With the older versions of the classic Marine Corps combat knife, a patina quickly took away the luster of the steel, leaving it dark with stains from oils and even a little rust here and there. That wasn’t the mark of poor steel–the old carbon alloys were very corrosion resistant and took a high quality temper. High carbon steel was replaced by stainless for commercial reasons, not practical ones. The dark sheen of a high carbon blade was something that developed with time and use, like the look of a pair of boots that has actually been somewhere.
Today, military knives like this one come with a pre-installed dark hue, but the black anodized steel isn’t the same look. It wasn’t earned. That pointless nostalgia set aside, this Marine Combat Knife from Ontario Knives is still the real thing, updated and improved.
There’s nothing fancy about this knife. The preferences of American soldiers designed it–this knife is the successor of the combat knife built for that market. Americans wanted something simple and stout that you could use as a lever as well as a knife, and this is the result. It hasn’t been pared away to save on weight, or redesigned with “better ideas.” It’s still the same basic knife that hit the beaches of Iwo Jima, and it will serve just as dependably if all you do is camp out for the weekend or go hunting in the Rockies. The good designs don’t go away.
