- Joined
- Feb 3, 2001
- Messages
- 32,293
Ken, the knife is on it's way to you as we speak it went out late yesterday Priority Mail, I should have just drove it down to you, I just live on the other side of the Delaware.
Grohman Survival Passaround - SIGNUP
- Thread starter DaveH
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2001
- Messages
- 32,293
Now that the knife is in your hand, I'll tell you what I thought about the knife.
Anytime a knife is preceded by the word "survival", compromises had to be made. A Survival Knife has to be able to get,(make traps,spears, dead falls, snares, ect)and clean game, build shelter, dig holes(remember we are talking survival here), make firewood, cook, operate(remove splinters), and other mundane survival tasks.
Each one of those tasks requires a specialized blade and handle configuration to efficiently accomplish those tasks, a wide, heavy blade is better for chopping, and splitting, a thinner, smaller blade is better suited for skinning and cutting fleshy material, and so on.
Put all these qualities into one knife and you get a fragile, unwieldy, uncomfortable knife that's really not good for much of anything.
The Grohamnn is not one of those knives, it's not the best knife for survival but it's better than most.
It cut through a bunch of 2" 3" sumac,(not the poisonous kind) without getting dull, it sliced a bunch of cardboard for firestarting,and cut up some vegetables for dinner.
Things I liked:
The knife was a compact size yet was a fairly heavyduty blade.
The blade held a decent edge, and was easy to sharpen and strop.
It split kindling like crazy.
For a knife that was meant to be used in an emergency it would be better than most production Survival Knives, with a little tuning it would work easier.
The blade could have been a little heavier,(with more weight forward of the handle, this would make for better chopping.
The handle could have been contoured/thinned down more, I felt it was too wide and uncomfortable, after 5 min. of chopping my hand was sore.
The primary grind could have been higher, making the blade a little thinner, this would have made it a better slicer.
As I said before, when you make a knife that has to do it all, compromises have to be made, so for now I'll keep my EK Bowie for my survival blade and pack other specialized equipment as required.
Someone once said, and I'm paraphrasing,"...a survival knife is the knife you have on you when the need arises"
I've yet to find the perfect survival knife, but I'll keep on looking.
Anytime a knife is preceded by the word "survival", compromises had to be made. A Survival Knife has to be able to get,(make traps,spears, dead falls, snares, ect)and clean game, build shelter, dig holes(remember we are talking survival here), make firewood, cook, operate(remove splinters), and other mundane survival tasks.
Each one of those tasks requires a specialized blade and handle configuration to efficiently accomplish those tasks, a wide, heavy blade is better for chopping, and splitting, a thinner, smaller blade is better suited for skinning and cutting fleshy material, and so on.
Put all these qualities into one knife and you get a fragile, unwieldy, uncomfortable knife that's really not good for much of anything.
The Grohamnn is not one of those knives, it's not the best knife for survival but it's better than most.
It cut through a bunch of 2" 3" sumac,(not the poisonous kind) without getting dull, it sliced a bunch of cardboard for firestarting,and cut up some vegetables for dinner.
Things I liked:
The knife was a compact size yet was a fairly heavyduty blade.
The blade held a decent edge, and was easy to sharpen and strop.
It split kindling like crazy.
For a knife that was meant to be used in an emergency it would be better than most production Survival Knives, with a little tuning it would work easier.
The blade could have been a little heavier,(with more weight forward of the handle, this would make for better chopping.
The handle could have been contoured/thinned down more, I felt it was too wide and uncomfortable, after 5 min. of chopping my hand was sore.
The primary grind could have been higher, making the blade a little thinner, this would have made it a better slicer.
As I said before, when you make a knife that has to do it all, compromises have to be made, so for now I'll keep my EK Bowie for my survival blade and pack other specialized equipment as required.
Someone once said, and I'm paraphrasing,"...a survival knife is the knife you have on you when the need arises"
I've yet to find the perfect survival knife, but I'll keep on looking.
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2000
- Messages
- 1,194
The knife was shipped out on Tuesday, and Jason (TBG) should have it very soon. Unfortunately, due to some of the things Mother Nature threw my way, I didn't really have an opportunity to field test the Grohman properly. But, it did see some indoor activity.
I used it first in the kitchen. It worked great at chopping scallions and onions. When I moved on to harder veggies, although the knife sliced carrots fine, the weight of the blade combined with the rocking motion with the knife got to my wrist and hand. That is however understandable, as this is not what the knife was designed for.
Next, I moved on to cutting up cardboard for recycling. The blade cut fine, but the thickness of the blade slowed the action when cutting long pieces. Again, if I were depending on a knife for survival, recycling cardboard would not be high on my list of priorities. I chopped up some scraps of wood, and there the knife performed excellently.
As others have said, it's not the perfect survival knife, but aside from the strap across the sheath, it is a good choice. Thanks again to Dave for giving us a chance to "test drive" one of your knives.
Ken
I used it first in the kitchen. It worked great at chopping scallions and onions. When I moved on to harder veggies, although the knife sliced carrots fine, the weight of the blade combined with the rocking motion with the knife got to my wrist and hand. That is however understandable, as this is not what the knife was designed for.
Next, I moved on to cutting up cardboard for recycling. The blade cut fine, but the thickness of the blade slowed the action when cutting long pieces. Again, if I were depending on a knife for survival, recycling cardboard would not be high on my list of priorities. I chopped up some scraps of wood, and there the knife performed excellently.
As others have said, it's not the perfect survival knife, but aside from the strap across the sheath, it is a good choice. Thanks again to Dave for giving us a chance to "test drive" one of your knives.
Ken
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2002
- Messages
- 5,868
OK, its time to send her back and to be honest I really didn't get a chance to even really fondle her properly. I received the knife on Friday right before I went out for the night and on Saturday I received my Pre-Ordered Buck Mayo and my attention was stolen away. From what I seen of this knife over the weekend, it appears to be of high quality. I like the blade style, the wooden scales remind me of a kitchen knife. Although it appears to be a great knife, I don't think I will end up buying one, there are just too many out there and this one just didn't have anything that stuck out about it that screamed BUY ME. Thanks for the chance to check it out and DaveH you have mail. Thanks
