Ontario Knife Company 8180 498 Marine Combat Knife (Black), Steel

The OKC 498 is basically a terrific reproduction of the first generation of the Marine Corps "1219C; knife, fighting, utility." Using the same materials as those WW2 knives, and the same specs, Ontario has recreated that knife at a price that's honestly a steal. For those "Ka-Bar" myth followers, Ka-Bar did not make the first ones... of course, neither did Ontario - the first fighting knives were simply hunting knives; Western's L77, specifically. The War Dept. basically copied Western's design (with some changes) to create the knife before us. The most prominent contractor for these knives in WW2 was actually Camillus. But, back to this knife. The model 498 is reminiscent of some of the 1219s going into the Pacific: painted, stacked leather handle, black sheath, sharpened swedge. It is definitely modeled after the earlier Camillus versions with the straight cross-guard - which I prefer -(verses the reverse-curve ones of Ka-Bar.) Case also makes a first gen Marine knife, but has "USMC" emblazoned on the natural color sheath... the originals did not. The 1219 knives were produced for the Marines, Navy, AND Army - it's just that the Marines continued to use them (even when I served.) The fit and finish of this knife is superb; the shoulder squares up perfectly to the cross-guard (unlike most Ka-Bars I've owned). But, as is expected for a military knife, the 498 is not pretty, but very functional. The edge of this knife could use some dressing, but 1095 steel is easy to sharpen, and holds an edge well. The price was so good, that I purchased two - one for me, one as a gift. Couple the price with OKC's lifetime warranty, and you can't lose.

Exact same knife I was issued in the Marine Corps. If you want a knife that will last through anything, this is it. However, these knifes are NOT designed for prying, they are brittle by MIL-SPEC DESIGN. They are a true combat knife and as such, you WILL break the tip or edge if you use them inappropriately such as trying to use it as a wood chisel with a hammer. I would recommend a Kydex sheath for Molle gear, but you can get by with the one provided. This is a no frills, ugly duck; so ugly she's beautiful. That said, if you are into bling such as gold chains around your neck, 24" gold plated rims on your Monte Carlo, pass it up. If you want form to fit function, this is it. This knife can and should be sharpened if you want to 'slice cut' with it. I would caution you on trying to put too much of an edge on it because it is made of Parkerized (brittle) high carbon steel, FOR COMBAT REASONS. A thin edge can easily chip the edge if you get too energetic while chopping something or using it to pry something open, and you WILL EVENTUALLY BREAK IT. IT IS A COMBAT KNIFE. PERIOD. It is designed to do that exact thing! If you want to chop wood, use an axe. If you want to pry nails or car doors, use a nail puller. Use it for those other things and that's outside the scope of what it was designed for. Those of us trained in combat knife tactics and use- know the phrase "thrust, twist, break it off." That not only applies here- but also to rifle bayonet training. Skippy, you simply can't 'break it off' when the knife gets stuck in your enemy combatant's rig cage if the steel isn't brittle enough to break from a nice upward or downward prying action. THAT is part of the Mil-Spec of this knife- and all bayonets after WW2. Want proof? Look at the steel on a WW1 bayonet and one from Vietnam. Very different. What this knife is: IT IS SIMPLE, COST EFFECTIVE, NO CHROME, NO GADGETS, NO FRILLS, durable, hard as nails, can be sharpened (if you are smart enough to know how), serious military combat knife. What it is NOT: a Deer Skinner, a fishing fillet knife, a paper cutter (still scratching my head on that one), a car window smashing tool, a hammer, a screwdriver, it's not tacti-cool (Oh gosh, what what will we do?), doesn't come with a Kydex doo-dad sheath, a compass, gps, a saw back, knitting needles, doesn't take batteries, you can't plug it in, you can't text from it, and it won't make you cool, good looking or attract women, men, animals or robots. It is not ready to cut paper right out of the box, pluck gnats off your dog's hairy globes, shave your girlfriends back, or provide the secret squirrel password to your video games. There. That pretty much covers it. Buy one, if you don't like it, sell it on EBay, Amazon, Craigslist, whatever. It won't be the first time your threw away money at something you didn't like. Won't be the last either.

The knife has a 7" blade with a 5" handle. The handle is a painted stacked leather handle with a pinned pommel while the blade is .165" thick and is made out of 1095 carbon steel with a zinc phosphate finish. The 498 has a rat-tail tang and comes with a black leather sheath. It is an ugly knife but because it is ugly, you won't be afraid to use it. that's the reason I got it. I have used the knife as a pry-bar, can opener, and as a hammer. After a couple of months, the knife has held up well. The 498 is easy to sharpen and has a decent edge retention. The only problem I had with the knife is when I bent the guard while using it but I was able to bend it back with pliers. the guard is a bit easy to bend so be careful not to hit it. The finish is starting to wear off but it held up surprisingly well. Overall, it is a VERY good high quality knife. Oh and it's made by the Ontario Knife Company right here in the USA.

This is not a pretty knife, its big ugly and mean. There are other reviews that list all of its specifications so I'm just going to say that this knife is fantastic for the price, it is an extremely utilitarian design there is nothing flashy about it. It makes an excellent bush knife you can do anything from chopping down small trees to field dressing a deer with it. You may want to do some work on the edge if you have the knowlege to do so but its fairly sharp out of the box and you can get it deadly sharp with a basic sharpener. The sheath is high quality, which is hard to find with a knife in this price range. Its just a sturdy, well built knife that's meant to be used and abused. You can spend twice as much money on a knife that looks prettier but you really can't get anything more rugged and reliable, its like the AK-47 of combat knives.

Ok knife, but not as refined as the Ka-Bar brand of the same model MK-II fighting knife. Was fine when it was much cheaper. Now that they are similarly priced it is no longer a value. Still an ok made in the USA knife

Doesnt come sharp, but its been thrown, used for chopping and splitting logs it has earned my respect. Tough knife, keeps an edge fairly well. Its my go to camping knife and does what ever i need it to do

Another great knife from Ontario, these people know how to make a knife, beautifully balanced and lays in your hand perfectly. Holds a good edge, surprisingly light for the size and for whatever reason simply feels good in your hand, buy one!

A fantastic knife! It's my favorite camp knife!

not quite as sharp as i thought, but is strong and has been used many times in the forest, still my goto knife for most tasks

my favorite outdoor survival knife.