Fallkniven F1 vs SURVIVE! SK4 (or GSO 4.1)

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ADDICTEDD

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Apr 9, 2011
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Hey guys, I'm wondering if anybody has both of these knives.

If so which do you prefer?

Price is a factor, because I plan on buying a set of matching knives for me and the misses, we do a lot of backpacking, camping and water adventures.

Chopping won't really be an issue, when backpacking I use a 3 tool system with a Axe/Hatchet as well as a Folding Saw. Which one would fit in their role in this 3 tool system?

Environment: I spend roughly half the year in Upstate/Central New York, which has a ton of snow. The other half of the year I spend in California, which has salt water as well as rivers that I go swimming in.

So here are my questions:

Which one is lighter?

Which one has a more secure sheath?

Which design is an overall "Tougher" design?

Which one is a better cutter?

Are there any cheaper alternatives that are worth looking into?

Lastly, which steel do you prefer for the GSO 4.1?

Sorry for asking so many questions, just want to buy once and cry once! Thank you so much for your replies.
 
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I can't answer all of your questions, but I can answer your question about the steel.

S7 is among the toughest steels out there. However, it is also among the most prone to rust. It's a good steel, but not if corrosion resistance is one of your criteria. CPM-3v is technically a carbon steel, but it is very rust resistant (for a carbon steel), and many would say it is "semi stainless". CPM-20CV is a stainless, and I believe it might be the us made version of M390 (good stainless, among the best).

The fallkniven is made out of vg10, which is a mid-upper grade stainless steel.

The survive knives should be tougher imo, and I'd get either the 3v version, or 20cv.

Good luck :).
 
ocnLogan said:
I can't answer all of your questions, but I can answer your question about the steel.

S7 is among the toughest steels out there. However, it is also among the most prone to rust. It's a good steel, but not if corrosion resistance is one of your criteria. CPM-3v is technically a carbon steel, but it is very rust resistant (for a carbon steel), and many would say it is "semi stainless". CPM-20CV is a stainless, and I believe it might be the us made version of M390 (good stainless, among the best).

The fallkniven is made out of vg10, which is a mid-upper grade stainless steel.

The survive knives should be tougher imo, and I'd get either the 3v version, or 20cv.

Good luck :).
Click to expand...

Hey, thank for replying!

How much toughness would you loose out on the CPM 20CV versus the regular CPM 3V?
 
ADDICTEDD said:
Hey, thank for replying!

How much toughness would you loose out on the CPM 20CV versus the regular CPM 3V?
Click to expand...

According to the folks at Survive! not much. 3v is a little tougher and holds an edge a little longer. I was just at Survive! speaking with Josh about it. They are really happy with their 20CV.

RE: F1 v 4.1 - I have both and they are both good knives. I have found the 4.1 stays sharper a good deal longer. I don't like the F1 spine, but that's personal choice. I like the 4.1 sheath TONS better, but I can live with the F1. The F1 is much easier to find/buy and is a good deal cheaper, like half the cost. 3v is better and tougher steel then V10. 3v may be a little bit tougher to strop/sharpen BUT I get bigger micro folds with the F1 or my S1 that take longer to resharpen. At the end of the day the F1 is a fine knife but I find the 4.1 is the better all around knife for almost twice the money.
 
You could get the f1 in 3g steel which is a fantastic stainless steel with very good edgeholding qualities.
 
Any knife that is recognized by a countries national defense and issued to there troops as a survival knife is pretty impressive to me. I have read only good things about the F1 and actually just ordered one up tonight, got a hell of a deal on it to, can't wait to get it in my hands. Not sure about the Survive knives, only thing I have seen about them is they pretty much run in cost what the same weight in gold is valued at.
 
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