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- Nov 27, 2005
- Messages
- 1,315
I think it is a decent blade blank for a custom knife.
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Opinions on the new Fallkniven f1x?
- Thread starter crumpet8
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2018
- Messages
- 369
I have an F1 Pro and it’s been a solid knife. The Cobalt steel is pretty good and I like the ergos.
The new offering just seems off to me for some reason. I think they could’ve done better.
I’m not a fan of the sheaths provided by Fallkniven. I think they’re terrible. I had a kydex one made.
The new offering just seems off to me for some reason. I think they could’ve done better.
I’m not a fan of the sheaths provided by Fallkniven. I think they’re terrible. I had a kydex one made.
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2011
- Messages
- 20
Hi, I'm a very infrequent poster, but I have an S1 and just bought the S1xb (coated version) and thought I'd share my rambling thoughts on the series in general, not specifically an F1. Sorry for such a long post. It's mostly self-therapy to justify my purchase. Skip if you want, I won't be offended.
Blade thickness
I have thin knives for carving and bushcraft and thick 'survival' knives to play with and do things a knife probably shouldn't do - because I can, it's fun, and life is short. At 6mm, this is a thick one to play with. "Right tool for the job" type of a thing. This is for thick-knife jobs I suppose.
Coating
Fallkniven doesn't really say why it's there, just that it's really hard, and wins against Curly Birch. Tungsten Carbide like drill bit coatings I assume?? I'm assuming it will help protect the knife from scratches and cosmetic damage. Maybe like phone screen coatings. I wanted to try it, I don't think it needs it. I got it.
Handle scales not all the way to handle edge, and in general.
I thought this was weird at first. Whether intended or not, I think it will protect the soft rubber from damage as there were complaints about the original handles wearing down after use by a stray baton strike or just wear and tear. I'm almost certain that someone will make after market micarta scales like TKC does with ESEES. Also, unscrew them and you get a coveting Fallkniven knife blank which are impossible to find now. Knives Ship Free will probably start getting Bark river to rehandle them eventually. But, whether it was intended or not, I like the fact a stray bat won't destroy the scales. If you don't baton knives, maybe this won't be a good feature for you?
Sheath
I personally love the sheaths for trips where it will get wet as they are light, slim-line for easy packing, and replaceable for about $30! But the old one had issues this one fixes IMO. The lock seems to stop the rattle. If the Nylon strap somehow breaks it now has slits so you can tie to your belt with string until you can buy another one for $30. Now the blade locks in, you don't need the strap to secure it (my pet hate with original S1 sheath), so you could probably Macguyver a tek-lok on there (??) or just use the slots to secure it - even rig up for scout carry? Nylon straps dry easily, whereas wet leather sheaths take a long time to dry, and transfer moisture and leather dye/coatings to your pants. So this is a good wet weather sheath. Cleans out easily. So the plastic sheath has a place for certain conditions and I like having a different options to my leather sheaths for reasons just stated.
Lanyard hole
Finally in the right place.
Exposed tang at bottom
Cool, I'll tenderise some tinder by bashing with this part.
CoS steel
Never used it before so can't comment. If it's an upgraded VG10 then that's fine. Eager to play with it.
Looks
I think they look awesome. Yes, a bit more tactical. Maybe one day I'll kill some zombies with it, but probably not. I'll probably just kill an already dead wooden log. And then burn it.
No Choil
I like choils to move the balance point further up on larger blades when needed. S1 and F1 is pretty light and not that large so isn't a problem for me. I think that sharp squared off finger guard used as part of the locking mechanism would be uncomfortable if it had a choil. It would damage my middle finger and inhibit my ability to express road rage. So all things considered, maybe no choil is a good choice.
So those are the reasons I bought one.
Happy travels.
EDIT: forgot about cost...
Cost
Yeah it’s pretty expensive, and I think the price is what causes such critical judgement of them, and rules them out for a lot of people. Overpriced? Well, I don’t know of any other brand making laminated CoS blades that are cheaper, so I’m not sure anyone can actually say they are overpriced, only that they are expensive. You can definitely get great quality stainless knives for less money in elmax, s35vn and CPM154. Maybe for some people those steels are a better choice? Once I’ve tested the laminated CoS I’ll know if it’s a better choice for me or not.
Blade thickness
I have thin knives for carving and bushcraft and thick 'survival' knives to play with and do things a knife probably shouldn't do - because I can, it's fun, and life is short. At 6mm, this is a thick one to play with. "Right tool for the job" type of a thing. This is for thick-knife jobs I suppose.
Coating
Fallkniven doesn't really say why it's there, just that it's really hard, and wins against Curly Birch. Tungsten Carbide like drill bit coatings I assume?? I'm assuming it will help protect the knife from scratches and cosmetic damage. Maybe like phone screen coatings. I wanted to try it, I don't think it needs it. I got it.
Handle scales not all the way to handle edge, and in general.
I thought this was weird at first. Whether intended or not, I think it will protect the soft rubber from damage as there were complaints about the original handles wearing down after use by a stray baton strike or just wear and tear. I'm almost certain that someone will make after market micarta scales like TKC does with ESEES. Also, unscrew them and you get a coveting Fallkniven knife blank which are impossible to find now. Knives Ship Free will probably start getting Bark river to rehandle them eventually. But, whether it was intended or not, I like the fact a stray bat won't destroy the scales. If you don't baton knives, maybe this won't be a good feature for you?
Sheath
I personally love the sheaths for trips where it will get wet as they are light, slim-line for easy packing, and replaceable for about $30! But the old one had issues this one fixes IMO. The lock seems to stop the rattle. If the Nylon strap somehow breaks it now has slits so you can tie to your belt with string until you can buy another one for $30. Now the blade locks in, you don't need the strap to secure it (my pet hate with original S1 sheath), so you could probably Macguyver a tek-lok on there (??) or just use the slots to secure it - even rig up for scout carry? Nylon straps dry easily, whereas wet leather sheaths take a long time to dry, and transfer moisture and leather dye/coatings to your pants. So this is a good wet weather sheath. Cleans out easily. So the plastic sheath has a place for certain conditions and I like having a different options to my leather sheaths for reasons just stated.
Lanyard hole
Finally in the right place.
Exposed tang at bottom
Cool, I'll tenderise some tinder by bashing with this part.
CoS steel
Never used it before so can't comment. If it's an upgraded VG10 then that's fine. Eager to play with it.
Looks
I think they look awesome. Yes, a bit more tactical. Maybe one day I'll kill some zombies with it, but probably not. I'll probably just kill an already dead wooden log. And then burn it.
No Choil
I like choils to move the balance point further up on larger blades when needed. S1 and F1 is pretty light and not that large so isn't a problem for me. I think that sharp squared off finger guard used as part of the locking mechanism would be uncomfortable if it had a choil. It would damage my middle finger and inhibit my ability to express road rage. So all things considered, maybe no choil is a good choice.
So those are the reasons I bought one.
Happy travels.
EDIT: forgot about cost...
Cost
Yeah it’s pretty expensive, and I think the price is what causes such critical judgement of them, and rules them out for a lot of people. Overpriced? Well, I don’t know of any other brand making laminated CoS blades that are cheaper, so I’m not sure anyone can actually say they are overpriced, only that they are expensive. You can definitely get great quality stainless knives for less money in elmax, s35vn and CPM154. Maybe for some people those steels are a better choice? Once I’ve tested the laminated CoS I’ll know if it’s a better choice for me or not.
Last edited:
GREAT review AUS_camper. Not that it is going to push me to buy one but great read anyways.
I understand coatings are there to prevent carbon steel blades from rusting AND to avoid glare, should you need to dispatch sentinels without drawing too much attention or something. In my opinion, they usually add drag when cutting (the more rough the texture, the worse) and look like crap when (not if) they finally get scratched. I could live with it in a carbon steel blade but not if we are dealing with stainless....
Mikel
I understand coatings are there to prevent carbon steel blades from rusting AND to avoid glare, should you need to dispatch sentinels without drawing too much attention or something. In my opinion, they usually add drag when cutting (the more rough the texture, the worse) and look like crap when (not if) they finally get scratched. I could live with it in a carbon steel blade but not if we are dealing with stainless....
Mikel
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2015
- Messages
- 500
In fact tungsten carbide coating can reduce the friction coefficient. And at HRC 83 it will be difficult to badly scratch it.
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2011
- Messages
- 20
I leaning with Patrick. This 'coating' is really different to other black coatings like ESEE, Becker, previous Fallknivens. It's more like a dark patina, and looks like the metal has been stained or blued rather than coated in a seperate material. There's nothing that could be "stripped off" so to speak. It's just dark coloured metal. It also shows up finger oil marks like CRAZY!
The full tang exposed handle does it for me. It just feels SOLID and not like other fallknivens. Like an S1 had a baby with an ESEE 5. I'm really loving it so far. I'd encourage people to handle one if they have access to a retail store or knife show.
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2011
- Messages
- 20
Anyone want pics?
Always!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2011
- Messages
- 20
All images are in this IMGUR gallery:
https://imgur.com/a/Z85kW4h
I got some comparison pics to the standard VG10 S1, shots in hand and at different angles trying to show the handle and thickness of the blade. Also a front on shot 'into' the blade to show the edge geometry. Geometry is really nice - seems to be a zero convex grind that feels VERY similar to my Bravo 1 in cutting - Splits like a thick blade but cuts like a thin one. Need to test more to see if the CoS steel will hold strong like 3V at this geometry. If it chips out then I'll have the thicken the edge and lose some bite.
https://imgur.com/a/Z85kW4h
I got some comparison pics to the standard VG10 S1, shots in hand and at different angles trying to show the handle and thickness of the blade. Also a front on shot 'into' the blade to show the edge geometry. Geometry is really nice - seems to be a zero convex grind that feels VERY similar to my Bravo 1 in cutting - Splits like a thick blade but cuts like a thin one. Need to test more to see if the CoS steel will hold strong like 3V at this geometry. If it chips out then I'll have the thicken the edge and lose some bite.
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2015
- Messages
- 500
Thanks for the comparison pictures. The front shot is awesome 
Thanks for the pics Aus!
Ah, you have the s1... I see now there’s not so much of a transition looks-wise from old to new I. that model. For some reason I hang up on that bevel from the spine that drops down to the point. Makes it seem more modern/tactical than traditional and the f1 is already the borderline for me.
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2011
- Messages
- 20
No worries for the pics. Not much info or user pics out there yet so thought it was worth doing.
If you like the S1 then this is an awesome upgrade.
If you like the S1 then this is an awesome upgrade.
Yes, it is an upgrade but I think the vg10 version works well also.
I like the look of the S1x blade and it seems to be a little taller than the S1.
Even though it is more expensive, I am thinking of getting the black coated blade.
I like the way they did the swedge on the S1x better than the regular S1 it looks shorter. The tip looks to be more stouter than the S1 and I also like that its a little taller blade more blade height. I think I may have to pick one up also as I like that new sheath as well. Thanks for sharing and the pictures and info.
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2011
- Messages
- 20
Yes tip is a LOT stronger/stouter, and more of a drop point with short unsharp swedge rather than a clip point. S1 is still very nice, and feels like a general utility knife which is great and useful. S1x feels like a survival knife, very similar cutting and splitting feel to the BRKT Bravo series which I do tend to always fall back on. So I’m in that crowd. S1 May very well be a better choice for people.
Good to know thanks!