Problem with Fallkniven advertising

B

BigRott

Joined
Jan 6, 2000
Messages
71
I have a lot of respect for Fallkniven and the knives they produce. They are top quality with excellent materials and design. However, I do not like the way their knives are marketed. The name Fallkniven is clearly scandinavian in origin and the company is quick to point to its Swedish roots. The knives are billed as Swedish knives and have Sweden on the front of the blade. It is only on the back of the blade that you see the stamp from Seki, Japan.

Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against knives made in Japan. I have been very impressed with what I have seen in the lines of Spyerco, et al. I just feel that I am being mislead by all this talk about Sweden when the knife is made *anywhere* else.

I contacted Fallknives about this and got the politically correct response regarding a "global economy". I was quite surprised though when they said another reason for outsourcing production was becasue there was not enough local talent available to make their knives.

I would not have a problem with any of this if they just didn't hit the Swedish theme so hard.

Is this something that I just have to get over?

Later,

MBS

------------------

Nevermind the dog...beware of owner!
 
Hi BigRott!

Short comment to your post: please concider that Sweden is very small compared to Sweden, we don't have a history of the same kind of massknifeproducing as United States have, if you look at the knives produced in Sweden they are very different from the one's Fällknives produces, and a few years ago a lot of American knives were produced in Japan too, it's only later on that the dollar/yen has equaled so it's now economically a good idea to produce them "at home", CRK&T knives are made in Taiwan, who cares ??

Fällkniven has never made any secret on where their knives are produced, actually they were quite open about telling that they changed from the original German maker due to them not being able to meet quality standards.

Oops! i guess this became a rather long response, sorry for rambling!

Please note: this is "facts" based on my knowledge, Mr.Hjortberger will probably have a better knowledge about this matters i just mentioned.

Mr. Hjortberger (and Fällkniven)has done more then anyone for placing Sweden on the global "knifemap", he's also a pleaseant person to be in touch with.

Ok, that's it for now!

Take care and be well!/2Sharp aka Jonas

------------------
"May all your detonations be expected"



[This message has been edited by 2Sharp (edited 01-09-2000).]
 
I agree with the advertisement theme being suggestive of its excellent quality based on it being an issue swedish Air Force knife.Again on the blade clearly states Sweden.In fact I just happened to handle an F1 yesterday and thought it was really nice,I didn't happen to notice made in Japan though.I guess I wasn't looking hard enough,they sure had me fooled
wink.gif
I'am not ditching its quality because where its manufactured,it was real nice but I believe it would be something to mention in an advertisement.Thanks,Ralph
 
I must make a reply on this because , according to Fallknivens answer , there is " not enough talent " in Sweden ?? There is a lot of talent in Sweden ! I think the problem is spelled MONEY ! Not talent !
Kaj Embretsen , Conny Persson for example are names that speaks for them selves !!
I am also disappointed that a Swedish knife is made in some other country and not by Swedish steel !!
Best wishes / Anders Johansson
 
There are many issues involved with production knives. I am certain there is plenty of talent in Sweden to make these knives but, at what cost? Secondly, what sort of quantity is produced by the company versus the number of people required to make that many knives? If the price of their knives doubled, would they have a global market? Would they be able to meet government cost constraints?

Personally, I think some other U.S. manufacturers could take a hint from FallKniven and improve their quality control by going to Seki in addition to producing a lower cost knife. Would that make them a different company? Same knife designs, same management .....

As to false advertising:
The knives appear to be conceived in Sweden, funding for production comes from Sweden, advertising and customer support comes from Sweden, the spontaneous spark that brought these knives into existance came from Sweden. I think they are properly marketed as being a product of Sweden.

I think of my Nissan pickup as being a Japanese pickup even though it was made in Tennessee for reasons similar to those above. The Japanese vs. American issue on my pickup is not based on where the engine, transmission, etc. are produced or where final assembly took place.

Stay Sharp,
Sid

[This message has been edited by Sid Post (edited 01-09-2000).]
 
Fallkniven knives come from Sweden in the same sense that most Spyderco knives come from Golden, Colorado. That's where they were designed, and that's where the responsibility for the final result is, though both they and other companies may hire the same production people in Japan.

And the leather sheaths come from Spain.

The current production Fallkniven knives are visibly better than the originals that came from Solingen, Germany. The Solingen blades weren't always quite straight.

Economic nationalists in the USA should note that Japan and Sweden are equally foreign countries. And a high-tech knife made in the USA typically is done in Japanese steel, on high-end CNC grinders and laser cutters that were made in Germany and Japan.

The talent for making a high-end custom knife does not necessarily translate to being able to make high-end factory knives. The two Swedish knife factories whose products I'm familiar with are Frosts and Eriksson, and they are geared up for making cheap working knives from blades stamped out of Sandvik 12C27, which is in the same class as 440A. I don't know if Sandvik makes a steel equivalent to ATS34 or VG10, and I doubt if Fallkiven's volume is great enough to justify duplicating Moki's plant and equipment and staff of specialists.


------------------
- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
Jim,

I don't think Sandvik makes a better steel for knives than 12C27 - which I think is itself a bit better than 440A. BUT Damasteel makes RWL34 which is a powder metal steel who's composition is equal to ATS 34 or 154 CM. I think it comes down to cost - as another poster noted. RWL 34 is rather expensive.

There are a lot of companies in and around Solingen who make knives. There too it's a matter of cost versus product quality. Fact is the Japanese make a fine product at a good price...

Does seem like a shame somehow that the Swedes can't at least use their own steel...

------------------
www.wilkins-knives.com


 
Thought I had better respond as LagaNet is quite visible in the forums as being a distributor for Fallkniven knives. Most of the arguments I would make have been made by others, thanks.

The Swedishness of the knives is intrinsic to the design, ergonomics and quality control of these knives. Simple functionallity and high quality are characteristics associated with Swedish products. This well describes the Fallkniven knives and if you study the advertising you will confirm that these are the qualities most promoted. The problem Fällkniven has had is convincing people, who have been used to exagerated claims by other knife advertisers, that Fällkniven knives they are as good as they say. Check out Mike's 7" knife review of a few months back and his comments about Fällkniven. It was as if he had just heard of them rather than that they have played a prominent role in many threads of this forum and had been widely reviewed very favourably.

As has been stated above, since all aspects, except for the actual manufacture is Swedish (my information is that even the iron from which the steel is made comes from Sweden)it is difficult to figure how else you could describe them.

Buy one, use it and you won't care where it was made, just glad that a Swede designed it, ensures its quality and that you have one.

Tom Lagan
Laganet Limited
Canadian Distributor for Fällkniven Knives
 
AMEN to THAT Laganet!
If it were possible, I'd agree with you 110%
I'm a HUGE fan of Fallkniven and have NO problem recommending them wholeheartedly. They are just that good IMO.
Try one and you'll swear by them.

------------------
So, what IS the speed of dark?
 
Who builds a product is at least as much a factor in the overall quality of that product as who designed the product or who managed the paperwork for that product.That may be a factor in why the law says a company has to put where the product was MANUFACTURED on the product.
 
m

I agree that who make a product is very important but where it is made is largely of interest only to the tax man and to human rights and environmentally concerned citizens. None if these is at issue with Fallkniven knives.

Fallkniven controls the quality of the manufacturer's output. This is what realy determines the quality and is why Fallkniven moved the manufacture of its knives grom Solingen, Germany to Seki City, Japan - to get better quality. Fallkniven has final say over the quality. This makes it theirs.

So far as the advertising is concerned, check the ads in Blade and Tactical Knives, it is the quality and value that are the main promotion.

Tom Lagan
LagaNet Limited
Canadian Distributor for Fallkniven Quality Knives

[This message has been edited by LagaNet (edited 01-11-2000).]

[This message has been edited by LagaNet (edited 01-11-2000).]
 
Just a couple of things in addition to the excellent posts above. The Fallknivens are obviously used in the Swedish army. That means they have to be produced in great numbers at a decent price. A government usually makes a request for equipment and gives the contract to the lowest bidder who can fulfill the requirements. So if you have the designs and know how many pieces you need you have to find a company which is able to produce the knives accordingly. In other words, an expert. It seems as they couldn’t find such a company in Sweden they went in the first step to Solingen and then switched to Seki-City. Both cities are well known for the cutlery products worldwide. The companies there can invest in excellent equipment which enables them through mass production to offer very high quality at low costs. And I bet what the government pays for the knives is way below MSR price. (For the insider: Not being able to come up with the required number of knives on time was ONE of the reasons a well known maker lost his NAVY contract.)

As initially posted it is somehow disappointing to find out that a Swedish company sells products made in Japan. But as I mentioned, those knives ARE used in the Swedish army, meaning, you get the real deal. Now guess what “Swiss Army” watches are? An excellent marketing scheme and a brand name (correctly: “Swiss Army Brand”), nothing else. Not only does the Swiss army NOT issue those watches, you won’t be able to find them in stores in Switzerland or whole Europe for that matter. So even if those watches are made (assembled?) in Switzerland, to label them as a Swiss Army product is just plain deceiving. It was the marketing idea of Wenger and Victorinox to cash in on their brand recognition through the multi-tool knives.
 
Ralf, the Fallkniven knives are not issued to the swedish army, but they are to the air force fighter pilots. These pilots, who aren't many in numbers, are supplied with the F1, which was developed according to their demands. At the swedish air force's webpage it is stated that there are about 250 fighter aircrafts in active service.

------------------
Tea drinker and hellraiser from Northern Sweden, above the arctic circle.



[This message has been edited by Cousin Cinnamon (edited 01-11-2000).]
 
CC, thanks for pointing that out. With army I meant military in general without naming any special branch.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top