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Fallkniven F1Z Survival Knife VG-10 w/ Zytel Sheath
sean.b
15
Dec 15, 2018
VG-10 is actually a good steel for a "survival knife", created with toughness in mind. It is very similar to 154cm and ATS-34, with reduced Molybdenum to aid in resistance to chipping. That, along with a lower hardness of 59hrc and a laminated construction, make this steel as tough as 1095, but with superior edge retention and corrosion resistance. It has a similar carbon content to 1095, which makes it easy to sharpen as well. Really, this knife will never chip on any wood, unless you're stupid enough to smash it on a rock (cough cough Survival Lilly cough cough). All of the popular survival knives out there, like Kabar and ESEE, run their heat treat way too low and can't cut due to their ridiculous thicknesses and grinds. the convex grind on the Fallkniven F1 allows it to be a great slicer, while retaining a decent thickness for prying capabilities. The thermorun handle can handle anything you throw at it, and won't disintegrate after a year of use (talking to you, Cold Steel). The sheath is genius. It has a slim profile, so you can put it in the pocket of your pants, is box-shaped, which allows you to carry it in a mall unnoticed, and can get wet and also cleaned, unlike a leather sheath. This knife, guys, is the best survival knife on the planet. Whoever tells you otherwise probably likes to pretend to be Rambo in the woods, flailing their sharpened crowbar around whenever they go car camping, chopping and battoning piles of wood to make a nice, cozy fire, which grants them the satisfaction of thinking that they are the ultimate survival expert. (just joking around, this knife is a steal at 99 bucks, btw)
PaLee
95
Dec 16, 2018
sean.bI'm seriously considering buying my 4th F1.
Why? Great knife at a steal price.....
The F1 would make for a super nice Christmas present... For me and my friends
RHPICAYUNE
200
Dec 17, 2018
sean.bDo you work for Massdrop? (accusing glare)
Just kidding!--Really good info on the knife.
raest
111
Oct 16, 2020
sean.b"VG-10 is actually a good steel for a "survival knife", created with toughness in mind." LOL. no,
"a lower hardness of 59hrc and a laminated construction, make this steel as tough as 1095" MEGALOL
for a "survival knife" you want toughness, and a decently treated 1095 (and today most of them are) will be much better than VG10, as VG10 is nowhere near as tough as pretty much any decent tool steel (the laminated construction helps somewhat, but considering modern steels and heat treatments, it's just an unnecessary part if you know what you're doing)
if you want a tough stainless, you go AEB-L, or maybe CPM154/RWL34 (not 154cm, but the PM version), or one of the custom high end heat treats people put on stuff like elmax (like TRC does). hell, 3V is very stain resistant and about 3 million times tougher... they'll all be much tougher at higher hardnesses, and retain an edge better (and not significantly harder to sharpen if you buy decent abrasives... i.e. not the 10$ china stones)
don't get me wrong, it's a fine knife, and at this price a very good deal, particularly if you want a convex grind to train with as there aren't many cheaper than this.
sean.b
15
Oct 23, 2020
raestConsidering that we are discussing a 99 dollar knife, your options when it comes to picking a good steel are limited to the simplest alloys, or in the case of ''survival'' knives, 1095 is the one used by practically every brand (ESEE, Becker, TOPS, Schrade, even Mora uses a variation of this steel). Even when not looking at the price range, most of the steels you mentioned either require harder abrasives to maintain or a very good heat treat to be a viable option. AEB-L at 58 hrc is pretty much at the low-end of performance, practically on par with VG-10, same with CPM-154. Fun fact, the original Fallkniven knives used ATS-34 steel, which is the non-powdered version of RWL-34. Again, performance almost completely relies on geometry and heat treat, not steel. That basically means that the only chance for a person to obtain a good ''survival knife'' in stainless steel is to look at the custom market, spending 3 or 4 times the amount of the knife we are discussing right now. Now, I've used both VG-10 and CPM-3v, and in terms of impact and abrasion resistance against hard material, the results completely depend on the angle of the primary grind. The Fallkniven most likely will not fail you when you have a 45 degree inclusive edge on it, and will perform well with a more acute edge at the cost of losing toughness. If we are splitting hairs, then yes, obviously a supersteel will have the advantage over a simpler steel, if compared with the same Rockwell hardness and grind angle. But VG-10 is still a viable option just as 1095, 52100, AEB-L, O1, D2, etc, are not obsolete and are still popular picks: you have a very stain resistant knife with the ability to take a killer edge with minimal effort, moderate but acceptable toughness, wear resistance and strength, small carbides that allow a less toothy finish, with a cheap manufacturing and tooling process that allows for cheap budgets. All those factors considered, combined with a convex grind, sandwiched between two soft steels, and given a 4.5 mm thickness, you get a very low maintenance knife with an even lower maintenance rubber handle and plastic sheath, that can be sharpened back to shaving in 2 minutes with a pocket stone, that can handle all the basic tasks (game processing, food prep, wood processing and shaping, cutting through soft to medium hardness material, etc) with zero edge damage and more demanding tasks (chopping, prying, drilling, battoning, throwing, stabbing, etc) with limited edge damage, if any, and can be reground and sharpened in less than 5 minutes. Check out a destruction video of a Fallkniven A1 on YouTube, not many knives can survive that amount of damage. To conclude, for 99 dollars, emphasis on 99, as not many decent knives can achieve that low a price, you get a knife that has an excellent design, good geometry, convex grind, good sheath and handle, and a good BUDGET steel and heat treat. I would also love to see a 63 hrc CPM-3V knife out there for 99 bucks, but tis' but a pipe dream. If you are looking for a SURVIVAL knife, not a knife that can destroy car doors, split .50 BMG bullets in midair, and destroy 3 foot thick concrete slabs (in that case, grab a 52 hrc 5160 6/8 inch thick knife with a 60 degree inclusive and 0.1 inch behind the edge thickness, and I call that knife with some difficulty, because cutting anything will become quite a challenge to say the least) then look no further. I'm sure a Fallkniven F1 will suit any reasonable knife tasks given, and in a pinch can be abused without receiving too much damage. Given the option between 59 hrc VG-10 and 57 hrc 1095, I'll take VG-10 any day of the week, because it has more than enough toughness necessary, without all of the drawbacks of a soft carbon steel (not a good option for a knife, but very good as a machete or zombie-killing car hood slashing monster blade, which I admit can be fun to swing around in the backyard at times.) I hope I've reinforced the original point that I've made, which is that Fallkniven knives are a great option for an outdoor environment. If you want a tactical katana with a built-in grenade launcher, then yes, VG-10 is not tough enough for your needs. In the end, it's not a magic steel, just a nice cheap budget option that's been used in culinary knives for decades for a reason: it's good for cutting. With the added characteristics and lower hardness of a Fallkniven, it's good enough for beating on. If you think a real survival knife has to let you chop your way out of a prison cell or be used as an ice axe to climb Everest, that's probably because survival is an extremely overused word that will lead to nothing but never ending discussion among people with different concepts and assumptions of that term. In that case, everyone should form their own conclusions. I better stop typing because at this point this comment will go on forever... I seem to have a knack for wasting time on the web... peace out, my dudes
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