Fallkniven F1 Blank Question

[Chinese]

First off, just wanted to start by saying I tried looking this up and came up without any answers.

So I've been a lurker for a few months while trying to pick out a smaller knife to compliment my BK2 and BK9. I'm pretty much set on the Fallkniven F1 since it seems to be praised by a lot of members on this forum and will suit my needs.

Specifically, I plan on shaping my own micarta scales as there are an abundant amount of resources available on doing so. However, I noticed in many photos of the Fallkniven blanks that they come with some sort of rust or patina?

Example 1
Example 2

1. Do I just sand it off? What grit sand paper would be suggested for this blank?
2. Is it necessary to take it off? Can I just epoxy the scales to the blank as is?

Thanks!

 

[Poez]

I would not bother with removing that oxidised film. It is by-product of heat treatment and should have no effect on the finished knife. On another hand you can use a low-grit sandpaper (I would probably use 100 - 150) to prepare that surface for glueing. "Scratched" surface is better for a glue adhesion: though it does not have to do much with the oxide film as such - it mostly inclreases the surface the glue could stick to.

 

[Mikael W]

First off, just wanted to start by saying I tried looking this up and came up without any answers.

So I've been a lurker for a few months while trying to pick out a smaller knife to compliment my BK2 and BK9. I'm pretty much set on the Fallkniven F1 since it seems to be praised by a lot of members on this forum and will suit my needs.

Specifically, I plan on shaping my own micarta scales as there are an abundant amount of resources available on doing so. However, I noticed in many photos of the Fallkniven blanks that they come with some sort of rust or patina?

Example 1
Example 2

1. Do I just sand it off? What grit sand paper would be suggested for this blank?
2. Is it necessary to take it off? Can I just epoxy the scales to the blank as is?

Thanks!

The F1 blank is fun to work with and I have finished two of them.
If I would do it today, I would taper the tang on a beltsander, in order to lighten the handle or use the standard hidden tang model.
If used as is it's enough to clean the tang with Acetone.
The patina isn't rust and I have just left it in place.
The spine and belly of the tang are unfinished and a beltsander sure helps in finishing the handle!

I use corby bolts instead of pins and this means that the scales will stay in place, if the epoxy would separate from the tang.

Regards
Mikael

 

[Brisket]

Those are stunning, Mikael. What is the handle material on the first one?

 

[Mikael W]

Brisket, it's stabilized crosscut purple curly Birch.
When it pops in the sunlight, it goes 3-D.

Regards
Mikael

 

[Brisket]

Brisket, it's stabilized crosscut purple curly Birch.
When it pops in the sunlight, it goes 3-D.

Regards
Mikael

I was certain it must be from some Scandinavian tree I had never heard of. Your Fallkniven collection never fails to amaze me.

Chinese - please update us on your project and post photos.

 

[Mikael W]

Thanks Brisket!

The Fällkniven SK series has natural curly Birch as standard and it's the most popular handlematerial for Swedish knives.

Regards
Mikael

 

[Chinese]

Thanks for the quick response!

Mikael those are some beautiful knives and I noticed the visible tang does not have this oxidized film and is polished. Did you just apply acetone to remove it?

I will definitely post pictures once I get this project up and started since it will be a first time attempt at shaping my own scales.

 

[Mikael W]

Thanks for the quick response!

Mikael those are some beautiful knives and I noticed the visible tang does not have this oxidized film and is polished. Did you just apply acetone to remove it?

I will definitely post pictures once I get this project up and started since it will be a first time attempt at shaping my own scales.

Thanks Chinese!
The visible part of the tang is finished on a beltsander and then sanded with wet&dry paper up to 1200P European grit size and polished.
When You get the blank, the finish on the tang is raw.
For the radious at the guard, I use a 1/2" diameter powerfile from Black&Decker.
I think the powerfile also will work on the visible tang.

Regards
Mikael

 

[DougB2]

I did this F1 a few years ago. I think I left the patina on, but with epoxy and brass corby bolts, the scales aren't going anywhere.

 

[Brisket]

Mikael - is the blade hand polished to 1200p on the crosscut curly birch F1 too? It looks like you polished the snor (i had to look it up) out of that hundvalp (yeah, looked this one up too).

 

[Mikael W]

Mikael - is the blade hand polished to 1200p on the crosscut curly birch F1 too? It looks like you polished the snor (i had to look it up) out of that hundvalp (yeah, looked this one up too).

Brisket, I see what You mean, but it's a direct translation of English and we don't use that one in Swedish.
Instead we would use more invective words like "I polished the shit out of that blade!".

To get a polished blade, I start with getting the surface as flat as possible.
For this I use a flat diamond like a Fällkniven DC stone.

When the blade is made even, without hollows or bumps I turn the stone and use the ceramic side.
Then I use polishing compound like Autosol Chrome Polish on cloth and then continue with the ceramic stone.
I repeat this until all of a sudden the surface turns glossy and mirrorlike.

Worth mentioning is that Fällkniven changed the specs on their ceramic stones and I guess the break-in of the stone takes some time.
If the stone feels too coarse, the 1200P wet/dry paper or finer will work.

I also have a buffing wheel in my drillpress, but a word of warning:

The blade easily gets caught by the buffing wheel and You will get badly cut!
It happened to me one early morning when I was out of focus and the knife was sent spinning with a hard bang into the wall.
The wall still have a mark from the knife but my 3 fingers have healed well.
The knife itself,a TK3 was undamaged!

Regards
Mikael

 

[Mikael W]

I did this F1 a few years ago. I think I left the patina on, but with epoxy and brass corby bolts, the scales aren't going anywhere.

That's a well made F1!
I think the design around the guard is very well done!
Using Corby bolts will ensure a lasting bond between the blade and scales.
A knife to be proud of!


Regards
Mikael

 

[Brisket]

Thanks for sharing your process, Mikael. Buffing wheels can be scary and I feel fortunate to not have been injured by one.


DougB2 - Nice job. I like the bevel you put on the handle on the ricasso end. It makes a nice transition.

 

[DougB2]

Mikael and Brisket,
Thanks for the nice comments on my F1! I enjoyed working on it and I'm pleased with the result.

 

[charlie2times]

Those are probably the most beautiful F1's I've ever seen!!!! Truly impressive! How many hours of labor do you think each knife needed?

 

[Mikael W]

Those are probably the most beautiful F1's I've ever seen!!!! Truly impressive! How many hours of labor do you think each knife needed?

Charlie, the two I made took around 40 to 50 hours each.
They were hobbyprojects for the fun of it.


Regards
Mikael