Ontario Knife Co. SP8 Survival Machete Review

[Hydrocket]

I know many here have an interest in such things, so this is my review of the Ontario Knife Co. SP8 Survival Machete. I was looking for as close to a "do-it-all" knife as I could...one that would be at home being used around the yard, in my camping/hunting bag or in my emergency bag. I wanted multiple useability, durability, quality and cost effectiveness. Pretty tough to find in one knife..but overall this one comes close. The quick specs are: ~15" overall length with a 10" blade. The blade is made of 1095 carbon steel, and is full tanged. It has a "saw back" and a chisel edge in the front for scraping or prying. It has a Kraton grip and comes with Cordura and leather sheath.

And for the last 2 weeks, I put it to various uses. I was not kind to it and I didn't baby it. I put it to hard work right out of the box. Here are my thoughts:

The blade is impressively thick. .250" (6+ mm) to be exact. And rather hefty at about 1.5 pounds (.7 kg). But that heft allows it to chop through wood limbs with ease. Anything 2" diameter and under gets chopped easily. I did a 4" diameter sapling too. And while an ax would be better, it was nice to see this knife up to the task in a pinch. If feels similar in heft to a large meat cleaver and similarly, could be used to butcher game quite effectively and easily. The "saw back" could be pressed into service as an actual saw, but it would likely need to be better sharpened. As it was, it was great for scraping bark off to be used as fire tinder. It also works for notching wood, as was the case for some wooden tent pegs I made. It worked fine for hammering these into the ground too. I hammered in some metal tent pegs too. The ease at which the knife batons through logs is noteworthy. I continued to be impressed by this ability throughout my testing. No doubt the extra thick blade helps with this and logs are split impressively quick. I did up to 6" logs and the top of the knife showed no wear despite being batoned many, many times.

This chisel/pry end works well too. I tested it as a pry bar on some wood pallets and it worked well. I also tested it as a scraper on some cement where weeds were growing through the cracks. I also dug some small holes with it. The blade seemed no worse for wear despite this abuse. The blade itself was reasonably sharp out of the box, and I was hoping to dull it down so I could sharpen it on my Work Sharp sharpener. Despite heavy use and abuse after 2 weeks, the blade held its edge very, very well. This is a knife that could go a long while without sharpening. In the end I did sharpen it up just because I wanted to, not because it needed it.

The blade is alleged to be coated with epoxy powder coating, but it seemed like black oxide to me. And after 2 weeks, it had started to wear a bit in a few places. Again...this was 2 weeks of hard use. This obviously does not affect the way the knife works. The sheath is fine...nothing too fancy. It's articulating, which is appreciated. It seems to be built solidly. The only cheapness I see is with the cordage on it...they appear to be nothing more than shoe laces, albeit rather strong laces. I have some paracord I'll use to replace it when needed. The same laces are used on the knife. I wasn't particularly fond of the grooves in the knife handle, so I rolled some O-rings onto them. I much prefer this, and it's a cheap mod. I highly recommend this.

Overall, this is a very solidly built knife that should last a lifetime. It's a jack of all trades. It likely won't replace any specialist tools (and axe or a saw for example), but as a single knife solution, it sure can do lots. If you had to carry ONE knife in your bag, this would be one to consider. I bought it for $60 which I think is a very good price for such a robust piece of gear. It's made in the USA. I could do without it being called a "survival" machete though.

Here are some pics...didn't even bother cleaning the knife.

[Geronimo '74]

Cool knife. Dig the o-ring mod.

[gamin]

May have missed it in your description, what is the rod coming out of the end of the grip?

[Hydrocket]

Originally Posted by gamin

May have missed it in your description, what is the rod coming out of the end of the grip?

It's a type of shoe lace to be replaced with paracord. I think the pictures make it look like a rod?

Is that what you mean?