My Opinions of the Companion 3

[CWL]

I recently discovered ROSarms knives and was quite excited about the designs so I bought a Companion 3 knife off the internet. It came yesterday.

I really liked the birchbark grip and the leather sheath was OK, but the blade was dissapointing. While the Companion 3 is advertised as having a 3mm blade, the one I got only had a 2.2mm blade, and because of the extreme hollow grind, over 2/3rds of the blade was less-than 1mm thick. I could flex the blade with my fingers. IMO, this is too thin/light a blade for anything other than purely food prepwork or small game/fish applications.

The edge was only OK, but not hair shaving sharp and had a good bevel on one side but almost non-existent bevel on the other edge. I was only able to shave a 1" thick walnut branch, but it was too light/thin to cut aggressively into the branch for carving or survival trap making. I did not try to baton the knife for fear of bending the blade or rolling the edge. I also noticed scratches on the polished edge caused by the walnut (how soft is this steel?)

I think that Westerners choosing ROSarms knives of this design (and the Arrow) would be typical Bushcrafters and Scandi knife collectors (of which I am both) and they would compare ROSarms knives to similar knives of Scandinavia available for roughly the same price. Helle and Brusletto and Mora would be immediate comparisons. Scandi knives would typically have more rugged blades with much more impressive cutting abilities. Even though I had planned to add this knife into my outdoor mix of knives, I won't because I don't think it'd hold up compared to my existing knives.

Did I post this review to trash ROSarms? No, because I really like the Companion 3. I like the looks and I like the feel of the handle; too bad the blade did not meet my expectations as a dependable knife. I may still buy an Arrow knife (I hope that the blade won't be ground as thin as the Companion 3). If ROSarms can start using (even slightly) thicker & better ground steel for it's blades, I think it would cause quite a stir amongst Scandi collectors.

Just my 2-cents...

 

[kancler]

Thank you for an honest review.

Just a few thinks I would like to add:

1. "...While the Companion 3 is advertised as having a 3mm blade, the one I got only had a 2.2mm blade..." I would say it is almost impossible. Can you post some pictures with ruler or some kind of other object (coins for example). We measure blade thickens at the spine of the blade IT MUST BE 3mm +- 5%. If you got 2.2mm - your knife is defective, I can replace it even if you bought it from one of our dealers.

2. "...I could flex the blade with my fingers. IMO, this is too thin/light a blade for anything other than purely food prepwork or small game/fish applications..." It cannot be flexible for more then 2-3 degrees. And I think it is a sign of a good steel - you can band it a little, but blade will always come back to the straight position.

3."...I also noticed scratches on the polished edge caused by the walnut (how soft is this steel?)..." Blade hardness is 58 Rockwell min. Blade is mirror polished. Scratches you see on it just a microns deep on surfaces of the blade.And because of the high mirror polish you can see those scratches very well. Can you post pictures again? I would not believe you got heavy scratches after cutting walnut. If you think knife is too soft (less then 58 RC) you can return it.


But anyway, thank you for your honest opinion.

 

[CWL]

I would say it is almost impossible. Can you post some pictures with ruler or some kind of other object (coins for example). We measure blade thickens at the spine of the blade IT MUST BE 3mm +- 5%. If you got 2.2mm - your knife is defective, I can replace it even if you bought it from one of our dealers.

Thanks for responding, but I can assure you my measurements are correct. I will post photos when I get home. As for exactly 2.2mm -isn't that the thickness of other ROSarms blades? Seems like the factory was using whatever was on hand that day...not much for QC if 2.2mm can be substituted for 3mm blades. If I can swap this for a better blade, I'm certainly interested.

 

[Unsub]

I think I read your review on your Outdoors blog? I certainly did not get the impression that you were unfairly trashing the company. It does seem like the kind of problem that could be solved with good customer relations. Maybe a poor example got through quality control.
I found that tends to happen when a company is just starting out.

CWL ,if yours is the outdoors site I am thinking of I have enjoyed your other reviews.
This could be a chance to rate them on their customer service and to see whether you got a rare bad one or if the problems you noticed are in all the knives. The worst thing that could happen is you don't get back a knife you don't like anyway.

 

[kancler]

Thanks for responding, but I can assure you my measurements are correct. I will post photos when I get home. As for exactly 2.2mm -isn't that the thickness of other ROSarms blades? Seems like the factory was using whatever was on hand that day...not much for QC if 2.2mm can be substituted for 3mm blades. If I can swap this for a better blade, I'm certainly interested.

Yes some bigger knives has 2.2 mm blade - stupid law in Russia, but Companion-3 should have 3mm. Waiting for pictures..

 

[kancler]

I think It does seem like the kind of problem that could be solved with good customer relations. Maybe a poor example got through quality control.

agree... I am always ready to replace the knife with manufacture defect! And 2.2. mm blade would be the manufactured defect for sure...