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Ontario Knife Company ASEK Survival Knife System

rated 4.0 of 5 stars
photo: Ontario Knife Company ASEK Survival Knife System fixed-blade knife

A good knife for general hunting, hiking, and bushcrafting. This is a 1095 carbon steel blade that is easy to use and maintain.

Pros

  • Excellent sheath
  • Easy to sharpen and enough carbides to effect a good edge
  • Seat belt cutter is a useful tool
  • Handle is excellent

Cons

  • Can rust easily
  • A very tough blade, but edge resilience is good not excellent (1095 steel)

The ASEK knife is the official issue US Air Force Aircrew Survival & Egress knife. It is a good survival knife. 

It comes with a 5" blade made of 1095 carbon steel, a rubber handle, and is 10.25" of overall length. I've owned the knife for about 10 years and have used it for cleaning game, building snare/traps, and general camp use. I gutted and skinned a moose, bear, deer, etc with only light touchups on the blade. The knife has accomplished this well.

It comes with a saw back, seatbelt cutter, and a glass break pummel. I used to do remote first aiding and it was all in helicopters, so those escape features were desirable. They may not be necessary features for you, but if you heliski, for instance, it might be useful. As a general purpose knife it is excellent. 

The only drawback is the partially serrated edge on the blade. This is not a feature I am in love with. I know some of my friends do like this on general purpose blades, I don't. I have reshaped the edge and this, for me, is better.

The lack of vanadium in the alloy and the knife needing oiling for rust prevention is why it only gets 4 stars.

It has proven to be a good knife. I recommend it as a general purpose knife.

B497E5DD-FDDD-42F4-B27C-98A801514C06.jpg
Notice that serrated edge is gone

 

9AFDE42D-21E3-4096-95AC-8E91D87F7819.jpg
Closeup of the same edge. I found that the serrated edge gets in the way of cleaning and skinning. (IMHO)

 

Background

10 years hunting, hiking, and camping.

Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $89

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Specs

Price MSRP: $214.95
Current Retail: $205.50
Reviewers Paid: $89.00
Overall 10.2 in / 25.9 cm
Blade Length 4.9 in / 12.4 cm
Blade Thickness .0.188 in / 0.478 cm
Blade Material 1095 Carbon Steel
Hardness 55-57 HRC
Weight 1.35 lbs
Product Details from Ontario Knife Company »

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