Fallkniven Bug -- Bitten Hard

I believe I've mentioned in the past just how much I like the Fallkniven F1. I now have four of them including two Thermorun handles, one custom from Greg Haugh, and one blank that I'm going to rehandle myself. I also have a production H1, custom H1 coming from Greg Haugh, and a custom A1 from Greg. All of the knives wear sheaths from either JRE Industries or MBHanzo.

Over the weekend I managed to snag a Fallkniven NL5 (my first foray into the Northern Lights series) and the stacked leather handles, the more refined blade and guard, and the overall package have really made me happy.

The knife is very similar to the F1 in blade length and overall length but the differences are subtle and many. The blade on the NL5 has more belly and is slightly wider than the F1. It also has a nicely rounded spine while the F1 is squared for striking a firesteel or for use as a scraper. The stacked leather handle is quite a change from the Thermorun of the F1 and offers a more oval grip with a nicely rounded pommel. The F1 has the exposed tang for driving pegs or nails--something I would advise against with the NL5.

Weight on the NL5 comes in at 5.95 oz. (169g) versus the F1 at 5.35 oz. (152g) and the balance point on both is about 3/4" behind the front of the handles.

Both knives have lanyard holes but I prefer the placement on the NL5 as the F1's lanyard hole had to be set a bit more forward to accommodate the exposed pommel.

Is the NL5 worth twice what the F1 goes for on the Internet? That's hard for me to say until I've had an opportunity to use it like I have the F1. The fit and finish on both knives are very good but the it's the details on the NL5 that really set it apart. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to put the NL5 through what my F1 has already endured but that little knife (the F1) has proved itself to be quite a bruiser in the world of using knives. If the NL5 is simply a dressed up version of the same bruiser it'll be one heck of a knife too.

I can say that I hope the Northern Lights series doesn't sing to me as much as the production models have or it's going to get expensive quickly.

Thanks for reading,


B