Fallkniven A1 Kraton, is it meant to be sticky/tacky?

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Brendan698

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Apr 20, 2019
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I recently (finally) got my hands on an A1. It was unused 2nd hand. I am not impressed with the grip at all. Seems to be the real deal to me 99% sure but the handle is somewhat sticky/tacky.

I then discovered that the A1 is Kraton rather than Thermorun. One of the things I like about fallkniven is the quality feel, this sticky kraton doesn't feel right to me.

Could the material be degrading? What would you do?
 
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It shouldn't be sticky in the way of leaving any residue... but as long as it does not transfer to your hand/gloves when you use it... it should be fine. It is highly resistant and unless it has been in contact with a solvent that might attack it... it should be ok. I am not an expert, so I have no idea if hidrocarbons can damage it.

I own the smaller F1 and S1... but the share the same handle material. They are grabby, soft, cushy (compared to slick micarta, for example)... but not "sticky"...

I hope this helps.
 
I have a few Fallknivens and when compared to my Cold Steel master tanto the handles are way softer squishier feeling on the Cold Steel knife handle. The Fallkniven handle should hold up quite well unless it's a fake.
 
If you mean by sticky some of it is peeling off, I am going to bet you have a fake. It should be grippy but not sticky. I have owned several and they have been really good knives for me.
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
If it's unusually tacky/gooey, it's probably starting to deteriorate due to exposure to UV, solvents, etc. Was the blade coated with any sort of oil when you got it?
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Kraton is supposed to be highly resistant to UV and chemicals. My CS Kraton handles have held up very well.
 
Alberta Ed said:
Kraton is supposed to be highly resistant to UV and chemicals. My CS Kraton handles have held up very well.
Click to expand...
I don't doubt it, but there are also plenty of threads on BF about Kraton going sticky...
Some examples:

old Cold Steel tanto rubber handled "melting"

Title pretty much explains it. Emailed Cold Steel about putting a new handle on it and never heard back from them. I would guess the knife is 30+ years old but I wouldn't expect the rubber handle to pretty much rot away. It is sticky and soft enough that a light push with your finger nail...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

Krayton/Kray-Ex material and sticky breakdown

I received my first Cold Steel today and this is also my first experience with the Kray-Ex material, which I presume is the same as krayton? In any case, it got me wondering if it will ever suffer from the breakdown certain soft plastics see with age where they get a sticky coating on them. Has...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

kraton disintegration/decay

Hi. I've been collecting knives on and off for over 20 years. Recently the kraton on a few of my knives have begun to deteriorate. In the past (about 5 years ago) the kraton on my old cold steel ready edge gradually turned into tacky goo that you could actually scrape off with your fingernail...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
An enemy of Kraton (and a cousin, Santoprene) is oil and other solvent based materials and liquids. Many years ago I had a fixed utility camp knife with a carbon blade that I cleaned frequently and wasn't careful about getting a little oil on the handle when I wiped the blade with it after cleaning and sharpening. It dissolved the polymer (kraton or cousin) material closest to the blade where I got oil on it. Found out at a gun show from a favorite knife dealer that oil and most polymers don't play well together with any kind of oil or lubricants.

Not a problem for me as later on I found the hard way that the handle was EXTREMELY heat sensitive after setting the knife near the campfire... that was that.

That being said, my favorite chef's knives have polymer handles. When new, they were kind of sticky, kind of oily, and I thought I had made a mistake in buying them. But 20 years later having been used and washed multiple times a dinner session 6 nights a week they are still like new. No longer sticky or oily, but 100% intact. Unless you can rub it off with your finger or as mentioned above or scrape it off with your finger nail you are probably OK.

Robert
 
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Fallkniven handles are made of Thermorun totally different material than the Cold steel stuff. The Thermorun is way better stuff Imo.
 
d762nato said:
Fallkniven handles are made of Thermorun totally different material than the Cold steel stuff. The Thermorun is way better stuff Imo.
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Their website shows both. Looks like base-model (e.g., A1) use Kraton and Pro or X models use Thermorun.
fallkniven.se

Survival knives - Archive - Fällkniven

Survival knives - Survival knives for everyone. It is often said that a survival knife can be the difference between life and death when you are in the most vulnerable situations, but you should not forget that a survival knife is also an excellent tool for daily use, whether it concerns outdoor...
fallkniven.se fallkniven.se
 
I've got the Modern Bowie with Thermorun handles on it and they are rough as a cob. They'll wear in but compared to the A1pro which feels like a well worn bar of soap...so comfy. The A1X are just slabs of Thermorun and they feel like a porcupine the roughest cut yet, they'll wear in. So yes they do make different handle materials. Thermorun works really well in the cold or wet conditions. Although I'll have to admit I would like to try some nice rag micarta scales on one of them. I think you'll be fine with the Thermorun handles Op, good luck.
 
My SRK handle is not sticky the way some have described it here. More like plain hard rubber.

What are the options for replacing the handle if it is deteriorating?
 
d762nato said:
Fallkniven handles are made of Thermorun totally different material than the Cold steel stuff. The Thermorun is way better stuff Imo.
Click to expand...
I've never had any Fallkniven to compare , but I do have several ~40 yo Cold Steel, Carbon V and San Mai , Kraton handles knives that are still fine .

But they never were exposed to harsh solvents or excessive heat .
 
Sharp Steel said:
My SRK handle is not sticky the way some have described it here. More like plain hard rubber.

What are the options for replacing the handle if it is deteriorating?
Click to expand...

You can probably get a replacement from the Falkniven site. The option that I had chose an A1X is G10 slabs. A full flat grind was also done.


i-JHPf6BK-X3.jpg
 
Sharp Steel said:
My SRK handle is not sticky the way some have described it here. More like plain hard rubber.

What are the options for replacing the handle if it is deteriorating?
Click to expand...
On an SRK, the only DIY rehandling option is really to cut the original off and build something new. It's a stick tang with no holes in it, so unless you're okay with just epoxy, you need to do some modifications for hardware.
There a lot of google results for "Cold Steel SRK Rehandle"; here's an example:

New life for a CS SRK

I thought that I had posted this before, but I can't find it... Part I When I went to Gunsite, back in '92, I saw a Cold Steel SRK (Search and Rescue Knife) in the Pro Shop. I just had to have one. It took a couple of years, but I finally got a factory second for a price I could afford...
bushcraftusa.com
 
Yes I believe there is thermorun on s1 and f1 as I have those and kraton on the A1 it says on the box.

As Jfk1110 said, if it is meant to feel that way maybe I just don't like it, not worn in. But I also have an SRK which is kraton, I dreamed of that knife with a better handle but the A1 feels worse to me!

I fully suspect UV, heat or solvents are at play. It did not have any oil. I actually used an oil last night to see if would remove any residue, then detergent. I think it did! But still does not feel good to me.

It was bought 2nd hand in new condition so as a collectors knife or back up may have sat on a shelf somewhere. May have been cleaned with solvent for sale.

Or maybe it is that I just don't like the feeling of this Kraton! I love the thermorun on s1 and f1, love the stuff and have used and abused the f1 for over 5 years and... it's great.

Im thinking sell it and get a Bark River Bravo 1.5 haha. Tough decision
 
Inspired by O OrangeBlueOrangeBlue , I dug around a bit by searching "re handling Kraton knife handles" and was really surprised. If OBOB hadn't posted, I wouldn't have looked as I thought once they were damaged that was that and you were left with a tool box POS. Thought for 30 years that polymer handles were non replaceable. Nope. Heck, some guys buy the knife they like with the intention of replacing the polymer handles!

Check some of these out:
 
midnight flyer said:
Inspired by O OrangeBlueOrangeBlue , I dug around a bit by searching "re handling Kraton knife handles" and was really surprised. If OBOB hadn't posted, I wouldn't have looked as I thought once they were damaged that was that and you were left with a tool box POS. Thought for 30 years that polymer handles were non replaceable. Nope. Heck, some guys buy the knife they like with the intention of replacing the polymer handles!

Check some of these out:
Click to expand...

I started my very amateurish attempts at doing handles with Condor blade blanks, but redoing overmold handles would be a cool next step.
 
Update, I feel the handle has worn in a bit after handling, stickiness on hands is all but gone. It's a nice piece of steel and I watched the videos above from Midnight Flyer which make for a great back up plan for the handle if it does go wrong.

Also this video below, just been uploaded 2 weeks ago. Check this out for an A1 custom handle!

 
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