Grohmann knives are made right here in Nova Scotia. I’ve written about them in a past column or two, and it’s time to introduce their Resinwood handles.
What’s so great about resin, and how can it be part of a knife? Grohmann has a process that consists of many thin layers of hardwood and epoxy resin bonded together to create something that looks like wood but performs more like a plastic. They call it Xtra Resinwood. It’s considered to be water-resistant.
Grohmann uses this Resinwood on two of the kitchen knife lines, the Forged and the Full Tang. It is available in two colours, the bright burgundy Wine or the subtle blonde Oak. Both are lovely to look at and to handle. One big advantage of Resinwood is the shine on the wood. It maintains that ‘new’ look very well. Regular Rosewood needs buffing to keep up the shine.
The Resinwood kitchen knives include paring, serrated paring, carving, chef, santuko and bread knives. It’s a great line for your camp, cottage or rv. Particularly if there’s some dampness in the place as the Resinwood can handle the moisture. I don’t recommend using the dishwasher for these knives, despite the handle, as the blades are high quality forged or full tang stainless steel or carbon. The heat in a dishwasher causes the metal to expand faster than the handle materials. That causes splits in the handle and makes the metal brittle. Not good.
Resinwood is also available on most of the outdoor knives Grohmann manufacture. The Grohmann story started with folding knives, what we call ‘pocket knives’. There was a time when nearly every man had a small pocket knife at hand, ready to cut string, whittle a bit of wood, slice an apple, and maybe even clean his fingernails. Such a small knife wasn’t considered a weapon. It was, and still is, a tool. Grohmann continues to make folding knives but it was the Original Design #1 belt knife developed in 1957 that catapulted the company into success.
It’s a bit of an odd looking knife. Sort of a bulbous-looking blade, it’s designed to reduce drag when working with small game or birds. The handle is very comfortable, with a natural feeling grip and feels good in the hand. The signature Grohmann handle is Rosewood but on hunting and other outdoor knives, Staghorn is also popular. Unfortunately, there is a severe shortage of Staghorn (a ‘found’ material , not harvested from animals) so other products such as Resinwood and Micarta are used. Micarta is made from epoxy resin and layers of linen, bonded and shaped to the signature handle style. The black finish is very attractive and practical. The other outdoor knives for hunting, fishing, boating and survival are mostly available in Resinwood, all can be purchased with the Rosewood or Micarta handles.
For July, I wanted to promote Canadian manufacturing success stories. I didn’t have to leave the Maritimes to find five thriving businesses! Isn’t that fabulous?
Did you know? Epoxy resin was patented in Germany in 1934. Shortly after that, a Swiss chemist began to make dental prosthetics using synthetic resins.
Cathy