Fallkniven Swedish Survival Knives

I’ve always had a strange infatuation with knives, and having lost my old fixed blade in the black hole that was my bitch ex-girlfriend’s house, decided to begin searching for a replacement. What I was looking for was a simple, sturdy survival knife that I could use while out camping for anything from chopping veggies to hacking wood. I’m not doing any Baer Grylls type activities, but it’s comforting to know your blade will stand up to challenges should the need arise.

Enter Fallkniven–a Swedish company that since 1995, has been providing blades for the Swedish military. In 2000, certain branches of the U.S. military also deemed Fallkniven knives suitable for use.

The Mod F1 Survival Knife makes for a good choice because of its reasonable size and versatility. The F1 is the knife that’s been the official survival knife of the Swedish Air Force. It’s visually balanced, practical design that’s not overly aggressive looking. Their steel used for all their knives is VG-10 which comes out of Japan, and is exceptionally hard while able to keep a very sharp edge. With a full-tang blade, this knife should last several lifetimes of use even under heavy-use conditions.

On the butt end, there’s a bit of steel that sticks out to protect the handle as well as serve as a hammering edge. The length of the full knife is 8.3 inches, which is large enough to be useful for things like batoning small branches, but small enough to keep women and children from screaming and running away. It’s got a vibe that’s tougher than casual woodsman, but less crazy than militia member.

Most of their knives sport a similar minimalist design with variations in overall size.

You can get the blade with a non-reflective coating, various colors of micarta handle, and your choice of zytel or leather sheath. If you’re not happy with the sheath options, this guy has some bad ass aftermarket sheathes.