Review: Fallkniven F1 Vs Mora Forest

Lets get ready to ruuuuuumble! Two giants of the swedish knife making industry are squaring up to.... Nah it's not really fair, one is a heavy weight survival knife that can happly be used to pry floorboards up and the other is a svelt bushcrafter.

I've never had a survival knife that was so confidence inspiring as the F1, maybe it could be an inch (25mm) longer, but then it wouldn't be quite as wonderfully stow-able as it is. The blade could be a tad thinner, but then it wouldn't be as strong as it is. It could be easier to sharpen, but then it wouldn't hold an edge as long as it does. I've beaten it into a log 'till the mallet disintegrated, I've pried 70+ year old floorboards up with it, I've taken it into the Tuscan hills and used it for everything (food, firewood and green wood) for a week and it would still take hairs off my forearm. It's weaknesses are it's strengths. Hell of a price these days if you buy it in the UK, still very reasonable in the US of A.

How do you take the worlds best value utility knife and make it even better? Well the chaps at the Mora knife worx must be talented because they've made it look easy. I'm hoping to get a few years of use out of mine so I haven't pounded it into any logs, but on past experience of their other products I suspect it would come out, if not unscathed, at least still useable. It's certainly a better food preparation knife than the F1, easier to use, and easier to sharpen, like all Mora knives it takes a wicked edge and holds it well to. As well as the F1? No - but very few steels hold an edge like VG10, all of them a lot more costly than the bargain Mora Forest knife.

But which is best?
To be frank with you I wouldn't be without either of them, the Forest knife is the one I reach for for most tasks, it's an excellent craft knife and butchery tool. But on a canoe trip, or hunting in the Tuscan hills I'd want to know the F1 was there.

My other reviews of the F1 are here and here

A knife buying guide I wrote is here

Hope this helps
Your pal
SBW