The truth about Fällkniven S1 Pro

K

Knifegrabber

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Apr 3, 2020
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Bought FK S1 Pro few months ago and after quick testing I liked the handling of it. I compared it to my Jaakaripuukko 110mm.

Not long ago I took it outside and batoned some birch with it. The edge bent badly. You could easily catch your fingernail against it.

I then sharpened it back and tried again and got the same results.

I then sharpened it once more and started batoning just small pieces of 1" in thickness at a time. Still the same issue.

I then used my Jaakaripuukko at the same logs and while it required more batoning strikes because of the thinner blade, it suffered nothing.

My dealer contacted FK and explained this and FK pretty much replied that their steel is very good, thank you very much. They indicated I had used it too hard, I almost started laughing out loud at the office while reading their reply. And it looks like the dealer enjoyed it as much as me.

I would understand their argument if I had
a) Regrinded the blade to more aggressive edge or
b) Used it on knotty oak or similar.

I guess Jaakaripuukkos use really good steel for their knives, making S1 Pro look like a chinese-made butter knife next to it?
 
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I'm kind of surprised. Never had a fallkniven but pretty much only heard good things about them. Hard to picture your exact problem though. The description of the edge "bending" obviously sounds horrible and conjures wild images of folded metal in my head when in reality a finger nail could catch on even the smallest of a bur. So it's hard to really picture how bad of a "bend" your talking about...did the super fine factory edge just roll a little? Something that will fix itself with a few good sharpenings, or is it actually a substantial amount of metal that bent over that will eventually end up chipping out? If its that bad, instead of having the dealer contact them why not take photos and contact them yourself with your concerns and see if its covered under some kind warranty (no clue what their warranty is).
 
It was not only a burr, a good bend. Wheread a burr is only small amount of extra material, this was a bend of the very edge of the blade. And I could really grab the bent edge with my nail quite strongly. Did not want to play with it much, did not care for cuts. A roll would be another good description of it.
Yes I could just sharpen it but I do not like sharpening that much to do it constantly.

I will be refunded. As I mentioned, the dealer was as much surprised by the reply as I was. But the whole case was quite absurd. I do not know what to think of it either.
I wish I had just received a well working knife and lived on happily.


I do not see problem with using a knife to baton. I have never faced any issues from doing it on other knives. I prefer axe but knife alone is light weight. Knife is also easier to handle, safer, and needs no swinging and makes less noise. It can also be done against rock with just small cover on it whereas an axe might easily hit the rock on the last swing. And most blades, even cheaper ones such as Jaakaripuukko, do the job without problems.

I would say that if the blade is 0,2" thick and cannot get things like that done, what is it for then?

Leaves me to wonder when I have not seen cases like this reported, do FK knives really get used or are they at the cupboards? I would have never thought this end result to be an option.
 
Seems like You got a lemon.

Fällkniven Warranty:
Screenshot_2020-06-16 Warranty - Fällkniven.png

Sad to see Your trouble.
I hope things get sorted out for You.
On a personal note, I have not seen any edgerolling on my F1 Pro.
There is a good review on the A1 Pro in the Review section.
The CoS steel itself has got good reputation, so it looks like a warranty issue.

Regards
Mikael
 
Never seen rolling with any of my Fallknivens. Chipping at the outset yes, but rolling, no.

Danno4017 said:
I like to use a small Axe to cut wood rather than "Batoning" a Knife

Fallkniven Knives seem way over priced for what they are.
They remind me of Ikea, designed in Sweden but built somewhere far cheaper.
Click to expand...

Except they are built in Seki Japan by arguably one the best knife makers there. Which is why they are as expensive as they are.
http://hattoricollector.com/2015/09/29/fallkniven-of-boden-sweden/
 
I have two older F1's and I've never experienced that but I also tend to use a small hatchet the rare time I need to baton firewood. That said, I've batoned with both and had no issues.
 
Sorry to hear that. Glad you were able to get refunded. Over the years I have owned and used (hard) the A1, A2, F1 and S1 and never experienced that problem. Eventually gifted away all but the A2 which is always up to whatever task assigned (prefer a hatchet for splitting wood). The recipients of the other models report same. Based on my experience alone, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.
 
Friend of mine chipped his Fallkniven F1 badly on the first use chopping some alive branches... Also a bent tip that he accidentally broken off trying to straighten it.
And that's not a cheap knife. That's around 3x the price I paid for my Recon Tanto in SK-5, and I literally abused that knife cutting ribs and bones, without damage to the edge.

Fallkniven is not my cup of tea, at their price range I'm expecting perfection, and they seem to be outperformed by much cheaper knives.

You don't get what you pay for on so many levels.
 
There have been many complaints on Fallkniven steel being chippy, or weak at the edge.

I have never used one.

I did have a trailmaster in Sanmai laminated steelz which was a chopling and batoning champ for years!
 
Chipping has been reported on VG10 blades. I personally have chipped Fallkniven VG10, 3G and in addition a Cold Steel VG1 Trail Master. All of which completely went away after the first sharpening.
This post is not about chipping, it is claiming that with the CosLam blade the edge "rolled". Something I personally have never seen, or felt with my fingernail, outside of carbon steel blades.
I also think that the title "the truth about..." is pretty ridiculous.
 
To me the red flag is knives made in japan marketed as if they are swedish. Second red flag is the warranty is only to original owner with receipt.

The real kicker is the S1 Pro is marketed as a survival knife, it better be able to baton wood!

To me it seems they appear to be conartists. At one time they tried to sell the company under the guise of family tragedy. Didn't work so they kept the firm but continue the con of "swedish" knives.
 
brownshoe said:
To me the red flag is knives made in japan marketed as if they are swedish. Second red flag is the warranty is only to original owner with receipt.

The real kicker is the S1 Pro is marketed as a survival knife, it better be able to baton wood!

To me it seems they appear to be conartists. At one time they tried to sell the company under the guise of family tragedy. Didn't work so they kept the firm but continue the con of "swedish" knives.
Click to expand...

That's quite an allegation to call the owners of Fallkniven "conartists". Perhaps you could explain, or better yet provide a link to support your claims so readers can understand what you are talking about.
 
brownshoe said:
To me the red flag is knives made in japan marketed as if they are swedish. Second red flag is the warranty is only to original owner with receipt.

The real kicker is the S1 Pro is marketed as a survival knife, it better be able to baton wood!

To me it seems they appear to be conartists. At one time they tried to sell the company under the guise of family tragedy. Didn't work so they kept the firm but continue the con of "swedish" knives.
Click to expand...
My friend paid 1095 Esee 3 less than cost of Fallkniven F1. Even thought US products are more expensive here in Europe, he was amazed by fit and finish, and he can also sleep more peacefully knowing whatever happens - he'll be covered.
 
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