Helle Knives- what do you think of them?

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hessian101

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Nov 10, 2007
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I am considering buying 1 or more of their knives. The Fjellkniven looks particularly nice to me. Does anyone have some experience with these knives? what steel do they use in their laminated stainless steel blades?

They seem to be high quality, good looking knives for a very affordable price.

how do they compare to the other companies, in particular, Brusletto?

thanks,
luke
 
I have a Brakar. It is without a doubt the sharpest knife I have ever taken out of a box. Its a knife, not a prybar, hatchet, or machete. The blade is thin and the tang is narrow, but when it is time to do knife stuff its usually the one I reach for. Not sure what the steel is, but it takes a terrifying edge and holds it well enough. Couple of swipes on a sharpmaker ultra fine rod every time I use it keeps it that way. Love the knife, and would like some more from Helle.
 
That was the other model I was considering. Is it easy to sharpen on a sharpmaker too?

-one question I forgot to mention- is there a lamination line on the blade?
 
Many survival course instructors seem to like them. They are relatively inexpensive and pretty tough. The Scandinavians have possibly been laminating blades since the Vikings, so they are pretty good at it.
 
They seem to be high quality, good looking knives for a very affordable price.
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I think that summary is accurate, although I would replace "good looking" with "beautiful."

how do they compare to the other companies, in particular, Brusletto?
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I don't have a Brusletto, but the Helle knives are better finished than Frosts, Eriksson, or Ahti. I'd say they're on par (at least) with Karesuando and the high-grade Marttiini.
 
i have both and like them both, my favorite is a helle 1000 year anniversary knife. it's a recreation of a viking chieftains belt knife and is just super.
 
I have given several as gifts and don't recall what models they were. The only Helle in my own collection is the Millstone (aka Kvernstein). If I were buying another for myself, it would be the Symfoni or the Odel.
 
Here are some notes on Helle knives:

They are hand assembled in the remote village of Holmedal, Norway, population 500. The firm was established in 1932 by two brothers, and continues a tradition of fine materials and careful hand work.

Most Helle blades are made of triple laminate stainless steel, a sandwich of tough stainless panels with a core of high carbon steel. It is especially made for Helle, and does not correspond to any of the standard types of steel. High carbon steel is tougher than stainless, easier to sharpen and holds a superior edge. For the technically minded, the composition of the high carbon steel core is:

Carbon -0.67%, Silicon -0.70%, Sulphur -0.002%, Phosphorous -0.19%, Manganese 0.44%, Nickel -0.28%, Chromium -0.28%, Molybdenum -0.52%.
The high carbon steel core is hardened to 58-59 HRC (Rockwell Scale). This is the harder part of the blade that holds the edge.
The outside layers are tough 18/8 stainless, 18% chromium and 8% nickel. Together, this makes a blade that can be sharpened to a very fine razor edge, and yet is not brittle. It is also easier to re-sharpen than conventional knives because much of the steel being removed (the outer panels) is softer than standard cutlery steel. This type of blade will bend long before it would break.
Most Helle blades also have the distinctive Scandinavian grind. This is a wide, flat bevel that runs to the edge. There is no secondary bevel as on other knives. This results in an exceptionally keen edge that is easy to sharpen without jigs or other gadgets. Simply lay the bevel flat on the hone.
 
So it is in fact carbon steel, not stainless steel? What is the most similar common steel composition?
 
I have a Helle Fjellkniven that I like a lot. It feels very good in my hand. When it arrived from Ragweed Forge it was shaving sharp. So far, with the little use it's seen, I've not had to sharpen it.

As for sharpening, Ragnar has a good set of instructions on how to sharpen a scandi-grind on his website. There is a slight lamination line visible.

Alberta Ed - So the inner core of the blade is a carbon steel? Well that make me love it even more.:)
 
hessian101 said:
So it is in fact carbon steel, not stainless steel? What is the most similar common steel composition?
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So to speak. Most (not all) of Helle's blades are laminated steel. They have a high carbon center between two softer layers of stainless steel.

I have used/owned the Brakar, Fjellkniven, and Eggen. All fantastic knives. Great materials, and good looks to boot. They also come with very nice functional sheaths.

You will do will with any Helle you purchase.
 
Where besides Ragweed is a good place to buy Helle knives? I live in Canada and Ragnar does not like to sell to us. The one I am looking for in particularly is another of the anniversary knives. I can't remember the 15 syllable name so here is a photo.
 
I have found the best prices at knifepro.com, and knifeoutlet.com. I do not know if they ship to canada, but they have excellent prices (knifepro, in particular. the prices are around 20 bucks less on average) I believe I have found a store based in canada that sells them, just google helle knives.

-the only one that has the Jubileumskniven(the one you want, Unsub,) is knifeoutlet, although their price is a bit higher. at least you dont have to pay extra for the gift tube.
 
Unsub said:
Where besides Ragweed is a good place to buy Helle knives? I live in Canada and Ragnar does not like to sell to us. The one I am looking for in particularly is another of the anniversary knives. I can't remember the 15 syllable name so here is a photo.
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Unsub - Sword depot out of Saskatchewan sells Frosts of Sweden, Brusletto and Helle
 
Unsub said:
Where besides Ragweed is a good place to buy Helle knives? I live in Canada and Ragnar does not like to sell to us. The one I am looking for in particularly is another of the anniversary knives. I can't remember the 15 syllable name so here is a photo.
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I bought one in October, Helle Jubileum Knife. First on one site. There are two, with the . same name (or very close). This one is a re-released of a Helle, 1965 model. It is featured in tactical knives 2 issues ago. It is Helle's take on the Tapio Wapikkaa Puukko.
 
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