American Bushman

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing." —Benjamin Franklin

Thursday, April 24, 2008

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

4 Comments:

At 2:30 PM, Blogger sam said...

How many?????
What happened to the less is more idea after the briarpatch course ;-)

 
At 2:36 PM, Blogger American Bushman said...

Well, I have to...um...build up my inventory so I can make sure that I have the absolute best gear once I get rid of all the extra stuff...

(Did you buy that even for a second?)

No, I was actually JUST thinking about how I've strayed from the less is more adage as I was shooting pictures of the NL5 and another knife I picked up this past weekend...

I tell my wife that the knives are for the kids and she asks me just how many kids I'm planning on having. :)

B

 
At 5:51 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

New knives are hard to resist to be sure. Tell her they are investments and the values are sure to increase over time.

 
At 6:06 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Could you please tell me if the NL5 fits in the F1 kydex, and vicky versa, if the F1 is secure in the NL5's leather sheath?

 

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