Falllkniven F1: Should I go for it?

[Manny Sanchez III]

Ok so I'm in the market for a fixed blade knife for camping and other outdoorsy things. I saw this on massdrop and it seems like a great price, but I have no experience with these. Should I go for it? Can anyone who owns one chime in on what they like or don't like about it? Also, is there any way to mount these sideways on the back of my belt? I thinking would prefer that method of carry, but not a deal breaker, as the sheath looks like it rides low and would keep the handle from poking my love handles! Thanks in advance!

[clown]

They are nice knives for sure.  Very comfy to use.  I have one that I recently was able to use for the first time on a camping trip.  It performed well until I decided to do some batoning with it.  Chipped the heck out of the edge.  I've heard this about Fallknivens before.  The VG10 core is hard and a bit brittle.  Some will say batoning is abuse but I've done it with countless knives and the F1 was the first to chip like this.  I will sharpen out the chips and keep using it.  Could be the edge got a little hot during factory sharpening.

You cannot wear the sheath horizontally but there are tons of sheath makers out there who could fix you up with something for a fair price.  The stock sheath rides well but I had to put a section of bike inner tube around mine to keep the knife snug.  And the blade does rattle in the sheath.

[Manny Sanchez III]

Thanks! They are offering an option for a leather sheath as well, any idea how good that one is?

[enki_ck]

There used to be a destruction test on youtube many years ago on this knife,  and it performed very well. I'll try to find it.
Always wanted that knife but it was way out of my price range.

[Etherealicer]

There used to be a destruction test on youtube many years ago on this knife,  and it performed very well. I'll try to find it.
Always wanted that knife but it was way out of my price range.

I wanted one too...
but the sheath is so poor, I mean really, it does not hold the knife in firmly and it's unnecessarily bulky.
For a knife of this price, I find that hard to accept.

I like the leather-sheath even less (mostly because its ugly), but I would probably recommend the leather sheath (without any practical experience).

[Dean51]

I'm one of those who believes batoning is abuse & you would be better served with a small knife and a light hatchet.
Having said that, I assume you aren't buying a 3.8", 97mm blade to baton with.
Fallkniven's 3G or the Laminated VG10 is excellent steel and will hold an excellent edge. They're hardened to 59 & 62 HRC respectively & made to hold an edge not chop. There's a reason knives made for abuse tend to be simple steels and hardened in the 53-58 HRC range.
So as a camp knife it would be a good choice as long as you have ceramics or diamond  sharpeners.

 

[clown]

I'm one of those who believes batoning is abuse & you would be better served with a small knife and a light hatchet.
Having said that, I assume you aren't buying a 3.8", 97mm blade to baton with.
Fallkniven's 3G or the Laminated VG10 is excellent steel and will hold an excellent edge. They're hardened to 59 & 62 HRC respectively & made to hold an edge not chop. There's a reason knives made for abuse tend to be simple steels and hardened in the 53-58 HRC range.
So as a camp knife it would be a good choice as long as you have ceramics or diamond  sharpeners.

You can also use wet/dry paper and a strop.  Fallkniven's are convexed and I, for one, have never been great at sharpening convex edges with stones/hones.  Especially when trying to repair something like what I did to my poor F1.   

[Dean51]

 

[skidoosh]

I got mine off of massdrop and have been using it a bit. It is a great deal and I'm impressed by the knife. I remember when they first came out around 1999 or so and it has been my dream knife. I have not experienced chipping issues so far but Fallkniven has stood behind their product. It is surprising how light it is. The sheath is well made but I will probably make another out of kydex at some point in the future since I like horizontal carry. I would say go for it.

To play devil's advocate you could also look at the maxamet mule by sypderco (MT24) for the same price. It is not a knife to abuse but will give you an edge that will last far beyond anything that you have.