A Canadian Review Of a Canadian knife.

savagesicslayer

savagesicslayer

Gold Member
Joined
May 24, 2005
Messages
3,345
I bought myself a Grohmann Survival #4 for Christmas.I have had eye on one for quite a while so when I found one at a local outdoor shop I pounced.
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I'll lay down some specs:
Blade approx. 5 1/2" x 1 3/8", of 3/16" stock, total length of 10 5/16".Stainless steel. Handles are Rosewood with brass pins and a lanyard hole.
I found the knife to be more solid than it looked.everything is tight and meets up evenly.The only blemish is a very small nick in the wood scale in the lanyard hole.if your not looking for it you won't see it.
Now for the test.....
I did the first part of my testing in my basement.I work nights so I do most of my living at night.I started whittling a stick for a special project you'll see later.
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The factory edge is great.I was curling the wood as I cut it away.
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So I wanted to see how tough it was so I decided to split some wood.Bushcraft style.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=159&
pictureid=1698
It worked quite well...
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Remember that special project I mentioned earlier.Pest control is an important thing in a rural home.It's not a tackle box but it'll the the job done.
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I baited it with peanut butter.I found they go crazy for it.The squashing part is a big piece of birch.
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Outdoors time....
-15'C seemed like great hiking weather so my buddy and I decided to hit the woods.
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We found a spot out of the wind and got a fire going.I craved up some frozen wood and bark to get things rolling.
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and rolling it did......
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The sheath is a single piece of leather It's thick and tough.though,the strap isn't designed for longevity IMHO.The edge contacts the strap every time the knife is removed and replaced.despite this the knife fits very well in the sheath and is held in place firmly by the strap.the makers state that it's supposed to ride high for comfort while riding or sitting.I'd liken it to how a bark river Bravo-1 or Gameskeeper ride in their stock sheaths.
As far as the knife is concerned it works excellent.The design feels great in the hand and feels great while working.No hot spots.I look forward to using this knife for a long time to come.
On a side note.At the Grohmann website you can order many other options for this and any other knife they sell.Carbon steel blades,different handle materials ect.
 
Great review, nice pics too. I thank you for taking the time to do this , especially because I have been very curious how these perform.
 
Grohmann make great knives. I have a flat grind #1. I find that the sheath if you do the "boiled leather" trick becomes vastly improved. Just melt some beeswax in a double boiler and paint it on the sheath. Then hold the sheath over a gas burner (well above the flames!) and let the wax soak in. Do this a couple of times til no more wax is absorbed, and on the last time when the sheath is still hot put the knife back in (carefully so as to not cut the supple hot leather) and mold the sheath around the knife. When cool you now have a HARD form fitting sheath that is ten times better than it was. Only takes half an hour. And if you wrap the knife in cling wrap you can cool the sheath quicky under running water.
Chris
 
I know ive gotten a lot of use out of my #4, one thing though my factory edge was horrible, It wasn't even symmetrical at the base of the edge and had no shaving ability which kinda peeved me. And the only thing I can say about the sheath is try and get an "army" version sheath, it has a flap and doesn't have the part where the knife can cut into it, its like a pistol holster, much better design.
 
I thought about buying a Grohmann too. I even visited their factory in september
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- but then didn't do it.
I think they look interesting, but just not my style.
Glad you like yours though.
ilten
 
My haul from the Grohmann factory this summer.

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The #100 skinner was the first knife I bought for myself as a teenager with money made from my first job, it's still going strong.

Unfortunately Grohmann lost their contract with the Canadian military this year to a company providing cheap Chinese made knock-offs:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/09/16/may-mackay.html

The local company manufacturing their sheaths is also affected:

http://www.trurodaily.com/index.cfm?sid=173921&sc=518

Apparenty the contract is for about 6000 knives per year worth about $100,000. This must make up a lot, if not the majority of their annual sales (they have had this contract for years). I hope they can survive without this contact, it would be a shame to see another fine local company to go out of business.

If you haven't added one to your collection, now would be a good time to show your support, you won't be disappointed !

http://www.grohmannknives.com/index2.html





... and thanks for the review of the #4 survival knife!
 
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Great review!

It's nice to see a no. 4 getting some field time. I love mine, and it has served me well for years. Glad to hear yours is performing well too, savagesicslayer.

The sheath strap problem is legendary. Not much you can do about it, unfortunately. My latest has held up for five years, but it is frayed and I think I might make a pouch sheath in the near future. Koster's nessmuk quick-draw sheaths seem to have a similar design, but it looks like the strap manages to stay out of the way of the blade - perhaps that is a model to emulate.

All the best,

- Mike

PS Spot on mckrob - the CF cancellation of the Grohmann contract was truly bad form.
 
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I just recieved one of these in a trade about 2 months ago. I attempted to trade or sell it right away..it is currently sitting in the box. I liked the feel, but I have so many knives...I think I will give it a second go. I would add that mine is very sharp..infact I cut myself with it..I see what you mean about the sheath getting cut because of the design. Thanks for the awesome review. Gene
 
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Grohmanns always interested me.... particularly that one...I wish they made that model in carbon steel....Great review btw.
 
Thanks for the heads up..doesn't seem like there us online dealers have teh carbon model though...what I like most about them is the classic look. alot of production fixed blades these days have such a tactical look to them..it's kind of a pet peeve but.
 
They also offer a pouch ahd flap sheath...looks like you could order it in just about the perfect form. Gene
 
RescueRiley said:
Thanks for the heads up..doesn't seem like there us online dealers have teh carbon model though...what I like most about them is the classic look. alot of production fixed blades these days have such a tactical look to them..it's kind of a pet peeve but.
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you can also order directly from the factory, the prices are a bit higher, but they have probably the best selection of the various options for each model; steel, handle materials, sheaths.

when I was there in August, they let me pick the sheath that I wanted for each model.

from their website:

"if you cannot find what you are looking for from a dealer, or are looking for seconds (scratch & dent final sale items) Grohmann does sell direct from the factory (toll free phone: 1-888-7-KNIVES)"




.
 
I really need to pick up one of the Grohmanns. They're great knives, I really like the design. It would be great if I could track down a flat grind carbon #1.
 
Early on Christmas morning I decided to cut up some treats for our critters.2 Llamas a Miniature Donkey and a 1500 lb workhorse.
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I found slicing the apples very easy with this shape of a knife.The Handle shape keeps your fingers away from the counter as you chop/slice.
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A Christmas treat for my buddies in the barn..
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Later on in the day mom was preparing out awesome turkey dinner but first she needed to get through the squash.My new #4 was called up for the job. I cut the tough squash by stabbing the knife in through the top then cut straight down.The squash cracked some as I cut it making it much easier.
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Now I'm going to go sleep off my turkey dinner....
 
Great review, thanks. I've been looking at those for a while now. My family is in Yarmouth so perhaps I can talk one of them into going and picking one up for me. If the money ever starts rolling in that is.
 
I had a model 4 about 5 years ago, and it was a fine knife. Like a dumb #$%, I sold it. I sure would like to get another one.
 
mckrob said:
Unfortunately Grohmann lost their contract with the Canadian military this year to a company providing cheap Chinese made knock-offs:
Click to expand...
Hmmm... Grohmann probably couldn't offer a competetive price to the government due to the onus of government mandates and taxes, so they lose their contract to the Chinese who aren't burdened with such niceties. There's some irony there.
 
savagesicslayer said:
The squash cracked some as I cut it making it much easier.
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I've always understood that to be the sign of a ripe Watermelon...or, I guess, a squash. It cracks ahead of the knife...anyone else ever hear this?

In any case, great review. I've liked this knife for a long time, but never picked one up.
 
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