Name: Ontario 498 Marine Combat Knife 7" Sharpened Clip Point Blade with Blood Grooves, Black Leather Handle and Sheath
Brand: Ontario Knives
SKU: ON498
Price: 66.58 USD
Availability: BackOrder
Rating: 4.556 (18 reviews)

Gunny
Hartford ct

Dec 18, 2020

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Finish

Ontario 498 marine combat knife

Served 16 yrs. Carried it nonstop in infantry. Now i carry it to hunt and fish.

Matt
Michigan

Feb 24, 2014

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Beast of a knife and super sharp and sturdy.

Chris
Greenville, NC

Aug 09, 2009

Pros: Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness, Weight, Blade Material, Finish, Sheath/Scabbard

Cons: None

One of the best I've EVER owned.

Was issued one of these knives while in the USAF and have put it through the ringer. Used as an all purpose field knife just about everywhere (wet/dry/salty). I don't keep a razor edge on this knife because I have found them so hard to maintain on most of my other knives (or at least as sharp as I like them). Through it all this knife has flawlessly held it's edge and finish even after being hammered, edge down, into fireplace ceramic brick. The leather in the handle is a little loose around the tang (most likely do to years of service) and there is a slight rattle in the guard if you shake the heck out of it. The leather sheath is still in grate shape. All in all this is, for the money, one of the best no frills knives I have ever seen and never go into the field without.

Zeb
NW montana

Jan 31, 2019

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

good combat knife/ hunter

I've always had a soft spot for this knife design. I have had several over the years I carried one in the army "it was a K-bar though", it never let me down and this one is just as good, I have several Ontario knives and they all are extremely tough and if you take care of them they will take care of you. I really dont understand people complaining about the factory edges, I've never had a new knife come with a sharp edge the only way you'll get that is if it is hand made, if you cant sharpen a blade then you shouldn't have one.

Scooterdude
Suthern USA

Jan 18, 2010

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Great knife

I had one of these when I was a teenager over 20 years ago.My father made fun of it-at first-said son thats not a Kbar.Mine was razor sharp/shaved hair from the factory and it was easy to keep that away.I used mine hard and it never let me down in 5-6 years(I left it in my truck and it "DISAPPERED").My Dad liked mine after a couple of weeks I ordered him one too.They sharpen easily.A best buy for sure.Not pretty or fancy but well thought out and as good as a Kbar as my father learned.

Clayton B
sacramento ca

Jun 07, 2012

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Sheath/Scabbard

semper fi

for camping outdoor trips,blade keeps a sharp edge easy to sharpen. sheath material could be stronger. owned the same knife 20 years ago still same quality and toughness.

Sarah
Maryland

Mar 18, 2013

Pros: Weight, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Marine Combat Knife

The knife arrived and was much better quality than we originally thought it would be. We read reviews from others that the blade was very dull and would need to be sharpened but that was contrary to the knife we received. It was extremely sharp...a nice weight...perfect size and pretty much exactly what we wanted. No complaints at all. Great survival knife.

R.W.
Boise, ID

May 22, 2011

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

A Great Value

I purchased this knife as a utility/everyday carry/camp knife. In my humble opinion, the Ontario Marine Combat Knife offers the user a well built, functional knife, at a great price. One of the other factors that I appreciate about this knife is that it is Made in the U.S.A.

Shane
Toronto, Ontario

Jun 27, 2014

Pros: Overall Quality

Cons: Handle Material

Great knife!

Mark
Pacific Northwest

Oct 06, 2017

Pros: Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Great Knife good value

I received a USGI issue Marine Corps Combat Knife some 43 years ago when I was in the military. Since it was my only fixed blade knife for many years, I used it for deer hunting, camping, building shelters, working in my garage, and hiking. I used it also for a one week survival training course in the military. I once built a 3 person shelter in the Upper Penn of MI with that knife (with some evergreen branches, 550 cord and HD garbage bags) which I used for deer hunting in the winter. The blade is made of carbon steel (parkerized) and it will take a nice edge. The blade can also be used with a flint or fire-starter rod to make decent sparks to start a survival fire. The 7" blade is a little long for general utility purposes. In the USMC we used it as a survival and utility knife. We were also trained to use it for close combat but fortunately I never had to use it for that purpose. Today I keep it in my Survival Bag (Emergency Bag). For the money, its a decent knife if you are looking for a longer blade. I think its a great military-type knife. The sheath is leather, and is the classic old-school style. They also make a newer Kydex type sheath for it.

Keith Shelton
Watauga, Tn. U.S.A.

Jul 10, 2009

Pros: Blade Material, Handle Material, Weight, Overall Quality, Materials, Blade Sharpness, Sheath/Scabbard, Finish

Cons: None

My #498 combat knife w/sheath was sent to me within a few days of my order. The Quality of the knife is Excellent. Deep Phosphate finish,Sharp out of the box,Blade will take and hold good edge,Handle feels good and tight, Sheath shows strong leatherwork. For the money I would recommend this blade to anyone who wants a traditional general purpose/combat knife. Keith Shelton, Watauga, Tennessee.

Paul D
Halifax, Ma

Sep 18, 2015

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality

Cons: Sheath/Scabbard, Blade Sharpness

Former Marine

i own a few of these kabar style knives. I like the feel of the handle and weight. I also like that the blade isnt powder coated.This knife has a retro look. Blade isnt razor sharpe yet it cuts just fine after all it is a combat utility knife. You want to shave get a razor. Great knife and knifecenter has allways come threw with there products and custermer service. Sheath is middle of the road. I order a leather sheath with USMC stamped that fits Ontario usmc combat knife P4.

Robert
Glendale, WI

Jan 02, 2016

Pros: Overall Quality, Sheath/Scabbard, Finish

Cons: None

Comparison with another Marine Combat Knife

This is an excellent knife, as other reviewers have pointed out. This review compares a just-purchased Ontario versus a Camillus I bought from Atlanta Cutlery in the early 1980s. Dimension Camillus Ontario Blade thickness 0.1645" 0.1625" micrometer Hilt thickness 0.0822" 0.0767" micrometer Pommel thickness 0.312" 0.1879" slim bite for the mike. Handle dia. (max) 1 19/64" 1 19/64" caliper and ruler The false edge on the Camillus came unsharpened; the Ontario came with the same concave factory grind as the rest of the blade. (I rounded it off because I want a utility knife not a people-stabber.) The general symmetry and quality of the primary bevel, false edge bevel, blood groove and ricasso are superior on the Ontario. I had to relieve the edges of the Ontario ricasso because it was so right-angle sharp that it hung up entering the sheath. The spine of the Camillus has a mechanically jimped texture; the Ontario is smooth. I don't remember what the leather was like on the Camillus; I sanded it years ago. I sanded the rough edges on my new Ontario and it's now smooth as my Camillus. The leather of the Ontario sheath is thicker than the Camillus sheath, but I don't know what years of wear might have done to the older sheath. The Camillus' sheath rivets only have two tabs on the expansion side; Ontario's have six.The Camillus leg-lace hole is 3/16" dia.; Ontario's is 1/4" dia. The Camillus sheath had 5 stitches per inch while the Ontario sheath has 4 and a fraction. DAMHIKT: If you throw your 1095 RC58 knife you will create fractures that only show up after decades of phosphate rust-removal treatments. You will also bend the hilts.

Robert
Rochester, NY

Aug 21, 2010

Pros: Weight, Blade Material

Cons: Blade Sharpness

Pretty nice, once you remove the black paint

The black paint on the handle felt bad and looked worse, and so I removed it with Citristrip gel and a toothbrush. I treated the leather underneath with Obenauf's Heavy Duty Leather Preservative. The knife is actually attractive now, and the handle feels great and repels water. The KA-BARs are much nicer, but are too pretty to beat on. You won't be afraid to use this one.

Robert C
Mansfield ,Ohio

Jan 26, 2015

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Bought this knife at Military Surplus store outside Fort Knox Kentucky. Bought for camping . Very good knife all around. Very strong knife. Only complaint I have the tip of the knife did not come to a very good point! My fault though. Should havechecked it out better.

Jake
VA

Mar 31, 2010

Pros: Weight, Finish

Cons: Blade Sharpness

Initial Impressions

I bought this knife from another vendor but its the same model. I like the KA-Bar/Marine Knife Design. This one comes with a decent sheath, maybe a little better than the KA-Bar leather. Most of the metal looks parkerized instead painted like the KA-Bar, which I like better but it has its pluses and minuses. The factory edge leaves a good bit to be desired. Once I take care of that, it should be fine. The leather handle is a bit rough and as far as the edge finishing but overall is okay. I hope the steel performs as good as I expect 1095 to do. If it does this is not a bad buy at all if you can sharpen.

Matunaagah
The northeastern forests

Dec 10, 2009

Pros: Sheath/Scabbard, Overall Quality, Handle Material, Blade Material, Finish, Materials

Cons: Blade Sharpness

This is a well made carbon steel combat/survival type knife produced right here in the USA. But if you do not have any sharpening skills or tools, then get something else, because this knife came with a very poor factory edge. Once I sharpened it there were no other problems.

Don
Tacoma Wa

Apr 06, 2011

Pros: Handle Material, Blade Material

Cons: Finish, Blade Sharpness

Will get the job done

After a quick sharpening which was simple to do with this steel It chopped thru a 2x4 with relative ease except for the poorly finished and uncomfortable handle. There was no damage chipped or rolled edge and was still sharp. The handle had almost no finishing done to it except for painting so on the positive side I got to contour it for a personal fit after much grinding, sanding, and oiling I have a good solid tool.