Dominion Forge

[Chako]

To my surprise, Canadian Tire is selling a new line of multi-tools. It would have been criminal to not come home with one to see what they are all about. I must say, they aren't cheap. This set cost 60 dollars. There was a red knife and large MT set for 30 dollars, as well as a smaller MT for I think 19 dollars.

So who is Dominion Forge, and what does 60 dollars get you?

Well to answer the first, no clue. I did a quick net search and came up zeroes. The back of the packaging states:

Dominion Forge is a registered trade mark of P&B Design Inc.
Cobourg, Ontario, Canada.
Made in China.

As for what you get for 60 dollars, surprisingly, quite a bit.

The whole thing comes in a blister pack. The inside presentation box looks nice except the window is made of very thin transparent and pliable plastic. With the cover removed, we can clearly see the 5 piece kit which consist of 2 knives, 2 multi-tools, and a flashlight.



The knives are very nice and feature a liner lock. With this set, you get 2 sizes.



The backside has a pocket clip.



Everything is rather well constructed with no play anywhere. The metal is also nice and thick, lending a substantial weight to them. These do not feel like budget products.



The smaller of the two pliers fail in the substandard folding tools. The pliers also feature that external spring which I am no big fan of. The handles are hefty however, and do have a nice weight to them.



The larger multi-tool also feature that bare spring. However, unlike the non locking smaller multi-tool seen above, this one features exactly 3 liner locks.



Here you can see the liner locks highlighed by the white arrows. I must say, I was puzzled for a few minutes trying to figure out why I couldn't close the knife blade. It is a well hidden feature, and one not mentioned anywhere on the packaging. Go figure. 



And a size comparison of the two multi-tools.



Something a bit different in the design, the sides are only partially covered by a metal plate.



The 2 AA flashlight is also a nice thing. Well machined and balanced. The single LED does throw a nice amount of light, but with no light meter, I can't tell you how many lumens.



One weak spot is the rubber on off switch.



I guess you could call this a somewhat tactical flashlight.



Overall, a nice mix of quality and cheapness. The cheapest part of the kit is the smallest multi-tool. I like the feel of the knives, and the flashlight. The larger multi-tool has that interesting liner lock which is a bit hidden and fiddly, but interesting non the less. Not exactly a go buy one for yourself, but I have seen worse sets out there on the market.

[parnass]

Are the Dominion Forge plier heads forged steel?

[Chako]

I seriously doubt it.

[Chako]

Today, I added the other Dominion Forge piece that Canadian Tire was also selling.

This one is larger than a 91mm Victorinox knife.



You can easily see this in the knife lenght. Note also that this Swiss Army style copy also has a section that is serrated.



The Dominion Forge knife also comes with a nice sheath.



Something I must say, this model is heavy with metal sculpted scales that really make this knife very ergonomic. In other words, very comfortable to hold.



Think of this as  a not that bad copy of a real SAK...but on steroids. It appears plenty of copies of other mulit-tools tend to be a bit larger than the tool they are copied from. With that said, more isn't always better.



The backside features 4 tools.



What surprised me...they even went and copied the famous Victorinox hook. 



So what can I say. Not at the bottom of the trash heap of junk...but nowhere near a Victorinox. I paid 20 dollars Canadian for this. The sheath is certainly upscale, and the best thing...plenty of Victorinox knives will fit in it. The sweet spot would be something with 5 layers in the 91mm length range. The knife itself is super comfortable with the metal sculpted scales. Because it is metal, It wouldn't be my first choice for cold weather carry unless I had gloves on or something...and these type of knives are not good with gloves on to begin with. The saw is functional, and the scissors are ok.

On the negative side of things. One scale is slightly lose and shifts when I grip the knife. This is very small...but the two bolt heads are already tight...and that metal on metal just magnifies any play. Likewise, I find the blade to be on the wrong side. I am a right handed and this knife is geared more towards left handed folks. So I guess this can be either a plus or negative depending on what side you find yourself on. The file is a bit of a let down. Both sides feature the same design, which is a fine cut. No coarse file here. That hook has an issue. It tends to stick out too much on the backside. I found that the tool is meant to go into the sheath one way because 6 times out of 10, I would get messed up by that protruding hook as it caught the lip of the sheath.

Final verdict. If you have 20 dollars burning a hold in your pocket and your looking for something that has a nice weight, is of a good size, and is sheath carried, I guess you can't go too far wrong with this. On the other hand, you can buy some Victorinox knives for a little more that is far superior in quality to this Dominion Forge. But if you were to compare money for money, you can get his Dominion Forge for the price of a Classic. I guess that puts this tool into the cheap and cheerful category.

[Caranthanus]

  ... the Hook rules

[Mr. Whippy]

I'm starting to think everyone's "Private" brand comes from the same factory.  The saw, file, knife, openers, etc all look eerily the same.  I've seen the same outlay at NAPA, Lowes, Ace, Advanced Auto, and a few other places.  I've even seen a "Sheffield" brand MT that looked essentially identical. 

[Chako]

I agree.

[Mr. Whippy]

I agree.

I suspect someone comes to them with ready made MT's and says, "Wouldn't you like to sell your own brand of MT?"  No one realizes that everyone is being shown essentially the same tool.  If they're going to do that, I would rather they do limited Alox advertising runs! 


I guy can dream can't he? 

[jzmtl]

It's the same in pretty much anything isn't it? Like there are only several OEM power tool manufacturers who make all the private label tools, and some people online say my $40 high sierra 45L pack is made right besides the Black diamonds that cost 3x as much.


I think I saw that combo pack in the CT flier this week, I'll go check again.


Yep 50% off, I guess you could buy it and return with old receipt since they don't do price adjustments.

[Corwyn]

Pretty sak 

[parnass]

Enjoyed your photos and the comments you shared, Chako.