My One and Only - I'm cured!

E

edmundo.gurza

Joined
May 15, 2013
Messages
144
I found my holly grail! It may not be my only (if you count the spartan in the glovebox of my car or the opinel y my toolbox), but it is the only one that will be everyday in my pocket until the end (or if I lose it). Something possessed me this morning to visit the Grohmann factory in Pictou Nova Scotia, Canada. Since I got an email from a good employee telling me she had a few at a great price that I may be very interested in. So off I went on a 45 min drive to the historical town of Pictou.

So I went into the Grohmann store and tested out my new favorite one. I recently got a mini russell lock (Which I love), but I am slim so it is a bit too bulky for pocket carry. So it resides mostly on my work bag or will get used mostly outdoors (PS: for a great price I got two of those, one of them is being auctioned.. but I am not talking about that here anyway. The one I showed in pictures is staying in my collection because I love the shape of it). So off I went into the store.

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It is very hard to miss the store from the outside and from the inside it is heaven from any knifenut for sure. The friendly Nova Scotian staff treated me very well and guided me towards my possible life partner. I played a bit with it and loved it.

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This is my new and last knife. They had a handfull of them with very minor scratches on the handles for a 50% reduction of the price. So I got two of them (one just in case I lose it later in life). This little guy has nickel silver bolsters, brass liners & pins, definitely built to last. There is a stainless steel spring as well as the blade is an equivalent of AUS 6 with a rockwell 56-58 and is sharp as $#%$@ already. Blade approximately 3" and it is full flat grind, closed length 3 3/4", open overall length 6 3/4". With a very good spring tension and the blade is very pinchable. It is very similar to the French Alsacien knife. I love this knife, the steel is great, easy to sharpen and very resistant to corrosion. The blade is nice and well proportioned to the handle and of a good thickness (probably about 2mm or a little less).

The following video is what got me thinking about it and second guessing my original choice.. I guess if it is good enough for Ray Mears from BBC it is good enough for me.

[video=youtube;mYUqDSxBOAs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYUqDSxBOAs&feature=share&list=UU8TosB4kLeZBlx6zwIkD8zw[/video]​
 
Cool knife! It reminds me of a single blade copperhead a little bit. I can't tell from the photo, but is it capped or bolstered at the end? I would love to see some more photos of it.
 
burnside said:
Cool knife! It reminds me of a single blade copperhead a little bit. I can't tell from the photo, but is it capped or bolstered at the end? I would love to see some more photos of it.
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I think it is capped.. but i can see a tiny bit of the outline of the bolster on the top part. I'll put some more pictures up once I get my camera handy.
 
Very nice little knife, Edmundo!:thumbup:

The basic shape reminds me a bit of the old yellow and green box Puma Junior. The junior was a two blade though, with a second pen blade on the opposite end, with nice wood scales. This knife's shape is reminiscent of that one. It was very comfortable in hand, and did the edc pocket knife role very well. Sometimes I regret selling it off, but...oh well.

It must have been cool to visit the Grohmann place. I've long admired their knives for the basic effective design. Good stuff there.:thumbup:

Carl.
 
jackknife said:
Very nice little knife, Edmundo!:thumbup:

The basic shape reminds me a bit of the old yellow and green box Puma Junior. The junior was a two blade though, with a second pen blade on the opposite end, with nice wood scales. This knife's shape is reminiscent of that one. It was very comfortable in hand, and did the edc pocket knife role very well. Sometimes I regret selling it off, but...oh well.

It must have been cool to visit the Grohmann place. I've long admired their knives for the basic effective design. Good stuff there.:thumbup:

Carl.
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Yes the shape is very similar Carl. It fits very well in the pocket and stays where I like it it is also as light as a Buck 302 solitaire or even lighter. There are no sharp edges anywhere so it is not a pocket ripper. I used to have one of those bucks but I found it just kept trying to sit horizontally, this one sits (bolster down) vertically very well without wobbling around in my pocket.

They have so much on their outlet due to very minor handle imperfections (sometimes just a little scuff on the bolster because of sitting on a table the wrong way, nothing that compromises the knife integrity). I really wanted to just be there and hand pick mine though, so while I was there and because the price was around $35 each I picked up two of them. It took all my self control to not take also a fixed blade fish and trout or a Canadian military fixed blade as well, they were going for about $50 plus tax. Maybe another day...
 
Nice post Edmundo and a nice-looking knife :thumbup:
 
Beautiful knife - must say I'm a bit jealous you found "the one" so quickly lol
Must be a good feeling!
 
Congratulations. Very nice choice. I saw some pics of a Grohmann fish knife recently and can't get it out of my mind now so I commend you on your powers of resistance.
 
That's a fine looking knife sir! that wood really compliments the bolsters and pins. Looks like a good blade to handle ratio too! congratulations all around!
 
Well you've convinced me. I have been wanting that exact knife for a long time. Since it would take me about 3 days to drive to Pictou I'll have to use other means;)
 
I just checked them out online, and for the clearance price I am intrigued. Could you post some more pictures/your impressions when you get a chance? I'd be interested in some comparison shots with other knives that may be popular on this here forum. I'm also curious what your impression of the "imperfections."

Thanks in advance
 
Toddwalla said:
I just checked them out online, and for the clearance price I am intrigued. Could you post some more pictures/your impressions when you get a chance? I'd be interested in some comparison shots with other knives that may be popular on this here forum. I'm also curious what your impression of the "imperfections."

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

I will definitely post some other pictures as soon as I can. But right off the bat I can tell you that my impressions are fantastic. The knife is not a perfect fit and finish but they are handbuilt, and they are built to last this really comes through in their construction and materials. Their high carbon steel is great I have seen people I know opening cans (very often) with their Gromann army knives and the knife holds very well and sharpens easily. All their product line is really built for the rough Canadian environments and for people who will make a living using them.

This particular knife is probably their most "delicate" blade and it is very nice and thick, but it tapers very well with the flat grind, has a great snap to it and I got it razor sharp with the back of a mug in less than 5 minutes. It makes me think that this is how a pocket knife is truly supposed to work. The steel holds very well against corrosion (they have been tested in the Atlantic waters over and over again by lobster and other fishermen).

If you email them or call them you can talk to someone and they would be very happy to handpick one of the ones with imprefections for you. I called her and got her to pick to and set them aside for me. She can also arrange good shipping prices, it is nice to be able to address someone and not just blindly buy online. Most of the imperfections are just minor grooves in the wood (one of mine is like someone held their thumb nail against the wood and made a mark on it, the other has a minor scuff on the bolster from probably moving around the desk). But you could call her and ask her to make sure they don't have side to side blade play (none of the ones I saw there did at all) or a considerable crack on the wood (again none of the cracks I saw went the whole way either). These 50% off are clearly user knives but they are built very strongly and will hold up to anything you throw at them.

I hope that helps a bit for now... again you can msg them and ask, I am sure they would be happy to help.
 
yobbos1 said:
Well you've convinced me. I have been wanting that exact knife for a long time. Since it would take me about 3 days to drive to Pictou I'll have to use other means;)
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Yeaa.. I may be moving more inland in the next few years. So when I picked up one.. I picked up TWO! to make sure I don't end up in a predicament like that hehe.
 
Toddwalla said:
That's a fine looking knife sir! that wood really compliments the bolsters and pins. Looks like a good blade to handle ratio too! congratulations all around!
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yea I am impressed how well it handles and how well it is balanced. In the pocket it is pretty much invisible and with a hanky there it stays up no problem without me having to readjust around every so often (it can get awkward sometimes haha).
 
edmundo.gurza said:
I will definitely post some other pictures as soon as I can. But right off the bat I can tell you that my impressions are fantastic. The knife is not a perfect fit and finish but they are handbuilt, and they are built to last this really comes through in their construction and materials. Their high carbon steel is great I have seen people I know opening cans (very often) with their Gromann army knives and the knife holds very well and sharpens easily. All their product line is really built for the rough Canadian environments and for people who will make a living using them.

This particular knife is probably their most "delicate" blade and it is very nice and thick, but it tapers very well with the flat grind, has a great snap to it and I got it razor sharp with the back of a mug in less than 5 minutes. It makes me think that this is how a pocket knife is truly supposed to work. The steel holds very well against corrosion (they have been tested in the Atlantic waters over and over again by lobster and other fishermen).

If you email them or call them you can talk to someone and they would be very happy to handpick one of the ones with imprefections for you. I called her and got her to pick to and set them aside for me. She can also arrange good shipping prices, it is nice to be able to address someone and not just blindly buy online. Most of the imperfections are just minor grooves in the wood (one of mine is like someone held their thumb nail against the wood and made a mark on it, the other has a minor scuff on the bolster from probably moving around the desk). But you could call her and ask her to make sure they don't have side to side blade play (none of the ones I saw there did at all) or a considerable crack on the wood (again none of the cracks I saw went the whole way either). These 50% off are clearly user knives but they are built very strongly and will hold up to anything you throw at them.

I hope that helps a bit for now... again you can msg them and ask, I am sure they would be happy to help.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the fast reply! I will shoot them an email. Sounds like a great company!
 
So coincidental! I was just on their website last night looking into the Mini Russlock and noticed their slipjoints. Great timing. Seems like a drive well worth taking!!
 
How far are you from them? The drive is definitely worth taking, depending where you are coming from (south-ish) you should also stop by the lavander farm on the way..

billym said:
So coincidental! I was just on their website last night looking into the Mini Russlock and noticed their slipjoints. Great timing. Seems like a drive well worth taking!!
Click to expand...
 
So here are some actual pictures of one of the two I have:

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You can tell the parts are not just stamped cut.. the blades are very well made and the joints properly put together.
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The centering was great on all the ones I saw
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and here is the minor imperfection right beside one of the bolsters, my keys would have eventually done worst damage than this so it doesn't bother me at all.
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So I think it already deserved its name (I like naming some of my things .. the car=Maria, phone=Muchacho, grohmann slim fodler= El Padrino)
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