Hi all,

I am considering buying a Fallkniven knife. Does anybody have any opinion on the Fallkniven knives in general or their H1 Hunter with the VG-10 steel in particular?

Thanks

Superb.

Great blades. A lot for the money. Laminated VG-10 and very sturdy.

My favorite is the F1.

I have one (in 3G) and really like it. I just bought a WM1 in VG10 and it's the sharpest factory blade I've ever gotten.

I own a few of the Fallknivens...

F-1 in 3G
FNNL3
FNNL4
PHK
HK9
U1 folder
Tre Kronr de Luxe Folder
Juni SK3
Jari SK1
Krut SK6
A1

They are excellent knives!

And 100% MADE IN JAPAN...

Fine knives none-the-less...

Yes they are. But not really made in Sweden ,either.

For the kind of $$ they charge for their knives, they could at least be honest about who is really building them.

Hattori builds Most of them..

Deputy
You have a PM

3 F1's and 3 A1's.

If i could only have one knife it would a Fallkniven..

Thanks everybody for your input.

Always wanted to get one of their Tor or Thor, however they say it. Big knife, with a stacked leather handle. Good chopper I would imagine.

big difference in price for the same knife depending on if its 3G or VG10.

So is the 3G worth the extra money?

Actually, their website says some are made in Sweden. Are you sure about the "100% made in Japan"?

Really, which models exactly do the claim are totally made in Sweden?

Given the fact they have taken credit for Hattori's work all these years, any claim or impression they would give the consumer that they would make on their website does not mean much,IMHO.

Even $10 Frosts/Mora knives are clearly stamped "made in Sweden". No Fallknivens are. There is a reason for that.

Love the cheap Mora. Always eyed the Fallkniven, and had no idea they were not made in Sweden!

Their website says exactly which models are made in Sweden. You can look them up.

Really? Which ones?

You are the one claiming it- show me the proof.

Show me a link to any direct quote on their website that says any model is made entirely in Sweden. Not marketing BS in the descriptions about Northern lights or Norse Gods.. I am talking about actual country of origin listed in the specs or the description. Or just the simple statement "these knives are made by us in Sweden".

You can't find it, because it's not there. The power of suggestion is an amazing thing. All their fixed blade knives are made by Hattori and their Folders are all made by MOKI in Japan.

They did not make their own knives 15 years ago when Linder in Germany made them and they don't make them now.

Read this recent thread on the Fallkniven official forum at Knifeforums.com. Their own sales rep says the same thing-

http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/916057/

Hattori Bowie. Without the fuller, it's the Fallkniven Thor -


Hattori Urban Hunter AKA Fallkniven TK2

so the point is that your paying more money for the name than what you are actually getting as a knife?

Well the value for the $$ is in the eye of the beholder, although you can get 100% made in the USA Convex ground knives of equal size , features and quality from Bark River for less $$.

The kicker for me is the sleezy way they put "Fallkniven- Sweden" (not MADE in Sweden) on their products . It's probably legal to word it that way, but it is not honest since it leads the informed to believe the knife is actually made in Sweden.

To me if it's like BMW or Mercedes just put their name on a Jap Toyota Camry and sold it for the price of the German cars all the while talking about "German Engineering and Quality" in their advertising.

good point.

Well, equal size for sure.

Features yes.

Quality maybe.

The Bark River knife I had was quite well finished, but it did not come anywhere close to my Fjallkniven for holding an edge (nor for sharpness as I received the knives, for that matter).

I can't say too much with a sample size of one though... but that was my experience.

John

Doesn't Hattori make Junglee knives also ???

Bark River makes various models now various models in CPM 154 and CMP-3V. Side by side comparisons show those steels when used in Bark Rivers, actually exceed the VG-10 lams that The Japanese make for Fallkniven.

Those knives cost the same or even slightly less than a Fallkniven F-1 or larger knife with a Micarta or wood handles ($200 to $300).

It is a recent development, though only in the last 18 months or so. Mike Stewart resisted using anything other than A2 or some of the Sandvic Stainless alloys in his knives for years. Mainly due to the course grains structure of most other high Chromium steels.

Yep.

no doubt a barkriver in 3v will outcut vg10.my last 2 barkies did have some unequal bevels which i did.nt like.--cranky72

After not having visited Bark River's website for quite a while, I just had a look and they have indeed added some new steels (as you wrote), which is great!

However, it looks like a number of their fine American knives use Swedish steel. Not that there is anything wrong with that...

Anyway, here in Sweden, the Bark River knife I had cost more than a Fjallkniven, but it performed only about like a standard 440c knife. Not bad in edge holding, but it sure was nothing to get excited about.

So, I am glad for the info that Bark River is using some of the newer super steels! More alternatives to consider! I do find many of the Fjallkniven knives have too small a handle for my hands, so I will be checking out Bark River a bit more.

I am also weakening about getting a custom knife made too... Thr 24HourCampfire and you guys are a bad influence on me!

Cheers,

John

By "bevels" I assume you mean they were the saber ground convex blades, since most if not all full Convex Barkies have no secondary/micro bevel at the edge.

If so, I agree about the unevenness of some of their Saber grinds. They do most of it by hand on slack belts and frankly, I think they should do a bit better job keeping things even..

Actually, they and Buck are dumping the Sanvic steels. I don't think Bark River has made any runs of Sandvic blade knives for 3 years now. For years they were the only stainless steels he would use for a Convex blade. He used mainly due to the purtity and fine grain structure. Buck compared their 420HS to 13C26 Sandvic and really did not get enough extra performance to even bother with it.

The thing is, almost all the Sandvic Stainless blade steels, while fine grained and pure really have absolutely nothing in their chemistry that makes them superior to various 440 series stainless steels. They were a fad that has run it's course in high end American knives,IMHO.

I will say this, I like the Sandvic Carbon and stainless alloys JUST fine in a $40 or less Mora, etc. Great steel for the $$ spent!!!!



The really question is WHAT is the Fallniven "3G" powder steel"? It is unique to Fallkniven in name only since it does not exist in the rest of the cutlery world.

They will n ot divulge the chemistry or where it is smelted. I would bet a $100 bill that is is nothing more than a Boehler or Crucible Powder steel that has been available to other knifemakers for several years.

Yes, the 3G steel is a stellar performer for edge retention but is it any better than a Blade made from Boehler Elmax or CPM -S35VN??

Only time will tell.

Hi Jim

I sure get you on those cheap Mora knives -- great value! I have 3 or 4 (at least one in the car, one in the bottom of a couple of hunting backpacks, etc.). Best of all, here in Sweden these Mora knives are really cheap - carbon steel versions costing about the same as a Big Mac, for stainless add a Coke and fries.

I have a small Fjallkniven knife (Hatori?) made from one of those "wonder" powder steels but I forget the name of the steel now.

It is absolutely remarkable for edge holding -- the best I have experienced. I sure haven't tried all the knife steels out there, but this powder steel is way better than S30V and D2 steel knives I have used.

If I recall correctly, the hardness of this powder-forged steel is RC63 or 64 and I was worried about it chipping. However, there is absolutely no sign of that even under magnification (and I even dropped the knife on its tip once). The knife has also cut kilometers of cardboard that dulled both S30V and D2 knives much more quickly (my 440c knives were not even in the same class).

Makes me wonder how good the knife steels we will be using in 10 more years may be!

John

I should perhaps add that I do not recall if the "super powder steel" I mention above is rust-resistant or not, and have not yet used this particular knife on wet/salty things without cleaning.

This steel might rust -- which would reduce my enthusiasm for it a bit. Time will tell...

John

Jon..

If you are talking about the 3G steel, I do think it is a stainless steel.
I have seen several tests where folks used it in wet outdoor Environments where reported no rusting

As to the Moras, go over to www.knifetests.com.

The crazy dude in the Ice Hockey mask did a destruction test on a Mora MG Clipper Carbon knife(about $12 here most places)

The blade itself held up to a terrible beating and it is my understanding that it is only about .080" thick! The only thing that failed was the handle itself. The new version of the Clipper, the "Companion ", has a tang that extends nearly the full length of the handle so even that would not likely be a problem..

That Mora Clipper blade and a Good Old 10" Carbon steel Ontario "Old Hickory" butcher knife actually stood up to more abuse than a $325 S30V Chris Reeve Yarborough Marine Combat knife!

i prefer the standard v-bevels on my knives since i do'nt carry a mouse pad in the boonies. as i rebeveled my last 2 barkies the edge pro was cutting different bevels on each side of the blade. since your working off a stable platform with constant jig angles this means the major ground blade sides were not consistant with each other. i did a major reshape with a powered belt system then went to the edge pro. i will credit barkie with decent heattreat on their a2 since i battoned the blades thru aged mesquite which is almost = to bois d'arc [bodark]. the barkies did'nt chip or the edge turn. however for a few more dollars i can get a custom made by one of our own members which will have more attention to grinding.--cranky72

Cranky..

Ahh, OK.. I can see where the sharpening jig would show up any discrepancies on balance of the blade grind..

I wonder if it would do the same thing to a Fallkniven since they are supposedly hand convexed as well?

I carry a Fallkniven U2 pocket folder with a powder steel blade (town). I don't care if it was made in Iran, if I lose it, I will buy another just like it.

I carry a Kershaw Gentleman's folder for a heavier use (country).

I also have an Fallkniven F1 that is a very good blade, but I think that it's ergonomics lean more to survival than to hunting.

I have one of those as well.

Mine has cut miles of cardboard, and is still extremely sharp. Best edge holding of any knife I ever used!

I bought a set of diamond hones and a gizmo to hold the knife steady at the correct angle because I was sure that THIS steel would be difficult to sharpen when it finally got dull.

I can't say if this is true, because the knife won't get dull!

John

if you can get one rehandled, they are ok. I personally don't care for them at all.
Steel is fine.

Exactly my thoughts!

I am thinking of getting an F1 blade, then putting a proper man-sized handle on it instead of the small flat factory handle!

John

Out of dozens of knives my overall favorite is the Fallkniven F-1. The handle is narrow so that it will fit flatter in sheaths on flight vests. They make a Micarta handled version, Bark River rehandles them in various woods and you can even buy blade blanks if you want.

The workmanship on Fallkniven blades is excellent as is the laminated VG-10 steel regardless of where they are made by who.

The Bark River Gunny is almost the same knife made in America.





I think most people will find the handle on the Gunny to be more comfortable.

I think that the steel on the 3G F-1 is better but the steel in any of the F-1s and any of the Gunny's is plenty good. Workmanship is better on the factory Fallkniven's.

The Bark River Bravo-1 is a little bigger knife and is another excellent choice, especially if you have bigger hands. FWIW here's the Bravo 2, Bravo 1 and the Gunny compared:





Anyway that's my 2c.................dj