Helle

T

Temper

Joined
Oct 30, 2002
Messages
3,011
Holy smoke! I just got one of these without the wife seeing it ;) What a great knife.

Its a little bigger than I though and only when I did the inch translation did it sink in, nevertheless I am 'initially' very pleased with it. F&F is superb, and I mean superb! Its easily as sharp as a BRKT out of the box, probably sharper. Man this is going to be a pleasure to use. When I get some time tomorrow I will post some pics of the knife and my feeling on its performance.

so far 10/10 :thumbup:
Forgot to say which model (not enough post workout sugar :o )Its a BraKar

Got some pics before it got too dark.

Helle-Packaging.gif


Helle-Close-up.gif


Helle-full-view.gif
 
You will like that knife more as you use it.
There is a place in the world for the scandi grind :D
 
Yep, a dollar says that this will not be your last scandi knife, they are oh so nice.
 
Most Helle blades are a three layer laminate. I believe Helle make their knives from Sandvik steels. The side slabs are stainless and the edge is Sandvik carbon steel or high carbon steel. If I remember correctly the hardness of the edge is about 59-61 Rockwell C.

The handle is wood treated with linen seed oil.
 
Longbow50:

OAL: 250mm
Blade: 125 mm (3mm thick)
Weight 128g

Mog555: I think you may be right! ;)

NILS: Yeah I think its Sandvik too, thats why I got it as I usually shy away from Stainless.

I played around with it yesterday a little, I dont know it just seems frail because of the weight compared to a Highland Special (160g) I dont think that it is, it just feels like it. I will give it a thorough workout later and post my findings.
 
I picked up a nifty little Helle Eggen from renowned Yukon guide-outfitter Dick Person in Teslin just before a high country hiking trip in Colorado earlier this month. At just over 4 ounces it was a perfect companion for backpacking. I considered my little Roselli carpenter (that I also got from Dick, last year), and my elegant Bark River Woodland, but wanted a little more blade. Helle's laminated blades have 18/8 stainless steel slabs (18% chromium, 8% nickel) but the core cutting edge is a high carbon steel. The formulation of the high carbon core looks like the highly regarded 'silver steel' often used in Scandinavian blades -- you can find their specs on Helle's website. It is a proprietary steel made only for Helle. I am knocked over by the Scandi edge -- it is beyond scary sharp. The sheath, however, was another matter. The design was fine but it was made of thin leather without even a welt to keep the blade from slicing the stitching. I took it apart and used that as a pattern to make a similar sheath from much heavier leather -- with a substantial welt. The afternoon my wife and I spent with Dick Person and his wife in their cozy cabin on the shore of Teslin Lake was one of the finest I've had in a long time. Dick has an extensive collection of blades, from flint to steel, and some gorgeous customs that darn near had me drooling. Probably the best collection in the Yukon; I'd have bought them all if I was able. He has been teaching use of edged tools for many years and if there is anyone more knowledgeable about knives and axes and their use in the wilderness, I have yet to me him. Dick is starting to divest some of his collection; if you're interested, you can find him through Google.
 
Here's the recipe for Helle's carbon steel core, from Ragnar at Ragweed Forge:

It is blended especially for Helle, and does not correspond to any of the standard types. For the technically minded, the composition is:
C-0.67%, Si-0.70%, S-0.002%, P-0.19%, MN-0.44%, Ni-0.28%, Cr-0.28%, Mo-0.52%.
 
Nothing like a purdy knife .

I went the other way with a small skinner from Helle .
I picked up a Fjorden blade and set it in an antler handle .
While mine is the carbon steel version its a dandy little knife .
Sharp as can be right out of the box .
 
I managed to have a play with it today. I cut a piece off a pine board that I had used to make a convex blade sharpening bench.

Overall-view.gif

Cord.gif


Back on track :)

The Helle was nice to use. Perhaps a little too long, but the weight negated a lot of that. Fine work was quite easy to do but fine carving like for a spoon would have resulted in a lot of cuts to the hand. It did make my hand sweat though after about 30 mins. Still, I am very pleased with it, the edge holding seems fine (hard to say really on such soft wood) but the indicies are promising.

Here is a fuzz stick, a real doddle to do but the soft stainless on the sides wouldnt throw a spark worth a damn. The 420J2 on the Fallkniven really throws them. How much this is attributed to the sharp right angle isnt too clear at the moment. The Helle has a reasonably sharp spine, but nothing like the A1. The BRKT really throws then without having to use too much of a sharp angle, one of the benefits of non stainless I guess.

Fuzz-Stick.jpg
 
Temper, the Helle looks great! What is the knife with the orange handle?
 
When it comes to getting sparks from a "fire steel," the edge is all. I have good results from glass and flint. I have a Helle and squared off the spine. Sparking improved dramatically.
 
x39 said:
Temper, the Helle looks great! What is the knife with the orange handle?
Click to expand...

Bark River Knife & Tool Highland Special. I think they are discontinued now as I got it on sale, although I'm not too sure.

Tough as nails, holds a great edge but the sheath is a little 'iffy' it works ok but gets a little sloppy after a while and wont hold the knife if inverted. I put a quick realease coupling on it just in case.
 
Temper said:
Bark River Knife & Tool Highland Special. .
Click to expand...
Thanks Temper, looks like a nice knife. I keep checking out the wooden "bolsters" on the Helle, an interesting departure from the norm.
 
Ed, I forgot to say thanks for the info and steel spec. It was interesting to read. I had erroneously assumed it to be a 3 layer stainless.

Cheers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top