Fallkniven No.5 Idun

[mes228]

I gave up trying to purchase another Randall at a reasonable price, so I've turned elsewhere. I am considering purchasing the Northern Light Series Fallkniven No.5 Idun with VG-10 & Leather Handle. Retail is approx. the same price as the Randall's. I'd like to hear your opinion of the Northern Light Fallkniven series and any experiences you've had. Also comparison to knives in the price range of $250-$300 which is approx. the factory price of Randalls.
I have also found the Idun is available in "Cowry-X" Japanese steel. Which is reported to be the best steel on earth for knives with Rockwell Hardness of 67 but with no fragility problems and has ease of sharpening too boot! Can this possibly be true?? Suggested retail on the Idun No.5 with Cowry -X steel is $1,360!!!! That seems a lot for a 4" blade and a factory knife. As crazy as it sounds I'm tempted. Love to hear your comments. In the back of my mind I'd like to own the best there is. Best regards and have a great day.

 

[roshi]

Are you collecting or using? In either case it's best if you decide on what you are collecting or what your use is then ask for suggestions within a price range. I believe you are asking for opinions on factory knives in the under $ 300 price range with the look of a classic Randall. If that's the case I suggest you also look at Blackjack knives and cruise the knifemaker area here on the forums.

The most reasonable way to buy a Randall is to plunk down $ 20 and get on their 4 year waiting list. You will still be paying a bit for the myth and name but you can always sell it for more if you don't like it.

I'll leave it to the experts to comment on the fancy Fallkniven "steel" but my gut tells me there are more practical solutions for much less money. You will never get your money back on an expensive factory knife if you decide to sell.

The standard Fallkniven Northern Light series appear to be good knives within a reasonable price range.

 

[mes228]

Roshi, I both collect and use knives (hunt,fish, camp). But there is no pattern to what I collect or use. The only criteria is that it appeals to me. I've had several Randalls in the past and like them, also have 2 on order (a #25-5 and a #8). I've been searching for one to purchase immediatly (I recently traded a Model 11 stag) but don't wish to pay the premium most sell for. I had a Black Jack copy of the Randall #1 but the back pack was stolen I had it in, along with a great pair of binoculars. So much for stopping at a grocery store to buy food with your pack left in the bed of the pickup. I have read that the Fallkniven line of knives are the "best" factory knives in the world with the "Northern Light" series being among the best "handmades" available. I was just surprised to see the price of the No. 5 jump from approx. $300 to $1360 depending on the type steel ordered. Some knives I can appreciate and some I can't. For example last week I ordered 2 "Klotzli" folders, retail/shipping was approx. $450. Now that I have them in hand, for the life of me I can't see what makes them worth that, or why they were the "Knife of the Year" in 2003. Don't get me wrong they are great knives, but are somewhat overpriced. I guess the cachet of "made in Switzerland" carrys a premium!! Thanks for the reply and have a great day.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

The NL series Fallkniven knives are made by Hattori; they are great knives, but I don't think the difference in steel is worth four times the price of the regular NL-5. Even though I have seen the NL-5 Idun selling for around $850.00, I personally would look at a nice custom for that price. If I could get the knife for half of $850.00 I might check it out just to see how good Cowry X is. At $850.00 I would be reluctant to use the knife, so it would be irrelevant how much better a steel it is.

 

[collecter]

You should be able to find the regular NL-5 for just under $190, plus shipping.

I've had the NL-5 for almost a year now and think it's one of the most beautiful knives I own. It's built extremely well and is probably one of the sharpest knives in the world out of the factory.

You should know that it is a hunting knife and not a wood cutting knife. It has a convex edge but it's a little too thick for easy wood cutting.

The good side of this is that is slices thru eveything else extremely well and holds a razor sharp edge very well. When it feels less than razor sharp, just tropping it on your jeans will bring it back to razor sharpness.

What I also like about this knife is that the tang nut are flush with the pommeel, not prodruding like on a Randall. That always bothered me about Randall knives.

So the knife is great, but the sheath it comes with is just cheap. I wrote to Fallkniven about this and they didn't give me any good reason for using such a cheap sheath for a high-end knife.

A cheaper alternative is a knife from Bark River knife & Tool. They use the same convex blade design as Falkniven. I think AG Russell has some of them for as little as $60-$70. They also have cheap sheaths! I don't know why some good knives don't come with good sheaths!

The best sheaths I seen are from Randall and Cris Reeve.

Good luck with your search for the "berfect knife"...I'm not sure it exists, or, maybe I already have it but I'm addicted to "searching" for it!

Good luck,
Collecter

 

[Knife Outlet]

Let's try to put some common sense into all of this. Cowry X isn't the best steel on the planet. It is currently the quasi stainless steel that can be heat treated to the hardest state. That may be best for some things but not for everything. Sorry but hard means fragile unless the product is made very thick.

Cowry X and Y are normally used as the core of a laminated steel product. That gives the final product more toughness than one would have with just the very hard steel. Nevertheless, that thin hard edge made from steels like these can chip and will under some circumstances so blades like these need to be used correctly.

The Idun is a basic outdoor fixed blade. Most designers would choose a tougher stainless steel to ensure good reliability. It is unusual to put such a hard, high tech steel in such a knife. That ensures you can't pry or chop or do some of the things you might want to do with a basic outdoor fixed blade. Personally, I have great respect for the Fallkniven products and own and use some of them. This kind of steel belongs on a small folder, though, not a basic outdoor fixed blade, in my opinion. I think the standard laminated steel or VG-10 would be an infinitely better choice and even a less expensive one on the Idun.

Remember, the purpose of having hard blade steel is to allow a more acute (sharper) bevel angle on the blade without the edge deforming in use. Hard steels with acute bevel angles are somewhat delicate, though. It is just the nature of the beast. I have several kitchen knives with edges of around 15 degrees or less on steel hardened to RC 64-65. I wouldn't dream of using one of these hard, thin bladed knives in the field. They are great performers in the kitchen in the application for which they were intended. They would make terrible camp knives or hunting knives or military knives. Go with the VG-10 which is a stainless steel known for being quite tough.

So there's a contrary opinion you can put into your mix of inputs. Take care.

 

[roshi]

Remember, the purpose of having hard blade steel is to allow a more acute (sharper) bevel angle on the blade without the edge deforming in use. Hard steels with acute bevel angles are somewhat delicate, though. It is just the nature of the beast. I have several kitchen knives with edges of around 15 degrees or less on steel hardened to RC 64-65. I wouldn't dream of using one of these hard, thin bladed knives in the field. They are great performers in the kitchen in the application for which they were intended. They would make terrible camp knives or hunting knives or military knives. Go with the VG-10 which is a stainless steel known for being quite tough.

Well said, thanks for info!

 

[mes228]

Knife Outlet, I'm sure you are correct. But I've not seen any knife made from straight Cowry-X steel. The Fallkniven Idun is Cowry-X between Damascus layers (I think - correct me if I'm wrong as I've never seen one). I think layered between more flexible, less brittle steels help overcome the negatives.
I'd also like to know in percentages "How much better is a Cowry-X blade at holding an edge than, say, VG10??" Is it 10% or 300% - that would be significant information. To justify the enourmous expense it would have to be a great deal better! Thanks for your reply and any info. you have.

 

[Knife Outlet]

I'd also like to know in percentages "How much better is a Cowry-X blade at holding an edge than, say, VG10??" Is it 10% or 300% - that would be significant information. To justify the enourmous expense it would have to be a great deal better! Thanks for your reply and any info. you have.

I don't know but personally, I don't think it's an issue. Harder steel holds edges longer but takes more time to maintain. Softer steels hold edges for a shorter time but take less time to maintain. The real benefit of hard steel is the ability to apply a more acute edge (sharper) without the edge deforming under use. I have no personal experience with that steel so I can't tell you what angle it can maintain. To some degree it would depend on the the thickness of the steel. I would guess steel that hard could deal with a bevel angle of 12 degrees or perhaps even less. To put a blunter edge on it would simply waste the steel's capability and one would then benefit from using a softer, tougher steel. A lot of knife enthusiasts - and manufacturers - sometimes lose sight of matching materials to the intended application of the knife. Sometimes an ideal steel for one application makes little sense in another. Take care.

VG-10 is softer than most of the high tech steels. It is designed more for toughness than for acute bevels angles. It is a good choice for outdoor fixed blades. Take care.

 

[warden41272]

The formulation of Cowry X and ZDP189 are extremely similar, although nobody's *really* sure the exact composition of either. I was under the impression that the thing that made these steels so great was that you *could* have acute edge bevels, thence extreme cutting performance and sharpness, without the usual brittleness associated with extremely hard steels. Otherwise, what's the point of them? Kinda like ceramic blades, hard and almost undullable, but so thick at the edge they're basically worthless.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

I'd also like to know in percentages "How much better is a Cowry-X blade at holding an edge than, say, VG10??"

What are you cutting, how are you cutting it, and by what means do you judge which one is "better", is it how blunt they are after cutting a given amount of material, or how much material they can cut before they reach a similar level of bluntness.

I was under the impression that the thing that made these steels so great was that you *could* have acute edge bevels, thence extreme cutting performance and sharpness, without the usual brittleness associated with extremely hard steels. Otherwise, what's the point of them?

They are stainless steels which a high hardness and wear resistance previously associated with tool steels. Being brittle doesn't matter to a lot of blades, it can be important if you are chopping and prying, but not every blade needs to do that. There is much high about the 20% Cr steels, but the materials data showed them to have quite a low impact toughness as you would expect.

-Cliff

 

[Kidvicious1026]

Knife Outlet, I'm sure you are correct. But I've not seen any knife made from straight Cowry-X steel. The Fallkniven Idun is Cowry-X between Damascus layers (I think - correct me if I'm wrong as I've never seen one). I think layered between more flexible, less brittle steels help overcome the negatives.
I'd also like to know in percentages "How much better is a Cowry-X blade at holding an edge than, say, VG10??" Is it 10% or 300% - that would be significant information. To justify the enourmous expense it would have to be a great deal better! Thanks for your reply and any info. you have.

i beleive cowry x damascus is something like 30% better in all areas