Fallkniven NL1/NL2 alternatives?

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y53p

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May 11, 2022
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I love the design of these knives, but for what they are (ie steel used) they are way too overpriced. Are there cheaper factory made options, with the leather stacked handle and stainless steel 8-10' blade, that isn't made in south east Asia or Pakistan, or is the custom route the only viable one for these kinda specs? Was thinking of maybe getting a Trailmaster in some better steel like 3v (which even then, costs less than both the NL1 and NL2) and then having it rehandled, which would basically even out the price at the end of the whole ordeal.
 
Custom handle isn't cheap. I've done quite a few on the TM and RS and it does take the blade to the next level from those cheap rubber handles. Leather stack is nice but a Moran style is even better.
 
I think you're paying for a high level of fit and finish and materials. These are beaufiful and very large knives. The Thor has a 10-inch blade. And the sheaths are absolutely top quality.

I'm not a fan of VG10, but I keep both of these Fallknivens as fine examples of high-end production knives.

For function, I go with my Carothers light chopper.
 
Twindog said:
I think you're paying for a high level of fit and finish and materials. These are beaufiful and very large knives. The Thor has a 10-inch blade. And the sheaths are absolutely top quality.

I'm not a fan of VG10, but I keep both of these Fallknivens as fine examples of high-end production knives.

For function, I go with my Carothers light chopper.
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Sure they’re fine, gorgeous knives, but $600 is just insane for a piece of vg-10, no matter how long it may be. At the end of the day it’s 440c with a little bit more toughness, but that’s really it. No matter how great the fit&finish either. Hell, you can get a custom in elmax for $100 less, same size and all, look at the maker J jfk1110 linked. Still, wouldn’t be thumping on a $400-500 knife like I would on a $100 one, but if I had to, I’d rather do it with a steel which is gonna give me a performance at least partially worth its money.
 
y53p said:
Sure they’re fine, gorgeous knives, but $600 is just insane for a piece of vg-10, no matter how long it may be. At the end of the day it’s 440c with a little bit more toughness, but that’s really it. No matter how great the fit&finish either. Hell, you can get a custom in elmax for $100 less, same size and all, look at the maker J jfk1110 linked. Still, wouldn’t be thumping on a $400-500 knife like I would on a $100 one, but if I had to, I’d rather do it with a steel which is gonna give me a performance at least partially worth its money.
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Prices are up a lot.

You could get a TRC Apocalypse for $480. That's a 6.8 inch blade of Elmax and a very nice knife.

Busse has an Anorexic (0.21 inches thick) Fusion Battle Mistress in Infi for $627. No sheath.

You could get a ESEE Junglas in a cheap stainless steel for a couple hundred dollars. Very good knife.

Condor makes some knife large knives in 1075 that are much cheaper and work well.

A Carothers will outperform them all, but you'll probably pay more than the Fallknivens.
 
You can get a Ka-Bar Marine Fighting Knife, 7" blade in very tough 1095 Cro-Van steel with stacked leather grip for $100-$150. The blade is coated so rust shouldn't be a problem (any kind of rust preventive will keep the edge from rusting); probably tougher than stainless steel. It's a well proven knife that should stand up to any reasonable cutting tasks. I have the very similar but shorter Ka-Bar Mark 1 deck knife issued to the Merchant Marines, same steel and stacked leather grip.
 
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Fallkniven knives are pricey for sure. But they are beautiful knives and you get what you pay for. I had the Thor (and Idun) and while VG10 is not the latest and greatest steel, it is more than ample. And for a large knife the steel type is not as big an issue because of the manner in which it is used. More important, I found was the convex grind for a big chopper.
You can get the same convex grind from the Cold Steel San Mai III Trail Master, which is made in the same factory as Fallknivens. But you'd need to rehandle it if you want stacked leather.

 
You can also look into the Hatori model 160 which is the mother knife in design. These are hard to find and not cheap but being the original design from the original designer, cool to own if you like that style.
 
lonestar1979 said:
Ridiculous prices
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And Hatori use to make it in two styles, not if they still do. One was the std design like the Falkniven and TM and the other was a hollow ground saber like the Sog bowie style. Very cool
Not my pic
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