Ontario Knife Company closes

[Moo Moo]

Might be old news. I only just came across it on YouTube.

Ontario Knife Co. in Franklinville sold, 56 employees to lose jobs | News | oleantimesherald.com

 

[VictorLouis]

Man, that's a bummer for them. Now, I gotta find a couple more RATs before the price goes up.

 

[A10]

I would be surprised if Blue Ridge didn't continue production. They would do well to re-open the plant. We will see...

 

[Bald1]

Franklinville is an hr from home. That stinks!!!! Ontario Knife has been a NY based Co for well over a century. AF survival knifes and Old Hickory brand are iconic.

 

[Valmet]

Old news or not, I hadn't heard about this either.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Hate to hear that!
The NE is the Traditional US Knife Making Region.
Ontario has been a reliable supplier of Civilian and Military Blades for a very long time.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

A lot of there stuff is stacked by the ton in warehouses! If no more is made there is a very large stockpile.

Ivan

 

[357-RevolverGuy]

I hate to see people losing jobs. This company has been around a long time. 134 years. I believe at one time they even made knives for Case and Kabar. I own a few of their fixed blade knives and an older set of kitchen knives. All made in the USA. Their RAT-5 and RAT-7 are phenomenal. Pick them up now while you still can. If the sale to Blue Ridge Knives becomes like most of the brands they offer, then the future of Ontario Knife will be that they will all be made in either China or Pakistan. But you never know, maybe they will continue production here. But I doubt it. Most of these knife distributers (Blue Ridge, SMKW) buy brands for the name only.

 

[Marshwheeling]

If you might want some, get them now while you can still get them made in America.
I already have a whole slew of Ontario knives: Rat-2 folder, SP53 chopper, and a bunch of Old Hickory butcher and outdoor knives. The OH especially have been a great bargain in US-made knives. I guess I don't need any more. Nevertheless, when I found a good price on a Cayuga camping/ hunting knife, I grabbed it.

 

[bruce5781]

I hate to see this. As a land surveyor in rural East Texas, I have stood behind their machetes for literally thousands of miles. They and Barteaux were the best in the business, but I quit the Barteaux when they had a problem with the plastic handles shattering.

 

[reddogs]

Is the cutco kabar Factory in oleans affected?

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Is the cutco kabar Factory in oleans affected?

The article states that the Cutco plant is the sole remaining cutlery maker in Olean.

 

[Drm50]

I like everything else today. The newer generation couldn't tell a good knife from junk. They buy Pakistan and China made junk.

 

[Bald1]

The Olean plant is always facing labor shortages. They can probably absorb some of the displaced workers. But not 130. Olean is about 35 min south of Franklinville.

 

[first-model]

I'm sorry to hear this. My mother grew up just south of there on the Pennsylvania side of the border, and I have a lot of good childhood memories of visiting family and friends in that part of the country. A few of them even gave me pocketknives made by the local companies—back when giving a 12 year old boy a pocketknife was a normal thing to do.

Mike

 

[Narragansett]

I will try to not make this lengthy. I have gone off on this topic half a dozen times. Especially when Schrade failed. They went out of business in their 100th year.

The Schrade name is back now, owned by Taylor Cutlery out of Dirty Socks, TN. I believe. They own the Schrade name, Imperial name, and several others. They make S&W brand knives. All in CHINA.

There were 3 generations of men working at the same time at Schrade. They went under from CHINA import pressure. A way of life and employment in 3 counties in NY changed when Schrade went under. Schrade was Old Timer, Schrade, and Uncle Henry.

Taylor Cutlery makes S&W knives in China. Also NRA knives are made in China. When the NRA sends me a piece of Chinese junk, it goes right in the trash.

There are other nice knives that are acceptable. Germany, Italy, Sweden come to mind.

My suggestion is know where your knife comes from, and proudly buy American!!

PS, Pakistan is junk too

 

[LVSteve]

Capitalism at its finest.

 

[reddogs]

Thanks i was thinking they were the same company.

 

[dmar]

Thanks a lot Moo Moo, you just cost me $100…. . RAT 5 should be at my house in 2 days. I got a RAT 3 several years ago and it's been a good knife. I always planned on getting the RAT 5 and never got around to it, until now.

A shame seeing these iconic USA manufacturers going out of business. I refuse to buy cheap China, Pakistani, Indian, etc. knives. Feel bad for the employees losing their jobs, that's tough stuff.

 

[Golddollar]

I lived up in the general area in the summer of 1976, so I looked up Franklinville, NY on an atlas. Here it turns out that Bradford, PA is about 25 miles due South of Franklinville. Bradford, PA is the home of Case knives and Zippo lighters. Hopefully the people at Ontario Knife Company can get jobs down there. I always feel bad for people who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. It's happened to me.