Three knives for the Apocalypse - a tabletop review.

[Bullseye]

Good to read your thoughts on the three knives in question.

I'd be interested to hear how other A1 owners feel about the knife?

Very happy with mine, even more so now that I've heard others comment that they feel the A2 is too big and heavy.

I liked the A1 as soon as I picked it up for the first time. It felt very comfortable and natural in my hand. The size, weight, centre of gravity and general balance of the knife immediately appealed to me.

The handle is nice and grippy and comfortable. Mind you, folks with very big hands might not be so keen on it. The handle is a snug fit for my medium sized hands. The protruding tang is a practical touch.

I've yet to knuckle down to getting good at sharpening convex edges, but I guess that'll come with time. Speaking of which, I do feel that the A1's bog standard sheath is worth an honourable mention.



I'm glad I opted for the sharpening diamond whetstone accessory. It's a useful, clever addition and only cost a few quid.

The standard sheath is very basic, but I'm content with mine. It's strong; doesn't stain, tear or snag; fairly user friendly; secure and easily adaptable; drains and breathes well and it's easy to keep clean. A decent enough piece of kit, all in all. I certainly don't feel compelled to buy a fancy sheath, although I can see the attraction for some.

In an ideal world I might opt for the Pacific. The Strider doesn't do a lot for me. Still, I am very happy to have an A1 in my collection. It's an excellent heavy duty utility knife.

[Martyn]

I agree with everything you've said - except I'm perhaps not as keen on the blade heavy balance as you, but other than that, I agree completely. The sheath it comes with is very practical - and amazingly light (70g). I use it as a storage sheath. But it's also useful if you have a Spec Ops strapped to you bag with PALS and you want to belt carry the knife (though I never do this myself). Just stick it in the Zytel sheath instead of having to hassle with stripping out the PALS. The Diamond whetstone you show, is the DC4. It's excellent and I keep one in the pouch of each knife shown here. Ironically, it's not the best hone for the A1 though, at least not if you want to preserve the convex grind. You need a Hoodoo hone or just use a strop. I always found it odd that Fallkniven make one of the best pocket hones for a straight V grind edge, but pretty much all of their knives are convex ground, which are extremely difficult to sharpen with a flat diamond without changing the grind profile. It's like you're supposed to use the DC4 on their knives, but they don't tell you how.

[Noddy]

But GB do tell you Use the DC4 like their axe sharpening puck. The other thing is that you can just put the DC4 on your thigh and sharpen thataways - the deflection is just right to make a convex.

More? Look at the way longstrider puts a convex onto a conventionally bevelled edge Apply the DC4 accordingly

[TallNHairyDave]

Thanks again Martyn for the comprehensive review of all three....

Reckon that following your write up and bullseye's comments about his, I'll be getting a Falkie A1 at some point in the near future and the Chris Reeve Pacific is high on my "want" list....

[lysander]

Great review Martyn, I have a pacific coming from the states next week and after reading your review i'm even more pleased with my choice. Last week I was in the heinnie showroom and almost got a Falkniven, i'm going to get me an A1 now too based on your review

I love the apocalypse theme and I'm glad someone's finally made a post about it, as it's what we're all thinking anyway

Paul

[Martyn]

Great review Martyn, I have a pacific coming from the states next week and after reading your review i'm even more pleased with my choice. Last week I was in the heinnie showroom and almost got a Falkniven, i'm going to get me an A1 now too based on your review

I love the apocalypse theme and I'm glad someone's finally made a post about it, as it's what we're all thinking anyway

Paul

I'm glad the review has helped you refine a decision, but please remember, these are just my thoughts and your opinion may be different. That said, the good thing about all the knives here is they have great resale values.

On the point of the apocalypse, I'm sure you realise that tongue is well into cheek. I have absolutely no doubt we will all be going to our mundane day jobs for many years to come. I've used the idea here as a fantasy theme. The last thing I need is a reason to buy kit, especially a new knife. I don't really have a real world use for knives as large as this, but I do enjoy them so I've just labelled them my apocalypse collection for fun. That said, the A1 is a very practical knife and does find it's way out with me. Mainly because it's such a darned good splitter - it's actually better than a small axe in that regard. It's lighter and less space consuming than carrying a small axe and a small knife. I know many bushcrafters will argue that a big knife like the A1 is not as good at carving spoons or figure 4 traps and whatnot, and they would be right. But bushcraft is a fantasy too. It's just as much of a personal indulgence as collecting big knives for an apocalypse that will never happen, or military re-enactment or any other fantasy that dings your bell. In purely practical terms, all I really need from a knife is something to cut up food, lop off the occasional branch, clear some greenery but mainly, to split logs. The A1 works well, with or without the apocalypse. The other thing about the A1 is it looks like a utilitarian tool, whereas both the Strider and CR Pacific look like military knives. That has a bearing on my decision to use and carry.

The other interesting thing is I know if I had a son going out to the ME and I wanted to get him a knife to take with him, of the three here, I'd be getting him the Strider without any hesitation whatsoever.

[Eee]

Thanks for the offer, I'll bear it in mind. Not sure if I will go that far with this little collection line - I'll have to see. I think my next one will be a Busse SAR 6, it'll have to be the right flavour though and that could take some hunting down.

I like that, they've actually done less is more. By leaving off all the spikey bits, it actually looks like a proper knife . The satin finish makes all the difference though.

[filleep]

I'm glad the review has helped you refine a decision, but please remember, these are just my thoughts and your opinion may be different. That said, the good thing about all the knives here is they have great resale values.

On the point of the apocalypse, I'm sure you realise that tongue is well into cheek. I have absolutely no doubt we will all be going to our mundane day jobs for many years to come. I've used the idea here as a fantasy theme. The last thing I need is a reason to buy kit, especially a new knife. I don't really have a real world use for knives as large as this, but I do enjoy them so I've just labelled them my apocalypse collection for fun. That said, the A1 is a very practical knife and does find it's way out with me. Mainly because it's such a darned good splitter - it's actually better than a small axe in that regard. It's lighter and less space consuming than carrying a small axe and a small knife. I know many bushcrafters will argue that a big knife like the A1 is not as good at carving spoons or figure 4 traps and whatnot, and they would be right. But bushcraft is a fantasy too. It's just as much of a personal indulgence as collecting big knives for an apocalypse that will never happen, or military re-enactment or any other fantasy that dings your bell. In purely practical terms, all I really need from a knife is something to cut up food, lop off the occasional branch, clear some greenery but mainly, to split logs. The A1 works well, with or without the apocalypse. The other thing about the A1 is it looks like a utilitarian tool, whereas both the Strider and CR Pacific look like military knives. That has a bearing on my decision to use and carry.

The other interesting thing is I know if I had a son going out to the ME and I wanted to get him a knife to take with him, of the three here, I'd be getting him the Strider without any hesitation whatsoever.

I had a look on HH following your review.
Any experience with the Tre Krona models? available with Micarta instead of the rubbery handles.
tad more expensive though

[Martyn]

I had a look on HH following your review.
Any experience with the Tre Krona models? available with Micarta instead of the rubbery handles.
tad more expensive though

I've got the TK4, a little 3" folder that's part of the Tre Kronor range and it's quite impressive. I think the signature difference is that the steel is laminated 3G rather than VG10 and hardened to Rockwell 62. It seems like a good steel, very sharp and excellent edge retention as you might expect, but my only experience of it is in a small folder. It hasn't chipped or anything, but the edge doesnt take the same pounding as with a big knife. Seems very expensive when the only real difference is the steel. Other than that I cant comment. I did show the TK4 to mojo once and it bit him though, if that's a recommendation?

[Martyn]

I like that, they've actually done less is more. By leaving off all the spikey bits, it actually looks like a proper knife . The satin finish makes all the difference though.

Yes, this one seems different from their usual more is more style. Busse do seem to have a rather adolescent approach to marketing with their top secret mega steel and names for their products like Battle Mistress. Topped only by Cold Steel for Rambo-esque sillyness. But their knives do have a reputation for being good beaters and at least the SAR 6 looks like a sensible knife and has a sensible name. I'm curious and will probably try to hunt down one of these.

[filleep]

I've got the TK4, a little 3" folder that's part of the Tre Kronor range and it's quite impressive. I think the signature difference is that the steel is laminated 3G rather than VG10 and hardened to Rockwell 62. It seems like a good steel, very sharp and excellent edge retention as you might expect, but my only experience of it is in a small folder. It hasn't chipped or anything, but the edge doesnt take the same pounding as with a big knife. Seems very expensive when the only real difference is the steel. Other than that I cant comment. I did show the TK4 to mojo once and it bit him though, if that's a recommendation?

ah the same as on my U1 then?
I was thinking it must be even posher steel, due to the name & price.
funnily enough, my U1 edge did take a little dink.
looks alone could sell it to me in the Maroon micarta though.

[Martyn]

ah the same as on my U1 then?
I was thinking it must be even posher steel, due to the name & price.
funnily enough, my U1 edge did take a little dink.
looks alone could sell it to me in the Maroon micarta though.

I'm not sure, but the knives in the Tre Kronor range all have the TK* prefix. As far as I know, the only difference between the TK range and other Fallkniven blades, is the steel. Perhaps the difference is what they use to laminate? I know they have made knives from 3G that are not in the TK range, like the 3G F1, perhaps the U1 is another example? Not sure TBH.

When I was showing mojo the TK4, he had a U2 with him and we compared them. For such similar knives, we couldn't work out why there is such a big price difference. The TK4 is maybe a little more refined, but niether of us could see enough of a difference to justify the pice. I did think at the time maybe is was something to do with the steel, but never looked into it.

[Martyn]

Well according to the Fallkniven website

3G:

...is a core comprising the well-proven powder steel Super Gold Powder Steel (SGPS) and sides of VG2.

The U* series is...

Lam.SGPS

I'm thinking what makes 3G steel 3G, is not the SGPS core, but the VG2 laminations. I dunno what the difference is, but the edge steel is definitely the same. I think this subject might be worth a thread on it's own.

[paul w]

Keep getting drawn back into this great thread,i have been coveting a Fallkniven A2 for as long as i can remember, but the goal posts keep moving when i look at the pictures of the CR Pacific.

[Martyn]

Keep getting drawn back into this great thread,i have been coveting a Fallkniven A2 for as long as i can remember, but the goal posts keep moving when i look at the pictures of the CR Pacific.

It's gorgeous mate. When you consider that the Spec Ops sheath will set you back the best part of £45 and if you knock that off the cost of the Pacific, the actual knives are about the same price. In fairness though, you might find the Pacific a bit too military and scary looking to take on a camping trip. If that makes you leave it at home, then it's an expensive paperweight.