Ontario Knife Marine Raider Bowie
Jul 16, 2011 1:54:01 GMT
Post by Sébastien on Jul 16, 2011 1:54:01 GMT
Ontario Knife Marine Raider Bowie Knife Review
By
Sébastien Bilodeau, Montréal, Québec
'Bout time I do a damn review, I'm starting to see knives and swords dancing on the walls. Here goes, before I get shipped to the bladeholism treatment center again ...
Introduction
I took the plunge with this knife because of 3 things ;
1) I love bowie knives. I would've read Twilight if just one chapter included a bowie knife. Yeah, I like that blade type that much.
2)I love large knives. It's easier to chop through a Twilight book with one.
3) NutnFancy said he loved the knife. Since I have no clue about knife use, why not trust the opinion of a guy on the internet, especially one who has 140k youtube subscribers ...
Anyway, that's enough reasons to take the plunge. I bought this knife along with a few others, from yourcornerstore.com (these other knives have been already reviewed, thanks for asking). The other knives were shipped some time after I sent my order (they were on backorder when I ordered them). The Marine Raider wasn't sent, it stayed out of stock for a few months. It was sent about 90 days after my order was made, the day I gave yourcornerstore a call to inquire about my precious. It seemed like this last part of my order had almost gotten lost in limbo. Anyway, the knife quickly reached my doorstep and my grasping, happy hands. I paid about 50 dollars for this knife.
The knife felt great in hand. It is one big, mean, rugged chunk of steel.
Here are a few numbers (taken from www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store ... l?s=ONSP10 ) ;
Specifications
Blade Steel: 1095 Carbon Steel
Blade Length: 9.75"
Blade Thickness: 0.250"
Overall: 15.125"
Handle Material: Kraton
Blade Color: Black Powder Coat
Sheath Color: Leather Cordura
Country of Origin: USA
Fittings
Alright, I’ll be serious now, let’s go.
The blade is bowie-shape, with a clip-point and a moderately, consistently curved edge. The business end of the blade is large, larger than the beginnings of the edge, near the hilt. IMO, it gives the knife a mean look, like it is made to aggressively chop through things. The back of the blade is ¼’’ thick. The false-edge isn’t sharpened, but could be made sharp with some steel shaving and care. There is no distal taper, except for the unsharpened false edge. The edge is paper-tearing sharp. Not bad, but could be better.
The handle is made of black Kraton. It is fairly large, in my honest opinion. My M to L sized hand has a whole free inch of space when gripping it. Its ergonomics aren’t very elaborate, but it is comfortable and doesn’t hinder my dry handling of the blade. The pommel has a lanyard hole, which comes with a short, black shoe laces lanyard.
The sheath is a bit weird. It is made of leather and has a large opening near the back of the blade. It makes the drawing of the blade a bit easier, although this is not a tactical-style sheath. Don’t expect super-quick, efficient blade deployment. The sheath also comes with two snap-on for safety, and a lanyard knotted into the base of the sheath … I have no clue what this is for …
Handling
This knife feels quite strong in hand. At nearly one and a half pound, it is a fairly heavy piece of steel for its size IMO. If this knife is intended has a working/survival chopping knife, I don’t think this weight will be a problem. However, for knife-fighting*, this knife might feel a bit too top heavy. In all cases, this knife feels like it can be swung hard and strong.
*All I know about knife-fighting is a few months of Kali training that I’ve done some time ago. Take what I say about that with plenty of salt.
Conclusion
Pros
-Large, mean blade
-Beefy, comfortable handle
-Heavy blade, great for chopping
Cons
-Is it really practical as a survival or fighting knife ?
Overall, I am happy with this knife. It is a nice addition to my blade collection. On the other hand, I often ask myself many questions about this blade. It’s sheath obviously isn’t made for tactical situations and it feels a bit too top heavy to be a completely efficient tactical knife. As a survival knife, maybe it could be good, but why not get an axe or a kukri … ? Just saying what some say on knife forums ...
In the end, at the very least it is a cool knife to own for it's cool/wow factor. Besides, these sold out quite quickly and well when I tried to have my own.
Next review ; we will be leaving the world of production knives
By
Sébastien Bilodeau, Montréal, Québec
'Bout time I do a damn review, I'm starting to see knives and swords dancing on the walls. Here goes, before I get shipped to the bladeholism treatment center again ...
Introduction
I took the plunge with this knife because of 3 things ;
1) I love bowie knives. I would've read Twilight if just one chapter included a bowie knife. Yeah, I like that blade type that much.
2)I love large knives. It's easier to chop through a Twilight book with one.
3) NutnFancy said he loved the knife. Since I have no clue about knife use, why not trust the opinion of a guy on the internet, especially one who has 140k youtube subscribers ...
Anyway, that's enough reasons to take the plunge. I bought this knife along with a few others, from yourcornerstore.com (these other knives have been already reviewed, thanks for asking). The other knives were shipped some time after I sent my order (they were on backorder when I ordered them). The Marine Raider wasn't sent, it stayed out of stock for a few months. It was sent about 90 days after my order was made, the day I gave yourcornerstore a call to inquire about my precious. It seemed like this last part of my order had almost gotten lost in limbo. Anyway, the knife quickly reached my doorstep and my grasping, happy hands. I paid about 50 dollars for this knife.
The knife felt great in hand. It is one big, mean, rugged chunk of steel.
Here are a few numbers (taken from www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store ... l?s=ONSP10 ) ;
Specifications
Blade Steel: 1095 Carbon Steel
Blade Length: 9.75"
Blade Thickness: 0.250"
Overall: 15.125"
Handle Material: Kraton
Blade Color: Black Powder Coat
Sheath Color: Leather Cordura
Country of Origin: USA
Fittings
Alright, I’ll be serious now, let’s go.
The blade is bowie-shape, with a clip-point and a moderately, consistently curved edge. The business end of the blade is large, larger than the beginnings of the edge, near the hilt. IMO, it gives the knife a mean look, like it is made to aggressively chop through things. The back of the blade is ¼’’ thick. The false-edge isn’t sharpened, but could be made sharp with some steel shaving and care. There is no distal taper, except for the unsharpened false edge. The edge is paper-tearing sharp. Not bad, but could be better.
The handle is made of black Kraton. It is fairly large, in my honest opinion. My M to L sized hand has a whole free inch of space when gripping it. Its ergonomics aren’t very elaborate, but it is comfortable and doesn’t hinder my dry handling of the blade. The pommel has a lanyard hole, which comes with a short, black shoe laces lanyard.
The sheath is a bit weird. It is made of leather and has a large opening near the back of the blade. It makes the drawing of the blade a bit easier, although this is not a tactical-style sheath. Don’t expect super-quick, efficient blade deployment. The sheath also comes with two snap-on for safety, and a lanyard knotted into the base of the sheath … I have no clue what this is for …
Handling
This knife feels quite strong in hand. At nearly one and a half pound, it is a fairly heavy piece of steel for its size IMO. If this knife is intended has a working/survival chopping knife, I don’t think this weight will be a problem. However, for knife-fighting*, this knife might feel a bit too top heavy. In all cases, this knife feels like it can be swung hard and strong.
*All I know about knife-fighting is a few months of Kali training that I’ve done some time ago. Take what I say about that with plenty of salt.
Conclusion
Pros
-Large, mean blade
-Beefy, comfortable handle
-Heavy blade, great for chopping
Cons
-Is it really practical as a survival or fighting knife ?
Overall, I am happy with this knife. It is a nice addition to my blade collection. On the other hand, I often ask myself many questions about this blade. It’s sheath obviously isn’t made for tactical situations and it feels a bit too top heavy to be a completely efficient tactical knife. As a survival knife, maybe it could be good, but why not get an axe or a kukri … ? Just saying what some say on knife forums ...
In the end, at the very least it is a cool knife to own for it's cool/wow factor. Besides, these sold out quite quickly and well when I tried to have my own.
Next review ; we will be leaving the world of production knives