Fallkniven NL4 irregular lamination line

[johnv51]

Hello,
I just received this Fallkniven NL4, and as you can see, the lamination line is irregular, not parrallel to the edge.
Is this kind of irregularity usual? Or should I send it back to vendor, considering it as a manufacturing failure?
Thank you for your advice.

 

[Tony Beech]

My friend has two or three Fallkniven and none have a 'wavy' Lamination line, I own a few Cold Steel San Mai and the Lamination line is not symmetrical, but it is straight, myself I would ask for an exchange.

 

[gra_farmer]

I have seen irregular lamination on the grinds on the fallkniven u4 wolf and U2, it happens, but if not happy send it back for another

 

[C_Claycomb]

If it bothers you for cosmetic reasons, send it back.

Is the wave on both sides of the blade or only one side? If it is on one side only it suggests a very small waver in grinding. If there is a corresponding dip in the lamination line on the other side it suggests that the steel got a tiny wobble at the welding stage. Neither will cause any performance problems.

If there is a wave that small in the grind you might call that a manufacturing fault or flaw, but I think calling it a failure is going too far.

This thread has a reply from Fallkniven from long ago regarding symmetry of the lamination line.

lamination lines?

recently I bought a Fällkniven pxl with maroon micarta grips. A solid built knife with thick liners and a beefy blade out of laminated 3g steel. The blade is nicely centered and as far as the eye can the primary grinds are even and symetrical. But one thing did concern me, the lamination...

www.bladeforums.com

 

[Stew]

What’s the issue?

the lamination doesn’t hit the cutting edge so will never be a problem in use.

 

[johnv51]

Thank you guys for the advices.
Regarding the question about the other side of the blade, the lamination line is not perfectly straight either, but the curves are not so big as on the main side. It would not bother me if both sides were like this.
But the curves on the main side was the first thing I saw when I unboxed it, ant that disappointed me a bit. I chose this knife because I pay a lot of attention to the cosmetic.
See here the other side:

 

[Stew]

It’ll get dirty, it’ll get scratched. It’s just a character line.

 

[demographic]

If you use the knife instead of keeping it in a drawer and just looking at it you will eventually sharpen it to the point where that lamination line differs a fair bit from when it was new. My lovely little U2 is considerably different from when I bought it. Its still a great knife.

But if it's the kind of thing that will ruin your enjoyment of it then swap it out.
Just don't leave it in a drawer though eh?

 

[Erbswurst]

It wouldn't disturb me if it was cheaper but at this price point I also wouldn't accept it.

 

[Billy-o]

I think if you don't like it, send it back. The wavy lamination line won't hurt in practical terms, but then again if you just wanted something to cut with, there are many way cheaper options. If you aren't absolutely happy, return it for a refund, credit or replacement.

Though I have to say that dealing with Fallkniven directly over failings in their manufactures, I have had some pretty unpleasant exchanges. Ask the people you bought it from.

 

[johnv51]

Thank you guys for your opinions. That helped me a lot. I finally decided to send it back for an exchange. Let's see If I will be luckier.

 

[Erbswurst]

If not, get a different one.

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[Chrisstares]

Hi, I’ve owned and own many Fallknivens, including most of the NL range, I’ve never seen or would tolerate that, it’ll effect it’s resale value if nothing else.

Chris

 

[Erbswurst]

Oh, I never thought about that, but it's absolutely right!

(Especially because a lot of Fjällkniven knives aren't everybody's cup of tea.)

 

[Corso]

The price you pay these days for a Fallkniven I'd want perfection

​

 

[Murat_Cyp]

In my opinion, not acceptable for a knife at this price range. I would return it immediately. I had an F1 and the lamination line was even. It is very interesting how they can sell knives costing that much like that! I do not think they can somehow skip the quality control for such an expensive series. I would understand if they miss such production error in quality control in a cheap knife selling thousands of every month. But I do not imagine this knife selling that much making proper quality control impossible.

 

[Dave Budd]

If you don't like a wavy weld line, never buy a handmade laminated blade!

The straightness of the line is down to even pressure, even thickness and even temperature when being welded and then subsequent forgings. So the idea of a straight line is pretty much hypothetical I would say! Chances are that the way the factory does it does make it much more uniform, but there are always going to be variances in the temperature of the material (even 50 degrees will affect the plasticity).

The ONLY way that a solidly laminated core could be considered a flaw is if it has ended up not at the cutting edge, which will more likely be down to irregular grinding (and from a factory made blade I would think that very difficult to achieve that much irregularity)

 

[Mr Wolf]

It’s a beauty.