Finn Wolf? Good bang for the buck!

[DesertDrifter]

I recently purchased the Finn Wolf for a whole whopping $35. I have been carrying it as my EDC for the last three weeks and taken it on a few hikes with me. I thought I would throw in my two cents on the knife. My main reasoning behind purchasing the knife was due to the fact that I enjoy knives with the Scandi type grind. I own a bunch of Mora's and a few Helle blades. I thought it would be cool to have one in a folder configuration. I decided to wait for a couple reviews before pulling the trigger and purchasing one. The first reports weren't very promising when it came out in that the first run was a hollow grind, the edge would roll easily, and there seemed to be heat treat issues compounding the issue. In spite of this I monitored the reviews still and saw that Cold Steel was replacing blades that had these issues and that they did change the grind to an actual Scandi with what seemed to include a micro-bevel to address the rolling issue. Because of this I went ahead and placed my order. When I received the blade I was actually impressed with the quality of the blade itself. It came highly polished and looked good for the price paid for the item. The grip is nothing fancy as it is Cold Steel's Griv-ex which is their fancy term for a polymer handle. It is very rugged and the ergonomics of it are outstanding for me. (I have large sized hands) I have used this knife for opening boxes, cutting rope, and many other general cutting tasks. This blade is a slicer and comes extremely sharp for a factory knife. After a few hikes and purposefully putting the blade through some wood carving tasks, it bites into wood really well, about on par or slightly better than my Mora Companion's. I have had no rolling issues and a very slight dulling after plenty of use which still left it sharper than most of the knives out there. Stropping it on leather with some compound got the edge back very quickly. Over all I am impressed and think it is a great deal. A Scandi balde with the Tri-Ad lock, what more can you ask for at this price point? I would like to see them come out with a higher end model with the XHP steep and the same handle as the Ultimate Hunter, that would be awesome! I don't know if the XHP would be to brittle of a steel or not however with that thin of a grind.

 

[Comeuppance]

Honestly, I would say the Finn Wolf is one of the models that should have been given 3V blade steel. I've seen a lot of complaints about edge chipping, even with AUS8.

 

[DesertDrifter]

Honestly, I would say the Finn Wolf is one of the models that should have been given 3V blade steel. I've seen a lot of complaints about edge chipping, even with AUS8.

I have not had that issue as of yet.

 

[DocT]

It is a great looking design. I would have liked to see them get rid of the thumb studs, which are apparently in the way of sharpening, and put a longitudinal hole, like that found on the Tuff Lite, in its place. But, for the money is seems to be a great knife.

Thanks for the review.

 

[upnorth]

I have not had that issue as of yet.

Neither have I. And I worked it on some really dense wood.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Neither the initial nor the present FinnWolf has a "Scandi" grind as defined by those who first popularized it - British knife fans.

As defined, a "Scandi grind" is a saber grind with a flat bevel and no secondary bevel, AKA "Zero Grind.

In reality, the term "Scandi Grind" is used for all manner of grinds simply because "Scandi" sells at present.

The official "Scandi Grind" (no secondary bevel) is relatively weak, and so is relatively seldom used by makers.

What's the point? When a term is used to refer to significantly different things, communication suffers. Your knife is a "saber grind," with a low primary bevel and a small secondary bevel - a classic arrangement.

 

[stabman]

Neither the initial nor the present FinnWolf has a "Scandi" grind as defined by those who first popularized it - British knife fans.

As defined, a "Scandi grind" is a saber grind with a flat bevel and no secondary bevel, AKA "Zero Grind.

In reality, the term "Scandi Grind" is used for all manner of grinds simply because "Scandi" sells at present.

The official "Scandi Grind" (no secondary bevel) is relatively weak, and so is relatively seldom used by makers.

What's the point? When a term is used to refer to significantly different things, communication suffers. Your knife is a "saber grind," with a low primary bevel and a small secondary bevel - a classic arrangement.

Mine came as a true Scandi; no micro-bevel at all.

It chipped.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1318385-Snakes-are-great-Finn-Wolf-not-so-much

 

[Thomas Linton]

a. By all reports, the original FinnWolf was hollow ground. Thus it did not have the "officially" required "flat bevel." The new one has a microbevel. Now I admit that all manner of grinds are sold as "Sacndi" because that word, against logic, sells. Think of "tactical."

b. The official Scandi Grind has a relatively weak edge as compared to a convex or flat final bevel.

 

[stabman]

a. By all reports, the original FinnWolf was hollow ground. Thus it did not have the "officially" required "flat bevel." The new one has a microbevel. Now I admit that all manner of grinds are sold as "Sacndi" because that word, against logic, sells. Think of "tactical."

b. The official Scandi Grind has a relatively weak edge as compared to a convex or flat final bevel.

By what I got, it was Scandi grind.

As in flat. With no secondary grind. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Not hollow (I have a bunch of those).
Not flat ground or saber with a secondary bevel (I have lots of those).
It was Scandi.

I don't care what other people got; they can tell us what they got.
I am only reporting on what I got in my hand, when ordered from a reputable dealer...and that was a true Scandi grind folder.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Congratulations.

 

[upnorth]

I played around with my little Finn Wolf initially. Then I touched it up on my SharpMaker I believe. Maybe that is the secondary bevel that folks discuss, so I didn't have a chipping issue. I am just guessing as I don't have a deep interest in some aspects of knife sharpening, possibly to my occasional detriment. Fun little knife though, kind of handy to have around.

 

[Insipid Moniker]

a. By all reports, the original FinnWolf was hollow ground. Thus it did not have the "officially" required "flat bevel." The new one has a microbevel. Now I admit that all manner of grinds are sold as "Sacndi" because that word, against logic, sells. Think of "tactical."

b. The official Scandi Grind has a relatively weak edge as compared to a convex or flat final bevel.

From what the CS rep said, there was a very small batch that leaked out early with a hollow grind, they then released it with, as you call it, a true Scandi and it sounds like they've now added a microbevel to combat the chipping and rolling issues that were reported with the Scandi. Not sure of the exact timeline with all of that, but I'm pretty sure I have the sequence of events right.