Any hunters using a fallkniven A1 to process game?

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Dutch_Henry

Joined
Sep 27, 2011
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46
Curious to hear from hunters who use the A1 (or similar knives) to field dress and quarter deer, elk, caribou, moose.

I know it's not purpose-built for hunting. But I'm curious what to expect of it. With processing game, what does it do well and what does it do poorly?

For reference, my favorite hunting knives are a Benchmade Saddle Mountain, a Buck 102 I've had since I was a kid, and the Havalons. But on some future hunting trip I'd like to give the A1 or something like it a try as a "one knife," if only to keep learning new things. Let me know what your experience has been...
 
While I cannot speak from experience with the A1, having never owned or held one, I would say just from appearances, and the generally held opinion that it is a top quality knife, I would not hesitate to use it for that task. In fact if I were suddenly tossed that knife, and put in a survival situation, I am sure I would be fine, and have zero concerns about my knife being up to the task. Not something I can say about most knives, or most "survival" knives for that matter. An awful lot of "survival" knives seem to have the purpose of allowing its manufacturer to survive and leaving the user on his own to fend for himself. lol
 
Never used a fallkniven A1, but I did field dress a few deer with a Cold Steel SRK in Carbon V steel. It did a fine job, I didn't find the length to be much of a hindrance other than making the initial opening. That blade was a bit thick for the chore but did just fine. It's not my first choice for boning out an animal (something thinner with a bit more flex is nicer) but it works just fine. As a do it all field knife something like the SRK or A1 in the 5-6 inch length is about as all around as you can get.
 
NapalmCheese said:
(something thinner with a bit more flex is nicer)
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2.2 mm too thin? More Svords. (sorry)
General Purpose 6 1/4
DSC02089.1.JPG

Length of Blade (inches) 6 1/4"
Over All Length (inches) 11"
Blade Shape General Purpose
Handle Material Mahogony and Brass
Steel Specifications 15N20
Blade Thickness (mm) 2.2mm
Sheath Leather

Curved Skinner 5 3/4
Svord%20Curved%20Skinner%20-%205.75%20Inches%20-%20Mahogany%20Handle%20Model%20%20677BB%20copy.jpg

Length of Blade (inches) 5 3/4"
Over All Length (inches) 10 3/4"
Blade Shape Curved Skinner
Handle Material Mahogony and Brass
Steel Specifications 15N20
Blade Thickness (mm) 2.2mm
Sheath Leather
http://www.svord.com/index.php?id_category=20&controller=category
 
No, never have. The only Fallkniven I have is an F1. The A1 is a bit large for deer processing, but I am sure it would work in a pinch. I've used a Buck 119 to do it, and that is a large knife also.
 
I own a F1. The A1 is a good knife; if you want the A1, I'd give it a whirl. For field dressing type activities, a smaller knife is generally preferred by most. But if I liked the A1 or a knife this size, I could easily muddle through the field dressing stage and it might well be more useful as a general purpose woods blade with some hunting use. It really just depends on how much use you have with game animals. Always would have a folder with me too, so if the bigger knife felt clumsy, I would just go to the folder.
 
Thanks all for the replies thus far. Totally agree on the small blade being better for most tasks, especially for field dressing. And Gadunz, those svords are purdy--I've often oogled them online. 22--I kind would like to give the A1 a whirl. I own some great 3-4" knives similar to the F1, and that one is on my list too.

In my mind, there are only a couple of times when a bigger, heavier blade could be useful when processing deer+ sized game. One is quarter removal and not being as shy for getting some contact with bone & having some leverage for popping joints, and the other is processing ribs or brisket--or any time you want to brute force your way through a joint vs finesse it with more surgical cuts. I prefer the finesse approach, but there are times when it's been cold and wet and nasty, when I was wishing for a bigger tool.

If I'm lucky enough to get a whitetail this season, maybe I'll muck through it with a bigger blade and report back. As I get older I find myself with more and more knives tuned to specialized tasks. But I at least like the idea of simplifying and growing my skills instead of my collection!
 
I was a one deer guy and wasn't always successful. Some folks harvest 4-5 deer, but I have no use for that much venison. I barely used what I got from one deer. I took my deer to a butcher for processing and would have some sausage made. So, honestly speaking, the only need for the knife for the actual deer was for field dressing for me.

I see no problem with the larger blade and it certainly will be handier for wacking off a limb, small tree, or brush that might be in your hopeful line of sight. Knives are a hobby and it doesn't bother me if I get something that I later change my mind about using in the field.
 
Dutch_Henry said:
If I'm lucky enough to get a whitetail this season, maybe I'll muck through it with a bigger blade and report back.
Click to expand...

Seems to me a lot of people think if they don't have the 'perfect' sized knife they'll just botch whatever it is they're trying to do... You won't be mucking through it, you'll just be cutting. I swear I could field dress a whitetail with anything from a Swiss Army Classic to a cavalry sabre (including cutting off legs and skinning - I don't use a knife much while skinning deer). Now for butchering... I definitely like some more specialized tools. A 5 inch curved semi-flex boning knife, and a 5-6 inch straight stiff boning knife, accompanied by a meat hook and a bone saw. Some cotton gloves don't hurt either. A big scimitar or chef knife is nice for steaking as well, but deer are pretty small, most of the steaks don't need much of a blade.

About the only thing I wouldn't want to field dress a deer with would be a big cleaver or an axe, it'd be difficult to but the butt out. On the other hand however it'd be super easy to split the pelvis instead of cutting the butt out so it's not like it's any worse, just different. Come to think of it I don't think it'd be all that bad.

That first Svord looks nice.
 
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Alberta Ed said:
It should work fine. I've used both a SRK and a Buck 119 to field dress moose.
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But being Canadian, you're also born with a gene that allows you to fully dress, quarter, and cape a moose with a shard from a beer bottle. :thumbsup: I've spent some time in W Canada including the Yukon and NW Territories, and walked away extremely impressed by the mindset and skills of the outdoors crowd up there. Really inspiring.
 
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