Why are Fallkniven's no longer popular ?

i think that they are probably just old news, plus there arent many options with the F1, but for close to the same price, a bark river has alot of different options. not to mentions that falkniven has less knives that are apealing to us. the F1, the H1, the A1 and the S1 are really the only ones i see people with, because the majority of other fallknivens are really expensive.
 
i had one for a while super great knife but i like to have some kind of hand gaurd. the only thing i didnt like was water etc. gets under the handle and rust. but it is a spectacular knife for the money.
 
I still love 'em. seems like part of the reason may be all the other options that have been listed like Bark River, RAT etc. Also, with a lot of the custom makers here, you can get a handmade knife for very close to what the Fallknivens cost.
But the F1 is still one of the all time best field blades I can think of. My only gripe is the handle is pretty thin, but it's still relatively comfy to use.
 
there is less talk of it for me because now that i have one I'm so content with it the only knives ive gotten since it are blade blanks so i can handle them myself.
 
I think gravydan hit it on the head. The F1 is a tried and true knife, but it gets more and more "dated" whenever a new knife comes out. I would liken it to Bark River - I remember whent they came out with their Northstar... I thought I had found "the" knife. A lot of people did. But then came the Fox River, Aurora, Bravo, etc., etc... The Northstar never lost its reputation as a kick ass blade - newer knives just came out, and took some of the excitement away.

That being said, my custom G10 handled F1 is still my favorite knife!
 
True, But it can be priced out of the reach of many of common man. I love the F-1 even though I don't have one right now. Maybe soon.:thumbup:
 
I had a Bark River custom G10 handled F1 as well. I traded though only because I also had a Bravo-1 and felt the Bravo was better balanced. The F1 was a little heavy in the handle. I do still have a U2 and an A2 and I love them both. I'd like to get a factory F1 in the future but I have several knives in that size/utility range already so it's a bit low on the list.
 
I think the F1 and S1 are great knives. I had a very difficult time choosing between Fallkniven and the RC-blades that I ultimately chose. For me the deciding factor was the mircata grips versus the plastic. I just can't get my head around buying a $100 knife with plastic grips (Scrapyards excepted).

As for steel, well for the majority of things I like using a knife for I prefer carbon steel. I might even say that I like 1095 just a tad better than O1, although these two are almost interchangeable to me. So for me the laminate VG10 was never that big of a draw, however, I know it is for some other people.

Now I think I'd like to get a good stainless steel blade of this type since I have more than my share of knives in this size class and function class but in carbon steel. At this stage I just wouldn't go for the plastic grips. Sorry, just can't do it. I know that if I did, that knife would surely sit in a drawer. As others have said, the price has went up. 1.5 years ago the F1 went for about $90. Looking as KSF (this is a benchmark site for prices for me as they don't play games and it includes shipping), the basic F1 is now $130. There are a lot of options for knives for $130!

The amount fallkniven wants for a F1 with black mircata slabs is rather outrageous (more than double the price) seeing as this is standard on other knives. I really love the Barky/F1 hybrids. I think these are outstanding and would love to have them. But they also come at a cost. The cheapest one at KSF is $220. For $240 I can buy a SS Bravo-1 which I would probably go for. For $120-140 I can buy several stainless Barkie models: mini-northstar, EDC SEAX or EDC-warncliff that all come in 12C27. These options are all equivalent in size and function to the standard F1 but with a good quality handle and great quality sheath. A year and a half ago, the number of stainless offerings by Barkie were much more limited compared to today.

So overall I think that fallkniven knives are still great, however their value/price point has been slipping particularly in the last year and a half. If fallkniven were to come out with a mircata version of the F10 for about $150 I would probably scoop one up.

This all probably sounds kind of negative to folks who own a fallkniven but I'm not trying give off that vibe. Again, I think they set the standard of what a survival knife should be and I'm jealous of everyone out there who has one of these. I just can't rationalize buying one for my own collection. In part this is because of the knives I already have and also because of what I prioritize in knife characteristics.
 
kgd said:
1.5 years ago the F1 went for about $90. Looking as KSF (this is a benchmark site for prices for me as they don't play games and it includes shipping), the basic F1 is now $130. There are a lot of options for knives for $130!
Click to expand...

Even a few months ago they were around $90; I think I got mine for under $95 shipped if I remember correctly. But now they're at $130? Wow.

kgd said:
The amount fallkniven wants for a F1 with black mircata slabs is rather outrageous (more than double the price) seeing as this is standard on other knives.
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbup: I couldn't understand this either when I was shopping around for a micarta version. Especially in light of the stock micarta handles on Barkies.
 
I just buy the blade blanks and put on my own handles,I actually prefer it that way and it's cheaper.
 
I got one as a gift, and I like it quite a bit, but once you've gone custom, "regulars" just don't have the same feel. I also don't really like the convex blade, but if anything, it seems that the convex blade has gained even more popularity on the forms... so I don't know why Falknivens have fallen out a little.

But your right Pitdog, a year or so ago, every other post was "Fallkniven this!"
 
peripatew said:
I got one as a gift, and I like it quite a bit, but once you've gone custom, "regulars" just don't have the same feel. I also don't really like the convex blade, but if anything, it seems that the convex blade has gained even more popularity on the forms... so I don't know why Falknivens have fallen out a little.

But your right Pitdog, a year or so ago, every other post was "Fallkniven this!"
Click to expand...

You said was I was thinking too. I had a F1, sold it last year, consider getting another, but keep looking at all the others I own and thinking, "why?"
 
Some of you guys need to shop around a little more for better prices on the Fallknivens. ;)

Looking at just two sources on my list (there are many others), they have the F1 starting at about $95.00. This is at Knife Works and New Graham. Seems I paid around $80.00 for my first F1 a number of years back. Comparing this price with everything else out there; this isn't bad inflation.

Too, compare the price of VG-10 (or 3G) stainless with a simple carbon steel like 1095. I am old enough to think it strange to pay over $100.00 for a chunk of 1095 in the form of a blade! We still do it, though, because it is a decent steel. I know of one company selling a bushcraft knife made of 4140 for around $100.00. One organization I worked for threw 4140 out the door and considered it scrap once they were done with its brief service. It sold for pennies a ton.

Personally, I think the Fallknivens are still a good investment when the materials and performance are compared with other working or outdoor cutlery. The Fallknivens certainly deliver performance right out of the box without having to spend two hours thinning 'em out so they will cut.

I have very large hands and would have liked to see larger handles on the F1 and S1. However my hand is very comfortable on the H1 and my larger Fallknivens . I still carry and use my F1 because of its relatively small size. It can hang on my belt and I don't know its there until I need it. Too, I would have liked to see thinner blades on the smaller Fallknivens (just a personal thing), but I have learned to work around this. Overall, I think one would be hard-pressed to find a *much* better survival knife than the F1 (or H1).

One other thing: How many of you have worn a military issue survival vest (sometimes with water wings) in the cockpit of a combat airplane? I did for many years. The last thing that a pilot wants is a big handled, heavy chunk of steel hanging off his chest in a tight, cramped cockpit. Needless to say, the F1 was specifically designed with the pilot in mind and it does a very good job at this - small, but large enough to assist with survival if needed. I try to remember this when I wish my F1 handle was larger. Never happy. :)
 
I have six fallkniven knives. Three wm1's, an h1, a u2 and a tk4. And after i got these, i`ve not really bought many new knives. It`s a bad day, when you come to the point that you realize that you really don`t need any new knives.
 
TWBryan said:
I just buy the blade blanks and put on my own handles,I actually prefer it that way and it's cheaper.
Click to expand...
Me too...they are up to about $83 now....my next one will be in black micarta...or maybe nat'l....this one is in cocobolo.
IMG_9242.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top