Helle knives

Joined
Jan 22, 2002
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I'm interested in a model called "Tor" by this Scadinavian company. Does anyone have any info or recommendations regarding this brand?
Any help would be appreciated.
 
i currently own/rotate three Helles (Viking, Fjording, Nying) and love them all. have handled just about everything they own. great quality and value.

check out www.ragweedforge.com for great selection and pricing. Ragnar's a great guy to deal with.

M
 
Second the recommendation on Ragnar and his great service.

I have a Helle Fjellkniven and it's a great knife.
 
Helle is one of my favorites as well.
Metis, I too own and rotate 3 myself. I have a Viking, Nying and a Polar. Wonderfully crafted Norwegian knives and indeed a great value.

Jim, Ragweed Forge has the Helle Tor your looking for:

helle-tor.jpg


Ragnar is a great guy to deal with and you'll find his site one of the most interesting and informative. Once you see his selection of Scandinavian knives, you'll be hooked. ;)

www.ragweedforge.com

Incidentally, the August 2002 issue of Blade magazine shows a picture of an archeologist with a Helle Tor (page 152).
 
I,m concerned about the relative thinness of these blades, and are the suseptable to excessive flexing/bending?
I,m taking a serious look at the Tor, and the Fjellkniven , as well as the 5" Brakar from Helle.

Regards
Ravenn
 
Thanks for the replies! I have been looking at Ragweed's site for some time now, which is what led me to the Tor. I think it would be a great little knife.
I think thinner is better most of the time!
Besides, I have Busse coming that would handle heavier stuff.
 
Jim:
Have you considered the Brusletto Falken, $60? See pic below. I suggest this because among the laminated SS blade blanks I have used from Helle, Lauri, and Brusletto, the Brusletto seem to have more of a finished/quality appearance and fit (between knife pieces). However, I have not seen any differences in cutting or edge-holding performance between any of the blade makers above. Also, I have only seen and used their blanks, not their factory finished knives.

(Ragnar's site indicates that he has one Falken left and that it will be discontinued in the future.)

Cheers,
TT2Toes
 

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I just wanted to chime in again about Helle, Brusletto, Haugrud, Karesuando, Eriksson and other traditional Scandinavians. You'll find that many will have slight imperfections of a cosmetic nature which are barely noticable, but they do not affect the performance of the knife. This could mean that there may be a tiny scratch or two on the bolster (if there is one), or there might be color and pattern variations on the birch handle. This is pretty much the norm as Scandinavians aren't as picky as Americans are when it comes to the cosmetics of a working knife. They like good looking knives, but the ability to cut is most important, so think of them as each having it's own "character." These knives are good looking, simple, affordable, very sharp, made in the old Viking tradition with natural materials and are meant to be used. The Scandinavian grind on the majority of models will allow the knife to cut like no tomorrow and is easy to sharpen. Best of all, these knives are a pleasure to own and use. ;)
 
Ravenn:

Thinness is one of the plusses of these knives. Scandinavian knives are designed to cut, cut, and cut some more. Thin blades and zero grinds (no secondary edge bevel) makes this style of knives super cutters. Yeah, you can't pry things open with them. If you want a prying knife, you ought to look elsewhere.

But technique can make up in many ways for this lack of pry-ability. For example, to cut through a 2" branch, you place the knife on the branch and whap the back of the knife with a baton. Mors Kochanski has a whole chapter devoted to the care and use of Mora knives. I'd suggest checking libraries in your area for hsi book. I forget the name of it now. It is amazing what you can do with these thin, light knives. And they sure look good too.
 
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