Falkniven?

[Ph34r]

Hi all,

I was thinking about investing in a fallkniven blade, as I have only heard good things about them. would someone be able to recommend me a particular model, pros and cons.

Thanks for reading,
Ph34r

 

[cwillson]

I have an F1. It's a nice blade. The steel is good quality and although, for this reason, it's not as easy to sharpen as other blades I have had, it holds an edge well. Perhaps a little thick on the opposite side of the shaft from the blade (dont know technical term!) for really close carving work, but I like it. The rubber grip is good in the wet.

I have both the leather sheath and the tough plastic one. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The plastic one is smaller, so catches less on undergrowth, but i've found it's not completely silent as the blade rattles is it a bit. The leather sheath, although larger, is my favourite for this reason.

I've pressed on a couple of popper studs to the back of the belt loop on both, and through the leather case for the fallkniven diamond/ceramic sharpening kit, so that this sits comfortably behind my belt whichever sheath I am using.

Anyway, it's my first serious knife, since the couple I used to own when I was a kid, so I'm much prepared to be educated about better blades.

Hope that helps.

Chris

 

[John Fenna]

The only one of their knives that I have tried is the F1 - and I like it!
Tough, comfortable in the hand (though a bit narrow for some folk...I like a small handle), holds a great edge but is more time consuming to sharpen than some steels, no edge chipping (yet), good convex grind (though this can cause some folks difficulties with sharpening - I use little more than various grdes of wet and dry paper on an old bit of stiff foam) simple and versatile. I dislike the plastic sheath it came with and made a new leather one.
A good all rounder but quite expensive - but should last several lifetimes....

 

[Mr Adoby]

I have two Fällkniven knives:

A1z and WM1z3G.

Both are very nice, but if pressed I'd only keep the WM1. A cut above most.

The WM1 is very handy knife that is easy to keep around and while small, very useful. The 3G steel makes it a little difficult to sharpen, but on the other hand you don't have to very often. Good as a necker.

The A1 is almost a substitute for an axe. But handles nicely as a knife even if a bit large. Together they are a good combo for different tasks and redundancy.

 

[Shewie]

I have the little TK4 which I carry for food prep if I'm fishing or hunting, razor sharp and holds a great edge but probably too small for a lot of tasks.

 

[Longstrider]

Are you looking to buy just the blade or a finished knife ? I know that there were (are?) some F1 blanks available for self-handling, but I've not come across any other models with this option.

I have 3 or 4 F1's. One with the standard thermorun handle and the others with handmade 'custom' handles. They're cracking little knives. Decent san-mai construction with good steel (VG10 core) and full convex they take, and hold, a great edge.
If you're after something a little more 'weighty' then perhaps consider the A2. I have one and I love it. Makes for a great camp knife and is all but indestructable I'd say. The 8" blade makes light work of most chopping tasks that don't require an axe but is still perfectly comfortable to use for more delicate tasks too.

 

[slamdunk]

I have a TK4 which is a cracking little knife. Unbelievably sharp eek and superbly made. Whilst I wouldn't use it to baton it is great for a multitude of tasks in and around camp. I imagine their fixed blades are as well made and of a high quality though I've never owned one.

 

[wentworth]

I love my F1. As I've said many times, it's nearly the perfect knife (for me). You can't go too wrong. I don't mind the thick blade.

 

[lostplanet]

I had an Fallkniven S1 as my first 'proper' knife, It was bought out of lust more than judgement.

It was a very pretty blade but I couldn't sharpen it to a hair shaving sharp. After picking up a Mora I also found the thickness of the blade difficult to handle when compared,

The S1 was a cracking knife, however in my unskilled hands it was wasted but I am glad I owned one.

 

[SouthernCross]

Here's a review I did of the Fallkniven TK2: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53342

IMO pretty typical of the quality and usefullness of the Fallkniven products.

I have extensive experience with the H1 (both laminated VG10 & 3G versions), F2, TK2, TK3, TK4 and TK5

All have proven to be very good knives

Do you have any specific model in mind?



Kind regards
Mick

 

[Toddy]

I have the WM1 and it's a excellent knife
I use it for every kind of bushcraft task and it performs well for all of them

cheers,
Toddy

 

[ged]

I was thinking about investing in a fallkniven blade, as I have only heard good things about them. would someone be able to recommend me a particular model, pros and cons.

Buying tools is a very personal thing. You've given no information about what you intend to do with the blade, so it's difficult to recommend anything to suit you. Fallkniven make a very wide variety of blades and knives, some of the blades are made from exotic materials which can be difficult to maintain, and almost all of them are expensive. I don't want to put you off any particular make/model but I wouldn't like to see anyone waste money finding out the hard way that a new purchase isn't suited to the way he lives. You haven't even said if you think a folder or a fixed blade would be more suitable for your purposes. I wonder if it might be better to put a toe in the water with something cheaper first, maybe two or three; find your way with them a little, see what you like about them and what you don't.

Here are just a few notions about some of the tools I use, it might help you think about your choices.

I have an old Swedish folder that cost a quarter of the price of the up-market knives when it was bought for me as a present about 20 years ago. It has a drop point and a deep scandi grind, and the handle (man-made scales) and blade form a lovely kind of curve which I find very comfortable to work with. It locks, and the blade is about 90mm long, so I don't carry it all day every day. It's still my favourite all-round knife and I compare everything else with it. Everything else very often comes up short. Most of the time when I go camping, despite being able to choose from several other knives, machetes, axes and whatnot I only ever use the Swede and my Victorinox multi-tool. I don't think I've ever even had to sharpen the Swede -- but it's a good steel, I take good care of it, and I do only use it when necessary. It's a bit on the thick side for preparing food but I get by with it. Fortunately the Victorinox seems to have been designed for me (I'm left-handed) so the plain flat blade on that takes a lot of the load from the Swede in camp, and the serrated blade does most of the rough stuff -- even though it's only skinny too. I have to sharpen that a lot.

HTH

 

[Ph34r]

Ok, thanks for the advice, - I should imagine that with my wide guidelines, you guys had some fun!

I was considering either the F1 or the S1, but was not too anxious to spend over £100. I take it that the money is worth it though, so will take that into consideration. Any thoughts on the S1 particularly would be nice.

Appreciated,
Ph34r

 

[SouthernCross]

G'day Ph34r

... Any thoughts on the S1 particularly would be nice.

Sorry mate, I can't offer any first hand opinions on the S1 as I haven't used one.

If it's like all the other Fallknivens I have used, you'll be certainly able to rely on it



Kind regards
Mick

 

[ged]

I was considering either the F1 or the S1, but was not too anxious to spend over £100. I take it that the money is worth it though, so will take that into consideration. Any thoughts on the S1 particularly would be nice.

Some of the opinion in the thread linked below is expressed a little strongly, and I don't necessarily endorse all of it, but you did ask...

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-29415.html

FWIW I have a couple of what I call 'camp' knives, which are heavy and can do a reasonable job of chopping. They aren't in the style of the F1 or S1. It's very rare that I take them out with me, they usually just sit in a grab-bag for use in an emergency. The other day I looked for one of them, couldn't find it, and now I can't even remember which country it's in! If I find a tool even moderately useful more than just occasionally, then I will always know exactly where it is.

 

[lostplanet]

I sold my S1 to a member on here, If you start a post specifically for S1 info I'm sure he would give you some.

Try not to rush into your buy, The frosts/Mora Clipper is a good place to start, cheap enough to not worry about damaging it or being left in the draw when you find your ideal blade and is good to pass on to a friend starting out.

I carry mine still as it's so light and doesn't take up much room. My main knife is a skookum bushtool and an Gransfors Small Forest axe for heavy stuff. This combination Works for me so I don't have the need for an S1 anymore which is tha main reason I sold it.

 

[Kerne]

I have an F1 and a U1. I find that the F1 is great for most things but not so much for crafty stuff. The U1 lives with me almost every day as it is legal to carry anywhere (well, almost, don't try it at the airport!) and is a great knife.

 

[Ph34r]

Rofls, damn i guess that means they wont like my laser rifles either

 

[Mike8472]

I Have a fetish for the H1; I have 3 now. one lam vg10, one vg10, and one custom i had made.
the lam vg10 one is the one I use the most when out and about. It does take abit of getting used to being 5mm thick and not having a fingerguard.

It took me ages to get used to sharpening a convex knife but the blade stays sharp for ages.

If you are looking for a strong user you can be rough with I would recommend
one of these.

 

[SouthernCross]

Some of the opinion in the thread linked below is expressed a little strongly, and I don't necessarily endorse all of it, but you did ask...

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-29415.html

The following quote from Big Swede at that link bears highlighting...

"My experience is limited to that a guy in my squad in the army had an A1, and he always carried the mora for finer task, which left the A1 in the sheath pretty much all of the time. I borrowed it and tried at several occasions and found it quite unuseful. Except once, hade a severe jam in the M2, and used the knife for prying out a mangled shell (sharpened crow bar as said..) The S1 I tried a couple of time as my then-roommate had one".

Sounds like big Swedes opinion is informed by extensive experience with both models okenest:



Kind regards
Mick