Canadian belt knives

PayetteRucker said:
R Murphy Belt Knife-18 bucks, made in the USA of 1095 High Carbon steel with nice distinct grained hardwoods-I've seen rosewood, Ironwood, Zebrawood, and a few others-mine is Zebrawood. Brass pins. Well placed jimping, blade is about .125 inches thick. Very nice even convex grind with a crappy microbevel that I buffed out. With about 5 minutes of work it's probably just as nice as a grohmann. The constant rocker to the blade is a bit different but is stupendous for camp cooking. I brought mine on a 5 day whitewater trip and did all sorts of cooking tasks with it. It does other things well, too... started a few one stick fires, some linework etc.

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keep it drenched in oil, or force a patina-it likes to rust.
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Is that a 12" tram in your pic? How do you like it? Have one just haven't gotten to use it yet.
 
Shotgun said:
Who has them and what do you think of them? I'm interested in the design and cold steel has one for about 12 bucks so thinking about ordering one. Is the cold steel a piece of crap or will it give me a good feel for the design so as to possibly upgrade later? On the high end, who makes them close to the original design other than Grohmann? Not that Grohmann's bad, just looking for other options/features. Steel, handles, etc. Oh and pics if ya got em!:D
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I felt the same way as you and bought a CS version to test the blade before investing money on a more expensive version. I am very pleasantly surprised at the utility of the blade shape but the CS has drawbacks because it is too light and the blade steel a little too thin to feel good in the hands. As a kitchen knife or light shop light, it is very handy, but it doesn't have enough "heft" in my hands for lengthy chores, nor does it feel right when resting my thumb on the spine.

The CS did demonstrate the feasibility of the Canadian design and I will get a BRKT version as a result (I like the handle design better than the blocky Grohman).
 
I dont own one, but I would say the R Murphy is a safe bet. They have been making knives for a long time, and they make them to be used...kinda like an American Mora.
 
I have several Grohmanns in carbon, and also a blatant ripoff from Solingen that I like even better just based on edge holding, as it seems to have been run a couple points harder.

As to what kind of steel is used, I've never gotten an answer on the stainless, but was told by one of the company reps that the carbon steel was "about 0.75 percent carbon" which, to me says it's 1075 until I hear differently.

I find the leaf blade shape to be wonderful--plenty of belly for slicing, enough taper to the point to be useful for piercing but much stronger and less snag-happy than a clip point. As to the handle, obviously it's a case of personal preference, but I find the constant criticisms about the size of the handles slightly amusing, as my cousin who shares that opinion about these knives is a fanatical model builder, and spends hours doing precision cutting work with exacto knives whose handles have about a third as much area to hold onto.

In all, a good working pattern that'll do almost anything you'd ever need to do with a knife.
 
Got the CS model and haven't done much more than stream-side trout cleaning and puttering around the house. So far it's enough for me and would recommend it. I do agree that the sheath isn't too hot but I can live with it. Price was a concern so I didn't get a Grohman knife like I wanted to but overall what I have is very sharp and usable.
 
Here's a Brian Andrews and Bryan Breeden side by each eh?

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The Grohman's can be had in carbon and stainless. Their carbon is okay but doesn't take an edge quite like the two Brian's/Bryan's O1 above. I had the Canadian boat knife for a little bit, then gifted it to a good buddy after he managed to get his first bowdrill coal with me.
 
t1mpani said:
I have several Grohmanns in carbon, and also a blatant ripoff from Solingen that I like even better just based on edge holding, as it seems to have been run a couple points harder.

As to what kind of steel is used, I've never gotten an answer on the stainless, but was told by one of the company reps that the carbon steel was "about 0.75 percent carbon" which, to me says it's 1075 until I hear differently.

I find the leaf blade shape to be wonderful--plenty of belly for slicing, enough taper to the point to be useful for piercing but much stronger and less snag-happy than a clip point. As to the handle, obviously it's a case of personal preference, but I find the constant criticisms about the size of the handles slightly amusing, as my cousin who shares that opinion about these knives is a fanatical model builder, and spends hours doing precision cutting work with exacto knives whose handles have about a third as much area to hold onto.

In all, a good working pattern that'll do almost anything you'd ever need to do with a knife.
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Couldn't have said it better myself. Here's a picture of my carbon steel Grohmann knives. I guess you could say I like them too:thumbup:

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I love the willow-leaf blade. I get the most use out of it over my other blades. I have had two BRKT Canadian Specials and think it is one of the most useful knive Mike has made. One got USED and one I traded off without using before I messed up the pretty handle. Bryan Breeden's Pathfinder is a wonderful knife, very handy and quite tough (I have been particularly hard on Bryan's stuff). Brian Andrews has set me up with what has become my all-time favorite knife - the Slim Jim, slightly smaller than the other two and with a continuous curve on the edge. Neither Bryan nor Brian refer to their knives as "Canadian," to the best ofmy knowledge, but I think the knives both subscribe to the general concept or at least may be worthy of consideration in the context of the original question.

Just some pics for you to compare features....

BGA Slim Jim, Flat Grind:
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BGA Slim Jim, Scandi - somewhere in that picture anyway:
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BRKT CS in GCM put to a lot of use:
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BRKT CC in B&G Linen turned around quickly because it was not terribly handy:
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BRKT CS with a purty handle:
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Breeden Pathfinder got a workout and was a great knife:
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dipbait said:
I like that BarkRiver handle.^
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Glad someone mentioned that - I was not impressed with the handle at all when I first saw it. A trusted member of another forum reviewed the CS with the same predisposition and ended up liking it. I had followed his good advice on gear previously and decided to try it. In spite of the finger grips, it is very versatile and handles very well. I was wrong - it's a good handle but I had to use it to understand that.
 
I have a BarkRiver CC and I don't much care for the handle. The finger grooves are ok it's the square edges along the bottom of the handle I don't care for. JMO
 
Shotgun said:
Is that a 12" tram in your pic? How do you like it? Have one just haven't gotten to use it yet.
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14-it's awesome. I flat ground mine, it bites very deep. Light, precise, just a monster V-notcher. All but effortless to swing, and the handle is comfy. The edge is prone to rolling but it's alright-an easy fix with a softstone.
 
I have the CS version and like it for the most part. I've used it as a light weight belt knife while fishing several times and it saw it's heaviest use as as the main food prep blade for a group of about 10 on a long weekend. IMO, a good inexpensive knife as others have commented.

I recently purchased a JK Scandi Pocketmuk from JK Knives. Designed by BF member JDS1, it reminded me of the Canadian Belt Knife from the first time I saw it.

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I have a Bark River Canadian Special that I really like. I like it enough that I have a Lil Canadian in 3V coming in the mail.
 
I went on a quick afternoon hike yesterday and took the CS Canadian Belt Knife along to try it out on some basic bushcrafting. As I said in my earlier post, I had only used it as a utility knife and for food prep.

I did a little light batoning and made some curls. This was easily the most uncomfortable handle design I have ever used, it was literally painful. The pommel end of the handle dug into my hand and I would not want to use it for any cutting that required even moderate pressure.

As a slicer, it works fine. For more aggressive use, I give it an F.

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Has anybody else tried the Frost's version? I like mine better than the Grohman I modified/put a new tip on:

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It is laminated, holds its edge better, and fits me a bit better for some reason.

I really like the Stag handled Grohman I found on the street:
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I've got a hollow ground ss Grohmann I've used for years in the backwoods and now have a stag handled flat ground ss model that I'm using. They are great knives imo.
I have the CS version that I mostly use at home as a paring knife.
 
I picked up a grohmann #1 stainless knife kit from an outdoor store closing down for like 20$ or so 10 or 12 years ago
I made one in the world boyscout jamboree in 1981 and have missed it since my brother borrowed (and lost) it without permission in 1990 or so

put the new kit together and used it hard for years

great hiking/camp kitchen knife

I have the cs canadian in my camp kitchen box with a cs longhunter for a chefs knife
 
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