Which Swede ?????

[Nick jarvis]

Gentlemen,
I have for the last four months or so been thinking of buying a new knife to take into the Hills ( it will unfortunatly be kept in a day sack 99% of the time due to crap laws.....please dont start me off )and I cannot choose between one of the firm favorites, Fallkniven F1 or EKA's Nordic W11 www.eka-knivar.se/eng/prod/prod.htm. Please help me I am going mad....
Has anyone out there got a W11 ?. I have owned a small non locking:barf: EKA folder for years and it's been fantastic ( and it was free ) but I have no hands on with the fixed blades
comments too please on the sheath's as I love the idea of the F1 wrap over.
Nick.

 

[Griffon]

Originally posted by Nick jarvis
Has anyone out there got a W11?

<a href="http://www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/knives/eka/eka_nordic_w11.html"><img src="http://www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/knives/eka/_eka-w11_side.jpg" align="right">I do</a>. (And an F1.) Does the link answer your questions, or do you want to know something more?

 

[Nick jarvis]

Thanks for that Griffon, I think you have pushed the scales in favour of the W11. I must admit I always worry about cutting that style of leather sheath ( in the dark or in a hurry ).I met a old guy fishing,years ago who had some very cool fillet knives with high top sheaths, he had made bands from copper pipe which he cut through and banged out until it was thin enough to form a coller around the rim of the sheath. He told me it was easier to maintain the blade edge than to buy sheaths. This was why the F1 was a contender, even though I the W11's handle even got a rise from my Wife.....

 

[Zardoz]

Originally posted by Nick jarvis
Which Swede ?????

ULRIKAAAAAAAAA KAA KAA KAAA!




sorry.

 

[RokJok]

Griffon,

Thanks for the link. The indexing groove of the EKA knives addresses the biggest concern I've always had with traditional puuko knives, i.e. no guard or other mechanism to stop your hand from sliding onto the blade if the point gets stopped or jams. Plus that handle looks like it would be real comfortable to use.

I also really like the way they've distributed checkering only on the bottom of the handles of their Nordic line to yield a grippy surface where it's needed. By leaving the top of the handles smooth they avoid hotspots on the unpadded high-pressure contact points of the hand. IMHO these offer a nice update on the traditional puuko style.

Does anyone know if there is a USA distributor for EKA Knives?

TIA, -- Greg --

 

[bushblade]

Hello Nick

I have both the F1 and the W11, both are excellent but out of the 2 I would choose the F1. Both blades have seen plenty of serious use but I allways seem to end up taking the F1.

What most impressed me about the W11 was the handle, it is one of the most comfortable grips I have come accross. The steel also impressed me, easy to sharpen and holds an excellent edge better than many other more expensive steel grades. On the down sides the blade has quite a aggressive hollow grind which makes it less than perfect for cutting/carving wood. I have also been reluctant to reprofile the cutting angle to make it much more acute, because the blade is so thin at the edge.
On my W11 the hollow grind (not the edge bevel) is a good 3-4mm higher one side than the other, doesn't realy affect the performance but is irritating.
You will probably not like the sheath at first, no matter how hard you try when the sheath is new you can't help but cut into the side of the it on the draw. The cut never goes through the sheath just ends up cutting a groove. My sheath is not quite long enough either, the blade stabs into, but not through, the bottom and has carved out another little groove over time.
I also had to square the spine off a little to get it to bite into a firesteel.
I did contact EKA about the sheath and grind problems, they would not replace the knife on warranty as this is common and normal for the W11.

The F1 handle is not as comfortable, but is comortable. It has a convex ground blade which I found not too good at carving wood. I have since reprofiled the edge to mimic that of the traditional scandinavian blades. The blade is pretty thick just behind the edge and took a lot of work to do this but it was well worth it! It now looks like a traditional nordic blade, and cuts like one, I polished the edge to a mirror finish, its now probably the sharpest kinfe I own and despite a lot of use rarely needs sharpening.
I have both the Kydex sheath and leather dangler sheath, the latter gets used more as you can wear a pack belt over the top. Both sheaths are excellent quality and I have no complaints.
The knife works well with a firesteel, and just seems a little more robust and well built than the W11.

This must be my longest post ever!

I hope I helped though, if you want some pics of these two and the mods. to the F1 I may be able to e-mail you some.

Will

 

[TT2Toes]

Nick:
The EKA WII is a fine skinner and a beautiful knife, but a bit delicate for all-round camp or backwoods use. While I don't have a Fallkniven F1, I do own a Fallkniven A1 - - and have used it extensively as a camp and survival knife. As with the A1, the F1's tang extension at the pommel comes in handy when you need to pound or crush something. Obviously I would never consider using the WII this way - - it is clearly not made for it. Also, the F1 handle material is "grippier", even when wet or gooey with blood or guts.

Like Bushblade mentioned, my WII isn't ground symmetrical either - - more like the bladesmith had a little Absolute before making the grind. The leather sheath is attractive, and made of good materials, but it does get chewed up each time you remove or return the blade. My A1 is ground perfectly symmetrical, and the Kydex sheath is typical Swedish (elegant, functional, and very streamlined).

If you go with the F1, be sure to get a Kydex sheath - - unless you'll be hunting and worried about a noisy sheath.

Lastly, unless you're set on a Swedish blade, there's a real bargain blade, good materials and quality, in a nice backwoods utility design, in the S&W HRT Combat/Survival fixed blade (see pic below). If it only had the pommel extension, the HRT could replace my A1 for camp use. Definitely better at chopping than my Fallkniven.

Cheers,
TT2Toes

 

[Nick jarvis]

Thanks for the feedback chap's it looks like now the F1 could get the vote... ah bollocks I might get both. I will just get them from different place's to throw the wife off the sent. I am sorry to here about EKA's attitude Will, does'nt sound like the swede's.
TT2Toes, I have lusted over the S&W but it's a little to....big/aggressive looking.........for the UK's pussy law's:barf: maybe ?.
oh and Zardoz very funny, but you may have to explain that to our colonial cousins..

 

[Nick jarvis]

Rokjok if you e-mail EKA on info@eka-knivar.se I think they will let you know the US dealers.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

bushblade :

[W11]

On the down sides the blade has quite a aggressive hollow grind which makes it less than perfect for cutting/carving wood.

What do you mean by "aggressive" hollow grind? How is the performance not satisfactory on wood. Is is just a matter of requiring too much force?

I have also been reluctant to reprofile the cutting angle to make it much more acute, because the blade is so thin at the edge.

The lack of thickness of the edge behind the bevel won't decrease the ability of the knife to take a more acute edge angle, in fact the opposite is true because of control and cutting efficiency issues.

I did contact EKA about the sheath and grind problems, they would not replace the knife on warranty as this is common and normal for the W11.

Nice sign of QC there.

[W11 vs F1]

They look like two very different knives to me. The W11 is a high performance cutting design, while the F1 is more rugged. The choice should be fairly easy depending on what you want, handle issues not withstanding.


-Cliff

 

[TT2Toes]

Nick:
Yeah, the pic I posted does emphasize the S&W HRT's look relative to the other blades. It looks kind of aggressive just sitting there. Sort of like driving up on a Harley motorcycle for a moped race. It is a great "chopper" though (no pun intended). If you are trekking with a pack though, you'd feel the weight of the S&W - - it is hefty.

IMHO - - Go with the Fallkniven.

Cheers,
TT2Toes

 

[Jim Craig]

I have the Fallkniven, and recommend it. It is a great bang around knife that can really cut. Not a great chopper though. I mean even for it's size, it is no good at chopping. That's what the GB axe is for. That is a "swede" I would pick.

 

[bushblade]

Originally posted by Cliff Stamp
bushblade :

[W11]



What do you mean by "aggressive" hollow grind? How is the performance not satisfactory on wood. Is is just a matter of requiring too much force?



The lack of thickness of the edge behind the bevel won't decrease the ability of the knife to take a more acute edge angle, in fact the opposite is true because of control and cutting efficiency issues.



Nice sign of QC there.

-Cliff

By aggressive, I mean it has a very deep hollow grind, it does cut wood, just in my personal experience a flat ground blade with acute cutting angle cuts better, and with more control. If I thinned out the edge any more on the W11 I would be worried about the edge getting damaged with hard use. You may know different, but these are are my reasons and my own personal experience.

Will

 

[TT2Toes]

Not sure what Will (Bushblade) means on the grind either. My EKA WII primary is flat ground not hollow ground. The cutting edge bevel is ground about 26 degrees - - relatively steep compared to typical Swedish flat ground fixed blades. Even my Fallkniven A1 came with a shallower edge bevel, around 22 degrees. The steep edge angle on the WII does make it a poor whittler, but fine for skinning and push cutting.

TT2Toes

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Will :

If I thinned out the edge any more on the W11 I would be worried about the edge getting damaged with hard use.

When you lower the edge angle you always lose edge strength, however this isn't worse on thinner edges, in fact it is the opposite. You are more likely to damage an angle the thicker the blade behind it, simply because of having to use more force in the cut and an overall loss of precision and control. Thus if you are comfortable using a 10 or 15 degree bevel on any knife for whatever cutting you are going to do, you would have a similar ability with the thinner edged knife, in fact it would be more durable, edge wise.

TT2Toes :

The cutting edge bevel is ground about 26 degrees

That would limit its cutting ability in general for binding materials. You really don't need a bevel that steep unless you are chopping heavy bone and the like. That is the worse combination of geometry and is simply asking for problems. If the edge is thin, the angle of the edge bevel has to be acute, unless you are making a very task specific knife.

-Cliff