Fallkniven TK2
G'day everyone.
Here's a review I did of the Fallkniven TK2 after 6 months of continous use. It was originally posted on the Fallkniven forum around the middle of last year.
I hope its OK to share it here.
First up the stats.
All of the measurements have come directly from the Fallkniven website http://www.fallkniven.com/tk/us-tk1... I have added some additional comment which appears in italics.
Total length: 215mm (8.4 inches)
Blade length: 100mm (4 inches)
Blade thickness: 4.5mm (0.18 inches) with a distal taper
Weight: 145g (5.1 oz)
Steel: 3G (a laminated steel with an edge of SGPS @ 62RC & external laminates of VG2 @ 59RC).
Handle material: Thermorun
Sheath: Full covering black leather (although it also a good fit in the F2 kydex sheath).
The balance point on my TK2 is right at the start of the single finger grove, placing it over the first finger. The handle is a checkered thermorun material with subtle contouring.
The knife came with a functional black leather full covering sheath. A fold over flap covers the handle and is secured with a press stud.
In Use
During the 6 months of continous use, I have used the TK2 in a range of environments including 2 week long saltwater fishing trips, 1 freshwater flyfishing trip, countless occasions in the kitchen and on day walks in the bush with the kids. It was the only fixed blade I carried for a wet 6 day bushcrafting trip into a remote location within the Aussie bush during winter last year.
Fishing
The TK2 performed well in all fishing related tasks. It prepared bait, cleaned and filleted numerous fish.
The defined point is an advantage in performing Iki jimi on fish destined for the table.
On a freshwater flyfishing trip, the TK2 was also used to humanely dispatch all European carp caught.
Even when covered with fish slime, the knife felt secure in hand at all times.
The corrosion resistance of 3G is good. With a wash at the end of the day, the 3G blade continues to show no signs of discolouration or rusting after many hours in and around saltwater.
IMO, synthetic sheaths are an advantage in wet environments. So it came as a pleasant surprise to find out the TK2 is a good fit in the Fallkniven F2 Kydex sheath.
In the Kitchen
This knife works very well in the kitchen. Its distal taper & convex edge makes it a real slicer. Even when cutting harder vegetables like carrots, the knife slices more than it wedges.
IMO, it also works well as a bonning knife and has bonned out & diced several legs of lamb for curries.
The knife has also see use in carving roasts although a blade longer than 100mm (4 inches) is generally a better choice for this task.
Bushcrafting
Even though I originally acquired the TK2 with bushcraft in mind, I must admit that when I closely looked at the knife for the first time I had reservations about the robustness of the tip. The distal taper and swedge thins the blade, creating a fine tip.
As most of the trees in the Aussie bush are hardwoods, a knife suitable for bushcraft work over here must be up to cutting seasoned hardwood. As I wasn’t in a position to immediately head bush to test the knife when it arrived, my preliminary testing of the knife was on a seasoned hardwood retaining wall at the side of the house. As you can see, the TK2 is a good slicer of seasoned hardwood, with the tip holding up well.
I have further tested the tip strength by using it to open a dozen oysters for a feed.....
....and by using it to drill/shave a hole in a 2.5cm (1 inch thick) piece of seasoned hardwood.
A 6 day winter bush trip was a particularly wet one with it raining for 5 out of the 6 days. This meant the TK2 saw a stack of use from the campfire to the camp kitchen.
The TK2 made very light work of removing bark from a weeks worth of firewood to speed up the drying process.
Being only 10cm (4 inch) long, battoning often required striking the tip of the TK2. As the video linked below shows, the TK2 was used to split knotty wood and after a weeks worth of battoning the TK2 shows zero signs of damage to either the tip or the edge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkpn1_SaKvc
The TK2 also provided us with ample shavings for use as kindling throughout the week.
The next two videos give a good indication of how well the TK2 slices seasoned hardwood and the kind of working edge 3G can hold with regular use. Bear in mind they were taken on the last day when it was dry enough to get the camera out from under cover and on a tripod for filming. The edge shown is after 5 days of solid use without touching up the edge at all.
As the video shows, even though the TK2 shaved through Knots, it still keeps going.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je8CgtP1-jU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaM9xNk0z-Q
About the only suggestion I can make to improve the TK2 as a bushcraft knife would be to give it a more oval handle. With regards to the checkering of the thermorun handle, even though I used it extensively for prolonged periods throughout the weeks bushcrafting trip, I did not develop or look like developing any hot spots. Bear in mind however, that my hands are accustomed to manual work. For those whose hands are not, you may notice the checkering in prolonged use. A rub with some sand paper would be all that's needed to smooth out the handle if it becomes an issue.
Summing up
Over the 6 months of continous use, I’ve been consistently impressed with the robustness & sheer cutting ability of the TK2. The combination of great balance, distal taper and convex grind makes this knife a wicked and robust slicer that is equally at home on the water, in the kitchen or out in the bush. Combine this with the excellent edge holding of the 3G steel and the TK2 is a winner.
With regards to ease of sharpening, to be honest I haven't had any problems.
To finish off, IMO anyone who is looking for a versatile knife that can be successfully used in a range of tasks and holds its edge extremely well, should consider the TK2. It's definetly worth a look.
Thanks for looking.
Kind regards
Mick
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Originally Posted by Chris the Cat
