Ontario Knife Company 8689 Gen Ii SP53 Survival Knife, 9.436" Saber Ground Blade, Kraton Handle, Black

A knife like this is a substitute for a hatchet that can do a few other jobs in a pinch, and it works for that. It chops as well as a normal hatchet, and can be used to strip wood, pry things, or even hammer in tent stakes if you have nothing better. If you need one multi-purpose camp tool, this is a strong contender, depending on your exact needs.The thick blade and the tip design make it very sturdy, and the bolo-style blade gives it a lot of chopping power. It's heavier than a backpacking hatchet with the same chopping power would be, but not much. It's significantly heavier than one of the ultra-light hatchets, but those can't compete in chopping power, much less versatility.The blade isn't very sharp out of the box, about hatchet-sharp, which makes sense for this tool. If you need it knife-sharp, you'll have to sharpen it, but if you can't sharpen a knife, you probably shouldn't own this one.The sheath is longer than it needs to be, but I don't understand the reviews about this knife being hard to draw. There are two straps to hold the knife in, which is one more than necessary, but it's virtually zero effort to cut the strap you don't like off. Any knife or scissors will do the job.Grips are always subjective, but I love this one. It fills the hand and gives good grip wet or dry while absorbing a bit of the shock of chopping. It's better than a wood or plastic hatchet handle, but not as good as a rubber one, like those on some Estwing hatchets.Overall, it does what a bolo knife should do at a decent price. If you need a hatchet, you can get a great one for less than this costs, but if you need a bolo knife, this one's great.

I discovered this product while viewing David Pearson's YouTube channel ("Reallybigmonkey1"). He is a very experienced woodsman who owns and has reviewed many large knives and machetes. Pearson has stated on several occasions that the Ontario Knife Company SP-53 is his all-time favorite machete. Based on my experiences with this OKC SP-53, he is probably right.The SP-53 is made in America and has a lifetime warranty. It is a well-built, extremely sturdy, full-tang, bolo-style, machete-knife. The knife weighs 1 pound, 4.5 ounces. The empty sheath weighs 6 ounces. The knife and sheath together weigh 1 pound, 10.5 ounces (26.5 ounces).The 5160 carbon steel blade is 1/4" thick, 10" long, 1-1/8" to 2-1/4" wide, and powder-coated to resist corrosion. It is saber-ground, wicked-sharp, weight-forward, and perfectly brutal. The segmented black Kraton handle features a palm swell which is quite comfortable for my XL-size hands, as well as a deep finger-guard to prevent forward slippage and a rear bolster with lanyard hole.The nylon sheath with a plastic insert has rear PALS webbing and two front blade-retention snaps. It came with two top and two bottom 1/8" metal eyelets as well as a 19" black nylon cord. This sheath is nothing special, but it holds the blade securely and that is what really matters.I tested the SP-53 while camping and it performed extremely well. No handle hot-spots, rolled edges, or chips after days of use and it remained surprisingly sharp. Using this tool with a baton to split sawn timber up to 6" diameter presented no problem whatsoever and this method is both safer and less tiring than using an ax. My OKC SP-53 now has a permanent spot in my camping kit. It combines with a Silky Gomboy folding saw and a 1095 Mora Garberg fixed blade knife to meet *all* of my wood processing needs when camping in the Shenandoah.

Well tempered, well ground, robust, reliable. Made in America, and made well. Made in America is meaningless of course if the shop floor is incompetent. Happily the folks on the Ontario shop floor(s) know exactly what they are doing and they do it expertly. No, I cannot say that about any other reasonably priced Made in America knife manufacturers. I wish that were not the case but it is.You don't have to re-profile this knife. Just go use it. I like that a lot.I use this blade primarily when limbing conifers (removing ladder stock, which is drooping branches that encourage flame to leave the ground and get into the trees). One swat and any small branch on the ladder stock is severed, ready for the chipper. I then chainsaw the main branch into fire wood and send the tips and the small stuff to the chipper.The steel does not roll, does not chip. The handle is outstanding. The balance is all forward, center of mass is right in the middle of the belly.It just doesn't get any better than the Ontario SP53. And bonus, it fits in the Kabar Cutlass Machete sheath, a dangler, which is ideal for quick tool access in the woods. Not saying the Ontario sheath is junk, because it isn't, I just prefer the Kabar sheath for my use.I also use this blade to split oversize woodstove fuel and to make kindling. It gets used a lot.So I gave the SP53 5 stars, yep, and I mean every one of 'em. Good job Ontario, once again.

I have grown to love this knife for breaking down kindling, it chops and splits well, and is about ideal for using with a baton.It is not as "lively" feeling in the hand as a machete, bowies, or its brother the SP5 as an example. If you want something faster and easier for extended use on light vegetation something like the sp5 with its full flat grind is probably more ideal. As a hatchet replacement the saber grind, 1/4" thickness and weight make this outstanding. I did not care for this knife while delimbing a bunch of small trees I'd cut. But it shines for use breaking down thicker branches for the fire.For the money you get a beast of a blade. Yes, the sheath sucks, yet it works. And yes, you will need to spend some time working on the factory edge in all likelihood. But the end result is a great tool.