Edge Geometry: Fallkniven vs. Bark River

J

JeffLesniak

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Apr 24, 2005
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Hi, I was just wondering how the convex edge geometry compares on a fallkniven vs. a bark river of similar size. I'm thinking about getting a new small-medium fixed blade to use as a utility knife around the barn and while camping/woodworking, and was looking at either a Northstar or F1.

I convex the edges on all my knives, so am familiar with sharpening them and the differences in thicknesses and the corresponding cutting efficiencies. I also prefer the full convex grinds Bark River and Fallkniven offer. I have a spyderco Moran featherweight, but that sees mostly kitchen use, as the edge is VERY thin and thus am looking for something with a little more meat behind the edge.

Thanks for any responses, I really appreciate it

Jeff
 
You might want to post this on the "other forum" as well - they have both a Falkniven and a Bark River folder there.

I don't think you can make a bad choice here - any chance you could actually handle both?
 
Hey guys, thanks a lot for the responses.

Unfortunately I'm at college right now, and there aren't any shops anywhere near here to handle either. Grand Prarie knives is about 1.5-2 hours from here, so that might be a possibility to drive out there on a boring day and check out some Bark Rivers. However, they don't appear to carry Fallkniven from what I can tell.

Cliff, would it take much work to reprofile the edge on the F1 down to similar geometry as the Bark River? Does the F1 cut well for how thick it actually is?

I really like the overall look and features of both knives, so any advantage one has over the other will help with the decision.

Anyone have knives from both companies to share experiences with them?

Thanks, Jeff
 
I have both. As long as both knives are sharp they will cut through anything. If you are looking for a knife that can handle more abuse i would go with the Fallkniven only because it has a thicker profile. But either knife will handle most task that any normal person would throw at it.
 
JeffLesniak said:
... a utility knife around the barn and while camping/woodworking, ...
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Either knife would hold up under that sort of work. I prefer a hard handle to a soft composite, so I would choose the Bark River.

Actually, I have chosen several Bark Rivers. :)
 
I have both (F1 / BRKT HS) and its a tough call. The HS is very well balanced in the hand whilst the F1 feels more robust. Both come sharp NIB.

A side note: If you use your Barkie on a firesteel, be prepared for your blade to look like crap afterwards. The spine on mine looked like it had tiny holes burnt into it, from the heat.
 
I have both abd I think it depends on what uses you have in mind. First they both will cut any thing you throw at them. More important is which will you carry every day. If you tend to abuse a knife ten it would be the Fallkniven. If you are using it for every day cutting tasks its the Barkie. I find the barkie more elegant and easier to carry. So I find myself using it much more often, particularly around the house on teh weekends. It is easier fro me to handle on smaller tasks.

In the woods I would chosoe the Fallkniven. It is more stout and somehow seems better for bushcraft stuff.

But then again both are sharp, handy, high quality knives.
 
IMO edges on both Fallkniven and Bark River are more obtuse than they should be for most cutting chores. Unless I intended to use this knife for some very demanding things, I wouldn't let factory edge profile affect my decision, since I'd be reprofiling either one of them anyway.
 
How about buying one of each, epoxy them spine to spine so one edge is a Fallkniven while the other a Barkie, and voila...you've got a Barkniven.

I think I'm going to market this as a custom and sell it on eBay for bucks. I'm sitting on a gold mine of an idea I tells ya. A gold mine.
 
Grapevine said:
How about buying one of each, epoxy them spine to spine so one edge is a Fallkniven while the other a Barkie, and voila...you've got a Barkniven.

I think I'm going to market this as a custom and sell it on eBay for bucks. I'm sitting on a gold mine of an idea I tells ya. A gold mine.
Click to expand...


Are you sure that's not a Fallkriver?
 
Grapevine said:
How about buying one of each, epoxy them spine to spine so one edge is a Fallkniven while the other a Barkie, and voila...you've got a Barkniven.

I think I'm going to market this as a custom and sell it on eBay for bucks. I'm sitting on a gold mine of an idea I tells ya. A gold mine.
Click to expand...


Are you sure that's not a Fallkriver?

Getting serious, I have both and must say you can't go wrong with either. Both companies make a great product at a great price.
 
Dog of War said:
IMO edges on both Fallkniven and Bark River are more obtuse than they should be for most cutting chores.
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Hob set a pair of calipers to one of his and it had pretty much the finest profile you could obtain on a non-hollow ground blade being basically full flat with a light convex sweep to just barely increase the edge angle to 8/10 per side. Have the ones you handled been significantly more obtuse?

JeffLesniak said:
Cliff, would it take much work to reprofile the edge on the F1 down to similar geometry as the Bark River?
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To make them equal yes as you would have to adjust the primary grind and only Thom has the patience to do that without power tools. However the edge could be given a relief in just a few minutes and equalize the cutting ability as Dog of War noted to a large extent.

Does the F1 cut well for how thick it actually is?
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Even the very heavy knives like the H1 cut very well because they bring the primary grind very close to the edge. I quantified several aspects of its cutting performance in its review.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
Hob set a pair of calipers to one of his and it had pretty much the finest profile you could obtain on a non-hollow ground blade being basically full flat with a light convex sweep to just barely increase the edge angle to 8/10 per side. Have the ones you handled been significantly more obtuse?
Click to expand...
Assume you're referring to the Bark Rivers here, Cliff. Most of my experience has been with Mountaineer, Highland and Woodland models, and all needed thinning out especially from the tip back to the belly. On the BRKT forum I've seen Mike Stewart mention the edge geometry they shoot for .... a little vague about it like it's some kind of trade secret, but he has mentioned a specific edge (apex) angle, 13 degrees per side IIRC, as ideal. The Bark Rivers I've had weren't even close to that, some as delivered couldn't even be touched up with a microbevel at 20/side near the tip. The problem is confined to just behind the edge, back to maybe .15-.25", with the rest of the blade having very little convex, so it's easy to correct. It's also been over a year since I got a new one so maybe they run a tighter ship now.
 
I think that 13 degrees is the angle of the blade to sanding belt. Not of the edge to the sanding belt. As the belt is slack, the convex edge forms with a different angle as the belt conforms itself to the blade. That's why you see a very different angle than the 13 Mike mentions.

Phil
 
Dog of War said:
On the BRKT forum I've seen Mike Stewart mention the edge geometry they shoot for .... a little vague about it like it's some kind of trade secret, but he has mentioned a specific edge (apex) angle, 13 degrees per side IIRC, as ideal.The Bark Rivers I've had weren't even close to that, some as delivered couldn't even be touched up with a microbevel at 20/side near the tip.
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Thanks for the details, that is an absurd angle (20+) for that type of knife, but it doesn't surprise me given the comments on variance.

phatch said:
I think that 13 degrees is the angle of the blade to sanding belt. Not of the edge to the sanding belt. As the belt is slack, the convex edge forms with a different angle as the belt conforms itself to the blade. That's why you see a very different angle than the 13 Mike mentions.
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Yes, the final apex angle would be significantly more obtuse than the blade/belt angle.

-Cliff
 
Thanks guys.

I'm kind of leaning towards the F1, a lot because it has the laminated blade, which I think is very cool; don't have one of those yet. I just really like the idea of knives all ready coming with a full convex edge. Reprofiling isn't really a big deal to me (see below) and therefore I know I can always reprofile the F1 if its edge is too thick for my tastes. The stainlessness of the steels is a snall plus too and I like how the VG-10 is holding up on my spyderco moran.

Here's a couple of pictures of a SRK I reprofiled. A lot of work, but it cuts a hundred times better now and looks better too!
http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k...urrent=DSCF3422.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch2
and
http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k...urrent=DSCF3423.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch1

Sorry if it's hard to tell from the pictures, I can take more, but can anyone tell me how that edge would compare to a fallkniven or BRKT grind?
Sorry, I know it's tough just to eyeball, and would be easier if i had some way to quantify the egde angle/thickness (I'm almost positive the very edge angle is less than 30 degrees included), but if at all possible, a visual comparison would probably help a lot.

Do like the handle options and look of that northstar though have heard the handle is quite short, should I maybe hold out for the upcoming Aurora? Any idea when that debuts?

It's a tough decision, thanks for helping me out guys!

Jeff
 
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