OKC, Ontario Knife Company Sold

[Naperville]

Sold and moving:

https://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/o ... a81a3.html

[TomAiello]

Moving from New York to Virginia...sounds like a ton of other knife and gun businesses that have made similar moves in the past decade.

[JRinFL]

Sadly, I believe this is yet another victim of extreme pressure on the industry from the East. Guess where production will probably end up? Blue Ridge is a distributor not a manufacturer, so nothing will be made in Virginia.

If you want a big affordable US made chopper, best get one now.

[Manixguy@1994]

Sadly, I believe this is yet another victim of extreme pressure on the industry from the East. Guess where production will probably end up? Blue Ridge is a distributor not a manufacturer, so nothing will be made in Virginia.

If you want a big affordable US made chopper, best get one now.

Sad news and you are correct . Dan

[Mushroom]

It wont have any effect on me at the moment, as I’m not in the market for a knife from Ontario Knife Company but with that said I used to be and was a huge fan of the the RAT Model folders. They had some of the smoothest, yet also crispest opening action out of the box; They were so satisfying! Would be a shame if those models lose that under new ownership.

The Ontario Knife Company RAT fixed blades are nice but Esee will still be a suitable alternative if OKC decides to move away from US production.

[kennbr34]

Ah that really sucks. Wish I would have taken advantage of the sale on Midway a couple months ago now.

Realistically, though, it's not surprising. I'm surprised they managed to stay in business for this long with the quality you got for the money. Seems like the same story as Cold Steel.

[Doc Dan]

At least now it is owned by knife people interested in knives. Blue Ridge is a big distributor. That is a nice area of VA, but there are not a lot of jobs. This will be a God send to those folks.

[kennbr34]

At least now it is owned by knife people interested in knives. Blue Ridge is a big distributor. That is a nice area of VA, but there are not a lot of jobs. This will be a God send to those folks.

True. Blue Ridge seems to sell fairly quality stuff. They sell a few ESEE designs that are decent and our of Taiwan. Since the RAT folders were already out of Taiwan, I wonder if they will keep the same manufacturer.

[RustyIron]

Awesome!
The owners of Ontario Knife were able to exercise their rights to possess private property. They sold their property to raise money that they wanted for other things. The new owners purchased Ontario Knife because they think the purchase will allow them to earn a lot of money by building knives. Everybody gets what they want.

The article implies that Blue Ridge purchased Ontario so they could fire everyone, melt down the machinery, and raze the building. You need to ask yourself, "Self, does that make even the tiniest bit of sense?" The sale isn't even final yet, and all the hand-wringing Nervous Nellies are getting their panties in a bunch. For those who think this is truly the end of the world, my advice is to buy up all the Ontario knives you can find. The prices will skyrocket when the last dynamite charge is detonated, and you'll find yourself sitting on a small fortune in knives. Flip 'em all. You'll be driving that new Lamborghini sooner than you think.

[JRinFL]

Awesome!
The owners of Ontario Knife were able to exercise their rights to possess private property. They sold their property to raise money that they wanted for other things. The new owners purchased Ontario Knife because they think the purchase will allow them to earn a lot of money by building knives. Everybody gets what they want.

The article implies that Blue Ridge purchased Ontario so they could fire everyone, melt down the machinery, and raze the building. You need to ask yourself, "Self, does that make even the tiniest bit of sense?" The sale isn't even final yet, and all the hand-wringing Nervous Nellies are getting their panties in a bunch. For those who think this is truly the end of the world, my advice is to buy up all the Ontario knives you can find. The prices will skyrocket when the last dynamite charge is detonated, and you'll find yourself sitting on a small fortune in knives. Flip 'em all. You'll be driving that new Lamborghini sooner than you think.

Go to the Ontario forum on BF for more information. Reports are that BR bought all the assets of Ontario, but will sell off all the machinery. The factory is already closed. They have no intention of producing knives themselves as they a distributor. The value of Ontario was in the brand, not the factory. Other manufacturers will produce knives for the "new" Ontario. The military contacts may be the only ones to remain Stateside.

No one knows the future, but there is little reason to believe that this deal will not end up the same as Queen Cutlery, Schrade Cutlery, Camillus, etc, etc.

[RustyIron]

Go to the Ontario forum on BF for more information.

Yeah... nah. Random ramblings from keyboard jockeys at BF aren't worth my time.

If all the Ontario assets are sold off, then that's also great. Real knife experts, like the keyboard jockeys who are currently wetting their pants, will be able to buy up all the machinery at a substantial discount and start their own knife company. In other words, they can put their money where their mouth is.

There is also a prime opportunity for all the community busy bodies who were only $600,000 short of being able to buy the company outright. They can take all the money they claimed to have, put it where their mouth is, and buy up all the assets. Then they can do what they said they wanted all along: keep making knifes in the old factory just like before. Easy, right?

The fact is, the creators of jobs and products are Servotronics and Blue Ridge, not a bunch of busy bodies. The world is filled with two types: those who do things, and those huddled in dank hovels pointing fingers and gnashing their teeth about what the others should be doing. Be the former.

[JRinFL]

Go to the Ontario forum on BF for more information.

Yeah... nah. Random ramblings from keyboard jockeys at BF aren't worth my time.

If all the Ontario assets are sold off, then that's also great. Real knife experts, like the keyboard jockeys who are currently wetting their pants, will be able to buy up all the machinery at a substantial discount and start their own knife company. In other words, they can put their money where their mouth is.

There is also a prime opportunity for all the community busy bodies who were only $600,000 short of being able to buy the company outright. They can take all the money they claimed to have, put it where their mouth is, and buy up all the assets. Then they can do what they said they wanted all along: keep making knifes in the old factory just like before. Easy, right?

The fact is, the creators of jobs and products are Servotronics and Blue Ridge, not a bunch of busy bodies. The world is filled with two types: those who do things, and those huddled in dank hovels pointing fingers and gnashing their teeth about what the others should be doing. Be the former.

What is the purpose of your comments? No one here is "wetting their pants" over the sale. No one here said it's "easy". Most don't care, the few that do only lament the passing of another US cutlery firm. No one is asking for the sale to blocked, that I know of. The local group that tried to buy it ran out of time due to the rapid sale. That's business, it happens.

"Random ramblings from keyboard jockeys". So, like your comments? Who are you ranting against here?

[kennethsime]

I guess I’m sad to see another American knife company go under, but honestly… I never really cared for Ontario. I like ESEE’s knives better than the old RATs. It did seem that OKC was trying to start changing stuff up just a bit, introducing a few new models at Blade Show. Still, I think they were stuck in the past for too long.

[mongo1958]

Sold and moving:

https://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/o ... a81a3.html

I hate to hear this.
I have an Ontario Ka Bar style knife that I purchase nearly 50 years ago, it's my Truck Knife.
It would be an awesome idea if the employees gathered their resources to start up a new company in the same location.

[bearfacedkiller]

I think it is always unfortunate to see a long-standing American manufacturing company shut down.

I like some of their products but I have also observed that they seem to have struggled the past few years. It seems as though their folders which were already outsourced as well as their govt contracts were keeping them afloat. The military probably isn’t buying as many machetes, bayonets and pilot survival knives as they used to. The Rat folders were a benchmark in the budget knife world but that market has gotten quite competitive. I assume they saw the writing on the wall and took the money and ran while they still could.

I wonder what the future holds for the bayonets and machetes. If Ontario goes the way of Camillus and becomes a cheap brand of Chinese knives for big box stores I expect someone will fill that void. Maybe Kabar, Esee or Tops?

[bearfacedkiller]

It might be worth noting that Kabar/Cutco and Ontario were only about 30 minutes away from each other. Maybe Kabar can swoop up some skilled employees and expand a little? Maybe they will buy some of the equipment too? I would be pleased to see them get into the machete and bayonet market.

[Naperville]

Sold and moving:

https://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/o ... a81a3.html

I hate to hear this.
I have an Ontario Ka Bar style knife that I purchase nearly 50 years ago, it's my Truck Knife.
It would be an awesome idea if the employees gathered their resources to start up a new company in the same location.

What happened was the purchaser bought the intellectual property, the knife patterns, the patents, the name, and consolidated everything under one roof.

Whoever opens it needs to know finance.

In college I started in EE Computer Engineering and started a web hosting business. When I came back to school, I no longer wanted the EE, I transferred to the Business college for Management Information Systems. Finance was my worst subject!

[mongo1958]

Sold and moving:

https://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/o ... a81a3.html

I hate to hear this.
I have an Ontario Ka Bar style knife that I purchase nearly 50 years ago, it's my Truck Knife.
It would be an awesome idea if the employees gathered their resources to start up a new company in the same location.

What happened was the purchaser bought the intellectual property, the knife patterns, the patents, the name, and consolidated everything under one roof.

Whoever opens it needs to know finance.

In college I started in EE Computer Engineering and started a web hosting business. When I came back to school, I no longer wanted the EE, I transferred to the Business college for Management Information Systems. Finance was my worst subject!

yeah, I get it. New knives will need to be created and a finance guy can be hired like an IT guy.

[vivi]

If I remember correctly, the Ontario sp10 was the first knife I bought that cost over $30.

Suppose I should order the SP5 I've been thinking about trying out. Looks like a fun general purpose beater for under $60.

[TomAiello]

I went out and bought a couple of their made in USA knives, just because I've never had one and wanted to check them now.