Ontario Knife Company SP-1 Combat Knife

Best knife for the money. A one and done survival, combat, and camping knife.

This knife does not get enough credit in the outdoors industry. This is simply the best do-it-all camping/survival knife made for the price.

In my pursuit for knife perfection, I spent a lot of money testing everything popular on the market. I have some really great knives as a result, but were they really that much better? No. When you're looking for bomb proof and high value it's definitely the venerable SP1.

Unlike the Kabar counterpart, this knife has a full tang. I have literally beaten on and abused this knife for the past 10 years with no ill effects. Slicing food, opening cans, batoning wood, cutting fishing line, cleaning fish, cutting rope, roasting marshmallows, cooking hotdogs, making fires, and even eating off it.  This knife has never failed me and continues to truck along trip after trip despite my attempts to break it.

Does this knife do everything great? Nope. It's not the best slicer due to the saber grind and it's definitely not a chopper. Yet it can and will do everything a knife needs to. The first sp1 I bought was dull as a spoon but with a little elbow grease I got it shaving sharp. Not the case with the new versions though, those come hair popping sharp out of the box. The current issue knife sheath is actually decent as well, but I changed mine due to personal preference.

Critics says the knife is now made with 1075 steel versus 1095. Potato potato for anyone who really uses the knife hard as a knife. You really can't tell the difference with actual use.

This is the true sleeper of all outdoors knives. My wife and I always laugh at the dudes who swear by Mora junk for their bushcraft knives and talk about their high value. Got news for you, I tried Mora and my sp1 beats it in every way shape or form for about the same price. Buy a Mora if you want to carve a spoon. If you're looking for a bomb proof, all purpose, do it all knife, buy the sp1.

Background

I have done more with this knife than anyone should. It's ridiculous how tough this knife is for the cheap price. This is one of the best value items on the market.