Customising Fallkniven's TK6 Part 1

The deed is done!

I've had my TK6 for quite a while now and I've loved every minute of it. The blade is chunky without geting in the way, the steel holds an edge like a Lightsabre, it's worked its way though a lowland Roe deer like Luke Skywalker through a Tauntaun,  but you know how it is, I've always wanted to pimp one.

More news on this one as materials arrive and time permits

SBW

Big Shout Going Out to the chaps at EdenWebshops who made this project possible. Nice guys, low prices, deliveries by Millenium Falcon.

Review: Fallkniven F1 v's Fallkniven TK6

I've had an F1 for a long time, as you can see I've used it, abused it and anticipate continuing to use it in the style to which its become accustomed for many years. The TK6 hit the door mat a few months back [read the unboxing review HERE] and I thought you might like to hear a bit about the differences.

I bought my F1 both in the states; and a while back, so it was a serious bargain - the knife I chose it against was a Gerber LMF which has also gone up in price over the last few years and now looks like very poor value for money. Whereas the F1 is still at least two or three lifetimes worth of knife.

The TK6 on the other hand is pretty much the same price as it was when it first came out. Not cheap, but with a few notable exceptions, quality seldom is. By staying the same price while other knives have gotten more expensive, in real terms the TK6 has actually gotten cheaper [you can tell yourself].

The F1 is a survival knife: so its for making firewood and shelters

The TK6 is a hunting knife: so its for dismembering beasts and cutting up snack foods.

Both knives are designed in Sweden by Fallkniven and made in Seki City Japan. When the F1 came out VG10 was a rare 'super steel' it's still super [and it's still steel - ber boom] but now you can buy a VG10 knife for $40, and there are other makers also offering laminated VG10 blades, so the rarity has died off a bit. VG10 is a fantastic steel for edge retention - I once gutted, skinned, and butchered a Fallow doe with a Spyderco Urban without needing to refresh the edge, that's a steel that holds an edge. At 59 HRC its a hard blade, the edge is more resistant to folding over, but obviously hardness is often accompanied by brittleness - I've chipped the tip of my F1 more than once, the first time splitting a stick and the second time dropped point first onto a granite worktop - although here the F1 beats any non laminated blade as the lamination takes care of any concerns about cracking or bending; I've prised floor boards up with mine and hit it with a brick hammer, it's still rocking on. You can see Fallkniven's testing HERE. And my reviews of the F1 HERE and of Fallkniven's sharpening service HERE. After a few years of using the F1 I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one.

The TK6 is a different beast; a shorter blade in the drop point style, made with a blade of '3G' (which is  Fallkniven's proprietary name for a lamination of  VG2-SGPS-VG2 steels) that is first hard to blunt and then hard to sharpen. At 62 HRC, SGPS is a very hard steel. So much so, that for me at least, Diamond Stones are a must. I've long wanted the TK6 as the next step in the search for my 'little-big-knife' a sort of field-scalpel on steroids. I love it, the blade shape works, there is just-enough handle, and the edge holding is other worldly.

Fat blades are not 'slicers' and never will be, so I wouldn't class either as being a very good kitchen knife, the TK6 being much better as the blade feels narrower. The F1's massive strength comes at the cost of always feeling a bit 'fat in the cut' whereas the TK6 feels a lot thinner. With the absence of any nearby Deer Stalking opportunities, when The Lighthouse Keeper and myself Fished the Usk, I prepared two Squirrels and skinned a road kill Pine Marten, here the TK6 really found its niche, its the most convient skinning knife/field scalpel I've found yet: Superb!

Enough blade length to prise away hide, but still short enough for a tip-protected cut when first opening the animal up. So no need for one of those silly "look at me I'm a hunter" gut-hooks.

I know I'm a Fallkniven fanboy so in the interests of fairness I have to have a bit of a moan about the fit of the TK6's handle, neither design has the casting quite right but somehow I'm more inclined to give the rough and ready F1 a pass and say that as part of the premium Tripple Krona range the fit on the TK6 is a bit of a let down. This isn't such a big deal for me as it's always been my intention to customise a TK6, it has the steel and blade shape I want, and some of the other features I'm going for aren't available off the shelf. If you were set on keeping the factory handle a bit of work with a scalpel and some sandpaper would sort it out, but you should bear that in mind before you order one. That being said, I seriously love mine, it's a lot of that perfect knife I've been looking for.

"There is no 'perfect' knife but you'll have fun looking for it" SBW

"There's no bore like a knife bore" Raymond Mears

The custom project, some huntin' with raptors, and air rifles, some stalking, and of course more kit reviews on the way.
Your pal
SBW

Unboxing Review: Fallkniven TK6

[Drum Roll] For the first time in the history of the SBW blog, ladies and gentleman, bushcrafters, hunters, foodies, boys and girls: something from the 'I Want One' series has actually dropped on to the doormat! I know! I can't quite believe it myself! My friends at Eden Webshops have been kind enough to let me have a Tripple Krona 6 to play with.

The Totally Objective, Scrupulously Fair and Unbiased bit 
The TK6 is one of the lesser-spotted Fallkniven's. I know a few people who want one, but no one who's seen or handled one, and I'm guessing that's because of where they fit into the Fallkniven range. Most of us started by buying an F1 and then looked at the range and either went for something bigger as a camp knife (S1) or the WM1 as a neck knife. The now 'hens teeth' 'posh F1' with the Micarta handle is highly regarded, the TK2 is a bit more 'Bushcrafty' so the TK 5 and 6 haven't found as much traction with the knife buying public in the UK.

I've always wanted a little-big-knife; something smallish but very strong, I tried the Bark River Mikro Canadian II - loved the blade shape but loathed the fit and finish, and found the blade just a bit too small. There are lots of nice folders out there, not many of the nice ones currently within budget, and the hassle of taking them apart to clean them after beast-processing duty kind of puts me off.
Truthfully, despite what I might say from time to time, I'm not done accumulating fixed blades!


In the hand - first impressions
Petite. Petite yet muscular. The TK6 feels quite heavy for it's size, and is sharp enough to pop hairs off my arm going with the lie of the hair! Very Sharp!! There's a noticeable palm swell that I'd not picked up looking at the pictures. The bolster-to-blade fit is seamless. The fit between the Thermorun and steel could be better although it wouldn't be a big job to sand it out.

Specification
Total length: 6.9" (175 mm)
Blade length: 3.15" (80 mm)
Blade thickness: 0.18" (4,5 mm)
Weight: 120 g (4.2) oz
Steel: 3G which is  Fallkniven's proprietary name for a lamination of  VG2-SGPS-VG2.
Hardness (edge): 62 HRC - yep sixty effin' two!!
Handle material: Thermorun AKA Grippy Black Plastic
Sheath(s): Fold-over black leather or Zytel (a cast plastic)

Design
The TK or Tripple Krona [three crowns] series are a celebration of Swedish knife design and are somewhere between Fallkniven's more utilitarian knives [F1-S1 ect.] and the ultra high-end Northern Lights series. The Fallkniven design philosophy is immediately present; super trick steel, and a thick laminated blade, with a convex grind.

Steel
The 3G knives have a reputation of being slow to blunt and then equally slow to sharpen. Being a lamination of three pieces of steel they are incredibly strong allowing the use of very hard steel in the ore without the risk of cracking. The centre section of the lamination obviously forms the cutting edge and is Super Gold Powder Steel, a super trick steel from Japan that can be hardened to 62 HRC. Which is A LOT harder than most knife blades so its not going to lend itself to easy field maintenance. But on the upside it should still be sharp by the time you get home.

Handle
The TK5 comes with Cocobolo scales, personally I'm not a believer in Cocobolo as a material for knife scales, some people are allergic to it, and in comparison to other timber it's just not that good looking. I want my knives for field use, not as drawer queens that are just for looking at and occasionally fondling.  I've always wanted to pimp one so a TK6 with its Thermorun handle seemed like a better bet.

Sheath
You can have a choice of Fold-Over leather or Zytel sheaths. I know the fold-over sheaths have both their fans and detractors, I'm not that fussed either way myself. The Zytel sheaths are truly spectacular in their fuglyness proving that even utilitarianism can be taken too far. There is a whole cottage industry devoted to making sheaths for Fallkniven knives, with some of the guys, like Martin Swinkels, making really nice work. My plan for the TK6 has always been to pimp it out and give it a matching sheath.

Value for money
Sure Fallkniven are asking quite a lot of money for what is basically a mass produced knife, the F1 isn't the crazy bargain its once was, but is still a lifetimes worth of knife for around a days pay.
The TK6? Yes you could buy a very nice knife from one of the less well known makers for the same money, but you wouldn't get the laminated super steel. The TK5's price puts you within reach of a true custom knife bespoken to your requirements. But as the knife I most wanted to commission would be a TK5 clone anyway and G3 is only available from Fallkniven I'm using the TK6 as my starting point.


As regular readers will know I don't really care about the initial purchase price: I've been cash rich and [as now] I've been cash poor.  When I've had the money I've been pleased to be able to afford good kit, when I've been broke I've been pleased that I have good kit.
Some of the good kit that I bought a while back is now two and even three times what I paid for it. My pal The Northern Monkey said no to an F1 at forty quid back in the day, and now they're a hundred and twenty, expensive is relative, quality isn't.


I'm planning on the TK6 being 'another lifetimes worth of knife'. So having used up the other 'value is what you get' mantras in previous posts I guess I'll just have to repeat the words of a man wiser than I

'I spent most of my money wining and dining northern tarts, [and buying boutique outdoor gear]. The rest of it I just frittered away.'

Edenwebshops sell all the cool brands of knives, and somehow are quite a lot cheaper than most suppliers, very nice guys to deal with, warmly recommended.

Better go and put that first heart-wrenching scratch on it.

More soon
SBW