Why F1 but not other stainless knives?

messer454

messer454

Joined
Oct 2, 2006
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I have been wondering something for awhile. Why is it that some (most?) guys recommend a stainless blade Fallkniven F1 for bushcraft but just about every other knife they recommend is carbon? Would you really prefer the F1 in carbon?

I understand the F1 usefullness and that is not in debate. I think its size is close to my CS Master Hunter. All CS slamming aside, I have used my AUS8 MH as a hunting knife for years and have liked it. However no one seems to think it is on par with the Carbon V one.

Just curious as before starting to hang out here I would have preferred a stainless small knife to carbon without question. However even the carbon Mora's get preference over stainless. Your thoughts please.

PS I will be out of town until the 8-17 and probably off the Net too. Don't hold my lack of posting replies against me:)
 
Hey, great post. I'm a carbon steel man. Not because I believe it is better stainless. It's just easier for me to sharpen.

Now, as far as the Falkniven F1. I think a lot of people prefere it because it's a good blade. I don't have an F1, but I have bought some crappy stainless steel knives. steel so bad that it crumbled when I tryed to sharpen it. I never had that problem with carbon. now rust is another story.
 
There's more to it than just carbon or stainless. How many otherwise similar knives will give you the convex edge, how many give you the quality control and customer service the company itself provides? Bark River, for one -- which also has that same sort of broad following.

Of course there are going to be some personal factors. When the owners of the companies get involved, this provides an extra measure of confidence in their products.

There are several well-known and effective stainless steels out now, and some of the older steels like AUS-6 and 440-A even have a track record and manufacturers who have learned to do them right.

Carbon steels aren't a guarantee of an excellent knife, but they are likely to give you a tough blade with an easily sharpened edge, so many people having confidence in them don't feel the need to experiment with stainless. Maintenance is not a big deal unless you're working under particulalry harsh conditions.
 
You make a valid point. I'm a carbon steel guy myself. And I would rather my F1 in carbon. Or, at least, with a carbon core. BUT, I can't complain about a great knife when it performs like a champ. And as EB says, the F1, and the stainless Bark Rivers I have are performers.
 
I think it's because the Fallkniven has steel that sharpens and cuts about like carbon, combined with a really neat design.

I don't have any of the scandi type blades in the steel they use, but I've heard a lot of good stuff about it too!
 
All my woods knives are stainless. I kayak and hike ocean beaches too. Carbon steel is good stuff, but I don't want to sea a good tool ruined by salt water. I don't find them hard to sharpen and I carry a small diamond EZE Lap or DMT sharpener. I don't use a knife that much while hiking, so they rarely if ever need a real sharpening job. Cheese and salami and food packaging just don't do much to good stainless :D The sharpening aspect is more of a concern for survival preparedness.

Just bumming around the woods, all a carbon knife needs is to be wiped clean after use and a little oil when stored. Some of the guys use cold blueing or acidic juices on moras to help give them a protective patina.
 
I swear by carbon steel, mainly carbon tool steels. If I had to pick a favorite stainless it would be 154CM. I've made knives out of it and it does very well in the field. Even though I prefer carbon steel, some stainless steels do well in the field.
Scott
 
For no reason, really. I'm not a fanatic for carbon or for stainless, although I do like carbon for the traditional feeling, and on the other hand like the corrosion resistance of stainless. As long as the steel is good enough, carbon or stainless doesn't matter that much.
 
There are so many steels, heat treatments, and blade shapes that it is very hard to make an accurate general statement. I was always told (and still believe) that between a stainless steel and carbon steel blade of the same hardness, the carbon steel is tougher and easier to resharpen. For pocket knives I only stainless (corrosion a major issue for me), but for fixed blades I have both. I think carbon steel probably better for big choppers.
 
For me, a big attraction of Fallkniven knives is the laminated blades. They have a core of VG10 hardened to Rc59 and outer slabs of 420J with a spring temper of much lower hardness.

The result is a tougher than normal blade for stainless. Toughness somewhere between the best stainless and carbon steels. Supposed to add 20 percent more flex to the blade before breaking than other stainlesses.

Of course Fallkniven is not the only company to use lamination in their blades. But they use good designs, the best materials and seem to build their knives with great attention to detail and quality.
 
Carbon steels seem to get sharper than stainless. Not sure why, but it may be the finer grain structure... and generally they're tougher.
 
I don't think it's a case of people prefering an F1 in Stainless, I think it's a case of they don't have a choice as Fallkniven don't make them in anything else !!!
 
The f-1 is hands down the best fixed blade knife I've owned to date, I've done a fair amoutn of cutting ang carving with it over the past few months, I ususally strop it ona leather belt after use and the blade is still shaving sharp.
 
I was reading Tactical Knives mag last night and there was a bit about convex edges. It said that you could strop them to touch them up for a while but when the edge bacame really dull as in when out in the field, it was a major job to re-sharpen them and for that reason the author was a little against them !!!
 
It is not a major job to resharpen convex edges at home or in the field.
The article's author embarrassed himself by not learning this.
 
Vorpal Blade said:
For me, a big attraction of Fallkniven knives is the laminated blades. They have a core of VG10 hardened to Rc59 and outer slabs of 420J with a spring temper of much lower hardness.

The result is a tougher than normal blade for stainless. Toughness somewhere between the best stainless and carbon steels. Supposed to add 20 percent more flex to the blade before breaking than other stainlesses.
Click to expand...

Think would only help by guarding against brittle failure if you are trying to break the knife by bending it laterally, as in using knife as a prybar. For cutting and chopping the cutting edge is out there exposed by itself.
They used to make knives out of solid VG-10. According to testing by Fred and Nemo (http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/2292/reviews.htm) these also amazingly tough and durable
Another curiosity, some of their knives have SPGS core with what I am told is VG-10 outer slabs.

Vorpal Blade said:
But they use good designs, the best materials and seem to build their knives with great attention to detail and quality.
Click to expand...

IMHO, the reason for their success and popularity.
 
I own a Njord by Fallkniven. It's one of my favorite knives. Both the edge quality and the retention of that edge are excellent.

I've considered buying one of their bare blades and putting a stag handle on it.
 
pitdog said:
I was reading Tactical Knives mag last night and there was a bit about convex edges. It said that you could strop them to touch them up for a while but when the edge bacame really dull as in when out in the field, it was a major job to re-sharpen them and for that reason the author was a little against them !!!
Click to expand...

I don't think I really agree with that guy
 
Hi,

I would like to say hello to all of you knifenuts and would like to write my first post in this great forum about my EDC, the F1.

The reason for using an outdoor- and survivalknife made of carbon steel is the easy sharpening of it, isn´t it?

Well, and the F1 that is made of stainless steel is very easy to sharpen because of its convex grind by using an mousepad and some very fine grit paper laid on that mousepad or anything soft. And these things are easily to have them with you in the field, not as heavy as a sharpening stone or a Lansky-Set. And if you have got no mousepad, only the honing-paper will do it´s job, too, if you listen too the right sound while hitting the right angle when stropping. You can hear it very clearly, believe me.

Some strokes over the fine grit paper every evening and your F1 will be very sharp every time, and in common with the convex edge the blade is cutting through the most materials very well.

I like convex blades because they are so easy to sharpen, eaven if they are made of stainless steel, too. I have a carbon Black Jack knife with a convex grind, and there is not much more work to sharpen the stainless F1 than sharpen the carbon Black Jack. It is much more work to hold the right angle and get a good edge to a flat or hollow grinded carbon knife than getting a very sharp edge to a convex blade. That´s my experiance, of course this works only if you have the mousepad and the paper with you anytime and if you are sharpening your blade with it periodical. If a convex grind gets very dull, it´s much work to resharpen it, too.

And last but not least, the design of the F1 is perfect to me. It´s a great user.

I hope that my english is not to bad,

and best regards from germany,

By-Tor
 
VG-10 was the first stainless alloy I encountered that held an edge as well as high carbon steel (Carbon V), in a real world test, skinning a black bear. The only one that comes as close is S30V and I haven't had a chance to test it out on big game, anyway. It takes a little longer to hone VG-10 than Carbon V, but it is nevertheless an excellent choice for an all-weather blade. The F1 is a superb design, as well.
 
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