Grimsmo Norseman Overview

The Norseman was my first step into the world of high end folding knives. The battle to get my hands on one of these is as interesting as the knife itself. Those that are not in the knife community may not know or even understand the craze around this knife. This was the first design by the John Grimsmo from Canada. John and his brother Eric have documented their journey as knife makers on youtube, and built a following with there hard work and meticulous attention to detail. The norseman is no small knife coming in with a blade length of 3.625", overall when open length of 8.625" and a weight of 4.97oz.

What sets this knife apart from others is that has been CNC milled in house from some of the finest materials. The blade on mine #530 is Vinland pattern Damasteel. Damasteel is a patented process out of Sweden that uses powdered steel to create damascus steel. This process leads to some very strong blade steel and interesting patterns. If you look at the blade you can pick out the milling lines from creating the bevel. The handles are milled out of solid stock of titanium and anodized by Eric.

The brother make everything for their knives in house from blades to screws. Yes I said screws, they do this so they can be sure that everything is perfect. The first thing that everyone notices when they get there hands on a norseman is bearing system the John himself makes. These bearings make this blade launch like a rocket and fall closed without effort.

For being such a large knife it can be broken down for cleaning with only 2 screws and the pivot. With any large knife it has to be comfortable to carry in the pocket. With and over an 8" when open knife this is not always easy. The milled deep carry clip with norseman logo does that with ease. The norseman is tip up right hand carry, however there are some lefty norseman out in the wild as well.

With everything being done in house this leads to a little longer time to make knives. Eric does a wonderful job polishing, tumbling, etching, and anodizing parts. Eric also puts the razor sharp edge on it before it leaves the shop. This thing came is with one of the sharpest edges form a maker I have seen. The blade shape is not for everyone but I must say this thing is wicked sharp and does what is should.

The norseman ranges in price from mid $500 to $900+ depending on blade and material. The average being around $700 or so. This one set me back $985 ouch. That what I was saying until it showed up. I tried for over a year to buy one of these knives from their website without success. The knives only last seconds before the they are snatched up. These quick sales and low production lead to very high secondary markets with many norseman going for over $1200 easy. There is currently no way to order a knife unless you friends with the brothers. All norseman are currently makers choice and randomly sold so good luck to everyone.

I look forward to sharing more knives for you guys and maybe I can get some money together and get my hands on Grimsmo Rask for us to take a look at. Let me know what you guys want to see and what I should give a try.