Ontario Knife Company 8684 SP10 Spec Plus Marine Raider, Fixed 9.75" Blade, Kraton Handle,Black

Got this a few years ago, needles to say...I've ran it through some field task. In comparison between this and my Ka Bar pancake, you can immediately tell the Ontario is thick....like...thicker than most bowie type blades. The fact that it is tool grade steel makes this a chore to sharpen. But we'll worth the effort. I've done basic bushcraft task to batoning and meat processing. It's heavy and the heft helps it drive through whatever you want it to drive through. The case ain't bad either. This is a long and heavy blade. If you are a person who's focus is on size and weight, this isn't for you.

I own several of the SPEC Plus knives from Ontario. They're some of the most durable, heavy-use knives you'll ever find. This model has become my favorite. Honestly, I was expecting it to be far more unbalanced and goofy because of its size, but I was absolutely shocked at how functional it is. I've used it on three separate camping trips (one in the Mojave desert and two in the south eastern Sierra's) and it made short work of all the tasks I laid out for it.Batoning wood was very easy given the size, shape and weight of the blade. I tested it on some pine and some aged eucalyptus. The Kraton handle that Ontario uses on their SPEC Plus knives is always comfortable and this handle is no different. I couldn't feel any hot spots and I definitely didn't develop any blisters. Plan on smashing through a few different batons because the tip of this monster is no joke and the more you baton, the more it eats your baton.To test its more "Cultured" side, I used it to slice open several soft sandwich rolls and then used it to cut our peppers and onions for the breakfast pan.I never once worried about the tip breaking for any reason. Realize, this knife is thicker at the tip than most knives are at the spine. You would have to put it through some serious abuse to break the tip (or any portion) of this knife. But why would you abuse a tool you spent good money on? The blade steel is 1075 if I'm not mistaken. It's strong carbon steel with some spring steel characteristics that make it more than suitable for hard use. Also, 1075 is easy to sharpen and takes an edge more than suitable for camp / outdoors use.But I know all you fancy "Bushcrafters" have one question... DUUUURRRRRR do it make da feather sticks DUUURRR?? I've been camping and backpacking all my life, and I'd never heard of a feather stick until I watched some youtube video a few years ago. So, let me be clear, YES, this big scary knife will spit out some top shelf wood shavings, if you're not too scared to wield it.Oh, and if you're worried about the size and weight because you're one of those nimble little "grams make ounces and ounces make pounds" guys, you should just pull on your capris pants and strap on your bear bells so you can skip across the pacific crest trail, because this knife is not for you. And, realistically, the sight of this knife will just scare the other hippies and from what I understand, they hate to run...I've included a picture of it next to a Mora Companion and a Buck Vantage pro for scale.

I am a knife maker. A lazy knife maker who still buys a knife here and there, but a knife maker nonetheless. This Bowie seems to be pretty decent. Obviously it trades the more traditional western bowie stylings for a cool and functional USMC Raider style. The blade is, I believe, 1/4” thick at the shoulder, with a rather chunky distal taper down to the tip. The belly drops right where you want it to when swinging it, and the clipped point it just right; not to thin, not too chunky and not too swept. The guard is a no nonsense 1/4” steel bruiser that works just great for this knife. The handle, and this is my only real critique of this knife, is of solid construction and has a good shape, but is about 1” too long. And, in case you’re wondering, I have a fairly large hand. I should mention also that the blade is 1095 HC Steel, tempered to about a 55 rockwell hardness. (give or take(?)) This is good. This means that this blade is probably better than anything you currently own, unless you’re a learned knife guy or gal.I have taken this thing out to the lease with me. I have skinned an animal with it. (It’s size made that difficult) I have hacked through bone with it. I have hacked up brush and tree limbs. I have sustained absolutely zero glinting, rolling, cracking or chipping on the blade edge.I would like to mention that I’ve seen a lot of commenting saying that this knife didn’t arrive sharpened and I want to point out that mine came out of the box and was able to shave hair off my arm. (the only sharpness test that matters) That being said, I was quite surprised when it did this, as the blade is QUITE THICC and it didn’t FEEL sharp enough to shave. I was wrong; as I suspect so were the people who commented saying that it wasn’t sharp.

If you're looking for a good large camp knife, you could do a lot worse. It's a usable tool more than a show piece, but that's what you should expect in the $40 range. I just can't believe an American made knife retails for so little. For the money, I think you're getting a great knife with this one. Decent steel, a comfortable, well-made handle, and a practical, durable sheath, coupled with a pretty good fit and finish make this almost a no-brainer. I haven't hammered on mine much yet, just a little light wood chopping for the back yard fire pit, but this is a great chunk of shaped steel. I have XL/XXL hands, so the handle feels nice and natural to me, but it might be awkward for smaller handed folks. All in all, I've had some larger camp knives/Bowie style knives before that were around the same price and were absolute garbage in usage.Keep in mind that the steel is not stainless, so it will need to be maintained and might not be good to just throw in a go-bag/car trunk/tackle box and left. But if you're looking for a very large, hard-use work knife that you won't worry too much about destroying, then this is exactly the ticket. Mine came pretty sharp out of the box with no visual or structural defects, and even if it had, Ontario Knife Company has a good reputation for fixing/replacing their knives, so you don't have any risk involved.Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase.