Fallkniven F1 yard work test... not so great.

eyeeatingfish

eyeeatingfish

Joined
Dec 9, 2003
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I got a used fallkniven from someone recently, and it was in good condition, just not shaving sharp though. After 5 minutes on the sharpmaker it was shaving sharp. Now this is a thick blade for its size, so i figured id take it out to do some yard work.

There was a huge palmfron that needed to be cut up. So first istart cutting through the thin part that wraps around the tree, the base of the palm fron. Cuts really well. Then i go to the thickest place, where its kind of an elbow, betweeen where the leaves start and the base of the palm fron. The f1 isnt really heavy enough to hack through it, and multiple whacks dont get too deep. The fron is probably 8 inches wide at this section. I try sawing at it which doesnt do anything. I turned it a little bit and started stabbing about a half inch or so and do this repeatedly to cut through most of the way. Then i was able to bend the palmfron and cut the remaining threads.

The results surprised me.
Some of the blade coating was worn off. Around the tip and the straight section of the blade where i was hacking. I guess the coating isnt all that thick or durable?

What surprised me most was that after this 5 minutes or so of cutting this palm fron, the blade was no longer anywhere close to shaving sharp. I thought the vg-10 would be better at holding an edge. One thought though, i used the older model spoyderco sharpmaker and i believe it has 20 degree angles on the stones. Anyone know different? Is that angle not the best for the kind of work i described? Heavy use would need a slightly larger angle?
I resharpened the knife and in 5-10 minutes it was shaving sharp. Rather than use the set angle I did it by hand and tried to give it a slightly larger angle than what the sharpmaker provides.

I love the shape, feel, look or the knife though.

Any thoughts?
 
The F1 has a convex blade geometry and it is best to sharpen it with a mouse pad and sand paper.
 
Coatings come off very quickly in general, the outside of trees is often covered in grit/dirt/sand.

-Cliff
 
learn to sharpen a convex properly then re-try the work.

I only use Fallkniven and I know a lot of Aussies use them on the woods here that would make a European hardwood blush with shame.

In my experience the F1 (although I use an Idun) will last a long time on whatever woods you throw at it. I suspect you put a super tiny micro bevel on it with the sharpmaker and it held for a few cuts. Get it sharp with a mousepad combo and then steel it, you will be amazed I am sure of it. ;)
 
What grit of sandpaper should i use with the mousepad?

I found this website on convex sharpening.
http://home.nycap.rr.com/sosak/convex.htm

It seems rather informative and kind of makes me want to reshape my other knives into convex edges.

So basically convex edges need to be done by hand right and not things like the sharpmaker? Things like the sharpmaker still have their use in v-grinds though correct?
 
No convex edges do not need to be done on sandpaper and that article is most hyperbole not fact. Putting a small v-bevel on a convex grind does not weaken it or reduce the edge retention. Fallkniven actually ships their knives with a small v-bevel and recommend you sharpen it with regular benchstones to create a small v-bevel.

-Cliff
 
eyeeatingfish said:
I got a used fallkniven from someone recently, and it was in good condition, just not shaving sharp though. After 5 minutes on the sharpmaker it was shaving sharp. Now this is a thick blade for its size, so i figured id take it out to do some yard work.

There was a huge palmfron that needed to be cut up. So first istart cutting through the thin part that wraps around the tree, the base of the palm fron. Cuts really well. Then i go to the thickest place, where its kind of an elbow, betweeen where the leaves start and the base of the palm fron. The f1 isnt really heavy enough to hack through it, and multiple whacks dont get too deep. The fron is probably 8 inches wide at this section. I try sawing at it which doesnt do anything. I turned it a little bit and started stabbing about a half inch or so and do this repeatedly to cut through most of the way. Then i was able to bend the palmfron and cut the remaining threads.

The results surprised me.
Some of the blade coating was worn off. Around the tip and the straight section of the blade where i was hacking. I guess the coating isnt all that thick or durable?

What surprised me most was that after this 5 minutes or so of cutting this palm fron, the blade was no longer anywhere close to shaving sharp. I thought the vg-10 would be better at holding an edge. One thought though, i used the older model spoyderco sharpmaker and i believe it has 20 degree angles on the stones. Anyone know different? Is that angle not the best for the kind of work i described? Heavy use would need a slightly larger angle?
I resharpened the knife and in 5-10 minutes it was shaving sharp. Rather than use the set angle I did it by hand and tried to give it a slightly larger angle than what the sharpmaker provides.

I love the shape, feel, look or the knife though.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Yeah, don't be surprised if the coating on Fällknivens (or indeed any stainless steel knives) doesn't last too well. It holds up okay if you use the knife for cutting, but if you go batoning wood or digging holes in the ground with the knife then you can pretty much bet the coating will disappear rapidly.

The F1 isn't a chopper. It's much easier to just baton it at whatever you need to cut down, if you haven't got a hatchet handy.

As for the edge retention, I find VG-10 holds an edge pretty well, but it's not magic - baton through enough tree and it'll dull, and it won't be shaving sharp for long anyway. Then again, shaving sharp isn't necessarily the optimal sharpness for a woods knife.
 
I took the coating off of my F1 cause it looked like it had been through 2 wars after only a short time.It's a stainless knife so I don't worry too much about it.
 
Don´t forget the woods hardness.
I´m not sure if your palmfron is like the Brazilian Palmtrees, but down here farmers look for another tool to cut' em as palm wood is very hard and kills theirs blade´s edge.
 
Cliff Stamp said:
No convex edges do not need to be done on sandpaper and that article is most hyperbole not fact. Putting a small v-bevel on a convex grind does not weaken it or reduce the edge retention. Fallkniven actually ships their knives with a small v-bevel and recommend you sharpen it with regular benchstones to create a small v-bevel.

-Cliff
Click to expand...

Do you prefer to push or pull the blade when doing convex edges? Meaning the edge is getting pulled along or is at the front being pushed into that material, be it sanrpaper or stone.
 
You sharpen the convex blade with the mousepad and 600 paper just like you would strop a razor. I guess the mousepad works on flatgrind too, but then so does a flat stone too. My kitchen knifes are sharp like (insert warm place) after some mousepadding, or actually, my thigh :)
 
Wont mousepadding remove steel as time goes on? Well i guess thats true for more sharpening systems. Anyone ever use a honing steel on EDC knives?
 
Cliff Stamp said:
Push if possible, but on some systems like sandpaper you need to pull as otherwise you will cut the paper apart.

-Cliff
Click to expand...

Push on a stone is better in my opinion for sharpening, it makes a more regular burr.

dantzk.
 
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