Fällkniven vs Bark River isn't a question I need to ever ask. I'd be fine with either, as both make good knives. But, there are some things I'd like to point out.
All the Fallkniven's I've seen have been immaculate, and just to compare rubber handled knives the fit/finish on the fallkniven is much better than say, the scrapyards I own.
Practically none of the Fällknivens I've seen have been immaculate. The same goes for the Bark Rivers I've seen, although I would rate Bark River's fit and finish higher, if only just barely, than Fällkniven's. On Fällknivens a distinctly uneven grind (especially the tip) is more the rule than the exception, and a lot of Bark Rivers come with visibly bent blades (the bigger they are, the larger the chance you'll see a bent blade). More often than not, these fit and finish issues do not affect performance at all - but they are, still, repeatedly occurring issues. Neither company has anywhere near perfect fit and finish, or even exceptionally good. But then, what do we care? Knives are meant for use, and the fit and finish is going to suffer in use. I'm pointing this out simply so no-one can say they weren't warned about imperfections in Fällkniven's and Bark River's f & f. There are certainly companies with a million times worse fit and finish...
The Falkniven F1 - and others with the VG-10 - are 'made in Japan'. I was shocked, having heard all of my life about the quality of Swedish steel - and the Falkniven uses Japaneese steel - oh well! Also, while the 'entry level' Bark Rivers start with Micarta, Falkniven starts with 'Kraton' - a type of rubber. The F1 in Kraton is ~$110-$120 mail order; ~$250 with black Micarta!
Obviously, I'll take Bark River.
This is something that keeps on coming up, and I keep on wondering about it. Do some people not know that quality of manufacture in Japan is generally extremely high, certainly better than in most European countries, and far, far above most other Asian countries? The quality of Japanese products is certainly not any less than US made. There's nothing wrong with Japanese steel. I'd just as soon get a knife in Japanese steel as in Swedish. And when a Swedish company is making its knives from Japanese steel, there's a reason for it, and it's not to cut down manufacturing costs.
As far as the handles are concerned, the Thermorun (not Kraton, exactly - some Fällkniven models like the A1 have Kraton handles, some, like the F1, Thermorun handles) handles on Fällknivens are ugly, but they work very well. They have great grip, and in cold weather, you won't have the steel of the tang against your hand, which is very good - certainly much better than Micarta scales in that weather. However, the Micarta handled Fällknivens are overpriced - those are for the more obsessed collectors amongst us.
I think that was all I was going to say. Bark River and Fällkniven both make knives that cut. :thumbup:
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