A picture of the WM from Fallkniven :
the F1 from Fallkniven :
and the S1 from Fallkniven :
The review consists of :
These VG-10 knives were donated for a review by Tom Lagan of LagaNet Ltd. S1, description on the box :
Mod. S1 is a modern hunting and fishing knife, excellent for whittling as well. Mod. S1 is the result of many years of development, where performance, strength and superior design have been the goal. The convex ground blade give a blade geometry which is both strong, sharp and easy to put an edge on.The combination of well tested custom-made steel, blade dimensioned for strength and a perfected grip inspires full confidence and respect. You can choose from two kinds of sheath, leather of Cordura, depending on which function the knife is meant for.
F1, description on the box :
The making of a survival knife is a serious matter, a man's life might depend of its function is something should go wrong. We have used eight intensive years in the research for the knife, which as of Fall 1995 is carried within the Swedish national Defence. The sub-arctic climate, which wintertime prevails large areas of Swede, has in a decisive way influenced the final design of this knife.The knife represents an entirely new philosophy what concern knives for survival use, while it in the same times combines the experiences of generations of knife manufacturing with modern spear point technology. The handy size, the well thought-out design, the incredible tough steel are only a few details why this knife with be your partner for many years - a faithful, silent friend on your side.
WM, description on the box :
Mod. WM1 is in he team of Swedish Survival Knives, where qualities like strength, ergonomy and functional design are prioritized. The rust-resistant VG-10 super steel is very strong and keep an edge very well. The The convex ground blade give a blade geometry which is both strong, sharp and easy-to- sharp. The comfortable shaped, slender grip is hygienic Thermorun gives the knife a handy approach. The WM1 Knife is by far the perfect choice for women, hunters will never find a better one.
Images can be seen at the Fällkniven home page
| Model | Steel | RC | Blade | Bevel | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length | Thickness | Width | Thickness | Angle | |||
| S1 | VG-10 | 59 | 12.5 | 0.5 | 2.8 | * | |
| F1 | 9.4 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 0.06 | 18 | ||
| WM | 6.6 | 0.3 | 2.2 | * | |||
The dimensions are in in cm, and the angles are uncertain to about 1-2 degrees. The S1 and WM have an * in the last column, as their bevels are full convex from the main grind. The curvature creates a more acute edge profile than the secondary v-ground bevel on the F1. Tom Lagan also sent along an older ATS-34 F1 (Serial number 10318). The blade geometry is nearly identical to the VG-10 F1 but the edge was little rough as it is used.
UPDATE : It would have been informative at the time of the review to measure the nature of the convex grinds in detail as has been done in recent reviews. Fällkniven has since changed the blade grinds so all profiles are full convex. They have also switched steels, and are now using a liminate AISI-420/VG-10/AISI-420 structure.
For general carving, the convex bevels on the S1 and WM generally outperformed the v-grind on the F1. This was not because of an inherent superiority of the curvature as much as the fact that the convex grinds tapered to more acute edges. The WM stands out as the knife to use for this type of work among the three and as well as a general paring knife in the kitchen.
For heavier work, the S1 shows a much stronger chopping ability than the F1. With both in full grips on some scrap lumber, the S1 has a two to one advantage. If the S1 is gripped back on the handle to gain more power it pulls ahead almost three to one. In general the S1 has enough mass and forward balance to chop light branches and will handle limbing and that type of work. However a piece of 2x4 sized wood takes quite a while to get through. The A1 was a much more powerful chopper than the S1.
As an alternate method Peter Hjortberger of Fällkniven recommends to use the point to weaken the wood which can then be broken off. The blades do have hammer pommels to aid in this use. In direct comparisons however this method was more time consuming than direct batoning to cut wedges from the woods.
The S1 was showed no degradation in sharpness after chopping into a piece of pine four hundred times, slicing rolls off of a piece of fabric to measure the sharpness, 8.8 (3) slices before and 8.2 (4) slices after. The The chops were fairly light using a full grip, getting about 0.75 centimeters of penetration. The S1 and other blades were then checked for edge retention against some other knives in detail. The F1 and Bill Moran Featherweight were then compared in more detail. In general the Bill Moran Featherweight out cut the F1 and retained a higher level of cutting ability for longer though has less durability. The VG-10 F1 was also compared to a Talonite blade with both knives at a medium finish and no significant difference was noted.
In regards to durability. The WM was used for months in the kitchen cutting around bones on steaks and such and through bones on chickens and turkeys without any chipping. It has also performed minor metal cutting such as opening tin cans and such with only minor problems, small chips about a millimeter in length and a fraction of a millimeter in depth (0.3 millimeters at most). The chip damage was usually the result of torquing curing the cut. After such can cutting the edge could be restored to a fine push shaving edge with about 75 strokes on fine emery cloth and then 25 on 600 wet/dry sandpaper. The blades were also used for some very hard metal cutting along side some machetes and saw lots of intentional heavy impacts alongside a Talonite MEUK by Allen blade.
Rust in general was not a problem, as the knives showed no corrosion during use even when no protectant was used. It is not overly humid here (NL, Canada) but they have been used extensively in the kitchen on corrosive fruits and vegetables with no problems and carried in the the winter where they had been exposed to snow , ice and rain at times for hours with no problem. They were also soaked in a salt water solution alongside a D2 and Talonite blade. The stainless Fallkniven knives took much less surface damage than the D2 knife but suffered similar edge degredation. The Talonite knife was uneffected.
All blades were stabbed into a spruce 2x6" a half a dozen times. The penetration was 1.9 centimeters for the S1, 1.5 centimeter for the F1 and 1.3 cm for the WM. Even though the S1 has the thickest tip it gets greater penetration because of a more powerful stab due to the more secure grip and higher weight. The handle on the S1 is slightly longer and more swelled. The aggressive checkering on the F1 and S1 did however make them fairly abrasive. The penetration of the WM was so lowest because the lack of security limited the force that could be used. As a check of extreme circumstances, liquid soap was used on the grips and the F1 and S1 were still functional for precision cutting and light chopping. However the WM was very difficult, the grip would slip to easily. No blade could do a hard stab with the soaped up grip.
The S1 was used to break wood out of a 2x4 with tip penetration at one half and three quarters of an inch. At the deeper penetration the blade tended to crack the boards. The VG-10 F1 however snapped on the second pull and the tip on the ATS-34 one bent 4 millimeter to the side with the bend running back 1 centimeter along the blade. The tip on the WM bent a similar degree, 3 millimeters to the side and 1 centimeter long. With the the ATS-34 F1 three quarter of an inch in to the wood, on a sideways pull the tip snapped losing 2 centimeters of blade. The greater strength of the S1 due to its thickness. At half an inch back from the tip the WM is only .06" thick, the F1's are 0.1", and S1 was 0.125 ". At 0.75" back from the tip the F1's are 0.11" thick and the S1 a much greater 0.15" (+35%) .
Concerning the degrees of flex of the blade. When the WM and ATS-34 F1 tips took a permanent bend, they had been pulled to the side until the handle were against the wood. When the tips on the ATS-34 and VG-10 F1's broke, the snaps happened when the handle was flexed past 45 degrees.
The WM was locked in between two pieces of wood right to the handle and took a slight permanent bend during a 180 lbs pullup. Both F1's and the S1 took the strain easily however when then pull ups were done quickly both F1's snapped about one inch from the grip. They bent considerably before they broke, past the 30 degree mark and approaching 45. The blades broke in multiple places leaving about 4 pieces of metal each. The S1 resisted this level of stress easily and much greater loads besides. It was broken with a five foot bar and went past 45 degrees easily, and snapped at about 60, shattering, with breaks at at the point where it was locked in the wood and also just after the grip. fallkniven has done break tests on their blades and the results are worth reading : Break Test of knives Testing at LTU 2000 . They should be commended for not only doing such tests but as well making them public.
The F1 grip is down turned at the end for more comfort during extended slicing and the S1 handle has a uniform swell at the end in contrast making it more secure for power chopping. As well the S1 handle has a slightly bigger cross section making it easier to use for extended periods of time while the F1 is easier to use for more precise work. The checkering on the F1 also goes almost to the bottom of the grip for greater security while on the S1 it stops about 0.125" above it for more comfort during chopping. Basically both handles are optimized for the intended use of the blade. In very heavy cutting the WM was less than ergonomic as the handle is very thin.
Rounded spines would increase overall functionality significantly for a lot of cutting and utility work. However the sharp spines do work well to strike sparks from a ferrocium rod as noted by Tore Kvande-Pettersen. A larger guard on the S1 could prevent excessive slipping on hard stabs with a compromised (oiled) grip. The F1 is more of a drop point hunter and hard stabs are probably not much of a concern. The sheaths really stand out as an area for obvious improvement. The WM for example would make an excellent neck knife so a Kydex dual belt/neck sheath would be an obvious choice.
These are solid utility knives for those that prefer stainless and want a significant level of strength. Note that in the years since this review Fallkniven has redesigned the blades both in geometry and steel. The review of the H1 more accurately represents the current knives being made by Fallkniven.
Comments can be sent to : cliffstamp[REMOVE]@cutleryscience.com .
| Last updated : | May 13 : 2006 |
| Origionally written : | Aug 6 : 2000 |