- Joined
- Oct 3, 1998
- Messages
- 3,264
Yanks may want to call the newest Fällkniven a heavy-duty puukko, though puukko is a Finnish word, and Fällkniven is a Swedish company hiring one of the best factories in Japan to make a knife that has an overall shape closer to one of the Norwegian knives on my shelf than it does to anything I've seen from their neighbor to the east.
<A HREF="http://www.chaicutlery.com/fallkniven/NorthernKnives-Traditional-Modern.jpg" TARGET=_blank>
</A>
Sheaths
Here's the Fällkniven H1 next to a Brusletto Norgeskniven. Kraton versus birch, VG10 versus Sandvik 12C27. Zero edge bevel in both cases. The Fällkniven blade is 5 mm (0.2") stock, with an almost full tang, versus about half the thickness and a stick tang for the more traditional knife. The Fällkniven weighs in at 6.5 ounces, versus 3 ounces for the Brusletto, and the respective plastic-lined leather sheaths are built in proportion. Both of them balance about an inch behind the blade. Blade length on the Fällkniven H1 is 4" or 102 mm on my tape measure.
<A HREF="http://www.chaicutlery.com/fallkniven/S1-H1-F1.jpg" TARGET=_blank>
</A>
The Fällkniven S1, with a blade an inch longer, also weighs in at 6.5 ounces, while the F1, a little bit under 4" and flat-ground to the spine, weighs 5 ounces. The H1 handle is Kraton instead of the harder Thermorun Elastomer of the F1 and S1, perhaps for a higher traction grip to make up for the lack of a finger guard.
Fällkniven is apparently concerned that Americans will cut themselves and sue, so they say on the box, "...it is recommended that only experienced hunters our outdoorsmen should handle a knife as advanced as the H1 Hunting Knife." Since many kitchen paring knives are also guardless, experienced cooks also should not be afraid to pick up an H1. It is a little thicker than your average paring knife.
And please do remember, so you don't make work for the orthopedic surgeon, that knives in this tradition are for push and pull cutting, and not stabbing. That edge is razor-sharp, out of the box, all the way from the end of the handle to the tip.
------------------
- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
[This message has been edited by James Mattis (edited 08-03-2000).]
<A HREF="http://www.chaicutlery.com/fallkniven/NorthernKnives-Traditional-Modern.jpg" TARGET=_blank>
Sheaths
Here's the Fällkniven H1 next to a Brusletto Norgeskniven. Kraton versus birch, VG10 versus Sandvik 12C27. Zero edge bevel in both cases. The Fällkniven blade is 5 mm (0.2") stock, with an almost full tang, versus about half the thickness and a stick tang for the more traditional knife. The Fällkniven weighs in at 6.5 ounces, versus 3 ounces for the Brusletto, and the respective plastic-lined leather sheaths are built in proportion. Both of them balance about an inch behind the blade. Blade length on the Fällkniven H1 is 4" or 102 mm on my tape measure.
<A HREF="http://www.chaicutlery.com/fallkniven/S1-H1-F1.jpg" TARGET=_blank>
The Fällkniven S1, with a blade an inch longer, also weighs in at 6.5 ounces, while the F1, a little bit under 4" and flat-ground to the spine, weighs 5 ounces. The H1 handle is Kraton instead of the harder Thermorun Elastomer of the F1 and S1, perhaps for a higher traction grip to make up for the lack of a finger guard.
Fällkniven is apparently concerned that Americans will cut themselves and sue, so they say on the box, "...it is recommended that only experienced hunters our outdoorsmen should handle a knife as advanced as the H1 Hunting Knife." Since many kitchen paring knives are also guardless, experienced cooks also should not be afraid to pick up an H1. It is a little thicker than your average paring knife.
And please do remember, so you don't make work for the orthopedic surgeon, that knives in this tradition are for push and pull cutting, and not stabbing. That edge is razor-sharp, out of the box, all the way from the end of the handle to the tip.
------------------
- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
[This message has been edited by James Mattis (edited 08-03-2000).]
