Hunting: F1 or H1?

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waxe

Joined
Sep 22, 2022
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Hi everyone! I am new to the forum. I already own a Roselli Hunter UHC and would like to pair it with a Fallkniven. I have to use it for hunting mainly. I am undecided between Fallkniven H1 3g and Fallkniven F1 3g. I ask for advice in this regard.
 
Either one is a winner: which one do you LIKE the best?
Welcome aboard!
 
I carry a F1 and a TK6 for hunting. They are both great. I like the TK6 for small to medium game the best. For bigger animals I would prefer the F1 over the H1 I think, but I don't own a H1.
 
The biggest consideration is whether or not you feel the need for a finger guard.
 
For Boar: you want some really thick stock for your blade.
Boars don't need finesse: they need something that's tougher than they are!
 
I have used my convex ground 3G F1 to clean 5-10lb trout as well as dress deer. I have never used an H1 but I presume that knife appeals to those who might prefer a modernized version of a scandinavian hunting knife, as indicated by the profile, grind and guardless handle.
I think it's a matter of personal preference, The F1 is a very thick solid "survival knife"and will have no trouble dressing out boar. I'd bet the H1 will do the job as well or better.
But if you are looking for a "pig sticker" that's a different application you'd need a different grind/[rprofile and longer blade length.
 
Italian boars are smaller then yours or boars of Central Europe. Not usually over 80 kg, often less.
 
I compared the H1 and Roselli's erapuukko about 15 years ago, though with different steels. Here's an excerpt: I’ve been intrigued by puukkos for some time. Lightweight and simple in appearance, they are a sophisticated design that evolved out of centuries of practical use. I have a Roselli erapuukko, and recently acquired a Fallkniven H1 (on loan), which is very similar, and I thought it would be interesting to compare them. They share a Scandinavian heritage but represent two very different approaches. The Roselli is a traditional classic in forged high carbon steel and Arctic birch; the H1 is a modern classic in laminated VG-10 and Kraton. The blades have similar contours, with a continuously curved edge, excellent for slicing and skinning, and a pointed tip with a very subtle drop-point – not much more than a flat spot -- for making the initial slit on a game animal. This sharp tip requires more care when opening the gut sack than a true drop-point such as the Master Hunter, but it is handier for fine work than a drop-point. Heimo Roselli specializes in traditional forged working knives without any frills. Ragnar of Ragweed Forge comments, These knives are all function and no polish, but have a beauty of their own. The blades are forged to shape in dies, then finished by hand. The upper sides of the blades still have the forge scale, and the bevels are ground cleanly to the edge with little or no secondary bevel. They are very sharp and ready to work. The steel is Krupp W75 with a carbon content of .7-.8%, and they are hardened to HRC 59 - 62. They are unique among the knives I carry in that they are forged rather than ground to shape. However they are made, Roselli knives have a very classic minimalist style. Roselli also offers his re-created version of wootz, UHC (Ultra High Carbon), but mine is ordinary old W75 – like my Roselli Carpenter’s knife, it is very easy to sharpen, and takes a wicked edge. The Roselli’s blade is about 1/8” thick, just over 4” long and 1 ¼” wide at the base. The cutting edge extends right up to the grip, no ricasso. A shallow fuller is forged along the spine. The tang, which is peened over a brass washer at the butt, was probably welded onto the forged steel. I would prefer a one-piece blade and tang but that would add a fair bit to the manufacturing cost, no doubt, and I’ve never heard of any problems with this design. The blade is also epoxied into the handle, which is faced with an stainless steel cup, so you don’t have to worry about water seeping in and rusting the tang. The bevels are not perfectly symmetrical, being hand ground on a fairly coarse slack belt, but that doesn’t affect the cutting efficiency in the least. It’s picked up a nice patina, like any well-used high carbon blade, and it cuts like a screaming witch. The H1 is smaller than I had expected, but it is still a hand-filling chunk of a knife. It has a full tang which extends from the butt as on the Fallkniven F1, so you can pound on it. The blade is 4 mm or .2” thick at the spine, almost twice as thick as the Roselli, and about 4” long. It has tough, 420-J2 slabs wrapped around a VG-10 core. These laminated blades are supposedly even stronger than a non-laminated VG-10 blade. My buddy and I once skinned a black bear, me with my F1 with the older, one-piece VG-10 blade and him with a Cold Steel/Red River Elk Skinner in Carbon V. Gritty black bear hide, or moose for that matter, can take an edge off like sandpaper. To my surprise, the VG-10 held up just as well as the Carbon V, though it took a bit longer on a DMT hone to re-sharpen. Falkniven notes that the H1 is a specialized blade designed for ‘experts’, whom I take to mean, ‘people who do not need finger guards to keep from gashing themselves’. I’d call it a good all-round knife, a variation of the tried and true puukko, rather than a specialized blade. The Kraton grip has no guard other than a small lip, but it is well shaped and textured. On a draw cut or slice, which is what this blade is mainly designed for, I don’t see the lack of a guard as a problem, even if you’re running the blade forward edge-up to slit the hide of a game animal. If I have any criticism of the H1 grip, it is that it is a bit short if you’re wearing heavy gloves. The Roselli’s grip had to have been designed by someone accustomed to using knives outdoors in the cold, while wearing heavy gloves. It has a huge hand-filling grip of Arctic birch nearly 5” long. There is a swell just before the blade that serves as a finger guard, of sorts. The grip is large enough to use when wearing heavy gloves, and the oval cross section helps keep the edge oriented, which is helpful when you’re cutting inside large critters in the cold and dark. The H1 is not a paring knife; the thick blade tends to pop apart hard veggies like carrots, but will slice softer fruit like tomatoes, no problem. It worked great on dismembering chickens, and the blade is long enough for that most useful survival exercise, scraping peanut butter from the bottom of the jar. It also was handy in the garden, cutting tough, dirty vines, digging into old wood and disturbing fire ants (run!). In short, a handy, all-round knife, not too big to tuck into the back pocket of your jeans, and big enough for about any task for a hand cutting tool.
 
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