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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Fallkniven F1 Fixed Blade Survival Knife Review

Fallkniven F1 Swedish Pilot Survival Knife 3.8" Satin VG10 Blade, Zytel Sheath

The Fallkniven F1 Survival Knife is standard issue for the Swedish Air Force and it’s pretty easy to see why once you have one in your hands. Designed in Sweden, the F1 features tough grips that work in the cold and wet. The F1 Survival Knife is on the smaller side at only 8.33 inches in total length with a blade length of 3.8 inches. The smaller size makes it great to carry around on your person in lighter situations like hiking or camping. I love most of my survival knives but I consider this one more of an every day carry survival knife. The blade is made from VG-10 steel and is laminated to help make it resistant to corrosion. The blade is very sharp (I mean beyond razor sharp) and has really good edge retention and is not difficult to sharpen. One thing to note is that the F1 has a convex grind so you cannot sharpen this knife blade with your flat whetstone. There are no serrations on this survival knife and I personally prefer it that way, although I wouldn’t complain if they had a small section of serrations on the top side of the blade. Whenever you read survival knife reviews about the Fallkniven F1 Survival Knife, you will see no less than 4.5 stars. The reason most people feel like this is the best survival knife is because this knife does a lot and it looks good doing it. Seriously though, the F1 just feels right in your hands. It is well balanced and can perform almost every job you need it to. It can baton wood but due to its smaller size it isn’t well suited for batoning thicker wood for bigger projects unless you absolutely had no choice. But that’s what a survival hatchet is for.

Fallkniven F1 Swedish Pilot Survival Knife 3.8" Satin VG10 Blade, Zytel Sheath

The zytel sheath is really nice, safe, durable and high quality, however If there is a weak point with Fallkniven some may say the non-tactical sheath is it. The Fallkniven Zytel sheaths do everything a standard leather sheath would while offering the safer carry of a Kydex sheath however it does limit carry options to a belt attachment. Fallkniven did initially offer custom Kydex sheaths with Tec-Locks however after testing and complaints of knife wear due to the sheaths they switched to the Zytel sheaths instead. Another reason for Zytel design was Kydex has an abrading quality Kydex has which affects blade and handle wear. Just the act of pulling the knife in and out of a Kydex sheath will wear on the knife. The other reason is Kydex would not sustain the extremely cold temperatures without fracturing where Zytel will and this is one reason the Fallkniven sheaths have such a loose tolerance. Go run your Kydex sheathed knife under water and then freeze it... changes are that suction fit will freeze the knife in the sheath which is not so good in a survival situation. Zytel is also more easily sterilized than Kydex due to smoother surface structure. More advanced flexible Kydex carry system sheaths are available from a number of custom sheath manufacturers if you feel you have the need however the standard Fallkniven sheath does everything it should plus outperform most tactical sheaths.

The Fallkniven F1 is simply one of the best knives I’ve ever used. It is a tough blade made of laminated steel with a practical length and great ergonomics. It is simple, reliable and safe. Highly recommended and well worth the money. It’s a great knife!


To buy or get more information on the Fallkniven F1 Swedish Pilot Survival Knife with 3.8" Satin VG10 Blade and Zytel Sheath, click the link below.

Fallkniven F1 Swedish Pilot Survival Knife 3.8" Satin VG10 Blade, Zytel Sheath




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