Ontario Knife Company 8674 Ranger, RAK Assault Knife 6" Plain Blade, Black Micarta Handle

EDIT: I have come back and given this knife 5 stars after using this knife in a true outdoors setting. In spite of any other gripes I might have had, the blade design performs beautifully, enough to make me bump up the rating.Let me begin by saying that I bought this knife primarily out of sheer curiousity. The design and looks of it were so unlike what I've seen from Ontario that I had to give it a try. Well, I'm glad I did, this is a badass knife.First, the specs, which may or may not be entirely listed on the product page.Overall length: 11.75"Blade length: 6.625"Cutting edge: 5.625"Blade width: 1.625"Blade thickness: 0.19" (just a hair over 3/16")Blade steel: 1095weight: 12.56 oz.I'll discuss the sheath first, separately, because it's the one part of this knife system that is completely replaceable, and even though it could affect the overall usability of this knife (a knife isn't very usable if no one wants to carry it because of a terrible sheath), it's so easy to replace the sheath that I don't think it influences my opinion of the knife at all. It's a standard OKC nylon sheath, generic fit, but securely holds the knife in place. It's not entirely uncomfortable to wear as long as you're just standing, but I prefer a dangler type belt attachment precisely because I want it to swivel out of the way should I need to sit. All in all, it's a decent sheath which feels good on my belt and isn't awkward to deploy the knife from.This blade is described in vendor pages as a drop point, but it is actually a very symmetrical spear point. Fine edge, saber grind, no serrations, which I prefer. Micarta handle scales. My first impression of this knife right out of the box is that it's both bigger AND smaller than I was expecting based on other video reviews and product photos. The blade itself and the way it feels in the hand seemed somewhat bigger than I expected; conversely, the handle felt much smaller than I was expecting. These are just observations, they really have nothing to do with the overall usability of the knife or my final impressions. Monster glass breaker/nonlethal pommel, very pointy and somewhat garish for the design. Visually, this is the one part of the knife that doesn't quite fit, though I understand the philosophy of use. While this knife has a very obvious tactical design and looks I actually found it quite comfortable and practical for wilderness and trail use.First the good. The knife feels very balanced and nimble in hand, and the Micarta scales are an excellent touch which adds comfort and traction. Generally speaking, the handle of this knife is smallish, but I do have large hands so it definitely became a factor. While small, though, it's a very comfortable handle to hold and doesn't feel cramped or frail. Even with the somewhat blocky contouring of the scales, the handle still feels comfortable and surprisingly ergonomic. The blade design is elegant and streamlined, very symmetrical but still practical for light chopping, slicing, and definitely for piercing. The saber grind is actually not that high in comparison to other saber ground knives but the blade still feels very slim and "slicey," with a very sharp edge. It was shaving sharp out of the box. One other observation which might be irrelevant to its functionality, but still a good sign of attention to detail on the part of OKC, is that the edge came coated with what feels like paraffin, which I'm assuming is to keep the high-carbon steel from rusting during shipment to retailers. The other surprisingly good impression I got from this knife is the very large, deep finger choil and extended ricasso/guard. I found it to look rather ugly in comparison to other knives with finger choils, but this one is VERY comfortable to use and actually feels just as natural to hold it using the choil. For this reason alone I think it stood its ground as a wilderness knife for me, since using the choil made firewood prep very easy.Now the not so good. This particular criticism, for what it's worth, is merely cosmetic and not functional, as I stated earlier. That is, the choil and finger guard the way it's designed is ugly, in my opinion. Very functional, yes, but at the cost of elegance. Still, after using it I can see that this design works as well as it does BECAUSE of the choil desing. The other criticism I have of this knife in the cosmetic department is the ugly glass breaker/non-lethal pommel. It's garish, extreme, and doesn't fit the overall look of the knife. While I didn't initially like the look of the choil, it makes perfect sense after actually using the knife. The pommel, though, is both ugly AND annoying. I have a habit of resting my hand on the pommel of my knife while it's sheathed and hanging from my belt, and I found myself actually flinching in pain from the point on this pommel. It's the ONE part that looks completely out of place on this knife, and another design would be just as effective (like the half-hexagon shape of the Ka-Bar/Becker pommels, or the pointy but low-profile glass breaker on the Gerber Strongarm). Even so, the design of the pommel is somewhat unnecessarily exaggerated; the Ontario RAT-5 has a pointy pommel as well and it never feels uncomfortable or obtrusive on that knife. My only other complaint is that, like every knife in the OKC Ranger Series, the Micarta scales are blocky, and I can see it being somewhat fatiguing after long or heavy use of the knife. The blockiness is only a minor issue; I haven't really felt any discomfort from the handle ergonomics while using this knife.My overall impression and final work on the RAK is that it's a very elegant, nimble, tough, badass knife which genuinely puts function before form. It excels equally well in tactical, wilderness, survival, or camp situations. The high-carbon steel is extremely tough and is both easy to sharpen and holds and edge quite well. I bought this knife out of simple curiousity but it has quickly found its way into my regular rotation of field knives (I'm an avid outdoorsman). I would highly recommend this knife.

This thing is all business. The spine is about 0.20" thick, all the way up to about half an inch from the tip (which is pretty solid). I hate fighting knives with weak tips, which is why bought this. It's a good dual purpose blade. Heavy duty enough for a bush/woods/camping knife, but still light enough to use as a fighting/tactical knife. If the blade was any thicker, it would be almost too heavy for a fighting knife and not fast in the hand. If you have long fingers or really wide hands, the grip might not be big enough- but the handle scales are easily removable and can be changed for fatter ones for longer fingers.The skull crusher pommel is also a nice added touch of ruthlessness and can double as a glass breaker for car windows in an emergency. I've owned a lot of knives, watched too many review videos, and looked at 1000 different ones online. I watched a video of a guy baton the hell out of this knife through about 20 pieces of seasoned oak, just wailing away on the tip when splitting the last 10 pieces. I was sold. I already own a hatchet and don't plan on splitting firewood with a knife, but it's nice to know it's not a weak piece of junk. The sheath is not so great, but it will work for now. I plan on removing the handle, stripping the finish, and polishing/bluing it. I'm also going to make some custom desert ironwood grips for it and have the old leather guy make a sweet looking sheath for it. . The knife is worth buying a better sheath for, it's probably the best $65 I've ever spent in my life.

I got this knife as my backpacking knife for cutting kindling and batoning logs. Great knife, very thick blade, razor sharp out of the box. Tested it on some old 4X4 logs from the log pile. Splits fine (about 6 splits) and still was sharp after I was done. The handle is thick and well made it just dosn't have a good feel. There's no hot spots but I am going to shape it more to my hand style. Lastly the main reason I got this was to be able to choke up on the knife for fine work next to the blade . . . it works amazingly!

I really like the blade shape. However, the fit and finish of the knife are quite poor for a U.S. made product. The knife arrived with deformation/chipping along the spine and a hilariously uneven grind along the blade edge. This is the 2nd RAK knife I have encountered that was made in 2020 and has very poor construction. I don’t mind some minor cosmetic blemishes, but when there are flaws in the structural integrity of a knife, I start to question a company’s quality control. The knife was returned for a refund.

This is a Very good bang for buck self defense knife. For the price you cant do much better.

Unless you are a female; the handle is too short! The scales are uncomfortable & the handle on mine smelled like a sewage. Blade was Dull as a butter knife & the sheath is ok. (Poor quality control & inspection). The handle had metal shavings from the bolt sticking out which pierced the skin when gripping for the first time! How is this a Ranger knife??? There is a notch on the blade which is great for feathering but you'll have to place index finger there everytime: if you have man size hands- becausethe handle is barely 4 in.. The blade coating finish is mediocre.The only Pro's: cool looking knife & the point at the pommel (glass breaker)The standard OKC signature Sheath: is just absolutely horrible & ugly for this knife.. The blade rattles inside & the sheath design clashes with the look of the knife.I don't believe our badass Army Rangers had decided & recommended on this type of handle-scales: in color, finish, uncomfortable feel & finish.This knife looks cool but meant for those with; girly size hands.. Terrible sheath, boxy scales & dull blade! No way would a Ranger or a Platoon of advisors had collaborated on this design with OKC.. Especially with the ridiculous sheath that clash with the knife and the short handle!