He’s finally back!

Great review as always! I really appreciate and enjoy your reviews

Masterful review for a masterful knife. Well done as always Nick.

A bunch of the things you discuss in the last 10 mins is why I buy and carry CRK as well 👍🏻

My Norseman is used at work everyday opening boxes. That tanto tip is wonderful

I'm proud to be canadien when I see the work of the Grizmo brother and I'm super happy and full of respect to be one of your patreon when you produce a video like that one. Keep up the good work.

The Grimsmos make awesome knives. I love my rask and my saga. I like the older style case where the tool and oil are displayed

Nanuk make a variety of great case in numerous sizes. They offer inner cut outs for both small and large knife collection. From cameras to pistols, they got a case that fits.

Fantastic review Nick!! Great job!!

Good review and insight. I guess there's also Holt Bladeworks and Hog House Knives as well as options with a similar target audience. I gravitate towards Hog House. Anyway, I look forward to your discussion video on the new release / spamming /supply chain ethics video. I suppose the Chinese sourced model has turned the knife market into a fashion statement. (And same with Spyderco and Benchmade to an extent!). But at the same time there's an argument that with so much moving forward in the knife world (new steels, new lock types, open sourcing on long held copyrights), you at least have those companies pushing things forward. Look at the Hogue Deka. Magnacut and crossbar lock with an action you wouldn't have expected 10 years ago. The Miguron Velona giving us so much value in such an affordable package. Or the CJRB Pyrite which took the evolutions around it and gave us what is pretty much already a classic. We're soon going to see an incoming of compression-lock Chinese knives coming on into the market soon. It's 'bad' for the industry and 'bad' for the makers who are forced to resort to efficiencies in supply chain, but 'good' in terms of innovation. If i had a preference, I too however still value the companies like Spartan and Tactile who have stayed true.

I absolutely love my#1674 John and his team are definitely amongst the top of the cnc makers.

On the value front, Rask V2's seem to go around $700 on the secondary market

Just bought a norseman and i love it.

I'm so glad that you tell it like it is and said you could get 95% of what that knife is for $300. $1000 for that is just obscene!

I love RWL-34/CPM154 so the blade steel choice doesn't bother me; its easily maintained and holds an edge for a decent amount of time. What bothers me most is how much more expensive these knives are than knives of similar quality like Koenig or Oz. I snagged an Arius last year for $750, and it's hard to be convinced that there's relatively $300 more of value in the Rask's design and machine work. But I have a curated link in my email and for some reason it's really hard to not want to pull the trigger on one of these things.

FWIW, OZ Machine Co is making their own bearings now. Only things they don't do in house, I think, are a few blade related things like heat treat, maybe double disk grinding. Other radically transparent makers that I love, besides OZ: McNees, Alex Steingraber (SPK), BP Custom Knives (fixies). I'd love to see you review some of these Nick!

great review

When I first started making knives, I was looking for a benchtop milling machine. I remember Johns video explaining why someone should pay $3000.00 for his modified milling machine. I think it was a Grizzly.

I’m with you. When I got the lucky email I only had a choice of 5 and none of them really knocked my Sox off. But still, I bought one because that’s what I do. I buy things. I am looking forward to getting it. I love my Norseman.

Nicky you aren't jaded. it's called you have been around the block and seen it all and tell it like it is unlike many others who get caught up in brands and become apologists for them . Gareth Bull anyone ? Yeah somebody had to say it and I love that you aren't afraid to be forthright honest and you have the credentials to be able to speak to things. Because at the end of the day that is a $700 knife at best regardless of what the demand is for them. Did I say Gareth Bull already ? It's a cash grab based on over hype and demand and you are well aware of it. Refreshing to hear honesty and not be concern about how you are going to be perceived and pander to hype and sparing feelings. Thank You

I just ordered my Rask today... I've been on the lottery waiting list FOR YEARS. I've been selected for the Norseman knife about 6 times... this is the one I wanted. I didn't have to think twice about pulling the trigger.. I've wanted it soon after the V1 came out.

Simply...... thank you....

Hello Nick, how would you compare it with a holt or herman?

Thanks for the review Nick! Just pulled the trigger on a distressed gold Rask. Happy to support an honest, good old fashioned, transparent, Canada made outfit like Grimsmo! Your review was most helpful and offered some great insights. Thank you!

Sometimes paying more or having to hunt for a purchase to support absolutely wonderfully built knives by friendly and easy to deal with makers is OK in my book. Grimsmo, TRM and Monterey Bay Knives come to mind. Just great people. They make it hard to not want to do business with them. Thanks for the video Nick.

Nick, how would you compare Rask to Ishtar/Sting from Herman. Both companies are super strict to detail, inhouse component production and have fantatic action.

I miss my 2 Norseman i had to get rid of due to the health scare b.s. a few years back & i miss them sooo much!

Would love to see you reviews Mac 2 3.5

I love my two Rasks - I do wish the blade steel was better than cryo-treated 154CM. A google search says, "RWL-34 is stainless powder steel from Sweden, made by famous Damasteel. Comparable USA steel is CPM 154. Both are based on ATS-34 steel formula, Japan." I say it's not bad steel, but it has been superseded over the years.

Marketing is based on making the customer decide before he has a chance to make an informed decision. The fact that Grimsmo has the confidence in their product to let you take the time to ponder shows that they have great faith in their product. I could not justify the expense of the knives shown today with the exception of the Ontario Rat 1 which is now becoming more of a collectable with the closing of the Ontario company. Something for everybody on this channel!

Got the Rask V2 and extremely happy, even though I don't like flippers.

what an absolutely gorgeous piece. more than i'd ever be willing to spend on a knife i can't carry (sad uk life), but beautiful nonetheless p.s., can we get a wrist check?

But what about the pinch grip?

Abrasives are expensive Nick. 21:42 That being said, this is a beautiful knife that I will pick up at some time in the future.

Can anyone in the USA comment whether or not you were charged any fees when you bought a knife from Canada? I think the threshold is $ 700-800 USD before Fees are applied.

Stone Wash ano looks really great most of the time! I understand why that isn't appropriate in this scenario.

Dude, in the same review you have said that the purchasing experience is not nice (waiting for email and getting just a handful of options to buy), and that this is a nice experience because you don't have to worry about anything, about when is the drop going to happen and will the website crash.

i got the email from the Gs but when i sat down to think about how much it cost i just couldnt do it ...i have the norseman and its great, but this gem i just cant...

Mine is my favorite knife #1489, rose gold with dragon scales.

John Grimsmo was showing off inlays in his last video. Inlayed Rasks on the horizon?

you can get a Nanuk case with pre-cut foam for 8 knifes

A bit of a rant, but I’m with you 100%! In my own small way, my channel has worked hard to promote the few remaining Sheffield traditional knife makers. I think I have played my part in both encouraging a good chunk of the internet knife community to maintain a healthy market place for these beautiful pieces, but also to encourage the makers to up their game with ever higher standards of quality and not to go down the route of of just cost cutting and heading downhill as many of these makers did in the last 50 years.

Unrelated to this vid but 1) Thank you for the Lewis Jewelers rec-I asked about a BB54 in June and they said it’d probably be next year, but I got the call last week and had it in two days! 2) You are partially responsible for getting me into watches, @&$#%!

Can you review the Robjohnsons Cypress??

Funny I was thinking that they needed a 4.25” blade, I still would not spend that much for a knife. I have enough trouble making myself use a slysz bluey.

I just got mail from them the other day Cpm 154 price $1065 out of 6 knife $1040 and $1015 they are very good looking Just not the color lm looking for if they had one that i like i would buy one in a heartbeat thanks for sharing have a great week Nike love the video

The steel thing is indeed weird. But I notice Arno Bernard also uses this steel (e.g. iMamba) and praises it as just the right balance of attributes, so here we have two top tier knifemakers thinking it's ideal, so maybe we ought to listen. People otherwise praise its analog CPM154 as being a good all-rounder. Steel choice seems to be driven so often these days by consumers who don't actually know what we're talking about but latch on to trends. We clamor for M390/20CV so they give it to us, then after enough time the real-world use complaints come in and then people are off to the next hot trend in steels, so they give that one to us. Repeat. It's kind of chicken and egg - they introduce it, we demand it, they give it, but a new wave comes that we also want because it seems hot. One last steel thought - so many of these will be safe queens that never get used, so maybe the steel doesn't matter too much in terms of performance as long as it's basically competent. The one thing that could matter in a long-term keepsake showpiece is corrosion, and for that reason, maybe Vanax would be the thing, as you say, for its unmatched corrosion resistance while still being good on edge retention and toughness. Magnacut is praised for beating the old tradeoff of edge retention vs. toughness but we rarely talk about how corrosion resistant it is too, so there's another good choice for a knife that may be more archival than anything but which wants to be competent too because people have paid so much. Either would probably satisfy those who feel a bit let down by the average steel at the premium price.

First on a Shabazz video 🤩

I think if they made a smaller knife, I'd like it less, but I'd probably be more tempted to buy it.

Really interesting commentary in the last 10 minutes of the review, but hasn't Chris Reeves Knives been approaching knife making in this way for a long time?

Really want one 😩

nice knife !

I've always assumed they chose rwl 34 because it's better than we all think. But I honestly don't know.

Worth every penny... Just wish others would stop buying just to try and flip it for profit.

I would love to hear how the Canadians manufacturers pronounce "Rask" It means FAST in Norwegian, and the Ra part is pronounced "Ra" like the Egyptian God. And the end sounds a bit like "Mosque". Nice old school Nic review 😎

I love my Rask, but the ano issue is real. I have a Plum ano Rask, the plum color no longer exists. It initially faded with oils quickly, but it is now permanently faded and unable to be returned to that original color. It is my only anodized knife that has faded that substantially and no amount of ammonia will return it to that original color. It is now more bronze with purple tones, or faded grey after minimal handling. I keep saying I’m going to anodize it again. I have everything to do it but the time.

I wish I could like this video twice.

Im seeing Hermans for 670 usd on the website. Why would somebody spend 400 usd more on this?

NIIIICK Missed you so much 😂

Is this considered a custom or a production knife?

I think you did a great job reviewing… I’ve wanted one since v1 1st came out.. I actually finally got email for one so many years later and was not disappointed.. it’s all well done .. I compared it o the holt specter..I like the rask more… slightly because of a more suitable blade shape for cutting … what do you think? Stop the with the pocket pecker 😂 please

And one sacrificial comment for the all mighty AlGoreRhythym💪🤙🇺🇸

“What exactly is wrong with you”. 😂 That killed me.

Just ordered my first Rask a few days ago..cannot wait to get it in hand and experience it

👍 Love mine

I just got the email today for the Curated Collection but I can't drop $ 1000-1050 on a pocket knife.

I'm holding out on getting a Grimsmo until they put out a smaller knife. I just know I wouldn't end up carrying a big knife so it would just be a fidget toy.

I respect all those makers like Grimsmo, Holt, Oz and the bigger ones like Shirogorov but honestly paying over 1k for a non custom knife with titanium handles and a regular blade... I mean you can get a fully custom knife with fancy accents for that price.

Well beyond time to retire using RWL 34 steel and especially for a $1000 knife. How about some MagnaCut that is readily available and a more optimal choice. Just sayin !! Love the version 2 but the blade steel choice is questionable to say the least considering they are a $600 to $700 at best

"You can see the blade length is longer here bc it is a knife" 😂

I’ve never received an email for a Rask since I signed up almost a year ago. 🤷‍♂️

that’s why its good we have options. if youtube starts their nonsense with knives like they did with guns, we can go other places.

Grimsmo knives stand out in the vast forest of knives today, and the makers are unyieldingly obsessive, or if you prefer a more low brow adjective they a 4 letter word that starts with a and ends with l. That's why you love that knife, because you are a card carrying member of that exacting society. It's a special knife.

As good a review as you have ever done. A bit long and overly word full .. but what else is new. Thanks for justifying my choice in knives as well.

I would definitely say the Grimsmo bros set the Gold Standard in knife making. Love seeing someone take that pride and stride for perfection

I know this is probably heresy, but I would be deeeply tempted by a 3” bladed “mini Rask”

Headphone users Beware. At around the 7:20 mark, the audio will get extremely LOUD. Almost launched through the roof from my chair 😭🤣

It remember to me an old realsteel model.

If only.

It better be dialed in for the money they want.

They dont make the bearings but they make the bearing cages from what I remwmber 🎉

I believe grimsmo make their own bearings in house actually. They had either done a KZfaq video on them or an ig clip.

Thanks for sharing your views on the current knife industry. I’m trying to keep my enthusiasm up, but I’m finding I’m returning knives more and more for fit and finish/ function issues. Even among popular companies like Spyderco, it’s like they’re releasing so many sprints they know will sell out, that they don’t care about quality anymore.

I just dont no why in all these years they still only have 2 knives?

Looks like a big Leek

So anyway…$1000.

She's a beaut. Dammit, now I need a thousand dollar knife.

They need to go full Herman and use m398 or Magnacut. Lol

For such an expensive knife i would expect a harder steel for the blade.

It looks like a Kizer Gemini on steroids

I know nothing (which wouldn't stop an Irishman from giving an expert opinion) but this piece look a wee bit like a Herman/Shirogov type of jobbie. Meanwhile the Norseman is so original that it should really be the melody they riff upon. Obviously, I wouldn't turn it down on a cold night.

"....a nice quick little video....", lasting almost 40 minutes. 😆😂🤣

I hate when people complain about the price of anything. Watches, cars, knives, location of their houses… if you don’t like the price, buy a CRKT. Simple as that. These guys sell every knife they build so why shouldn’t they ask 1040.00 it’s called capitalism. Supply and demand. It’s why the U.S. is the best country in the world.

Some thousand dollar knives don't look like thousand dollar knives. That thousand dollar knife looks like a thousand dollar knife.

lol imagine paying $1,000 for a Grimsmo in 2023. Talk about a company stuck in the past. Whole knife companies and machinists have surpassed Grimsmo from zero just in the time John Grimsmo has recorded Podcasts talking about the complexities of engraving the date on a knife.

For all the reasons listed in this video I respect small operations that strive for perfection and do everything possible in house far more than "makers" or "designers" that come up with something either fully in solidworks or just on a piece of paper. Only to send it off to some completely non transparent overseas factory and have a prototype cranked out to them in a few months. And then with some tweaks emailed back to said obscure factory a production run of 3 variants with 100 each shows up. I will gladly pass on four or five $200 knives over the course of a year to buy a rask because the value is far more than just a sum of parts. I would have slightly more respect for the chinese factories if they had an iota of transparency. But until that happens i will likely never buy another knife from that country. In fact I try to avoid chinese goods as much as I possibly can.

Go nude . . . when the ano wears off. I've seen a few in CKG and they look nice.

$1000 is about 3x what this knife should cost. Not being able to choose what you order, mediocre steel, bland design, zero availability, incredibly awful secondhand market. Add to that the toxic lottery sales practices and I've got a very negative opinion of Grimsmo, which is unfortunate because they seem like pretty cool guys on the surface.

🤩👍- N|CK! ⭐️*⭐️*⭐️*⭐️*⭐️

It's not a knife, it's a philosophy.. I just wish I could afford one...