Fallkniven marks on the edge - should I exchange it?

I

ivanhoe

Joined
Sep 11, 2014
Messages
108
Hi guys

Just got a new Fallkniven and noticed that there are some marks on the edge.
I can feel them when I run the nail across. However, the blade cuts paper without any issues, and I can't feel the scratches / nicks at all when cutting.

Here's a photo:

ncCPdHZ.jpg


Enlarged file is here.

Should I exchange the blade, or it will be fine?
Will this increase the possibility of chipping?

Thanks!
 
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You're gonna sharpen it correct. At the very least strop it. Those will come off quickly with a stone or more slowly with stropping. If that's a pro series just sharpen n strop n use it. Lam cos is real nice to sharpen and strop and gets stupid sharp with a little TLC. Good luck.
 
If you can't feel those marks at all and they aren't affecting cutting, I suspect they would come off with a little flitz/simichrome work.
And if not, after the first stropping a/o sharpening. But if aesthetically it is not pleasing to you, you probably could go through the return
and exchange process. I personally would not bother, but it's your knife.
 
These aren't cheap, and your new pride and joy at this level of quality shouldn't have noticeable edge damage. If the shop is just down the road I would exchange it. However, if you are going to use it hard anyway then thats probably no more than you are going to do over a weekend anyway. You will be stropping, realigning, the edge often enough; maybe a full sharpen six months down the line. Its a tool for the use of and going to pick up use wear. It has a warranty if there is something fundamental at fault with it. You are only going to find that out with use. Ask in ten years time.
 
Thanks for the messages guys!

jfk1110 said:
You're gonna sharpen it correct. At the very least strop it. Those will come off quickly with a stone or more slowly with stropping. If that's a pro series just sharpen n strop n use it. Lam cos is real nice to sharpen and strop and gets stupid sharp with a little TLC. Good luck.
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It's not the pro series - it's regular one with laminated VG-10.

I wasn't planning to sharpen it immediately, since it's pretty sharp already. Should I do it anyway?

KenHash said:
If you can't feel those marks at all and they aren't affecting cutting, I suspect they would come off with a little flitz/simichrome work.
And if not, after the first stropping a/o sharpening. But if aesthetically it is not pleasing to you, you probably could go through the return
and exchange process. I personally would not bother, but it's your knife.
Click to expand...

GREENJACKET said:
These aren't cheap, and your new pride and joy at this level of quality shouldn't have noticeable edge damage. If the shop is just down the road I would exchange it. However, if you are going to use it hard anyway then thats probably no more than you are going to do over a weekend anyway. You will be stropping, realigning, the edge often enough; maybe a full sharpen six months down the line. Its a tool for the use of and going to pick up use wear. It has a warranty if there is something fundamental at fault with it. You are only going to find that out with use. Ask in ten years time.
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It doesn't bother me aesthetically. I just don't know if it will make the edge chip easier. I would hate to deal with that right away.

That's the only reason I'm asking this.
 
Are the marks in the edge just scratches or do they go go deeper? Deep, even all the way through, then they will chip out and that will demand a full resharpen. Only shallow then give a strop. Was this when being sharpened or part of the heat treatment process?
Only you can see well enough the detail to give the call. Probably just caught the grinding wheel while being finished so superficial and nothing to worry about.
I've seen this "look" on too fine edges that have had some hard impact; or when a bur is about to take. Both don't have much strength integrity and will require sharpening out. But then this example might not be this at all and just as I said superficial.

Difficult call.
 
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My experience with fallkniven vg10 they all chip so even if you are going to exchange the knife you better be prepared to fix the edge . My F1 chipped and I'm not the best at convex edge sharpening . the chip almost gone . That said once I started to work on the edge of the knife it hasn't chipped anymore . I also have a A1 I don't use it much that one hasn't chipped but I haven't used it hard .
 
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A blade should not come like that new. I'd likely return it simply on principal. That said, factory edges on these knives are known to be chippy and if you plan to use it you will need to sharpen it anyway. I think the knife would be fine if you sharpen it and use it. It is more of a personal opinion type thing of what you would like to do.
 
ivanhoe said:
Thanks for the messages guys!



It's not the pro series - it's regular one with laminated VG-10.

I wasn't planning to sharpen it immediately, since it's pretty sharp already. Should I do it anyway?





It doesn't bother me aesthetically. I just don't know if it will make the edge chip easier. I would hate to deal with that right away.

That's the only reason I'm asking this.
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I'd start by stropping it n see how that works. If it were mine I'd strop a little n then use it a bit. Maybe baton a few logs n see if any chipping occurs. Sometimes Fallkniven' s chip initially. It is frustrating to get a new knife n be disappointed, however if it's a user go ahead and use it. Once you get beyond a few sharpenings, fallkniven's typically don't have any more edge issues. Only you can decide what is acceptable to you. Do what your comfortable with. Good luck & enjoy the knife. It's a good one and I don't think you will have any other issues with it.
 
That looks pretty minor. I strop all my convex blades before using anyways so the edge is at the level I want. I haven't had any edge issues from my F1 and S1 since I got them , but I did strop them before use. Even though these knives are relatively expensive , they are mass produced and minor edge flaws can show up. Your knife edge doesn't look too bad ,Imo and I would just strop it and head to the woods and test out. It's going to need sharpening sooner or later if it's a using knife.

The poster above is correct: once you get past the initial factory edge on FK's , you're good to go and shouldn't have any problems.
 
If it's a user it's a non issue, since it will need to be sharpened anyway from use.

If it's a collection piece then send it back.
 
Guys, thank you very much for replies!

A lot of things are now clear regarding the initial edge, chipping and sharpening.

I went to the store today and got a new one, which has a perfectly fine edge. I did it only because of these two things:

craytab said:
A blade should not come like that new. I'd likely return it simply on principal.
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FullMetalJackass said:
I'd return it considering the price paid and quality expected.
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ivanhoe said:
Guys, thank you very much for replies!

A lot of things are now clear regarding the initial edge, chipping and sharpening.

I went to the store today and got a new one, which has a perfectly fine edge. I did it only because of these two things:
Click to expand...

Good choice. No reason to settle if you are not happy. Chipping could still occur and you might still need to get past the factory edge but at least you will be the one putting the chips there not right of the box.
 
Chips in a factory edge, how can you trust the heat treat on the second knife given the first? I've got a lot of Spyderco and one William&Henry in VG10 and chips in the edge, new or used blade, has never been a problem. There are a lot of other manufacturer's out there at that price w/o chips in their factory edges.
 
craytab said:
Good choice. No reason to settle if you are not happy. Chipping could still occur and you might still need to get past the factory edge but at least you will be the one putting the chips there not right of the box.
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Thanks again. I understand now that I'll have to sharpen it soon anyway, and that I'll have to deal with chipping.

brownshoe said:
Chips in a factory edge, how can you trust the heat treat on the second knife given the first? I've got a lot of Spyderco and one William&Henry in VG10 and chips in the edge, new or used blade, has never been a problem. There are a lot of other manufacturer's out there at that price w/o chips in their factory edges.
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We'll see; I'm planning on using it for camping soon. If it fails, I'll return it back to the store.

Regarding the other manufacturers - given that I'm in Europe, price range is not the same as in US. Knives here are more expensive.
In this price range there isn't much better I believe. I could go with an ESEE-4, but I think they are really overpriced here - they are either the same price, or more expensive than Fallkniven S1. Bark rivers are 30-50% more on average, while the one I've been looking at (Bravo 1.5 in S35VN) is more than twice the price.
A bit too much.

ESEE 6 runs the same as Fallkniven A1.
 
ivanhoe said:
Thanks again. I understand now that I'll have to sharpen it soon anyway, and that I'll have to deal with chipping.



We'll see; I'm planning on using it for camping soon. If it fails, I'll return it back to the store.

Regarding the other manufacturers - given that I'm in Europe, price range is not the same as in US. Knives here are more expensive.
In this price range there isn't much better I believe. I could go with an ESEE-4, but I think they are really overpriced here - they are either the same price, or more expensive than Fallkniven S1. Bark rivers are 30-50% more on average, while the one I've been looking at (Bravo 1.5 in S35VN) is more than twice the price.
A bit too much.

ESEE 6 runs the same as Fallkniven A1.
Click to expand...

That is a good point about the price we in the states often forget. Don't worry too much about what you hear on the Heat treat. Factory edges often do this. It has been a long time known thing about Fallkniven and many other factory knives. I have a SOG Seal Team that chipped on just green wood. Sharpened it out (also reprofilled the thick edge) and it has been fine for years of hard use.
 
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