Fallkniven S1, good first fixed blade?

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Plinthman

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Mar 30, 2008
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I've been looking for a first fixed blade knife. Its just for normal everyday use, nothing too heavy like chopping wood. It needs to be able to hold a good edge, and I havn't yet learnt how to sharpen blades so it has to be quite easy to sharpen. I might decide to use it for whittling e.t.c.
I just wondered what you good people thought of the S1? It seems to be a good size for me, and the price is about what I want to spend. Is there any other knives I should consider before this one? I live in the UK and might find it hard to get hold of some of the American knives. Any advice would be greatly appriciated.:)
 
Be good tho a bit bulky for fine whittling, looks to be very similar to the Cold Steel SRK which when made in CarbonV was a great knife as well. The Fallkniven S1 uses VG10 which is about the only stainless I like. It will do well for you I think. As far as sharpening goes I would recommend getting something like the Tri-Sharpener, makes sharpening easy for beginners.
 
The S1 is a nice knife but you may find the F1 more suited to what you are asking. The S1 is a little bit big for "every day use" and whittling. What else do you have in mind for this knife?

For whittling and the like I prefer 3-4" blades.
 
It is a convex grind, I don't know if they're easier or harder to sharpen compared to other grinds. I have a S1, its a nice knife, but have yet to sharpen it (its my only convex so far).
 
I have an S-1 and I have to agree with those who say 5" is an in between size .Not long enough for real chopping and a bit long for general use .I'd suggest the F-1. Fallkniven knives are well made and you will certainly like the VG-10 blade !!
 
Convex edges are the easiest to sharpen. Just a few swipes on a strop with compound and your good to go. (providing you don't let it get too dull)

The S1 is a great knife as is the F1. You can't go wrong with either of those if your looking at Fallkniven.
 
F1 is a great knife. I would look at the bark river bravo1 as well. I love mine, and mike is top notch as far as standing behind his well built knives.
 
Another plug for Bark River (specifically, for your specs: Bravo-1, Northstar, Canadian Special, Fox RIver). I don;t own any Falknivven's yet, but the others are right - the F-1 is a better size.

Sharpening convex is the easiest sharpening method except for maybe Scandinavian grinds. Here's my convex sharpening setup:
convex-01.jpg

convex-02.jpg
 
I own both the F1 and S1 and I don't find the S1 to be too big for fine work.I carved some fire sticks and a small figure 4 deadfall with mine yesterday.Though I find the F1 is easier to strike a firesteel with.
 
Thanks for all advice!

Never really thought about the F1 because I guess I thought the S1 aesthetically looked better to me. But having said that, functionality is more important to me than looks and I guess I dont really need a knife as big as the S1, and the smaller F1 may be a bit easier to handle.

Does the F1 and S1 both have a convex grind? If not, which is easier to sharpen?

Not sure if I would be better using a tri-sharpener or a strop, having had no experience in sharpening. Not sure if I would be any good using stretchNMs method, I dont think I would know at what point to move to the next grade.
 
Absintheur said:
Be good tho a bit bulky for fine whittling, looks to be very similar to the Cold Steel SRK which when made in CarbonV was a great knife as well...
Click to expand...

Actually, I believe the A1 is closer in size to the SRK, although both have similar blade profiles. I'm looking at the S1 as a "mini-SRK" myself. I love the SRK balance & blade, but often want to carry something a little smaller.

To the OP - the F1 is also a nice looking smaller knife, but be aware that the blade style of the F1 will likely not be as capable a penetrator as the drop point profile of the A1/S1. If you are looking for primarily a slicer, then it shouldn't make much difference. I think I'm going for an S1 next myself (with the Kydex sheath)
 
Plinthman,

I agree with everyone else that you will find the F1 size a bit more functional. When I first came to these forums I gravitated towards the big knives. I had a 6" buck 119 which I convinced myself was far too small. Over time, I really started to appreciate how versatile a 3 - 4" knife is. Its the kind of thing you just get use to carrying around all the time, is not intimidating to spectators and can do pretty much 98% of all your knife needs with the exception of chopping (which I prefer an axe to).

The common saying in the WSS sub-forum is that a survival knife is the one you have on you when you need it. Having a nice 3-4" knife is something you will rarely forget to carry, whereas you will find plenty of reasons why you might not want to strap on a big-honking knife on a given day. (This said I just ordered a 6" rat cutlery knife for bringing along on certain types of trips, but my 4" is what will get most of the duty)

Both the F1 and S1 are convex grinds. I haven't experienced sharpening a convex knife myself, but most people indicate this is easy. The most common method seems to be the mouse pad/sand paper technique. Fallkniven has a good reputation of selling their knives razor sharp out of the box. If you keep the edge tuned regularly using the mouse pad/sand paper technique you should have little or no problem keeping your knife very sharp. This nice thing about this is that you have a sharpening system that costs you about $6 and works really well.

Some people like to finish their knives using a leather strop loaded with polishing compound. This will get your knife from shaving sharp to hair popping sharp. My own experience is that you don't really need hair popping sharp for your knife to perform. In fact, it loses that sharp factor very quickly. But then again - sharpening can be relatively addictive ones you learn how to do it. Once you go down that road of trying to get your knife sharp - you inevitably try to get it sharper :)

The other common edge is a V shaped edge. If you purchase a knife with this type of edge, my recommendation would be to get a sharpmaker. This sharpening system from Spyderco is about $55 USD and much more robust than other crock-stick type sharpening systems out there. The sharpmaker will do an excellent job at maintaining an edge but isn't the best sharpener for rebeveling a knife.
 
I have the F1, S1, H1, WM1 and the U2 and I like them all.
My first Fallkniven was a S1, then I got the F1, then the rest :)
Usually the F1 was my primary choice, accompanied with the U2. I will now test the H1 and the S1 as outdoor knives. Partly because the H1 is a nice knife and partly because a knife sharpener guy totally destroyed my F1 and the U2.

I use the mousepad method to sharpen my knives. All types of knives can be sharpened that way. I use 600, 1200, leather strop and paper.
I also have a diamond sharpener glued to the S1 sheath. I dont really know when I should use it but it is there just in case.

If you can choose just ONE knife in a real survival situation, I would choose the F1. Yes it is about an inch shorter than the S1 but it is lighter and can even be worn in a neck sheath without too much trouble.

I guess you will end up with at least five Fallkniven in a year or so :)
 
Hi Plinthman, You could do a lot, lot worse than an F1 for general use. I have a few and rarely go fishing or shooting without one in my bag or on my belt.
However, be certain that you stay within the law as reagrds to where you carry whatever fixed blade knife you decide to buy. Here in the UK the law states that you may not, without good reason, carry in a public place any fixed blade knife, any folding knife on which the blade can be locked open, or any knife with a blade of more than 3" in length.
You'll find a wealth of info on the legality of knife ownership and carrying as well as loads of other UK related info on British Blades Forums. ;) Pop over and say hello.
 
nodh said:
... partly because a knife sharpener guy totally destroyed my F1 and the U2.
...I also have a diamond sharpener glued to the S1 sheath. I dont really know when I should use it but it is there just in case...
Click to expand...

I am sorry to hear about your F1 and U2 being destroyed by a knife sharpener guy :mad: I once sent a knife for polishing and somehow the guy that did the job went wild with the polishing wheel and made a huge groove on the brass guard, got rid of grind lines and thinned out the tip so much that I am afraid now to take it out of the sheat. Never ever again. I was too young at the time to do anything about it but today I would ask for a replacement, that's for sure!

I also thought about getting a DC3 or DC4 sharpenning stone (the two sided one) so I can sharpen my knives in the field but... then I realised that I am convexing all my blades :D :D. So unless I am truly desperate I wouldn't want to throw a bevel on my edges. I usually take short trips so the need for sharpenning in the field will rarely happen. I am thinking about making a portable convex sharpenning system (little piece of wood with properly sized sandpaper bits and maybe a little piece of loaded leather strop).

Plinthman, I own an F1 and a friend of mine owns an S1. I haven't had the chance to use it but owners state that the false edge on the S1, while helping in penetration, is hell on battons while splitting wood (not that you need to do it very often, just to let you know). The S1 is also thicker and has a saber-convex grind while the F1 is thinner and has a full convex grind. The F1 is better suited for food prep (think slicing). The handle on the S1 is bigger so if you have big paws or are going to use the knife with thick gloves on, you will be better suited with the S1. Other than that, I would get the F1 for general use. Whatever you get, get it with the nylon sheat. It is the cheapest and you don't need to baby it at all. You can just arrive home, take the knife out, dry it and rinse the sheat under the tap to get rid of dirt, grease, whatever...

Bark River Knife and Tool has a ton of knives with a lot of different handles to chose among but they are somewhat more expensive... and the leather sheaths, while pretty and usefull, are less tough than the Fallkniven nylon ones. Exposed tang knives like Fox River, Nebula, Aurora, Northstar, etc... may feel cold in the hand when used below zero glovless... you won't have a problem with Fallknivens because they all are hidden tangs (exposed a bit on the butt for hammering).

Mikel
 
I know people think the new zytel sheath being ugly, but it is very practical. It fits great on combat vests, it is great if you get it full of guck, it is easy to get the knife out with one hand etc.
Good luck with your knife.
 
Ok, I've read all the advice here and decided to go for the F1. And a fine knife it is too! It actually looks better in the real, than it does in pictures. It came razor sharp too.
Im going to have to try and find more about how to sharpen convex grinds using the mousemat method as that seems to be the favorite method with people here.
 
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