Got A Fallkniven A1 Pro. Need help Maintaining It?

Hi Mikke, It's being edited today and hopefully will get released tonight. But, yes, I will definitely post a link on this thread. Thanks for your interest. Just for info, I chose to convex from 18 dps to 25.8 dps at the apex (edge). I feel that gives me adequate strength with CoS which is the tough, core steel. [edited]

The title will be "TSProf Convex Edge on Fallkniven A1 Pro"
 
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Finally, here is the YouTube video we just completed titled "TSProf Convex Edge on Fallkniven A1 Pro". Hope you enjoy it and find it informative.
Moderator: I am the owner of the video and give permission for all BladeForum members to view it. George O'Brien (this is also my channel)


George
 
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I just got my A1 pro...I've noticed that it scratches really easy...the only thing I've used it for was to chop of a few small limbs from a tree...the scratches aren't deep but there are a lot of them...also noticed a very small chip which should come out with sharpening...this thing scratches more easily than a cheap $10 flea market knife...it doesn't affect the performance and I bought the knife to be used...but I was really surprised how easily it scratches...
 
ELI... said:
I just got my A1 pro...I've noticed that it scratches really easy...the only thing I've used it for was to chop of a few small limbs from a tree...the scratches aren't deep but there are a lot of them...also noticed a very small chip which should come out with sharpening...this thing scratches more easily than a cheap $10 flea market knife...it doesn't affect the performance and I bought the knife to be used...but I was really surprised how easily it scratches...
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Did you purchase directly from Fallkniven or from a reputable,authorized dealer? There are quite a few Chinese imitations being sold.
 
ELI... said:
I just got my A1 pro...I've noticed that it scratches really easy...the only thing I've used it for was to chop of a few small limbs from a tree...the scratches aren't deep but there are a lot of them...also noticed a very small chip which should come out with sharpening...this thing scratches more easily than a cheap $10 flea market knife...it doesn't affect the performance and I bought the knife to be used...but I was really surprised how easily it scratches...
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I wouldn't necessarily suspect a defect or fake here. Laminated blades, such as on this knife, can have a pretty soft stainless steel over the harder core steel in the center. The softer outer laminate steel is there to add strength, toughness, i.e., resistance to breakage, and corrosion resistance - whereas the core steel is much harder and tempered for edge retention. In prioritizing both toughness and corrosion resistance over hardness in the outer laminate, the trade-off comes in the form of a high-chromium, low-carbon steel at significantly lower hardness, which means it scratches more easily as a result.

I have a laminated stainless blade from Helle Knives, of which the outer laminate is pretty soft and easily scratched. Their outer laminate is 18/8 stainless, comparable to something used in ordinary kitchen flatware. But the 'softness' of it also indicates the character of what the laminate is used for - to resist breakage and corrosion, in pursuit of protecting the inner core of the blade. A steel hard enough to resist scratching will also be more brittle (usually), and more prone to corrosion, which defeats the main purpose of the laminate.

Fallkniven seems to acknowledge the scratching issue with 420J2 in their own description of steels used to laminate their blades (another of which is VG2). See quote below:
( Quoted from site: https://fallkniven.se/en/product-information/steel/ ):
...The 420J2 is a low-carbon high chromium alloy steel and we are using that because of its strength and its almost corrosion-free properties. We’re using VG2 stainless steel as well and, with a higher carbon content, the VG2 steel is less scratch sensitive than the 420J2"
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The outer layer of steel on a Fallkniven A1 Pro is 420J2 known for excellent corrosion resistance due to having 14% Chromium content and for excellent toughness. It has a HRC hardness of between 53 and 56 depending on final heat treatment. FWIW, I own an A1 Pro and it doesn't scratch when used to chop living branches and limbs. However, chopping any grit covered dead wood lying on the ground can scratch the outer layer due to the hardness of silicon dioxide (sand). This steel is about 6 Mohs vs 7 Mohs for quartz.
 
Oil or some hd solvents that you don't really want to use could get the stains. Like you said oil/wd40 didn't work this time. I just got an A1, took it out first time on weekend and got some stains and cpl scratches. Would be nice to remove the stains for me. I remember beating the hell out of my (already 2nd hand) F1 when I got it and for a cpl years now and it still looks mint. A1... 1 time out and it's a mess lol. There had been a past bushfire so charcoal sap stains I think.

A1 pro is like a $700 + knife (aus) so it's ok to want to get it back to looking nice. Yes battle scars are good but on some knives certain markings just make the knife look like crap. As said above like a scratched up Ferrari. Hope you got her sorted out.
 
The factory grind marks that run perpendicular to the edge could definately trap sap etc. I am thinking maybe a toothbrush or special brush might help with that.

Oil or some solvents that you don't really want to use could remove the stains but as you said oil/wd40 didn't work this time. I just got myself an A1 and took it out for the first time on the weekend. I got some stains and a some scratches on her. Would be nice to remove the stains for me. I remember beating the hell out of my (already second hand) F1 when I got it and for a cpl years now and it still looks mint. A1... first time out and it's a mess lol. There had been a past bushfire so charcoal sap stains are on there.

The A1 pro is like a $700 + knife (aus) so it's ok to want to get it back to looking nice. Yes battle scars are good but on some knives certain markings just make the knife look like crap. As said above like a scratched up Ferrari. Hope you got her sorted out.
 
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