THE ONTARIO CAMP PLUS FOLDING KNIVES ARE AFFORDABLE, USEFUL FOOD PREP BLADES

Food prep can get messy. That’s especially true when I’m handling the kitchen chores. Normally, fixed blades are the right choice for such work. And, normally, it pays to invest in the best kitchen knives you can afford. Otherwise, over time you’ll end up with a drawer full of dull, bent and broken knives that cost in total what you could have paid for a half dozen quality knives that could last a lifetime.

AFFORDABLE FOLDERS

The exception for me is in a camp kitchen where very little is normal because that’s where I’m the chief cook and bottle washer. Lately, I’ve been trying out the three folding knives from the Ontario Knife Company (OKC) that comprise the company’s Camp Plus series. The series includes a chef’s knife, a santoku and a bread knife that can perform well and can be purchased separately for—this is no typo—$12.95 each.

“I put the Ontario Camp Plus knives to work preparing the ingredients for making a Dutch oven beef stew.”

When car camping or in hunting camp, I bring along a plastic tub with a lid that contains most of the accessories I use for my portable kitchen. But when I’m tired and hungry, and it’s getting dark after a long day in the woods or on the water, I don’t want to get stung by the sharp side of a blade when I stick my hand into that container to retrieve something in a hurry. Space is limited in that container, too.

The santoku

The santoku includes a set of scallops or indentations on each side of the blade designed to help keep food from sticking to the blade.

So, for a camp kitchen kit, I’ve found that a set of folding knives can be a plus. Take into account, too, that I’m no master chef preparing meals for elite clientele in a fancy restaurant. I don’t need highly specialized knives. I do, however, like to make an extra effort to eat well in camp these days.

Rarely now do I simply open a can of something I brought along because I happen to have found it in my cupboard at home. That might have sufficed when I was younger, but I’m out to enjoy the total experience these days and good meals are part of that.

So, I need to have knives handy for the camp meals I prepare, but I need them to store in a small space. I don’t want to keep expensive cutlery in my kitchen kit that might spend many idle weeks between outings.

I also don’t want to bring expensive cutlery that might get neglected during a trip or abused if I put them to work on other camp chores. I don’t want to worry about them getting lost or stolen, either.

The bread knife

The bread knife has a finely serrated edge. The author likes to have at least one serrated blade in his kitchen kit at all times.

SOME DETAILS

Each of these Ontario Camp Plus models is a lock-back folder with AUS-8 stainless steel blade and a green, glass-filled nylon handle with suitable texturing for a sure-handed grip. The blades are smaller than what you’d find on the typical chef’s knife, santoku or bread knife you’d use at home.

Each Camp Plus knife blade is 4.25 inches long. That’s plenty long enough for my needs, opening food packages, chopping veggies and slicing meat.

“I alternated between the chef’s knife and santoku in cutting carrots, small potatoes, celery and onions into bite-sized chunks.”

The chef’s knife and santoku are very similar in profile, but the chef’s knife has a hollow grind, while the santoku features a flat grind with the addition of vertical relief cuts on the sides of the blade that could be an aid in slicing food that tends to stick to the blade. The bread knife has fine serrations and is a good third knife in the series, as a serrated blade can come in handy for more than just slicing bread.

The chef’s knife

The chef’s knife proved to be a very capable knife for all-around camp kitchen work.

PUT TO THE TEST

I began testing these knives last fall. The great thing about testing food prep blades is that you get to have a good meal at the end of it. Each year, my brother, nephew and I set up an outfitter’s tent on state land for the duration of the deer season. We keep food out of the tent so as not to attract annoying critters.

For our camp kitchen, we erect a tarp over a folding table where I set up my old Coleman two-burner stove. I also make good use of our fire pit, where I might grill meat or bake things in my cast iron Dutch ovens.

It can get quite chilly during the hunting season, so hot and hearty meals are welcome. I put the Ontario Camp Plus knives to work preparing the ingredients for making a Dutch oven beef stew. This time, I used charcoal briquettes as my heat source.

The glass-filled nylon handles

The glass-filled nylon handles on these knives are simple, rugged and sufficiently grippy.

I brought two strip steaks in a cooler for the stew and found them still frozen when it was time to ready them for the oven. This proved no problem for these Ontario knives, which sliced easily through the rock-hard meat. I placed the chunks of steak into the bottom of one Dutch oven with a little water, Worcestershire sauce and steak seasoning. I placed that oven directly into the coals to brown the meat.

While the meat was cooking, I alternated between the chef’s knife and santoku in cutting carrots, small potatoes, celery and onions into bite-sized chunks. I chose creamer potatoes that are about the size of ping pong balls because they needed only to be sliced into two and left unpeeled because the skin is so thin. I also added a one-pound package of frozen peas.

military surplus collapsible bowl as a container for the chopped veggies

The author used a military surplus collapsible bowl as a container for the chopped veggies that went into his stew.

When the meat was cooked, I added the chopped vegetables, powdered beef gravy mix and some water. I put the recessed lid on the oven and placed coals on the lid so that I was baking from above and below. I then stacked a second oven on top of the first. It contained precut biscuits in a nine-inch cake pan on top of a cooling tray inside the Dutch oven. I then added coals to the top of that second Dutch oven.

The biscuits were done in about 25 minutes. But as the outside temperature was in the mid-20s F, I had to light a second load of charcoal in the starter cylinder to ensure the potatoes and carrots in the stew were thoroughly cooked. I pushed a few of the coals off to the side and started a campfire to keep myself warm as the stew cooked.

The knives cleaned up easily. I might add a bent paper clip and some gun cleaning patches to my kitchen kit to reach into the inner parts of the knife handles should food become lodged in them. Knives washed and then immediately dried, I didn’t have to worry about the formation of rust. I could wipe each blade with a vegetable oil-soaked cloth if I was concerned about that at all.

OKC Camp Plus knives to prepare the ingredients for his Dutch oven beef stew

The author used the OKC Camp Plus knives to prepare the ingredients for his Dutch oven beef stew.

Over the next couple of weeks, I used all three knives, including the bread knife, in my home kitchen for whatever food prep tasks presented themselves. The knives started out sufficiently sharp and I haven’t seen the need to touch up the edges yet. The textured handles worked well dry or wet in my warm kitchen or my cold camp. I always felt in complete control with my grip on these knives.

I was initially concerned because even though the handles are long and wide enough, they are also very thin. But as I said, I’m usually cooking for a small family group, not an entire restaurant, so I wasn’t performing any protracted tasks where I would have preferred beefier handles that fill the palm.

temporary deer camp

The author took his knife testing on the road to his temporary deer camp last fall to see how they’d perform in field conditions.

WORTHWHILE EXPENSE

For less than $39, you can own all three of these knives that can serve you well in your camp kitchen. You really can’t go wrong at that price. Drop them into your kitchen kit and keep them there for your next outing.

Because they fold, they won’t damage other contents of your kit and they won’t poke you when you’re rummaging around for your salt shaker or spatula. I would like to see Ontario add a narrow, pointy paring knife to the series. I have a tasty baked apple recipe and a paring knife would come in handy when preparing that. 

author stacked the two Dutch ovens one atop the other.

To make the most efficient use of his coals, the author stacked the two Dutch ovens one atop the other.

Dutch oven

The author has made cakes, cobblers, stews, roasts and his nearly indigestible cheesy chili mac and beef in Dutch ovens over the years.

The author’s beef stew

The author’s beef stew is ready to be cooked in the coals.

 author baked some biscuits

To go with the stew, the author baked some biscuits, half of which he ate before the stew was finished cooking.

SPECS

Ontario Camp Plus Bread Knife
Overall Length: 9.51 inches
Blade Length: 4.25 inches
Blade Material: AUS-8 stainless steel
Handle Material: Glass-filled nylon
Locking Mechanism: Back lock
Other: Folding knife
MSRP: $12.95

Ontario Camp Plus Chef Knife
Overall Length: 9.51 inches
Blade Length: 4.25 inches
Blade Material: AUS-8 stainless steel
Handle Material: Glass-filled nylon
Locking Mechanism: Back lock
Other: Folding knife
MSRP: $12.95

Ontario Camp Plus Santoku

Overall Length: 9.51 inches
Blade Length: 4.25 inches
Blade Material: AUS-8 stainless steel
Handle Material: Glass-filled nylon
Locking Mechanism: Back lock
Other: Folding knife
MSRP: $12.95

PUTTING TOGETHER A PORTABLE CAMP KITCHEN

Elsewhere in this issue, Reuben Bolieu gives you some great ideas on how to put together a camp kitchen from scratch, using little more than a bushcraft blade, maybe a saw and materials he finds in the woods.

For many of my outings—summer camping trips with the family and deer camp in the fall—I’m staying close to my vehicle, so I can afford to bring a more elaborate camp kitchen setup.

As I mentioned earlier, I have a plastic bin with a top that contains most of my kitchen accessories. Inside there are two smaller plastic bins, one inside the other, that help to organize the contents and serve double duty as my wash and rinse basins. There’s a set of three nesting cook pots of various sizes with lids that also serve as frying pans. I have utensils for at least five people, a large plastic spoon and a plastic spatula.

For knives, I now have these Ontario Camp Plus folding knives in my kit, along with an Attleboro Knives Gramps model that is a combination knife and fork that is great for moving things about on a grill.

I have a resealable plastic bag that contains some basic seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic salt, chili powder and all-purpose seasoning. Another bag in the bin contains my dishwashing kit with scouring sponge, bottle of liquid soap and a plastic scraper in case I’m overly exuberant with the heat when cooking. I have pot holders, and a couple of super-absorbent microfiber towels, too. Rounding out the kitchen kit are a set of thin plastic dishes, some steel mugs and a military surplus collapsible bowl.

For a camp stove, I have used the same Coleman dual-fuel two-burner stove for about 35 years and I see no reason to change now. We’re old friends. It uses no throw-away propane canisters and I can use unleaded gasoline to fuel it in a pinch. For grilling, most times I bring along just a grill top to place across a couple hunks of firewood. I have also used a tabletop kettle-style charcoal grill at times.

I have an old-style coffee percolator that I use for coffee in the morning and, after removing the innards, heating water any time for hot cocoa, instant oatmeal or dishwater. The cast iron cookware I use on any particular trip depends on the menu. If the meals are going to be more elaborate, I might bring one or two of my Dutch ovens (the kind with integral legs on the bottom). Other times, I might bring only a skillet or frying pan.

SOURCE

Ontario Knife Company (OKC)
OntarioKnife.com

 

A version of this article first appeared in the March/April 2023 print issue of Knives Illustrated.