Not excited about my Fallkniven F1 purchase

freq18hz

freq18hz

Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
1,093
I know, I know, I'm being a brat.

The F1 by all accounts is a fantastic knife, and it certainly wasn't cheap. I know a lot of people scrimp and save, hoping to own such a knife. I'm sure once it arrives, it will be plenty of tool for the job which I bought it for: A hiking/camping survival knife for emergencies. Yet I am not excited in the least.

But I have a good excuse! I looked at Bark River knives before I bought the F1. :(

In all honesty, I would have purchased one of the following except for the attached reasons:

Fox River - Can't find it it black linen micarta, don't like the lanyard ring
Aurora - Can't find one for sale in a non collectors priced handle finish
Northstar - Can't find one for sale
Bravo-1 - Don't like the thumb ramp, can't find one for sale

So what gives? Why is the Bravo-1 not even on Bark River's site? Why does everyone hate the thumb ramp? Which is the best survival/wildnerness bushcraft knife? Why are Bark River's so hard to find, even online? Why are the Barkie's so sexy and the Fallkniven's just BLEH.

why why why why why? =D


-Freq
 
Barkies are harder to find because they're not so mass produced as other companies; they have a little more custom feel to them.
 
Bark River has 400+ Bravo-1's in assembly as of right now. I would expect them to be at the dealers in a week or so. Now is the time to ask for a thumb ramp less Bravo-1 from your dealer.

Also, the Aurora's are in Heat Treat, so you can expect them in a few weeks or so.

www.knivesshipfree.com has 24 Northstars for sale.
 
freq18hz said:
Bravo 1 looks amazing except for the thumb ramp. I've heard it works poorly on firesteels, and is generally just a huge annoyance.


-Freq
Click to expand...

The Bravo-1 is amazing. The "thumb ramp" works with firesteels just fine, and I don't mind the "thumb ramp" at all. Funny enough, I don't like the "thumb ramp" on the Gunny.:D
 
Varg Lobos said:
Bark River has 400+ Bravo-1's in assembly as of right now. I would expect them to be at the dealers in a week or so. Now is the time to ask for a thumb ramp less Bravo-1 from your dealer.

Also, the Aurora's are in Heat Treat, so you can expect them in a few weeks or so.

www.knivesshipfree.com has 24 Northstars for sale.
Click to expand...

Dealers can order the Bravo-1 without a thumb ramp?

Also the northstar is out of the running, because I think I would hate the lanyard loop. I really wish they made a Bravo 1 without the ramp or a northstar/fox river without the lanyard loop.

-Freq
 
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I wanted a F1 for long time. Upon arrival, I noticed the handle just does't work for me. I'll probably trade it for something else eventually. I think knives are like clothes or anything else: shape and fit matters. A great knife overall, but just not right for all. There is no perfect knife for all given different size paws, uses, etc. If it wasn't for the main interface, the F1 would be darn near perfect for me.
 
freq18hz said:
Dealers can order the Bravo-1 without a thumb ramp?


-Freq
Click to expand...

Sure. Just e-mail your dealer and tell him what kind of handle you want, what pins, etc. Bark River will custom make your knife, send it to your dealer, and then you pay your dealer for YOUR knife.

:)
 
Varg Lobos said:
Sure. Just e-mail your dealer and tell him what kind of handle you want, what pins, etc. Bark River will custom make your knife, send it to your dealer, and then you pay your dealer for YOUR knife.

:)
Click to expand...

Wow I had no idea. Let me guess, its horrendously expensive?

Also, what is the purpose of the thumb ramp anyway? Every review I've read says it sucks to use, makes chocking up uncomfortable, and sucks even worse for using a firesteel.


-Freq
 
No, it's not necessarily expensive. Call a dealer and find out what they want for it.

Remember too, there is a type of knife review here that focuses on what the reviewer couldn't do right -- not always a problem with the knife. You have to evaluate the reviewer. Also, what doesn't work for one person can be really useful for another.
 
freq18hz said:
Also, what is the purpose of the thumb ramp anyway? Every review I've read says it sucks to use, makes chocking up uncomfortable, and sucks even worse for using a firesteel.


-Freq
Click to expand...

The Ramp on the top of the Bravo-1 is not actually a Thumb Ramp. It's more of a Ramp Style Thumb Rest:D

It serves two purposes.

The Rear part of the Ramp is notched to engage the Firesteel.

The Front part of the Ramp aids in putting more Pressure over the Plunge line for notching.

Here are Two Pictures that should help.


Wrong.sized.jpg


Right.sized.jpg
 
Hey freq, having a little buyers remorse :D

We have communicated on this lots over the past few weeks. Rest assured that from a quality and functionality point of view the F1 is a great knife. Not the only great knife out there, but a great knife.

How well it fits, and whether or not you will love it, can only be determined after you have it in hand for awahile.

Based on what you described were your needs, a high quality, capable survival knife that could be stashed in your backpack in case of an emergency, that may never even be used, the F1 fits the bill as well as any knife.
1. reasonable cost, as high quality blades go. I'm guessing it ran you in the neighborhood of $100.00
2. stainless steel - less worry about rust/corrosion if left in unattended for long periods.
3. good size and weight - big enough to take on survival tasks, small enough to carry in a pack without adding huge amounts of weight, and for food prep/camp chores.
4. handle material isn't sexy looking, but provides excellent grip with or without gloves, and when wet.

If you wanted sexy, you could have spent a lot more money and got one of these:

F1 Micarta Handles - about $275.00 - Hand Made Factory "Custom"

FallknivenF1-IvoryMicarta-1-1.jpg


FallknivenF1-BlackMicarta-3-1.jpg


F1 Custom - $300.00 plus - Desert Ironwood Burl with Turquoise Spacer (handle by Bark River)
FallknivenF1-DIBTurquoise-1-2.jpg


The Bravo 1 is a great knife as well, and would/will perform as well as the F1. But I think they start around $175.00 and go up from there depending on handle material. Sexier looking than the standard F1, but functionaly similar (IMO)

As per my PT, yes you can order a rampless Bravo 1 from a Bark River distributor, and as far as I know there is no additional cost. The cost of the knife is dependant on handle material, and fancy pins., etc.

I'm pretty certain that if a Bravo 1 with ramp and Black Micarta Handles is $175.00, then a special order Rampless Bravo 1 with Black Micarta Handles will be around $175.00.

If you go with exotic wood, or mosiac pins, that will cost extra. Same as on the websites.

Kevin
 
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Dag-nabit said:
Hey freq, having a little buyers remorse :D

We have communicated on this lots over the past few weeks. Rest assured that from a quality and functionality point of view the F1 is a great knife. Not the only great knife out there, but a great knife.

How well it fits, and whether or not you will love it, can only be determined after you have it in hand for awahile.

Based on what you described were your needs, a high quality, capable survival knife that could be stashed in your backpack in case of an emergency, that may never even be used, the F1 fits the bill as well as any knife.
1. reasonable cost, as high quality blades go. I'm guessing it ran you in the neighborhood of $100.00
2. stainless steel - less worry about rust/corrosion if left in unattended for long periods.
3. good size and weight - big enough to take on survival tasks, small enough to carry in a pack without adding huge amounts of weight, and for food prep/camp chores.
4. handle material isn't sexy looking, but provides excellent grip with or without gloves, and when wet.

If you wanted sexy, you could have spent a lot more money and got one of these:

F1 Micarta Handles - about $275.00 - Hand Made Factory "Custom"

FallknivenF1-IvoryMicarta-1-1.jpg


FallknivenF1-BlackMicarta-3-1.jpg


F1 Custom - $300.00 plus - Desert Ironwood Burl with Turquoise Spacer (handle by Bark River)
FallknivenF1-DIBTurquoise-1-2.jpg


The Bravo 1 is a great knife as well, and would/will perform as well as the F1. But I think they start around $175.00 and go up from there depending on handle material. Sexier looking than the standard F1, but functionaly similar (IMO)

As per my PT, yes you can order a rampless Bravo 1 from a Bark River distributor, and as far as I know there is no additional cost. The cost of the knife is dependant on handle material, and fancy pins., etc.

I'm pretty certain that if a Bravo 1 with ramp and Black Micarta Handles is $175.00, then a special order Rampless Bravo 1 with Black Micarta Handles will be around $175.00.

If you go with exotic wood, or mosiac pins, that will cost extra. Same as on the websites.

Kevin
Click to expand...

Kevin,

Hah! You always post the best eye candy! Yeah, I know the F1 is going to be just great, possibly even overkill for my needs. There is just something about the Bravo-1 that hits home. What do you think of the thumb rest? Seems to me like it would be better to have one without, and just the notching there for a firesteel? I really want to order one, but really when it comes to function, I can't see needing more than the F1.


-Freq
 
freq18hz said:
Kevin,

Hah! You always post the best eye candy! Yeah, I know the F1 is going to be just great, possibly even overkill for my needs. There is just something about the Bravo-1 that hits home. What do you think of the thumb rest? Seems to me like it would be better to have one without, and just the notching there for a firesteel? I really want to order one, but really when it comes to function, I can't see needing more than the F1.


-Freq
Click to expand...

100% correct.

I think I posted my my thoughts on the ramps earlier, but no problem.

Very very much a personal preference, and fit. I use a Bravo 2 and Gunny, both with ramps. The Bravo 2 is a large enough knife I seldom try to grip forward on it. The Gunny on the other hand I sometimes go to slide my thumb forward and subconciously think to myself "oh yeah, that thing is there".

It is not a problem though, because my hands are large enough to comfortably place my thumb on the blade forward of the ramp (as shown in the excellent photo above) I just have to lift my thumb over it.

My daughters each have a Gunny of their own. They have smaller hands and they both mention that the ramp is right where they "naturally" want to place their thumb.

Unfortunately this is one of those situations where my opinion, or someone elses opinion, isn't going to help you much. You can only know for sure by using one yourself to find out if the ramp impedes your "natural" thumb placement.

Personally, I think I prefer a rampless knife a bit better, but I have yet to take the Gunny, or the Bravo 2, to the belt sander to remove the ramp. So it really is kind of a non-issue for me.

A fire steel will work fine on any sharp edge, so I don't know if the notching is really of any benefit or not, I haven't tried it yet to know.

I can strike a good spark off either my Fallkniven's or Bark River's. If you have the opportunity I would recommend practicing with a fire steel before needing it in an emergency. It's not as easy as you might think to get that darn spark to land exactly where you need it on your tinder.

Kevin
 
I love my new F1. If I could change one thing about it though it would be to get a fuller rounder handle.
 
1.jpg

2.jpg

3.jpg

4.jpg


I ordered the naked-blade from the Fallkniven F1 and gave it some green micarta linen handles. I didn't like the black plastic handle it normally comes with and i love the feeling and the looks of the handles on my RC-4, so i tried to reproduce it on my F1..the result is pretty good, i really like the grip of this micarta. I used course sandpaper to sand the handles, because i personally don't like the look of polished micarta.
This is my time i made a micarta handle. Next i am going to make a kydex sheath for it, with a firesteel holder.

Bart
 
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