I've ever used.

[@juanfransisco6231]

I’ve got a handful of them and their newer nylon sheaths are garbage and have kept me from buying more. I went with cold steel for the kydex

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

I'm probably one of the few people who don't mind Nylon sheaths - at least when they are made well. But yeah, quite a few of the Newer Ontarios have some poorly made nylon. As for Kydex, I prefer it over many of the other plastics. But for me, when it comes to Kydex, it depends on the knife and how want to carry it. I do wish ESEE would switch to Kydex.

[@rockets4kids]

8:50 Historically most American manufacturers were using Sharon's 1095CV which is shockingly better than the 1095 available today. And there is simply no point in using 1095 when you are treating to 58 HRC or less. 1095 is considerably more difficult to get a good heat treat from than 1075-1084, and you are much more likely to get a better knife from these eutectic steels than 1095. The only reason knife makers use 1095 in these survival knives is because it sells knives to people who don't know any better.

[@davem4193]

Thank you, so many people don't understand that. They think 1095 is some mystical steel. I have a bunch of 1075 knives that perform better than my 1095 knives.

[@WilliamsKnifeLife]

Shadow would like to meet your guest😻 🐈‍⬛🐾.

[@OmegaMan999]

Brother I cannot get my hands on anything OKC right now. Ebay here I come

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

Check out Chicago Knife Works. They have a sale going on and there are several Ontario Knives and Old Hickory Knives that are still available

[@FlightDek]

Good Afternoon Tobias. I finally made it over to your website "A pocket guide to knives", Allot of good information. I will be spending allot of time reading your work. I was wondering if you would be willing to do a Video Review/Showcase and discussion of the "Rail Splitter" Knife Pattern and it's History? Thank you for your consideration.

[@haroldellis9721]

Wait, wait, what???!!!

[@TSimo113]

I bought an M3 Trench Knife from Ontario a couple of years ago. Dull out of the box. the blade had a curve to it, the point was not ground correctly, and the stacked leather handle was not finished to spec so I could not buckle the holding strap on my authentic reproduction leather sheath. I should have looked at it before buying but it was new in the box and I trusted their name and reputation. I bought it at a show so it was not returnable. I ended up getting another knife made in china, which killed me, but at least it was historically correct in it's fit and finish.

[@CanadaFree-ce9jn]

I trust my USA Camillis Beckers, however whenever I held an Ontario I felt the quality was almost "Chinese" meaning, sure it looks like a knife, but the steel is poor. I do like the RAT I's out of Taiwan, I also have a RAT 6 but I am not sure of what vintage it is; still I'd trust an ESEE more as far as blade quality.

[@jamesk9321]

The union forced Camillus out of business. Shame that OKC is gone too.

[@ron1836]

I live in Olean. Where ka-bar and cutco is. Franklinville is only 25 minutes away. I used to go to this town dpring festival every year and buy seconds from ontario for $5 a knife! I have crap loads. Bradford pa is only about 20 minutes away as well. Where zippo/case is. And titusville pa where queen and great eastern were made is about 1:45 mins away. Not sure why this area was so big with knife making. Used to also have cattaraugus cutlery near by in little valley ny too... I knew some people who worked for ontario. Said they hated it. Bad place to work i guess.

[@maxpinson5002]

I've heard/read several times about Blueridge supposedly gearing up to start making and producing the OKC knives since it was bought, but I haven't seen anything. Same thing with Thompson/Center. Pie in the sky by and by In the sky Lord in the sky

[@davem4193]

Thompson Center actually has a couple of their production lines going now. They're in my home state of NH. I believe the Encore is getting released first in a couple months.

[@MarkHansen1990]

They should rebrand as Montana Knife Company

[@JimmynVegas]

I a;so purchased the M3 fighting knife.About 3 years ago. It was/is terrible. Looking at the face of the blade it’s leaning to the left. Emailed customer support. No joy