Which Fallkniven

[SouthernCross]

....I for myself prefer the H1...

+1, with serious competition from the TK2

BTW, the H1 is sturdier than the F1 :thumbup:



Kind regards
Mick

 

[LMT66]

The Idun was also a knife that I have considered. Bit turned off by the price and not so sure about the leather handle. My only reservations concerning the leather handle come from my experience with Estwing products and their leather handles, which crack and don't hold up well to time.

I do have big hands and a knife with a smallish handle are a consideration, but looking at this picture, the handle on the F1 looks about the same length as the S1 and A1??

The Idun is a little more in handle length. I think it's lens distortion in that picture.

 

[warrigal]

Don't have an A1 to compare but the handle on the S1 is slightly longer than the F1 but I would hate for the difference to be the last hand hold on the top of a high cliff. About a quarter of a inch.
The two knives I have broken in the last 10 yrs were both VG10 both were sever abuse So I won't sullie the reps of the company's by mentioning their names.
I have seen a A2 with a crushed tip. I was being brought by a fellow employee at work and was in the display case untill he paid it off. A customer asked to see it. When it was handed to him he turned sideways to the counter and flipped it in the air he caught it the first time while Rob was trying to get around the counter to stop him. He flipped it again missed, sliced two fingers almost to the bone and it went tip first through the carpet into the concrete.

Quiet a few hours later by hand on the stones.

Carl
Ps the bloke had just been released from hospital and suffering side effects from general anesthetic, so no charges could be layed and going to small claims in this country takes quiet a commitment. Rob was happy with the job I'd done.

 

[LMT66]

[youtube]ppHVaEDxC-8[/youtube]

edit:
bumped this up on accident deleting old photbucket links.

 

[A.L.]

Is there much whittling differences between F1 and S1? (I mostly mean the edge geometry able to do it, not that much about the ergo's etc). F1 ofcourse with it's full flat would rock against S1, but how much difference?
Thanks.

 

[learnme]

save yourself some time. I went down this road not too long ago. In the end I chose the F1 3G and am more then happy with. For bushcraft, this knife is going to be among the top 2 for a long long time. If you are serious about your adventures and not just a "backyard camper" pairing the F1 with a machete will be all you need. So far, i have not found anything I could not do with the F1. Its versatility is what really lets it shine above its bigger brothers. IN the end though, keep in mind that it will be YOU who is wielding the blade and YOU have to be comfortable and confident with your tool. My advice would be to first know what you will be doing then go to a shop and try and hold the knives in your hand. This will really help you decide and save you time and money.

 

[ROCK6]

By the way: their sharpening stones are also excellent (DC3 and DC4)

Ravaillac...most of my knives are packed up for a pending move, but I was surprised out how stout the H1 was comparet to the F1; I can't remember it having a thinner profile I could be wrong, but I do know the H1 is more stout than my SBT.

If the thermorun handles don't work for you, there are plenty of resources to get Micarta put on instead. I did that for one of my F1's and my S1...really makes it more pleasing to the eye.

I do agree that their DC3 and DC4 sharpening stones are most excellent!

ROCK6

 

[Hawkings]

About Fallkniven: while steel and craftmanship are very good, in the end you'll love them for the ergonomics. Probably the best ergonomics I've seen even, customs included. All that at affordable prices. The worst part is once you get used to those most other knives get unattractive.

If you want a short "rough" survival knife I'd say F1.
If you want something more refined but a bit less rugged get the H1 (main differences being lack of guard and a slightly thinner profile).
If you want a bigger knife get the A1.

About the S1, although well made knife its size lies somewhere between F1 and A1: too big for a small knife and too small to chop efficiently.

Also tried A2 but stopped using it because A1 was lighter and enough for me.

Thermorun is debatable. It is reasonably tough, confortable and allow good grip. Apparently some people have problem with it degrading (getting torn...).

I for myself prefer the H1. It has serious competition with the Skookum but I still carry it pretty often.

By the way: their sharpening stones are also excellent (DC3 and DC4)

Really ??
I have the F1/VG10, the S1/VG10, WM1/3G and the U1/3G and I have to say that even as much as I like the knives I find them to be terrible on my hands in prolonged use, compared to (Almost every) other knives.

The handles are to thin and square to be comfortable for any length of time over 5 min.
Other then that they are pretty good knives.

 

[Yorkshire Boy]

Has anybody had their Fallkniven blade chip while doing something as minimal as sharpening it?

This happened to my F1, I felt so discouraged by it that I ended up giving it away, the person tells me it still happens, very small chips towards the tip. I used a Japanese waterstone to sharpen it, he uses a mouse mat and sandpaper.

Perhaps I got a duff F1 but I've heard of one or two other people saying the same thing of Fallkniven, the steel is so hard it's almost as if it's a little brittle.

 

[nodh]

My guess with tha handles being "small" on the F1 etc. is that they might have been designed to be used with gloves on.
The F1 is actually a military contract that was made available to the civilian market. The first F1 models has an even smaller handle. I do not know if pilot have small hands, but if pilots have small hands and is the intended customers, then small handle it is.

I guess the scenario for which it was developed was a downed pilot that the SAR could not pick up right away due to bad weather. The bad weather could be a snow storm or rain and so on. Then the pilot would probably keep his gloves on and go from there.
The "evasion" element was never an issue because Swedish planes never flew over "hostile" terrotories. Mostly a crashed pilot just sat on his behind and waited for the helo or even a civilian ambulace to show up. One pilot even hitched back to the base and met the rescue teams in the gate. No Swedish AF pilot has ever landed on "hostile" territory.... yet.

 

[tonym]

+1, with serious competition from the TK2

BTW, the H1 is sturdier than the F1 :thumbup:



Kind regards
Mick

The H1 is my favorite Falkniven as well:thumbup:

 

[paleojoe]

+1 on the H1.... I love mine. It is lam. VG-10

But I am also in the market for a TK2, want to try that 3G steel in a fixed blade....

 

[Davyd]

Is there much whittling differences between F1 and S1? (I mostly mean the edge geometry able to do it, not that much about the ergo's etc). F1 ofcourse with it's full flat would rock against S1, but how much difference?
Thanks.

FYI - I think all the F1's and S1's have convex grinds now. The ones I have are

Cheers

 

[nodh]

F1 has been convex since late 2001. If you stumble on a F1 that is flat grind, totally unused, with the box and still has the protective paper thing, then you should sell to a collector like me

There is no problems whatsoever to make fine work with the F1 or S1. It all comes up to how sharp the knife is. With the convex grind and 3G steel it will stay sharp for a very long time. Yes, they need some more "manual" work to get sharpen when needed but it is worth it.