Russian Rosarms Zlatoust Knives

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roderic41

Joined
Oct 4, 2002
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I bought these two off of ebay from Zlatoust handmade knives. I believe Rosarms USA is the company which is itself based in Russia. I think Zlatoust is the area they come from. I'll post links as there seems to be very little information on them in the forums or even much on the net.
Here is the ebay store anyway:

http://stores.ebay.com/Zlatousts-handmade-knives_W0QQssPageNameZviQ3asibQ3astoreviewQQtZkm

And here is the parent (USA) company website, which is not finished yet:

http://www.rosarmsusa.com/4436.html

The first I bought was the Zlatoust/Rosarms mini-machete/ expedition knife - model Baby which is what they call the mini-machete/expedition knife (Correct me if I am wrong but I think this won an award at the Moscow knife show but I'm not sure of that). It is a large knife with blade being a full 9 inches long but is not overly heavy, being 3/16 inch thick, and is quite light and quick in the hand. Speaking of hands, the handle is very comfortable and is so in a variety of grips. It is the special edition with the hand engraving and 24 carat gild. I thought, gild? Engraving? On a user? But the person selling them, who was a nice guy and a good salesman (lol long story, several emails) sold them to me and they're nice and they're interesting. I thought the combination of the engraving and the gild might be too much but no. They are cetainly a pleasant change from the all black coated tacticals. Even non knife people like them which surprised me. My significant other said they were "too nice to use" Nah, they're going to be used all right. I have done some chopping hardwoods with it, no change to the edge and easy to clean. Here is a link to the one I bought:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20271&item=6520023932

And here is the Chieftan

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...18&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RSCC_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores

Also the special edition with the very nice hand engraving and 24 carat gild. Also a large knife but also nice to handle for the same reasons as the Baby. I have'nt used this one yet except to stab myself accidentally, God it hurt AND I got in trouble for bleeding everywhere..

Once I use them some more I'll post some more impressions, I guess.

Oh, I must point out as people do in similar threads that I am not associated with the company or the seller in any way, shape or form, we are not even on the same continent. I just bought a couple of knives and thought I'd post.
 
Wow that companion is really a beautiful knife. I'd be curious to hear what you think about the others.
 
You can see all of their products on their web site http://www.rosorujie.ru
THey don't have an english version. I think you'll see abracadabra instead of cyrillic letters but just try each link in the central white frame and you'll see what they mean.
In general, they make good knives - good steel, good heat treatment, good fit and finish.
Zlatoust is a 'knife making' town like Solingen in Germany or Seki in Japan.
There is another good manufacture in that town AiR - http://www.zlatoust-air.ru/products/knife/ . Same level. I'd say these two share the second place in production fixed blades in Russia.
ANother one is Kizlyar - another 'knife making' town. There is a knife making company with the same name. Here is their web site (in ENGLISH!) :) http://www.kizlyar.ru/eng/products/ . They have significantly improved the quality of their products over the last several years.
But the top maker of production fixed blades in Russia is Uzhny Krest (Russian for 'Crux'). Unfortunately, they don't have a website.

This is, of course, just my opinion... but many people share it.
 
Man, I like the looks of the Baby and especially the Federal models, I may have to get one of those. Does the baby have a saw on the upper portion, or are those just regular serrations? Also diggin' those Kizlyar Korshun's with the sawback. Anyone know if they have a US distributor/importer?

Lagarto
 
Speaker, thanks for posting the link to the Russian site, I found a few models on there that I really like. Especially this one. http://www.rosorujie.ru/index.php?productID=122

I just emailed a guy off the rosarmsusa site to see if they import this model and what it's called. I will let you all know what I find out.

Lagarto
 
Hey! I know on-line cataloge in pdf-format will be avaible soon from rosarmsusa.com
I'll let everybody know... Also I 'federal' and 'baby' are the most popular models from Rosorujie. (International name is 'ROSarms Ltd.' and USA distributor is 'ROSarms USA'. USA website is not done yet, but will be done soon. (I know guy who does it).
 
Well, I just got an email back from Mr. Kovalov, which I have to say was fairly fast IMO, since I just emailed him yesterday. In response to my questions posted above he said that the model I linked to is called the EM 1 for expedition machete 1 if anyone else is interested, they can be had in the US and retail for $158 as do the non special editions of the Baby. He also said that the standard model Federals will go for $111 so, if you have the chance to grab them for less than that on ebay, I'd say go for it. Roderic41 et al thanks for the heads up on these knives.

Lagarto
 
Thanks for posting this Roderic. This is the kind of thread that makes visiting Bladeforums worthwhile. Those are remarkable knives and deserve broader exposure. They would also look great in some movie.
 
Ah Lagarto, they're not serrations on the back of the Baby but file work.
I have used it quite a bit in the back yard chopping various soft and hard woods without any blunting or deformation of the edge (whereas others I've used for the same have) so I'm pleased. The blade cleans up well and easily too.
I have a Kizlyar Berkut as well and am developing a taste for Russian Knives and can see myself getting quite a few in the end, they seem sensible and well made. Still it's early days yet, I really only have impressions to post, nothing like a review.
 
Nice Rederic41!
I agree with you. Quality of ROSarms knives is very high! I know model 'BABY' has been used in Arctic Expedition (2003 - North Pole). The knife has received the highest praise from polar explorers. Now I'm trying to get some pictures from this expedition. I’ll definitely share it with you.
 
Good day!

I'm from Russia. I'm glad that you are interested in russian knife-makers.
I owns one "Uzhnii Krest" and several other knives from other manufacturers.
If you have any questions about knife maket in Russia, feel free to ask.
 
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