fixed griptilian VS. fallknivin f1 VS. rat-3

R

rmb

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Mar 22, 2006
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I am looking for a survival/hiking knife.
Of these knives which can take the most abuse from misuse that might occur in survival situations.
Which would you prefer to have with you. This would be the only knife I would be carrying.
 
My vote would be the Griptilian but I suspect any of these will fit the bill.
 
i was debating between the rat-3 and the fallkniven and decided on the rat-3. i decided i wanted a kydex sheath, so the best price for the fallkniven with the kydex was around $95 shipped, or $83 shipped + $35 for a custom kydex. The rat-3 i got for $73 shipped, and it has a kydex sheath w/ tec-lock. I have a limited budget so $20 was a big deal.

if i didnt really care about the price i probably would have gotten the f1 with a custom kydex.
 
I suspect that any of the three would be a quite decent knife for hiking/survival use. It depends on what you mean by misuse, I guess.

Of the three, I only own an F1 (three of them actually) and really like them. The laminated VG10 blade is sharp and strong, the convexed edge holds an edge well, even when batoning, and I really like the drop point blade.

I'd feel comfortable with an F1 as my only knife. Wouldn't try to open 55 gallon drums with it, but feel that it'd be more than equal to most survival tasks.

I batoned one of mine through a 2x4 and it had ZERO effect on the knife. No marks on it at all. And the edge still shaved hair.
 
MrSuicide said:
i was debating between the rat-3 and the fallkniven and decided on the rat-3. i decided i wanted a kydex sheath, so the best price for the fallkniven with the kydex was around $95 shipped, or $83 shipped + $35 for a custom kydex. The rat-3 i got for $73 shipped, and it has a kydex sheath w/ tec-lock. I have a limited budget so $20 was a big deal.

if i didnt really care about the price i probably would have gotten the f1 with a custom kydex.
Click to expand...

I am new to knives, what are some of the pros and cons to a kydex sheath?
 
Most of the time the Kydex sheath offers more carry options.

Kydex is a lot stronger than leather. Securer for the knife owner.

In some aspects i would look out for a custom made or self made Kydex sheath.

Some factory are not that good.
 
The F1 is a fairly rugged knife, but when you start talking about abuse and durability in extremes you might want to look at the A1/S1 instead.

-Cliff
 
Kydex is more impervious to various chemicals and doesn't matter if its wet etc.
Kydex is louder than leather though when you draw / sheathe your blade.
Kydex can be reshaped by heating. So leather might be better if you're in a fire.
 
I have the F-1 and Rat-3, and I would really like the fixed Griptillian. I love both the F-1 and the Rat-3. I would have to say that the F1 IMHO has the stronger blade, and a more comfortable handle while the Rat-3 has a "grippier" handle when wet (the F1 is no slouch here either, but wet sanded micarta is very grippy). I would not hesitate to recommend either knife to anyone as they are both top notch and will take good care of you. The F1 is less susceptable to corrosion than the Rat-3, and (again IMHO) the F1 is easier to sharpen. As for the sheath, the Dangler sheath I got with the F1 is a high quality leather product that is comfortable to wear and protects both myself and the knife very well. I also have and like the A1, A2, S1, Rat-7, Tak-1, and will have a Rat-5 as soon as they become widely available (they haven't hit my distributer yet). If forced to choose two fixed blades for the outdoors, I would probably go with an A2 and an F1, but variety is the spice of life and knives are a wonderful thing to collect and use.
 
I like F1 (no experience with the others though)
I has Finnish-style sheath (no horz carry) and convex grinded blade. If you OK with it, Fallkniven is very good outdoor knife.
 
Fallkniven makes excellent field knives. I have had a couple over the years and like them quite a bit. I just picked up a Fixed Grip and a RAT 3 because I couldn't decide between them. I like them both so far, but haven't used them enough to decide which I like better.
 
Heck, I didn't even know that a FB Griptilian existed until I saw this thread. Looks like a really cool, functional knife, though it's probably a tad less robust than the other models mentioned. I'd go with the Griptilian.
 
Cliff Stamp said:
The F1 is a fairly rugged knife, but when you start talking about abuse and durability in extremes you might want to look at the A1/S1 instead.

-Cliff
Click to expand...

In my research I somehow missed the S1 blade. How much bigger is it. Is sharpening the convex blade of the s1 harder to do than the f1?
Whats the difference between the s1 and the a1, they are the same size.
 
The S1 is much larger than the F1, think of Arnold and Danny in "Twins". Both the S1 and F1 now have convex grinds. The A1 is even more robust than the S1 but it would be hard to imagine a need for its raw cross section in a blade of its size outside of extreme "tactical" type use. If you were stepping up to the A1 I would got for the A2 as the increased cross section makes more sense in that longer blade.

-Cliff
 
In regarding strength, it never ceases to amaze me that people have no problems requiring a certain level of strength but then critize others who want more for maximal functionality. The general range of strength in people varies by about a factor of five. It isn't there unreasonable to assume that someone may be more productive with a much stronger knife as it allows them to make much better use of their resources.

In short, the stronger blade of the Shrapnel as you noted does give it an advantage. I can break an F1 very easily by digging in woods, I did it to two of them. The newer laminated ones are not actually stronger, they are weaker. If you look at the graphs they actually take a set earlier, they just bend further before they break. Any normal adult male would easily crack one off with aggressive wood work. There are some tasks which are then easier if the blade can take full strength. This is no different than wanting the F1 vs a 1/16" thick blade for the same tasks, just extending the arguement further.

The edge geometry also can readily be adjusted by the user as you noted, just adjust the relief grind to produce the required level of cutting ability. The thickness of the spine doesn't make a significant difference on wood working ability. Does an axe not cut well because the poll is very thick or is the cutting ability determined more by the shape of the edge? The knife looks to have a high flat grind so I don't see cutting ability in general for wood work being a major concern after sharpening.

The handle is interesting, I have used similar on the Fulcrum and it really didn't suit me but it doesn't matter if it suits anyone else than the user. You made a number of valid points and based on them it isn't unreasonable to see why you could pick the knife over the F1.

-Cliff
 
Thanks Cliff, I was starting to think I had bought garbage :D
Just kidding ;)
IMHO Shrapnel is actually superior to all of extents to F1.
Warranty included.
Is 167EUR against 130 a reasonable amount justified by them? To me for sure.

Handle is interesting indeed: you could break it and just change the handle....

Cheers
 
I've seen the RAT in 1095 but not D2. QC was an issue (grind lines were crooked) but a very useable blade. No experience with the Fallkniven but I did pick up the fixed Griptilian recently. This is an excellent little 'boot' knife. And a very handy cutting tool - for everything from thin slicing tomatoes for a sandwich to opening a few packages & cutting a bunch of fiberglass reinforced mailing tape so far... :thumbup: :thumbup:
 
I saw the fixed griptillian and knowing how good my folder is i really want the fixed blade to match hehe. Thats why id choose it.
 
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