Ontario Knife Old Hickory Cook Knife 79-8, One Size, 7045TC

I am a Knife enthusiast. I have been sick of mediocre SS knives for many years but hesitant to spend $300-$500 (and more) on a tool that I am not 100% in control of its use and care. So I held off as the search continued. I stumbled on this by accident. Made in USA. Carbon Steel, Wood handle. check/check/check. Is it Pretty? No, not at all but what matters (to me) is the steel. I did not expect it to come sharp - it did. It is scary sharp. I will do some finish work on the knife and not only do I not mind, that is something I look forward to. The knife is a good buy, at $16 - it is a real find.

Fit and finish is poor. The knife should have been sanded finer and closer to the tang and the wood should have been oiled from the factory. The knife is medium weight and balanced alright. Nothing to write home about. A Wusthof (and even some other cheapo knives) held side by side puts it to shame. That said, the steel takes an edge in an instant and holds it long enough. The carbon steel is great for this reason. It does tend to leave a taste on some foods but a second knife works around this flaw. USA made is nice as well. I've considered upgrading to carbon steel Kramer chefs knife but just can't justify the cost (~300), especially on a knife I will only use for some foods. I've also considered upgrading to a stainless Wusthof but the sharpening is so easy with this knife. I'll probably get a Global at some point to use on the gentler work with foods that oxidize (resulting in that weird taste). Anyways, awesome knife for the price! I plan on picking a few more up as gifts.

This is a carbon steel Chef knife so it will rust if you do not dry off after cutting/washing. The blade is slightly stiffer than your standard stainless-steel Chef blades, but I like that. Wood handle was comfortable and fine as purchased. The following does take a bit of extra effort but is well work the time investment. The knife is sharp as purchased but I found that grinding off a bit more steel from near the tip up about a 1/2 inch on either side of the blade to thin it out, along with re-sharpening helped the blade easily cut/glide through everything. Another process I like to do with carbon steel blades that I have sharpened razor sharp is to season them. Wash entire knife and dry. Then rub with a light coat of vegetable oil on entire knife, especially the wood handle, wrap handle loosely with aluminum foil to help protect from the heat, and place in 350F oven for 2 hours, let cool. This produces a non-stick rust resistant surface on the blade that lasts for quite some time producing razor sharp USA made non-stick knife you just can't purchase for any less! Use a sharpening steel as needed to keep it razor sharp. You will not be disappointed in your purchase.

well... not for everyone, the product comes with a terrible finish, it looks like half proceed. not sharp, with rough edges, somewhat between scandi and sabre grind. I re grind little bit, smoothed the edges, sharpened 16 degree angle each side and.... great razor, scary sharp scary! great knife if have skills and time to finish this rough blade.

What a great find!! When I stumbled across the Old Hickory brand, the blade pattern and handle were instantly recognizable as the same as both my grandparents had in their kitchens. Sharp and sturdy, but let it be known that this is NOT a designer "fashion" knife so popular these days. This is a tool to be used in the kitchen and it works wonderfully! It does not have a polished finish or delicate appearance but is a tool that performs its tasks well. Keep in mind that the steel the blade is made of WILL RUST if you leave it to soak, wash it in the dishwasher, or fail to clean and dry it completely after use. However, THIS IS A PLUS because the stainless steels used in most knives won't have, or at least won't hold, an edge and this one certainly will. Get this knife, a decent stone sharpening set, and a leather strop and this blade can be sharpened to an unimaginable level. This is the most amazing part about these inexpensive knives.

This is a good knife that for the money. Some reviews are nitpicking a $20 knife. There are more expensive and pretty knives out there that are a lot more expensive. I have been using this brand of knives for a lot of years and they do take a little more effort to maintain. They are easy to sharpen and keep an edge. They are definatly old school knives similar to what was used a 100 or more years ago. The grind is good, the point is ok there's nothing wrong with the handle. The knife is a "kitchen" knife not intended to be used for a heavy duty woodsman knife, it doesn't need to have a full tang. The edge only needs a little touch up with a good stone. Let it sit in some venegar and keep the blade oiled with some kind of cooking oil and it will last for years. So what if it does rust a little. Wipe the rust off the blade and it's good to go. It's a Chefs knife not a cooks knife. A cooks knife is what I have seen called a sliceing knife.

This knife is cheap, so there is little downside to buying it and trying it out. The quality seems okay, although the machine sharpening was uneven along the blade. The knife doesn't rust as easily as I thought it would. I only oil it occasionally, and always rinse and dry it after use. However, I find this knife to be far too thick to efficiently slice vegetables, which is what I bought it for. The thickness of the knife, combined with the wide angle of the blade's edge, give it a "wedge" shape that makes it difficult to achieve clean slices on delicate things like tomatoes and cucumbers. Overall it is a decent carbon steel knife for the price, but I will be looking for a replacement ASAP. This knife might be good for processing meat, but not vegetables.

Now for starters, I am new to high carbon steel knives and so of course... it rusted really quick but we learn from our amateur mistakes and thankfully I'm not dense enough to blame the company for this. I love the craftsmanship, I feel like I am holding a knife in which was made with care and quality materials. I plan on buying many more of these knives and learning how to properly care and sharpen such a knife.

Works great, love it. Well made and really sharp

For those knife enthusiasts who appreciate carbon steel this one is below the radar as far as quality-pricing. I have a Japanese Misono,Swedish steel. It cuts sweeter than this Ontario one because the Misono blade is thinner. However because the Misono is 150 cdn, I have to baby it by avoiding food that might chip the blade. With this. razor sharp Ontario Knife one at 28 cdn, I am way less concerned about damaging the blade if I accidentally hit a bone. I believe carbon steel knives in average North American home users is not praised for its edge retention but criticized for tarnishing and rusting. Which is fine for me.....keeps popularity down,which in turn keeps pricing down.

I received the knife with a little bend at the tip of the blade; and some words printed on the blade said 2ND, so I believe this is an inferior product which came out with defects from the factory! I have owned a few Ontario knives from this brand, none of them has this 2ND wordings. This seller seems cheating people.

Wow at this price point I cannot believe what you get. This knife requires a little sharpening know how and work out of the package but it is such a joy to use. I'm tempted to just stockpile these for gifts but I know most people aren't worthy of carbon steel knives. Get one if you want to see the kind of knife your grandma prepped food with.