Ontario ASEK

[xxo]

http://www.ontarioknife.com/asek.html

[Thecarotidpulse]

dame.. check out the Rockwell hardness on that =/

By the way, how come all the companies that make an ASEK claim to have exclusive distributorship to the Air force? It's becoming old...

[xxo]

I think that this was the ASEK finaly picked by the Military, the blade hardness is probably about the same as the PSK it is replacing.

[G. Scott H.]

The hardness does look low at first glance, but it seems obvious they're going for as much toughness as possible. Better a knife that requires more frequent edge touch-ups, but will bend rather than break, than the other way around, especially in the case of a downed pilot/flight crew in a remote location.

[Noss]

Ontario got the contract. The Gerber LMF II was a competitor but lost out from what I read. I never read why the military went with the Ontario over the Gerber.

It would be a great test since I have already done the Gerber.

[xxo]

There is some info on the asek in Knife Knotes 9.

http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/knife_knotes_9.htm

[Thecarotidpulse]

INteresting article XXO...

To be honest I dont really see why, by looking at it, the military picked it.

To focus on the blade only http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/ASEK_3.jpg

It makes me uneasy... I was nervous about the partial serrations of the LMFII (and still am) but all these knick knacks look like they'd weaken the blade A LOT.

Also... exactly what are you supposed to cut with this knife? it'd be almost impossible to do something simple like feather sticks or baton through wood with that recess.

[xxo]

these knives are not intended for making fuzz sticks or batoning wood, they are for getting a crewman out of a downed aircraft by smashing/stabbing/prying/sawing or hacking through aluminum or plexiglass aircraft components. If the crewman is lucky enough to get out alive, it would make passable survival knife. At least that's how it was with the old PSK which comes with a dull edge with a very steep grind that needs reworking before you can put a decent edge on it and a saw the don't cut wood worth a damn (supposed to work on aluminum and plexiglass though).

[Thecarotidpulse]

I agree with you XXO, it's just that once you're out of the aircraft you need to erm... survive...

to be honest both Gerber's knife and the SOG seal did a fine job of extrications without sacrificing that much knife identity.

With Ontario's knife you'd need to have another knife on you for day to day work once you're out of the aircraft.