Right now I have a great gang of old axes in the pipeline waiting for my care. It'll be nice and relaxing to start restoring these old friends into shape again. I'll get back to you about each project along the way. I just wanted to give you a inspirational sneak peek of some of the steel on my table at the moment. Feel free to contact me and tell me about what project You are working on right now.
Specs
Blade material: 440C stainless steel
Blade length: 85 mm (82 mm according to manufacturer)
Overall length: 184 mm
Knife weight: 61 g (62 g according to manufacturer)
Total weight: 89 g (with sheath)
Price: 1 500 SEK (Sweden 2013)
Greg Thompson at Special Operations Combatives Program (SOCP) has designed this tactical knife together with the manufacturer Benchmade. The 176 SOCP Dagger is a slimmed skeletonized tool for tactical self defense. The concept of the SOCP Dagger is to have a quick drawn self defense blade that can help gain time to make the transition to a larger weapon like a hand gun. The dagger's finger loop (inner diameter 28 mm) enables your trigger finger to operate while still holding the dagger. The design makes the SOCP Dagger easy to carry within good reach in a discrete way minimizing the risk of someone else grabbing it.
In the Combo package a red trainer dagger (64 g) is included together with the sharp dagger, a injection molded sheath with a clip and a lanyard cord. The 70 mm long, 44 mm wide and 18 mm thick plastic sheath is offered in two colors; black or sand. The black coated knife is made of 440C stainless steel. The 85 mm long, 19 mm wide and 4,5 mm (5 mm according to manufacturer) thick blade is delivered with two sharp edges for effective penetrating abilities. The Swedish Benchmade distributor is EQUIPT, I can recommend a visit to their website. Also take a look at Greg Thompson demonstrating the 176 SOCP Dagger by clicking HERE.
It's very professional of Benchmade to offer a trainer version of the knife as it's very important to be drilled in the gear of choice in this serious category. It would have been nice if the Combo package also came with an extra sheath. That way you don't have to mess with your duty rig while in the gym. I think this is a really nice and efficient high quality tool for self defense in the line of duty. Stay safe out there.
The dear F1:a has turned 20 and this has to be celebrated by adding the knife model into my bushcraft knife field test comparing 15 different robust forest knifes. You can see the test by clicking HERE. Let's first take a look at the past 20 years of this knife model's history and then the specs of the knife.
History
Back in 1995 the Swedish Pilot Survival Knife F1 was introduced as the Swedish Armed Force's official survival knife. The knife is a part of the air force project JAS 39 Gripen and in August 1995 the company Fällkniven AB delivered the first batch of F1 knives to the Swedish Forces. The family company Fällkniven has been offering knives to their costumers since 1984. Back then the products came from a number of high quality knife brands but in 1987 they started to develop their own knives. It took 8 years to develop the F1 and the model became the start of a world wide success for the humble company founded by Peter Hjortberger up in Norrbotten; the Swedish North. The knife has pretty much looked the same through the years besides some changes in materials and edge profile. The first version had a blade made of the steel ATS34, used the doule edge (flat grind) and was manufactured in Germany until 1997. After that the Japanese VG10 steel was introduced and the full tang was stretched out to protrude on the back of the handle. Three years later in 2000 the convex edge was introduced and in 2002 the laminated VG10 steel was introduced. Besides the laminated VG10 the F1 today also is offered with the more exclusive 3G steel and now in conjunction with the 20 year celebration Fällkniven also introduces a laminated cobalt steel. Today the company are offering a wide range of knife models in different size and shapes but it's still the F1 that's their bestseller. The knife's high quality and stamina now also has made it the official survival knife of the US Marines, US Navys and other special forces units in the world.
The F1's Design The design of the F1 is a tasteful combination of old Scandinavian elegant knife culture and modern tactical robustness. The 100 mm long, 27 mm wide and 4,4 mm thick drop point blade has a hand shaped convex edge and is offered in three different stainless steels. A black coated version is also available using the material CeraCoat 8H. The knife has a full tang covered with the rubber material Thermorun. The fact that the tang not is fully visible is a nice feature in extremly cold condition saving any exposed skin from frostbite. The tang protrudes at the pommel to be used as a crusher or for hammering. The handle is only 16 mm thick and the knife weight is 148 g making the F1 a smooth and compact tool. The knife you see in these pics are made from the Japanese Hattori steel. The sandwiching of the laminate consist of a harder core of VG10 surrounded by the 420J2 steel.
Top down; Cold Steel Master Hunter, Fällkniven F1 and Morakniv Bushcraft Black
Sheaths The F1 comes with three different standard sheaths; covered leather (L), open leather (O) and zytel (Z). The F1's popularity has also generated a number of nice custom sheaths out there on the market. Personally I have one of each of the standard sheaths plus one self modified leather sheath; an open version of the covered leather. This means I got four different sheaths to pick from pending on my activity. The zytel sheath has gotten some complaints in different forums and this Fällkniven has listen to resulting in a updated sheath in the F1 Pro package also enabling MOLLE fittings.
Exclusive Versions
Now and then more exclusive handmade versions of the F1 is offered. Right now a Green Micarta (gm) version is in production. Earlier a Maroon Micarta (mm) and a Ivory Micarta (im) was offered. These beautiful knives are made in limited editions and often end up as collectibles even if they absolutely have the capacity of being a great field knife.
Extreme Survival Knife and an OK Carver
I like the F1's balance and nice grip these features gives one a genuine feeling of quality and robustness. The steel holds an edge very well and in combination with a lanyard the convex edge also offers a pretty good small size chopper. The sharp spine edges works great on the ferro rod but hurts the helping thumb when whittling. The knife is a great hunting knife and although the very thick blade I think the F1 is an OK wood carver. The F1 ended up in a 5th place in my bushcraft knife field test compared to the 14 other test knives. The Swedish product F1 are something we should be very proud of here in Sweden.
Specs
Manufacturer: Fällkniven AB, Swedish family company in Boden with production abroad
Model: F1
Blade material: Stainless Laminated VG10 (HRC 59). Also avalible in 3G (HRC 62) and Cobalt (60 HRC)
Blade length: 100 mm
Blade thickness: 4,4 mm
Blade width: 26,9 mm
Edge profile: Convex
Handle material:Black Thermorun (rubber)
Handle thickness: 16,4 mm
Sheath: Leather or zytel
Knife length: 214 mm
Knife weight: 148 g
Total weight (knife and sheath): 234 g (open leather version)
Price: 1376 SEK (F1z, Sweden 2016)
Also check out my magazine article on the F1 published inside Vapentidningen No.8 - 2015.
To see other posts I've written on Fällkniven's products; click HERE.
Relaxing grey summer clouds is hanging over The Cabin, It's time for yet another day by the grinding wheel. I have a bunch of knives and other edge tools in need of sharpening. So I turn on The Kiruna Grinder and let the slow rotating stone set the pace of the day. I want to take the opportunity to share my thoughts on edge tool sharpening and then show a movie of me by the grinding wheel.
Edge Profile
What profile to pick depends on tasks at hand an taste. Personally I often prefer a Scandi grind knife (single edged, V shaped) as I often use my knives for whittling. Double edged profiles (Compound edges) like the Flat grind or the Hollow grind works nice as game knives when hunting. These Compound edges are also the most common edge profiles found looking internationally. The Convex edge is more and more being used also on knives (not just on axes). One example of this are the Fällkniven knives. The above four symmetric edge profiles are the most common recognized, but there are many different ways to shape an edge. The most important feature of an edge tool is the hand holding it an the mind behind it.
The Four Sharpening Steps
When I sharpening an edge tool I use four different steps; 1-Shaping the edge, 2-Grinding the edge 3-Honing the edgeand 4-Polish the edge. Which steps used depends on the condition of the edge and what I'm planing to do with the tool.
Shape
If the edge are hurt by nicks or waves I use a single cut steel file to regain the edge symmetry. The hand file is a pleasant way of getting to know ones edge tool and at the same time avoiding damaging the heat treatment of the edge using a high speed electrical grinder.
Grind
When having a large amount of edge tools to sharpen I often use my slow rotating electrical grinding wheel. Otherwise I also like using bench stones. I categorize the stones into four groups; Natural sand stones, Artificial sand stones, Diamond stones and Ceramic stones. Some need oil or water and some don't. But usually I prefer using water to get the right feel and response while sharpening and at the same time getting rid of the metal leaving the edge. When grinding I like to use the 800 grit diamond side of the Fällkniven DC521. Usually I'm sharpening by free hands (no guide) feeling confident on the tools edge bevel angle. But If I what to check the angle I use a measuring tool.
Very roughly speaking; and angle of 20° is suitable for wood carving and a angle of 40° works good on a hunting knife. There are a lot of different sharpening tools and systems out there, Spydercos Triangle Sharpmaker is one example. My advice to you is to try them and decide which tools and methods works best for you.
Hone
In the next step I use the 14 000 grit ceramic side of the DC521 stone. Honing is pretty much the same technique as grinding just using a finer surfaced stone. Now and then I check the edge spine by looking straight at it. If light reflect from the edge ridge then I need to continue in that area.
Polish
It's when stropping the edge you get that little extra sharpness. A polished edge last longer and gives a cleaner cut. I use a stropping board made from a piece if leather attached to a piece of wood. The meat side of the leather are loaded with some kind of polish (for instance Autosol). Then I let the edge run backwards over the leather polishing the primary bevel. Now all the burr produced during grinding and honing should be gone and if the tool slices a thin piece if paper with ease then I'm satisfied with the sharpness. I let the situation guide me in how many of the above steps I use and how thurow I'm sharping my edge tools. It's the using of the tool that's the important thing. If the edge gets the job done nicely; then the tool is sharp enough. Finally I clean, dry and oil the edge tool
Always nice to have a fresh edge ready to take on new tasks. This day got to be a really nice one. When I finally turn of my grinding wheel it all gets quiet and I lift my hat of to my old buddy; the grindng wheel.
You can also see a piece I've written at Bushcraft Store focusing on sharpening a knife using a bench stone, click HERE.
I'm glad to see that Karesuandokniven is starting to expand their nice product catalog with exiting new projects. At this moment the all through Swedish company Karesuandokniven proudly offers up to 100 different knife models. My first Karesuando knives (The Moose Special and The Willow Grouse) I bought back in the early 90's and they have meet up to my expectations regarding price worthy practicality and classical design. In my latest bushcraft knife field test i compare 15 different robust forest knives to each other. One of the test knives were the Survival Knife article number 3587. This is a kit designed for us bushcraft romantics. The kit consists of a slightly modified version of the knife Bore Exclusive article number 3507, a ferro rod, a diamond sharpener and a leather sheath holding all the above. Karesuandokniven also offer the product Survival Knife article number 3586; the same as above but no sharpener included. The Survival Knife 3587 ended up in a impessive second place in my field test. You can see the test by clicking HERE.
The Knife
The Bore Exclusive is a medium size fixed blade knife equipped with a drop point blade made of stainless Sandvik steel 12C27 hardened to HRC 57. This is what I'd call a Forest Knife; a nice allround knife that can stand some inspiring bushcrafting. The thickness of the blade is 3,2 mm, the blade length 99 mm and the blade width is 23,8 mm. The blade has a long tang although some people claim that a survival knife needs the stronger full tang to cope. Personally I think a long tang works just fine even in extreme situations, as long as you user your knife with common sense. A long tang also has it's advantages during cold conditions when a full tang can cause frostbite to any naked skin. And as far as durability; Karesuandokniven offer a 10 year guarantee on their knives. The Bore use a scandi grind edge that comes very sharp out of he box. The difference between a regular Boar Exclusive and this "Survival Bore" is the partly flat grinded spine. A small area of the blade spine just in front of the finger guard is prepped for throwing sparks of the ferro rod. This feature can easily be added to any soft edged knife spine using a sharpener. I like to keep the tip spine of the blade rounder to spare my carving thumb. I wish more bushcraft knife manufacturers would leave the blade tip spine soft edged. The Bore Exclusive handle starts off with a nice 2,5 mm thick brass guard. Then follows a 13 mm long piece if rein deer antler. The rest of the handle is made of oiled curly birch. The total length of the handle is 113 mm and I like how nicely it fits into my hand giving the appropriate grip. So the total length of the knife is 212 mm and the modest knife weight of 99 g makes this blade a nice one to carry on your belt.
The Ferro Rod
The fire stick has a total length of 100 mm, a steel diameter of 9 mm and a 34 mm long handle made of oiled curly birch. The small handle is equipped with a leather lanyard to enhance the grip. The theoretical length of the steel is 66 mm and according to the manufacturer the stick will last for at least 1000 strokes. The weight of the fire steel is 40 g and I think it works very well.
The Diamond Sharpener
The flat little sharpener's two sides offers two different structures. A good thing with diamond sharpeners is that they can handle most of the blade materials out there on the market. The structured areas on the sharpener is 55 mm long, the oiled curly birch handle is 50 mm long and the total length of the sharpener is 114 mm. Just like the ferro rod's handle the sharpener's handle is equipped with a leather lanyard. The metal part of the sharpener is 5 mm wide and 2 mm thick and the total weight of the diamond sharpener is 30 g. This little sharpener works OK out in the field, but usually though I sharpen my blades back home in the tool shed using a larger stone. Read more about sharpening by clicking HERE.
The Sheath
The sheath holding it all together is made of a 2 mm thick cowhide in a nice brown nuance. The 30 mm wide belt loop fits up to about 50 mm wide belts. The loop is secured by two rivets on the back of the sheath but other than that the sheath is kept together by seems. There's no extra safety lock holding the knife in place, just the well fitted plastic inlays and leather neck. While fixed in the sheath the knife handle is sticking up from the leather by about 40 mm. The 245 mm long and 65 mm wide sheath weighs 84 g. The rod and sharpener fits nicely on the edge side of the sheath with the ferro rod on the outside.
The total weight of the Survival Knife including fire rod and sharpener is just 261 g which is welcomed for us carrying long and often. The Survival Knife from Karesuandokniven is a really nice all rounder I enjoy carrying during my bushcraft adventures. You can also get this knife i damaskus steel from Damasteel in Söderfors. The the knife goes under the name Northern Lights Damask 3580.
Specs
Manufacturer: Karesuandokniven AB, made in Sweden
Model: Survival Knife 3587
Blade material: Stainless Sandvik steel 12C27 with HRC 57
Blade length: 99 mm
Blade thickness: 3,2 mm
Blade width: 23,8 mm
Edge profile: Scandi grind with a 20° angle
Knife length: 212 mm
Handle material: Curly birch, rein deer antler and brass
Handle thickness: 18,6 mm
Sheath: Dark colored cowhide
Knife weight: 99 g
Total weight (knife, sheath and gear): 261 g
Price: 2400 SEK (Sweden 2016)
Place:Almunge, Uppsala, Sweden Time: 1 day in February
Friends, coffee, freshly baked bread, cozy fire, leather... Words describing this beautiful and snowy February day. I'm in Almunge at my dear friend and saddler Per Gustavsson's place. Besides good food and laughter I got loads of inspiring tips on how I could go about making a leather sheath for my newly restored Säter Axe. This will be a blast. Stay tuned for the result.
Japanese Silky has delivered saws since 1919 and 1991 Grönyte-Konsult AB brought the saws to Scandinavia. Super Accel 21 is one of Silky's mid-size folding saws and one of the test objects in my latest field test on saws. The Super Accel ended up among top three when it comes to cutting performance. Only Super Accel's bigger sibling; Ultra Accel 240 Curve got better results when it came to cutting. If you want to read more about the saw test covering 12 test objects; please click HERE.
Silky Super Accel's handle consist of a aluminum frame covered in rubber featuring a nice and slim shape and a lanyard hole. A robust leaver locks the blade in two different positions unfolded. Folded the blade is not locked by the locking mechanism, however the friction is keeping the blade tucked in securely during transport. Unfolded the blade has a slight play vertically, this is nothing bothering me though.
I've now been using this saw since 2011 and I'm still very pleased with it. The saw delivers serious cutting although it's light and slim design. Take a look also on my reviews on the Silky Pocket Boy 130 and the Silky Ultra Accel 240 Curve.
Specs
Manufacturer: Silky, Japan
Model: Super Accel 21
Blade material: Stainless steel
Blade length: 207 mm
Blade thickness: 1,38 mm
Blade width: 36,25 mm
Unfolded length: 436 mm
Folded length: 239 mm
Handle material: Aluminium och gummi
Handle thickness: 21,2 mm
Weigh: 200 g
Price: 405 SEK (Sweden 2015)
Dealer: Grönyte-Konsult
