chipped Fallkniven F1 after very little use

Mungo

Well-Known Member
I recently bought a Fallkniven F1 knife for gralloching and general use (after reading several glowing reports on here). It is indeed a superb knife (or at least seemed to be).

However, after only butchering 1 roe carcasse, the blade chipped when I was chopping the legs off a rabbit. I'd not even sharpened it yet! I've chopped the legs off hundreds of rabbits, with all sorts of knives, and never had this happen. Very disappointing.


Does anyone know if this is a general problem with these knives - and how best to fix it?


Or is it likely to be a defect, and would it be worth trying to contact Fallkniven?

Thanks.
 
Mungo

Dougster is your man for the inside line or all things sharp & shiney.

The F1 is a quality knife - it will take a lot of use. It is a VG10 laminate - I know the inner core is a harder steel for edge retention. By the nature of the beast, it will be relatively more brittle - thats the rationale behind the lamination.

I've not managed to chip one or had one so affected over a good number of courses and generally being around them - so from that perspective alone I would not say it was typical F1 behaviour. I'm assuming here you werent chopping legs off on top of a concrete block or the like!

I'd rely on those with better knowledge than me, but if you got it from a reputable source think it may be worth taking up with them - tempering hiccups etc happen.

In terms of self fix - only solution is to sharpen it out - keeping the convex profile. Use series of grits on a mouse mat etc.

EDIT - just went away and had a look round. Appears chipping can be an issue. Most sources referring to the obsession some bushcraft types have with using smaller blades to baton large chunks of wood. In such use, chipping is common - because of the hard nature of the core steel. One source specifically mentioned the issue from chopping game bones - species not specified. So I live and learn!

Its a great knife with a great edge, but think if chopping is a requirement then something of 'softer' steel will stand you better.
 
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Can you stick up some pics so I can see the scale of the chipping. Could be something I could help with.
 
The 3G is a more brittle blade than the VG10, which I have and never had any isssues. As mentioned above depends on how you were using it and chopping surface. You could try and return it to Fallkniven if within the 12 month warranty period or grind out the chip. Others will be better place to advise further.
 
Are you sure it is actually chipped? I'm not trying to be a smart ass but after some light use mine also gave the appearance of being chipped and I was a bit taken aback. However it turned out that there were just some little marks on the edge of the blade that for all the world made it look like it was chipped and a quick run over a very fine stone removed them. I've no idea what they were, or where they came from, but I too was looking at options for grinding them out and so on when it transpired that they were just cosmetic blemishes. They haven't returned since.
 
Thanks folks.

It definitely wasn't the surface I was chopping on - standard kitchen chopping board! And I was just giving each leg a whack to score it before snapping, so really nothing abusive at all (given what this knife is supposedly designed for). For it to chip in contact with rabbit leg bone in a suburban kitchen really makes you wonder how it would fare under harsher conditions.

Caorach - they definitely are chips. Little scallops about half a millimetre deep, one for each time I struck a rabbit leg bone! I think they will sharpen out, but I'm going to wait to see what Fallkniven say. I'll post a photo when I get a chance.

In the mean time, back to the £10 Mora!
 
I have one of those and a very good and strong knife desinged for escape/survival needs, chips on a rabbit bone, youre supposed to be able to build a shelter, prepare game/birds to eat in a plane down situation, I've gralliched and split the breast bone on many deer with mine with no visible nicks in it, not a cheap knife and should not react this way to a simple survival deed of prepareing game. Not a good example, could be a issue with the tempering possibly, still look at the current price and exspect more from a high end product, as said no problem with mine taking legs off deer etc. deerwarden.
 
Half mill chips shouldn't be a problem and a beefier convex would help with such tasks - again, easily remedied. Good luck with Fjallkniven, they are pretty good.

Richard
 
Cant beat the ol mora. I have a couple of Alan Wood knives he made for me years ago
trouble they are now worth so much money im frightend to take them out i case i loose them
So out comes the trusty Mora:confused:
 
I've heard of a few fake Fallknivens kicking around, i don't see how a few rabbit bones could knacker an F1. Watch this video and you'll see what i mean. It's a long one, but it'll give you a new appreciation for your knife. The tests start getting hard core from about the 9 minute point:

http://youtu.be/UYq-JqNduOo
 
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Thanks folks.

Yes - I got because of it's reputation, and really expected it to be more robust. I suppose it's just a dodgy knife - hopefully Fallkniven will replace it. However, after some research online, it turns out this is not uncommon, and Fallkniven can be reluctant to admit a problem, instead tending to blame user abuse. Now if chopping rabbit leg bones is classed as 'abuse' for a survival knife, they lose ALL credibility!
 
Mungo,

At the risk of this degenerating into a very lengthy "which knife is best" thread can I suggest that there's no need to spend that sort of money on a decent knife. I have a Cold Steel Pendleton Lite Hunter which cost about £16. It looks very similar to that Fallkiven F1 and has been superb. I've split logs with it, gralloched deer and used it as a normal kitchen knife on holiday. It looks like new and is brilliant. It is also very easy to get a good edge back on it.

Don't be put off by some of the Cold Steel's flamboyant (daft) designs and advertising material. They are great knives at excellent prices. I'd be tempted to get your money back on the F1 and try a Cold Steel one.

Cheers,

Bob
 
All sharp and ready to go home.

Dovebob. Sadly I have both, and whilst the PL is without doubt the best knife for the money for the needs of most people on here, the F1 is a case of you get what you pay for - in 99% of the cases.

The PL has the right grind and blade shape for deer gralloching at the Mora, well, doesn't. Mine is my backup knife in my bag if my Stalking knife goes off without me.
 
Hi, I chipped a blade on a German made hunting knife some thirty five years ago, cutting/chopping the leg bone of a hare. I still use that knife today, and it holds an amazing edge. What I learned back then was a knife is for cutting and a chopper/cleaver is for chopping. The cutting edge on a chopper is ground at a wider angle than that of a knife, giving it more resilience to shock.

Thanks folks.

Yes - I got because of it's reputation, and really expected it to be more robust. I suppose it's just a dodgy knife - hopefully Fallkniven will replace it. However, after some research online, it turns out this is not uncommon, and Fallkniven can be reluctant to admit a problem, instead tending to blame user abuse. Now if chopping rabbit leg bones is classed as 'abuse' for a survival knife, they lose ALL credibility!
 
Hi, I chipped a blade on a German made hunting knife some thirty five years ago, cutting/chopping the leg bone of a hare. I still use that knife today, and it holds an amazing edge. What I learned back then was a knife is for cutting and a chopper/cleaver is for chopping. The cutting edge on a chopper is ground at a wider angle than that of a knife, giving it more resilience to shock.

Indeed, perfectly put.
 
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