EDC Review: Giant Mouse ACE Grand

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The Giant Mouse ACE Grand is a superb clip point folder that will handle anything from light EDC tasks to hard outdoor use. Born out of the limited run of the ever popular GM5 knife, the ACE Grand is Giant Mouse’s GM5: EDC Friendly Edition. If you weren’t fortunate enough to grab 1 of the 300 GM5s that will ever be made, this is your chance to live the pseudo-GM5 dream. And what a grand dream to live. Pun definitely intended.

I know, I’m talking about the Giant Mouse GM5 in a review for the ACE Grand. But I wanted to make clear that Giant Mouse took a $345 GM5 and gave the masses an equally impressive ACE Grand priced at $195. The only differences? Handle material, locking mechanism, and pocket clip. You get the same exact blade in the ACE Grand that the GM5 uses, the same pivot bearings, and titanium back spacer too.

I’m getting ahead of myself and revealing the conclusion right off the bat. Read further to find out why I’m absolutely smitten with the Giant Mouse ACE Grand.

Uddeholm Elmax SuperClean Steel

The Grand’s blade is made from Uddeholm Elmax SuperClean steel. Even the name of the steel sounds grand. According to Uddeholm, the properties of Elmax include:

• High wear resistance
• High compressive strength
• Corrosion resistance 
• Very good dimensional stability
• Good polishability

Not only is Elmax advertised for use in food processing applications, but also its use in creating molds and dies for demanding applications such as injection molding and extruding plastic. For the blade steel connoisseurs, the Grand’s blade has a hardness rating of about 60-61 HRC. This rating puts Elmax at the premium steel level and is quite simply a modern “super steel.”

The Grand Blade is ACE

Slightly under 3.4 inches, the Grand’s blade is a sight to behold. As a fan of clip point blades, the ACE Grand is no exception. There’s just something about the angles of a clip point that screams ruggedness and adventure.

The pronounced swedge leading to a slightly down curved spine adds to its grand appearance. Speaking of the spine, there is a 3/8” section of jimping when you need that extra grip and leverage. The jimping is unsurprisingly well done. It’s light and non-aggressive, unlike some of the sawtooth versions used on other knives (I’m talking about you James Brand Folsom).

Although the blade is technically a saber flat grind, it’s a high saber flat grind. Which means the blade has the slicing qualities of a full flat grind while retaining the strength of a saber grind. It’s the best of both worlds. This, along with a pronounced belly gives it great slicing capabilities.

The Grand Testing: EDC’ing

Since the Grand’s blade is made of Elmax super steel, it needs a proper test. Instead of senselessly cutting cardboard for days on end, I made a full-sized rodent mask and channeled my inner giant mouse. I’ve made many masks, but this will be the first using a pocket knife. The task of cutting cardboard is normally reserved for a X-Acto knife with many blade changes throughout the process.

Here’s the skinny: The Grand will open and break down hundreds of Amazon boxes. It’ll do it and still pass the paper test with flying colors.

All in all, the Grand cut 55 feet of cardboard. That’s the height of a 5-story building. It did all that cutting without missing a beat and I did not sharpen the blade one bit. One key to making a clean mask is precision cuts and I was thinking I would miss having an X-Acto in hand. I’m happy to report the Grand handled every intricate cut like a champ.

The Grand Testing: Outdoors’ing

Okay, okay, I can hear it already. You say, “You cut some cardboard. So what? Cardboard is basically thick paper.” That’s where the second part of the test comes into play. If you know me or have followed my Instagram account for awhile, you know I love being outdoors. Part of that enjoyment comes from learning new survival skills. Sure, I can make feather sticks with curls so fine you could light it with an angry stare. But there will be no feather sticks today my friends.

Instead, I opted to whittle what is known as a netting needle. You pair a netting needle with another piece called a gauge block and you have the tools to make a net. Depending on the width of your needle and gauge block, you can fashion any type of net imaginable (ie. fishing net, cargo net). You can see how this type of tool would be useful in a survival situation.

The ability of Elmax steel to retain an edge never ceases to amaze.

Edge Retention

This whittling test serves three purposes: First is an edge retention test. I wasn’t carving into softwood like basswood or pine. The needle is made from oak I pilfered out of the cords of hardwood at my disposal. Sliver after woody sliver, the Grand did not show any signs of dulling. The ability of Elmax steel to retain an edge never ceases to amaze.

Ergonomics

The second purpose is to test the ergonomics of the Grand. Whittling is not a task for those who desire instant gratification. It takes hours and patience to make a wooden tool like a netting needle. The Grand fits my large hands very well and I never developed any hot spots. Holding and carving with the Grand felt comfortable from start to finish. It felt like an extension of my hand.

Maneuverability

Finally, this is also a blade maneuverability test. I tend to carry two knives when I’m out adventuring. A substantial fixed blade to handle the heavy duty tasks like batoning firewood. Additionally, I carry a pocket knife to handle the minutiae of outdoor life. Once again, the Grand’s performance is flawless. The tip is able to reach in the detail areas around the needle while the belly makes easy work of shaping the larger areas.

Fidget Factor to the Max!

While I do enjoy a good utilitarian knife, it’s always a bonus requirement to have a knife with a high fidget factor. What is fidget factor you ask? It’s the ability of a knife to make you involuntarily workout your hand muscles all day, everyday. Primarily your middle finger and thumb muscles. Although the Grand is perfectly suited for the traditional thumb deployment, this is a seriously fun and addicting knife to deploy using the spydie flick technique.

There’s something about the teardrop shaped thumbhole that begs you to spydie flick. This might seem strange, but I’m going to talk about the design of the aforementioned thumbhole. The teardrop cradles the tip of my middle finger like a mother cradling a newborn baby. The size of the hole is not too big and not too small, it’s just enough to get a good purchase with the tip of my finger. While I can’t spydie flick with thick leather gloves, I have no issues deploying the blade with my thumb.

The inside edge of the teardrop (closest to the scales) is in line with the blade opening path. Simply put, my finger is positioned to flick with the most efficiency. This is too much of a coincidence to not think Scandinavian designers Jesper Voxnaes and Jens Anso didn’t design it this way on purpose. If they spent this amount of effort on a thumbhole, think of the attention to detail they had with the rest of the knife.

Perfect Fit and Finish

The description of the ACE Grand on the Giant Mouse site includes “Perfect fit and finish.” That’s quite the statement to make and I have to say, they aren’t wrong. From blade grind to micarta scales and everything in-between, I could not find a single defect. 

The micarta is American-made and grippy. Just the way micarta should be. They have nice chamfering with no sharp edges and fits my large-size hands quite nicely. This ACE Grand is in natural micarta, but Giant Mouse has a green micarta version as well. The liners are inset into the scales which gives the Grand a look of refinement. Speaking of the liners, I have no issues with the liner lock. The lockup is as solid as they come and lock stick is non-existent. The Grand also includes a titanium back spacer to help with rigidity and comes with a lanyard hole, if that’s your thing.

I’m a big fan of the deep carry wire pocket clip. Much more than the version that comes on the GM5. It’s unobtrusive and has good tension. There’s no worrying about the Grand accidently slipping out of your pocket. And you have the option to carry tip-up, left or right handed. 

The edge is razor sharp from the factory. At the slightest touch it separates the epidermis from dermis. Ask me how I know. Performing the paper test proves just how sharp it really is. What’s the adage? Like a hot knife through butter. The blade grinds are perfection and thanks to the ball bearings, blade action is ultra smooth. What more can you ask for in a knife?

That said, there are some design elements I would do differently, but they’re more preferences than anything else. So what are the things I don’t like about the Giant Mouse ACE Grand? Let’s discuss.

What’s not to like?

As you can tell, there isn’t much I don’t like about the Giant Mouse ACE Grand. Actually, I didn’t mention a single problem. But this is a review so I’m going to nitpick the Grand for a hot second. Giant Mouse did a great job implementing the micarta scales, but there are a few corners that feel “sharp” to the touch. One is near the liner lock and the other is on the opposite side where the blade spine meets the scales. While I didn’t have any issues during my tests, I can see the possibility of developing hot spots in these areas

The other nit I’m picking is the jimping on the spine. I would prefer the jimping to run across the entirety of the spine above the thumbhole. This would give me more flexibility in thumb placement when I need extra leverage. It would be nice to have extra grip that jimping provides while whittling or carving. Again, I didn’t have issues during my tests. These are my personal preferences and I’m just nitpicking here.

Final Thoughts

Do you know that feeling of butterflies when you hold a knife that is exceptionally made? From the moment I slid the Grand from its protective sleeve and into my hand, I just knew it was going to be special. You should have seen my face when I effortlessly flicked open the blade for the first time. My grin was so wide, you’d thought I found Blackbeard’s legendary treasure.

The Grand is sure to be a legend and instant classic in the Giant Mouse ACE lineup. I don’t have many knives that give the aura of an heirloom, but the Grand certainly has that quality. This is one knife I know will stay in the collection. I’m confident I’ll pass the Grand along to my children, but they’ll have to pry it from my cold dead hands. If you can find one, I highly recommend the Giant Mouse ACE Grand. 

Technical Specifications

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Giant Mouse ACE Grand Natural Micarta (Review Knife)

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