Getting annoying...knife I pick has something wrong!

I have both knives in question, I look at the F1 as the lighter, trimmer brother to the Bravo1. It all depends on what you need them for and how you treat your equipment. I don't subscribe to the "beat the hell out of" any of my tools, but I freely baton both of these knives without worry. I also research the products I'm interested in, but it sounds like the OP has taken this to an extreme level...this should be enjoyable. To say you're over thinking all this may be an understatement. And for what it's worth, both companies will stand behind their knives. As tonym said, if you don't actually try one or both of these knives for yourself to see if they do what you need, you'll never know... At the end of the day, you will have to make your own decision...at least make it based on personal experience because these internet forums and youtube are full of misguided or uninformed advice regarding personal product choices. The exception is the great wealth of experience that is shared on this and some other forums by "real world" knife users and bushcrafters of all sorts.
 
Hey man,

Don't have either of the knives. Given the general vibes I've picked up off of forum members concerning those knives I would trust either of them to do survival work. Spend some time with them. You may be surprised how happy you are with them.

If you decide these knives truly are junk, you can probably sell them here on the forums. I would recommend considering an ESEE knife (the 4 very strongly.)

Good luck with your tools and skills.

God bless,
Adam
 
I have both.

I like the F1 better because it is more compact.

Very seldom do I use the Bravo 1 because it's a bit too big.

However the quality of both blades is high.

Regarding Bark River I really have had nothing but good dealings with them and any complaints they have always gone above and beyond what is fair to fix them. I would never be afraid to use anything they make. Fallkniven is good too. I have never tried to send a knife back to them because all I have is one of theirs but I have probably 10 or more Bark Rivers and had a few that I was displeased with cosmetically and they fixed them no problem.

All knives can break and have weak points for various tasks.

When you are perusing the internet for advice about knives you really have to consider the sum total of all opinions and then weigh them. Individual failures or opinions are helpful but may be outliers.

If two geniuses have kids odds are that most of their kids will be smart but they may have one or two that are not. That doesn't mean something is wrong with them. Same with knives, you have to consider all the opinions.
 
Knives are a very personal thing. The Bravo and the Fallkniven are both great knives.

The ESEE-4 is just the new name for the RC-4, exact same knife, warranty, company owners, etc. There wasn’t a RAT-4 though some people incorrectly referred to the RC-4 as the RAT-4. Swing by the ESEE forum and you’ll find lots of info there. I’m not a knife guy. I own several ESEE blades because they are affordable, priced far below what their quality could fetch, are rugged and are 100% guaranteed forever. There is a lot of BS in the knife industry, but you won’t find that with ESEE.

I’m just a user. I have nothing to gain by recommending them, they just make excellent knives that I would trust in the worst of situations.

Good luck on the knife hunt!
 
Most high end knives will do all of the tasks you want them to do unless you are abusive to them. Neither of those knives you have are going to fail totally. Every knife can take damage even the finest ones. The key is to figure out the best way to use the knives to mitigate damage. Meaning don't chop wood on the ground where it can hit a rock, keep the knife away from glass and ceramic etc...

As far as the bark river goes I believe they have edge problems on some knives because they grind them thin for performance. It doesn't mean there's something wrong with the knife, just means it needs a steeper grind. Something Bark River will fix for ya.
 
The F1 is a great knife! Use it hard it will be just fine.

BRKT has gone down in my book though, but it is just from the horror stories about their customer service and quality control. It actually makes me worry about the custom makers that use them too.
 
kman300 said:
I would like this knife to do everything from going on a camping trip with the kids where I cut up a fish or put peanut butter on a sandwich for them. I would like it to make firewood and fuzz sticks, make a spoon and make a shelter if I have too. I want it to skin a deer/moose whatever and debone it if I have to pack it out. Basically I want this knife to do it all if it HAS to....

Basically one all around knife if there is such a thing.
Click to expand...

i've never heard of someon making an F1 fail. sure, the tang is a little skinnier under the handle than a full tang knife like most of the BRKTs or ESEEs, but i don't think that's going to make a HUGE difference. i have seen some pics of failed KaBars, but they have a very skinny stick tang.

ESEE-4 is that the old RC-4? There is also RAT-4? I find that all very confusing but the knife looks good and has a good sheath as well.
Click to expand...

Rat Cutlery changed their name to ESEE about a year ago... in part because "rat" was overused in the industry.

Onatrio still makes many of the old designs, so the RAT-4 will probably be the Ontario version. the handle is slightly shorter, i've heard complaints about the finish of the grinds and heat treat problems on some knives.

the Rat cutlery / ESEE knives will have what most people consider beter sheaths, better grinds and better heat treat. perhaps some of that is subjective. dunno, i haven't used all of them. but ESEE has an absolutely great no BS warranty, and BRKT also gets a lot of praise for their warranty.

i haven't heard any complaints about the BRKT CEO, but i haven't gone looking for them. that's probably out in the general discussion area and i don't go out there often.

as for reviews bitching about *whatever* you'll find that on any topic you do some research on. vehicles, knives, computers, televisions, firearms, knives, clothes, whatever... even blondes, brunettes and redheads. sometimes you need to take it with a grain of salt.

however, i have heard some complaints about BRKT's heat treat, seen some broken knives and some rolled or chipped edges. not sure what it took to cause those problems tho.

if it's really a concern, carry a backup knife. sometimes stuff can fail when you push it to extremes. better stuff is less likely to suffer a catastrophic failure, but it still can happen.
 
Stop reading and start using....then you'll find out if the knives work FOR YOU. Opinions will always vary, and will never really replace actually owning and using a knife and forming your own opinions.
 
I'll echo some others' sentiments - use them AND THEN decide if they are good knives for you.

There are no knives that are universally liked - there is always someone who doesn't like it for whatever reason.
 
The F1 is good. If that's not sturdy enough, and you want to stay with Fallkniven, why not an H1?

On the other hand, you already have one of the best hunting/skinning knives in the Dozier YPS, why not pick up a Dozier KS-3 Professional Guides Knife, or a K36 Bushcraft if you like sharpening a scandi grind better?
 
lol... ceo of bark river ripping people off.. where did you read that, sounds entertaining.

Anyhow, I have had both knives... if you want something in the same league (Length, etc..) Then the Busse Boss Street will eat both of them for breakfast. I love that Boss Street. It is thick and uses the Infi steel, beats both A2 and especially VG10 for toughness... and holds its edge better then both too, from my experience..
 
There's not much I can add to what all has been stated, but I own an F1 and it's been one phenomenal blade. I've abused it and it keeps on going. In fact, I bought the Fallkniven A1 to keep my F1 company.

After tons of abuse, I finally decided to strop the F1. After just a few minutes of stropping, the F1 was poppin' the hairs off my arms just like out of the box.

The F1 may not win a beauty contest, but it will handle most any task you ask of it.
 
imaginefj said:
The F1 is a great knife! Use it hard it will be just fine.

BRKT has gone down in my book though, but it is just from the horror stories about their customer service and quality control. It actually makes me worry about the custom makers that use them too.
Click to expand...

Interesting. In my experience the quality on Bark river has been equal or higher than customs.

The customer service has been excellent.

That's my personal experience.
 
Thanks for all the comments so far.

I don't really have the time or money to buy a bunch of knives and test them all out nor can I shoot enough deer/moose to test them correctly. This is the reason I come to this fountain of knowledge to hear what other people have to say about these knives. If 100 people say this knife is good then chances are it will be good for me as well seeing as I will be doing similar tasks to what the people on this forum are doing. I also don't really want to test them to their breaking point as I can sell them new if they are new but will have a harder time selling them if they are strongly used.

For shelter I didn't mean I will build a log cabin with the knife. Just a lean two, maybe some blinds for hunting, do some batoning just because it's fun etc.

I live in Manitoba and it gets cold here during moose season. -40 (same in celcius or F) isn't unheard of and when it's that cold I wear lots of clothing so the knife will not be on a belt but rather in my backpack. When it's that cold and I need to chop some wood to help me butcher a moose can it do that? What will happen when I stick it into a warm moose and the knife is that cold? I need to baton the knife through the chest and also the pelvis. Can it take that?

I obviously have done this before and have used an axe or saw to preform the butchering but I want a knife that can do all of it incase I lose my backpack, forget my other tools or whatever.

I will take a look at the esse-4. Looks like a no nonsense knife but the handle seems thin and the scales are attached with ellen screws?? Do these come lose at all? Are they screwed on so you can replace them easily? I don't really want scews falling out of a knife after riding a quad for a day or something.

I do have moose hunting planned yet this year and would like to test whatever new knife I end up keeping and do a whole moose with it. If it can pass this test I will be happy and know it can process animals. The next test for me then would be to do bushcraft with it.

I know this is somewhat offtopic but if any of you are familiar with Glock pistols there was a wonderful hard core test on them where the owner did virtually everything to try and make it fail. From freezing it to putting sand in it, not cleaning it for thousands of rounds fired, shooting it with other firearms and leaving it in saltwater. He even threw it out of an airplane and found it barried I forget how deep in a farm field. I bought a Glock after reading that and have ZERO doubts that if I need one handgun that won't break that's the one (not counting single action revolvers because my criteria was semi automatic).

I also did all my "bushcraft" with a bayonet and a gerber when I was in the army but I used those like I stole them and I didn't have to pay to get them replaced nor did I process animals with them other then some fish we caught up north during winter survival training.

Thanks for helping me stay sane!
 
kman300 said:
Thanks for all the comments so far.

I don't really have the time or money to buy a bunch of knives and test them all out nor can I shoot enough deer/moose to test them correctly. This is the reason I come to this fountain of knowledge to hear what other people have to say about these knives. If 100 people say this knife is good then chances are it will be good for me as well seeing as I will be doing similar tasks to what the people on this forum are doing. I also don't really want to test them to their breaking point as I can sell them new if they are new but will have a harder time selling them if they are strongly used.

For shelter I didn't mean I will build a log cabin with the knife. Just a lean two, maybe some blinds for hunting, do some batoning just because it's fun etc.

I live in Manitoba and it gets cold here during moose season. -40 (same in celcius or F) isn't unheard of and when it's that cold I wear lots of clothing so the knife will not be on a belt but rather in my backpack. When it's that cold and I need to chop some wood to help me butcher a moose can it do that? What will happen when I stick it into a warm moose and the knife is that cold? I need to baton the knife through the chest and also the pelvis. Can it take that?

I obviously have done this before and have used an axe or saw to preform the butchering but I want a knife that can do all of it incase I lose my backpack, forget my other tools or whatever.

I will take a look at the esse-4. Looks like a no nonsense knife but the handle seems thin and the scales are attached with ellen screws?? Do these come lose at all? Are they screwed on so you can replace them easily? I don't really want scews falling out of a knife after riding a quad for a day or something.

I do have moose hunting planned yet this year and would like to test whatever new knife I end up keeping and do a whole moose with it. If it can pass this test I will be happy and know it can process animals. The next test for me then would be to do bushcraft with it.

I know this is somewhat offtopic but if any of you are familiar with Glock pistols there was a wonderful hard core test on them where the owner did virtually everything to try and make it fail. From freezing it to putting sand in it, not cleaning it for thousands of rounds fired, shooting it with other firearms and leaving it in saltwater. He even threw it out of an airplane and found it barried I forget how deep in a farm field. I bought a Glock after reading that and have ZERO doubts that if I need one handgun that won't break that's the one (not counting single action revolvers because my criteria was semi automatic).

I also did all my "bushcraft" with a bayonet and a gerber when I was in the army but I used those like I stole them and I didn't have to pay to get them replaced nor did I process animals with them other then some fish we caught up north during winter survival training.

Thanks for helping me stay sane!
Click to expand...

Ok, for that, BK2, BK7, BK9, ESEE5, ESEE6, Junglas. One of those 6 will suit your needs just fine.

Oh, and don't shoot any mooses, I know they taste good, and I blame them for that, but they may be my kin.

Moose
 
kman300 said:
Thanks for all the comments so far.

I don't really have the time or money to buy a bunch of knives and test them all out nor can I shoot enough deer/moose to test them correctly. This is the reason I come to this fountain of knowledge to hear what other people have to say about these knives. If 100 people say this knife is good then chances are it will be good for me as well seeing as I will be doing similar tasks to what the people on this forum are doing. I also don't really want to test them to their breaking point as I can sell them new if they are new but will have a harder time selling them if they are strongly used.

For shelter I didn't mean I will build a log cabin with the knife. Just a lean two, maybe some blinds for hunting, do some batoning just because it's fun etc.

I live in Manitoba and it gets cold here during moose season. -40 (same in celcius or F) isn't unheard of and when it's that cold I wear lots of clothing so the knife will not be on a belt but rather in my backpack. When it's that cold and I need to chop some wood to help me butcher a moose can it do that? What will happen when I stick it into a warm moose and the knife is that cold? I need to baton the knife through the chest and also the pelvis. Can it take that?

I obviously have done this before and have used an axe or saw to preform the butchering but I want a knife that can do all of it incase I lose my backpack, forget my other tools or whatever.

I will take a look at the esse-4. Looks like a no nonsense knife but the handle seems thin and the scales are attached with ellen screws?? Do these come lose at all? Are they screwed on so you can replace them easily? I don't really want scews falling out of a knife after riding a quad for a day or something.

I do have moose hunting planned yet this year and would like to test whatever new knife I end up keeping and do a whole moose with it. If it can pass this test I will be happy and know it can process animals. The next test for me then would be to do bushcraft with it.

I know this is somewhat offtopic but if any of you are familiar with Glock pistols there was a wonderful hard core test on them where the owner did virtually everything to try and make it fail. From freezing it to putting sand in it, not cleaning it for thousands of rounds fired, shooting it with other firearms and leaving it in saltwater. He even threw it out of an airplane and found it barried I forget how deep in a farm field. I bought a Glock after reading that and have ZERO doubts that if I need one handgun that won't break that's the one (not counting single action revolvers because my criteria was semi automatic).

I also did all my "bushcraft" with a bayonet and a gerber when I was in the army but I used those like I stole them and I didn't have to pay to get them replaced nor did I process animals with them other then some fish we caught up north during winter survival training.

Thanks for helping me stay sane!
Click to expand...

I still say you should try a Swamprat Ratmandu, HRLM or Scrapyard Scrapper 5.
Failing that the Beckers are also tough as nails from what I hear. If you want a tough knife at a good price you should also consider one of the old Ontario rat models such as the 5 in the link below. Just don't go posting it on the ESEE knives forum or all hell will break loose !

http://newgraham.com/store/product/2955/RAT-5--ONT-8627/

The ESEE knives also seem great from what I hear but I did get chance to try the ESEE4 and the handle was too small for my hands, YMMV.
 
kman300 said:
So I started researching knives a while ago and thought I made up my mind. I ordered a Fallkniven F1......

So I order a bravo 1 no ramp ...............

So I spent ~$350 or so and I still don't have a knife people say is good.
Click to expand...

i'd say you've spent $350 and have two excellent knives..
 
kman300 said:
Someone PLEASE tell me what knife to buy for <$200 that is a survival/bush knife. The shapes of both the bravo 1 and f1 were highly recommended for these tasks. The knife needs to also be able to take a deer apart. I have a Dozier YPS for skinning and a knife for deboning but this knife should be able to process an entire deer if I so choose ontop of being a survival knife.
Click to expand...



Two of the best knives available. :thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:


Both very tough, both great slicers; they will serve you well. :D



If you're buying a knife as a cutting tool, these two are up to the task.





Big Mike
 
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