Helle Harding

LostViking

LostViking

Joined
Jan 1, 2009
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The Helle Harding,


This is my first knife from Norway. And I must say, I like it.

To be fair I have only had it a week. It was an early birthday present from my wife. So that makes it all the more special.

This is pretty much how it looked right out of the box. Or should I say Tube. Helle ships their knives in a cylindrical tube, with a little instruction pamphlet and a cleaning rag, nice. I like the tube, just because it's different.


It is a very pretty knife. So much so, that I decided to put it right to work. For fear, that If I didn't do it right away, I might not.

The first thing I did was hit the handle and sheath with a coat of Obenauf's bee's wax. It really brought out the designs in the curly birch.


The leather sheath is simple, but well thought out. It has a nice snug fit, so even without the retainer strap on top. The knife stays where it belongs. That's nice if you're messing about in camp. It has a plastic insert on the bottom half. To prevent the sharp point from accidentally finding its way through. And it doesn't rattle. I hate sheaths that rattle.



After treating the knife and the sheath. I stuck it in a piece of wood, the blade is made from a triple laminated stainless sandwich. And sharpened in a Scandi grind. I have mixed feelings about scandi grinds in general. But the proof is in the pudding here.


For my fist attempt at a feather stick, I was pleased. It does a very nice job on wood, and looks good doing it.


So far, I am more than pleased with the new knife. I have made breakfast with it. Sliced peppers and onions, salami and cheddar. It has handled it all very nicely. The stainless make clean up a simple affair. Rinse, wipe, and move on.

My favorite thing about this knife is how it feels on my hip. Or more accurately how it doesn't feel there. This knife is light.

I have only owned it about a week. But it has already logged over thrity miles of woods time on my belt. Carried in the four o clock position. I don't even notice its there. In fact, the first two days, I was constantly checking to make sure it was still there.

So far so good. Only time will tell. But she sure is pretty,
 
When my interest in knives began in earnest, around the time I joined BF, the Helle blades really caught my attention ... and still do. That's a beauty! Enjoy .... well no need to tell you :rolleyes:
 
I have a couple of Helles

Do NOT baton with them
I had one and battened very thin kindling and the tang snapped
Enough reports here to be very aware not to batton
 
A real beauty! Great gift.
Some nice pics you've made of it.
This will bring load of woods fun in your future for sure :)
Enjoy it.


neeman said:
I have a couple of Helles

Do NOT baton with them
I had one and battened very thin kindling and the tang snapped
Enough reports here to be very aware not to batton
Click to expand...

Good warning, I'm not confident in batonning any non full tang knives.
I think the Vox designed Helle Utvær with a full tang should withstand batonning, but no hands on experience though.
 
Thanks everyone for the kind words!

I will keep you all posted of any exciting highs or lows that may occur.

While I see the Harding as potentially great woods bumming knife. I doubt it will get batoned. It is a fairly refined knife and I see no real reason to beat the sneakers off of it. Sort of like my Buck 105. Ironically, the only place I usually baton much is close to home. Where the abundance of smaller wood has long since been used up.

Out in my Northern Adirondack forest land there is an abundance of smaller fire fuel. Easily gathered, with much hanging conveniently in other branches high and dry. Currently in my middle fifties, I managed to thrive and enjoy the woods for the first forty years without ever batoning a knife. Go figure.

I find it fun, easy and almost relaxing at times. But it is far from necessary. Besides, I have another Nordic tool that helps with the heavy lifting.




I agree the Utvaer may fit that purpose better or possibly the recently released Didi Galgalu. That one looks interesting too.

If this knife continues to grow on me, and I have no doubt it will. I may try another. Both the knives mentioned above have some appeal. But I also like the looks of two smaller ones. The Algonquin, and the Fire.

Certain things always intrigue me. A neck knife is one of those things. But the last thing I want is a two pound crowbar hanging around my neck. The Algonguin aided in design by Laura Bombier famed Canadian photographer, and named after Canada's wildland park, looks just the ticket. Small, light and non tactical. I am still not sure I can make friends with a knife hanging of my neck. But I like the idea. Maybe because it somewhat resembles the Harding in looks.

And next the Fire, this knife I see as my potential new folding knife. Try as I might, I am just not a folder guy. I want to be, I really do. I own a Schrade Uncle Henry, a Buck 110, and several Spydercos. All in an attempt at becoming a folder fan. I just don't think it's in the cards. They all sit in draws virtually unused.

When I first saw the Fire, I chuckled a bit. It just looked funny. But the more I look at it, the more I see it as a viable folder alternative. Small and light, yet strudy and solid. Small and cute enough that it won't scare the townfolk. When I stumble out of the woods after an early morning jaunt, and forget to remove it before seeking out a much needed cup of coffee and my weekly social adjustment in town.

Lately, I have had the urge to cover more ground. I have been pushing past thrity miles a week. With aging knees and ankles, most of which have had significant damage done to them over the years. One of the appeals of the Nordic knives for me is their light weight.

At this very moment, my mind and my body are locked in mortal combat. My mind saying we need to go further. Followed soon after by my body saying, screw you pal! Anything I can do to mitigate that conflict seems wise. I imagine my mind will win. It usually does. But I must say, my body is putting up a heck of a fight this time. Fall is in the air and I love this time of year. And I am determined to make the most of it.

Like many folks here, my gear choices continue to evolve. I can freely admit to getting caught up in some of the marketing hype. But I try hard not to get sucked in too deep. I look for items that serve more than one purpose. Things that have stood the test of time. And for the most part things that don't need electricity to run.

I have never been, and most likely will never be a true ultralight person. But I have seriously been looking at dropping some pack weight. But I freely admit, after a seven or eight mile hike to a lake for a two or three day stay. A glass of wine or a beer hits the spot. I really don't want to drill holes in my toothbrush or sip wine from a mylar cup.

In some ways, I make Luddites look like forward thinkers. But much of my process has been well proven. To me at least. And in truth, I love natural materials. The wood and leather handle of Harding impresses me in its beauty. Not perfect like its G10 counterpart, but warm and inviting, flaws and all. Its light weight is just icing on the cake.

Sometimes I just have to write things down to process them. All through this, I have kept coming back to Granite Gear's Blaze AC 60 as my potential new pack. Following the light weight thought process. Replacing an aging Alice, that has stood the test of time.

Well enough of the rambling. Time to go do something.
 
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the Harding is a very nice knife. Helle makes some good blades indeed. A lot of folks just love their laminated stainless steel.
 
Good looking knife, congrats.
Your post and knife made me go get my decades old 'Brusletto' from Geilo in Norway and remember all the good times I had using that knife in the woods for days on end before beefier more modern knives took over most of the knife work.

It likewise has the inner plastic sheath. I agree, it works well.

The old Brusletto Hunter has had its share of nicks in the edge from use, has been sharpened, oiled and cared for and is every bit as good as the day it came from the factory with its blade slightly longer than the handle and a bowie-like clip.

With its low weight, stick tang, a blade thickness of a mere 2.4mm wide, its a small wonder, that being so narrow it hasnt long since snapped in half considering the use it been used for and considering todays overbuilt massive thick knives (Warning! Irony may occour :-) ).
.....but maybe thats because the knife was used at a time way before todays batoning craze and because it was used at a time, when folks brought axes with them as a matter of course, when they figuered, theyd need them in the forrest.

PS I dont mind people batoning with THEIR knives:-)
 
Nice review and pics!

Handled a Harding at BLADE this year and really liked it. Previously I'd used my Helle Symfoni as my go-to woods knife and really liked it. Took a custom puukko to knock it out of rotation. The Helle Harding really fit my hand well, and it's a very nice looking knife too.
 
I've always liked the looks of the Helle knives, but I always questioned how slippery the handles would be if exposed to rain or blood. Any experience?
 
razcob said:
I've always liked the looks of the Helle knives, but I always questioned how slippery the handles would be if exposed to rain or blood. Any experience?
Click to expand...


No problems on this end. Keep in mind the area that they come from is in Norway, pretty well known for its snow
 
Sorry I missed that question. I have not had this one out in too much wet weather yet. But I do have experience with other similar wood handles. And I have not had any problems.

As far a blood goes, I find it usually gets pretty tacky after the initial wetting. Fat is another story and can,get slippery on almost anything. Because it fills in the rough surfaces.

As for the Helle, there is a bit of a natural guard built into the knife. So at least it's not a straight shot onto the blade.
 
I have had a harding for 5 or 6 years and it is just about perfect for hiking etc.

Really like this knife and the sheath is great, love the retaining nob/strap
 
Very nice! I love my Harding, its a very nice knife that cuts extremely well, plus it looks good doing it. I had the same reaction when carrying mine around, it just disappears on the belt. I use mine all the time when whittling and reach for it more often that a Mora. I am also very impressed with the steel used in this knife. First the edge holds up really well and all I have had to do to maintain mine is a couple swipes on a strop, or maybe a light swipe or two on a fine stone if it looses its bite. Being an full polished knife it attracks scratches, but the outside stainless buffs super easy. Overall its a good looking blade that cuts well. Oddly enough my wife picked up mine for me too! She said she made the employees at the store pull out all of the Helles (even out of back stock) and then she picked the purtiest one.

Thanks for the share!
 
Harding is probably the prettiest of Helle lineup for me and I've wanted to pull the trigger many times on it.. Maybe I finally do so when I want new bush blade. :)
 
Nice shots hows she holding up edge wise by now?
G2
 
Gary,

So far so good.

She has made feather sticks for many fires and quite a bit of food prep. I have stropped it twice. But more from my compulsion to keep things sharp, than necessity. Still peels hair off my arm with ease. I find paper plates tough on any blade and the Harding has seen its fair share without complaint.

I love walking it around a red pepper. Just touch and go. Breakfast is just a joy with this knife. It isn't a super skinny kitchen balde. But it does a more than respectable job in the kitchen.
 
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