![]() | |
Industry | Knives, edged tools |
---|---|
Founded | 1889Naples, New York, United States | in
Defunct | August 1, 2023 |
Fate | Ended operations after sale to Blue Ridge Knives |
Successor | Blue Ridge Knives |
Headquarters | , United States |
Products |
|
Owner |
|
Website | Official website |
Ontario Knife Company (OKC) was an American manufacturer of knives and military tools. On August 1, 2023, OKC was acquired by Blue Ridge Knives and subsequently closed. [1]
Ontario Knife Company was founded in 1889 in Naples, New York. It is currently located in Franklinville, New York, in Cattaraugus County, where most of their products have been manufactured.
The company has historically supplied the U.S. military with products such as [2]
OKC's "Randall's Adventure & Training" survival knives were designed in conjunction with Randall's Adventure & Training, an outdoor survival training and expedition company. The lineup includes the original RTAK (formerly produced by Newt Livesay Blades), and the TAK-1 and RAT-7, both of which have been adopted by the U.S. military.[ citation needed ]
Ontario Knife Company has also collaborated with other designers [3] such as Justin Gingrich, Bram Frank, and Bowie Knife knife-maker Bill Bagwell, introducing lower cost renditions of several of Bagwell's designs.
Ontario sold many of its military models for civilian use, and also produced a number of sporting/outdoor knives designed explicitly for the civilian market. In addition to these, Ontario Knife Company produced a range of other cutlery and tools including Old Hickory kitchen cutlery, industrial and agricultural products, and sci-med scientific tools and instruments. Ontario Knife Company was also a major supplier of private label blades and knives.
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, carbine, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon. The term is traditionally derived from Bayonne, the town in south-west France where bayonets were supposedly first used by Basques in the 17th century. From the early 17th to the early 20th century, it was a melee weapon used by infantry for offensive and/or defensive tactics. Today, it is considered an ancillary weapon or weapon of last resort, although it is still used for ceremonial purposes.
The Swiss Army knife (SAK) is a pocketknife, generally multi-tooled, now manufactured by Victorinox. The term "Swiss Army knife" was coined by American soldiers after World War II after they had trouble pronouncing the German word "Offiziersmesser", meaning "officer’s knife".
Leatherman is an American brand of Multi-Tool made by Leatherman Tool Group of Portland, Oregon. The company was founded in July 1983 by Timothy S. Leatherman and Steve Berliner in order to market the former's idea of a capable, easily portable hand tool with multiple functions. That same year, Leatherman Tool Group sold its first Multi-Tool, which was called the PST.
Victorinox is a knife manufacturer and watchmaker based in the town of Ibach, in the Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. It is known for its Swiss Army knives. The Swiss Army knives made by Victorinox are made of hardened steel. Since its acquisition of rival Wenger in 2005, it has become the sole supplier of multi-purpose knives to the Swiss army. It is the world's biggest manufacturer of pocket knives; additionally, the company licenses its logo for watches, apparel, and travel gear.
Wenger was a Swiss cutlery manufacturer that exists today as a brand of once-rival Victorinox, used for knives, watches and licensed products. Founded in 1893, it was best known as one of two companies to manufacture Swiss Army knives. Based in Delémont, Wenger was acquired in 2005 by Victorinox and partially absorbed. Since 2013 Wenger Swiss Army knives have been integrated in the Victorinox collection as the "Delémont collection".
The Camillus Cutlery Company is one of the oldest knife manufacturers in the United States. The Company was founded in 1876 and produced millions of knives until it filed for bankruptcy in 2007. Its brand name and intellectual property rights were purchased by Acme United Corporation, which re-launched the Camillus brand in May 2009 using modern materials.
Strider Knives, Inc. is a custom and production knifemaking facility headed by Mickey Ray Burger, founded and based in San Marcos, California.
The M9 bayonet, officially known as the M9 Phrobis III, is an American multi-purpose knife and bayonet officially adopted in 1986 by the United States Armed Forces for the M16 rifle. Featuring a 7-inch (18 cm) blade and issued with a sheath designed to double as a wire cutter, the M9 bayonet is designed to function not only as a combat knife but also as a multi-tool, capable of serving as a wire cutter, metal slicer, bottle opener, and screwdriver.
Survival knives are knives intended for survival purposes in a wilderness environment, often in an emergency when the user has lost most of their main equipment. Most military aviation units issue some kind of survival knife to their pilots in case their aircraft are shot down behind enemy lines and the crew needs tools to facilitate their survival, escape, and rescue. Survival knives can be used for trapping, skinning, wood cutting, wood carving, and other uses. Hunters, hikers, and outdoor sport enthusiasts use survival knives. Some survival knives are heavy-bladed and thick. Other survival knives are lightweight or fold in order to save weight and bulk as part of a larger survival kit. Their functions often include serving as a hunting knife. Features, such as hollow handles, that could be used as storage space for matches or similar small items, began gaining popularity in the 1980s. Custom or semi-custom makers such as Americans Gil Hibben, Jimmy Lile, Bo Randall, and Chris Reeve are often credited with inventing those features.
The OKC-3S is a bayonet developed by the United States Marine Corps to replace the M7 bayonet and M9 bayonet as its service bayonet for the M16 family of rifles and M4 series carbine. This multipurpose bayonet provides greater durability than the M7 bayonet and it also functions as a fighting knife.
A combat knife is a fighting knife designed for military use and primarily intended for hand-to-hand or close combat fighting.
The M7 bayonet is a bayonet that was used by the U.S. military for the M16 rifle, it can also be used with the M4 carbine as well as many other assault rifles, carbines, and combat shotguns. It can be used as a fighting knife and utility tool. It was introduced in 1964, when the M16 rifle entered service during the Vietnam War.
Kershaw Knives designs, sources and manufactures a wide range of knives, including pocketknives, sporting knives, and kitchen cutlery. Kershaw is a brand of Kai USA Ltd., a member of the KAI Group, headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon, United States.
Cold Steel, Inc., is an American retailer of knives/bladed tools, training weapons, swords and other martial arts edged and blunt weapons. Founded in Ventura, California, the company is currently based in Irving, Texas, after an acquisition by GSM Outdoors in 2020. Cold Steel products are manufactured worldwide, including in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, India, Italy, China, and South Africa.
SOG Specialty Knives, Inc. is an American knife and tool manufacturing company famous for their reproduction SOG Knife from the Vietnam era.
Randall Made Knives, usually referred to as Randall, is an American custom handcrafted knife manufacturer founded by Walter Doane "Bo" Randall, Jr. in the U.S. The knife making shop and showroom is located in Orlando, Florida. Randall began making knives as a hobby in 1937. His son and grandson continue the family trade along with 20 craftsmen producing about 8,000 knives per year out of a shop on South Orange Blossom Trail.
Ka-Bar is the contemporary popular name for the combat knife first adopted by the United States Marine Corps in November 1942 as the 1219C2 combat knife, and subsequently adopted by the United States Navy as the U.S. Navy utility knife, Mark 2. Ka-Bar is the name of a related knife manufacturing company, Ka-Bar Knives., Inc., of Olean, New York, a subsidiary of the Cutco Corporation.
Bo Randall was an American knifemaker who founded Randall Made Knives in Orlando, Florida.
A fighting knife has a blade designed to most effectively inflict injury in close-quarters physical confrontations. The combat knife and the trench knife are examples of military fighting knives.