Fallkniven A1 Pro - An Incredible Knife At An Incredibly High Price. Worth It?

JBoone said:
Get what you want and tell me in 20 years if you regret spending a bit more.
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20 years from now he'll have 100+ more. It's a hobby. :D

JBoone said:
A lot of beginning knife buyers end up spending the same amount on 2-3 different knives of cheaper quality while working up to a more expensive knife that they will end up with anyway. Many would have been better off financially getting just one at a higher price right off the bat.
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This is true. But it's a hard sell if you don't understand the differences between knives or at least a reasonable grasp of what you're getting. I suspect most of us have started out with lower priced knives and gradually bumped up the price or value after knowledge and experience is gained. The journey is fun. It is not just about the money.
 
22-rimfire said:
20 years from now he'll have 100+ more. It's a hobby. :D


This is true. But it's a hard sell if you don't understand the differences between knives or at least a reasonable grasp of what you're getting. I suspect most of us have started out with lower priced knives and gradually bumped up the price or value after knowledge and experience is gained. The journey is fun. It is not just about the money.
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All very good information, and it's good to know I'm on the right track with GSO. Another guy posted some custom knife makers which I'll look at. As Deadbox said, that Fallkniven A1 pro exceeds in many ways. It's hard to buy those at this point, at lest from what I can tell from an "authorized dealer", since those dealers are selling wholesale to businesses. Therefore, it's hard to get any sort of warranty from what I can tell unless you want to spend 500-600 on a knife which even the A1 pro makes no sense at that price.

That guy on Ebay sells them for 245 that I mentioned. He has just sold another one which I'm looking at the page still for updates. People need to leave feedback which they haven't yet. I would have no issues spending 245-300 for one if I knew it wasn't some sort of scam. We'll see, but for now I decided no, more specifically from United Outdoors on Ebay until I know more. It's too risk buying from them to to the guard problem the first batch of these knives had.

The reason that knife is attractive to me, is it has most everything I want in a survival knife. A Survival knife should be made with the following properties as far as I'm concerned:

1. It should be full-tang fixed blade (this goes without even saying)
2. At least 6 inches (preferably more like 7-9), but 6+ will do it it's thick which is even more important.
3. It should be at least .2 inches thick, PREFERABLY thicker. The Fallkniven A1 Pro is 0.25 inches thick ++++ People might criticize this, but in real world survival scenarios, you're pounding through wood, etc. etc. this means being realistic the knife is going to have some prying and bending done to it at some point. The thicker it is, the better chance it will survive and not snap or something crazy; also when pounding through wood, it will tend to force a split in it quickly which is also good for survival. This is my biggest criticism of my Esee 6. I love the knife, but it should be thicker and made with a convex grind.
4. A Convex grind like I mentioned above which the A1 pro has too. This again, in my mind wards off chipping etc. This is not an absolute in my mind, but it's a huge plus as far as I'm concerned.
5. The steel. It should be a quality piece of steel. Cobalt Steel that Fallkniven is using, is very good, but actually I can think of better: CPM-20CV would be my first choice since it is highly resistant to rust. This is also a must in my mind, since in real world scenarios the blade WILL get wet out in the woods. M390 Would also be acceptable too. I know GSO is using 20CV now lol.
6. Lastly a reliable sheath. This is the ONLY thing, I think the A1 pro really falters on. That sheath is ridiculous given the price paid for the knife. A thick leather sheath would be best, but obviously this can be remedied with any knife.

Is there any knife, knives that fit my criteria above that people can think of? Are there any knife makers that can make a knife using the criteria above? When you're in the middle of the Bitterroot Selway Wilderness (one of the largest ones in the lower 48 states, and the 2nd largest wooded wilderness in the lower 48), or the Bob Marshall Wilderness, you need a knife that works, especially when you're 10,15 and 20 miles from help as I many times will be during the summer.

I'm noticing it's very hard to find knives with the above criteria. Obviously, I will bring backup knives too, but you guys get the point.
 
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Try a look at Bark River Knives. They have at least some models that match your criteria, maybe one of the Grasso Bolo models.
 
While the Srk is a tough knife I don't believe it's as tough as the A1 at least in carbon v versus the laminated A1. Check it out in a similar testing.

 
Srk 7th test he tells more about the testing versus the A1. Still a decent knife I suppose. Maybe a San Mai Srk would fare better, I'd like to see that test done also.
 
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I've watced that A1 destruction video; incredible! The new A1 pro is likely even tougher. If it can withstand that insane abuse before structurally giving in, I'm imagining it can handle any sort of real world in the woods abuse for a very long time as in many years. Cold steel SRK or their newer recon knives are close to fitting my criteria and they are good too! I believe the new recon ones by cold steel are even thicker than the SRK ones. I want to say a whopping 0.31 inches thick!

Cold Steel 39LRST Recon Scout definitely does meet a lot of my criteria and might make a great starter type knife replacement of the Fallkniven A1 pro.
 
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ShinyLoveMachine said:
Is there any knife, knives that fit my criteria above that people can think of? Are there any knife makers that can make a knife using the criteria above?
I'm noticing it's very hard to find knives with the above criteria. Obviously, I will bring backup knives too, but you guys get the point.
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There are lots ... TOPS, Cold Steel, Ontario, Bark River, also Busse. Check out dlttrading.com. Should get you started. Maybe convex edge is not that common, but all the other criteria you listed is out there. Bark Rivers have convex edges. When you get to $300-$400 for a knife, at that price point, you can get a custom or semi-custom. For instance, check out Alfa-Knives here on this forum.
 
ShinyLoveMachine said:
That guy on Ebay sells them for 245 that I mentioned. He has just sold another one which I'm looking at the page still for updates. People need to leave feedback which they haven't yet. I would have no issues spending 245-300 for one if I knew it wasn't some sort of scam. We'll see, but for now I decided no, more specifically from <<deleted>> on Ebay until I know more. It's too risk buying from them to to the guard problem the first batch of these knives had.
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I believe you are still deal spotting. Why don't you just leave the dealers names out of it? Simple.
 
GrReaper said:
There are lots ... TOPS, Cold Steel, Ontario, Bark River, also Busse. Check out dlttrading.com. Should get you started. Maybe convex edge is not that common, but all the other criteria you listed is out there. Bark Rivers have convex edges. When you get to $300-$400 for a knife, at that price point, you can get a custom or semi-custom. For instance, check out Alfa-Knives here on this forum.
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Will do. I'm really impressed with Bark River and I agree that they have some incredible knives (many of which fit this criteria). I think I'm simply going to save and buy one of those!
 
I have glove size 10.5 - 11 and the Fällkniven handles are some of the worst to me.they tend to roll in my hand under heavy use.
 
ShinyLoveMachine said:
Will do. I'm really impressed with Bark River and I agree that they have some incredible knives (many of which fit this criteria). I think I'm simply going to save and buy one of those!
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That's what I would do! I always try to look for value. When I look at production knives, there's a price point at which I'd say "forget it" and I'd opt for a custom or semi-custom. $350-$400 is real close to that point. The most I ever paid for a production knife I think was a Cold Steel Natchez bowie in San Mai III steel for about $380. Any more than that, might as well get a custom.
 
Hey everyone resurrecting a topic that I posted over a year ago. So I'm super into the wilderness and the outdoors survival etc. As Big Brown Bear said on here there are cheaper tools that do everything this knife can, but none of them are a catch all as much as this knife is....For not having to carry more weight, this knife and a small handsaw with do everything I need backpacking. I decided it was worth the investment. I won't say where I bought it, it's being shipped, but I paid $319 for it.

Big Brown Bear how is yours holding up if you see this? In any case, I can't say that I'm not a bit excited about mine! There is simply no other wilderness tool like it! I feel like it's worth the investment initially if you use it a lot in the backcountry. It will pay for itself in terms of holding up for years, and also in what it can do in 1 tool. I will let you guys know what I think for what that is worth!
 
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