Casström Lars Fält Knife - Edge Problems Part 1

Please watch the full video. I strongly believe this is a one off defect and there will be a follow up video to this soon. This was recorded on 10th Mar '18 Just before I posted the knife off to Casström. I held off posting this, but I trust Casström and the product so here it is. EDIT New knife is perfect no issues at all and full feedback from Casström too. PLEASE watch the full series.*

[@Airik1111bibles]

Sorry about that blade glad ya got a replacement...ive been through that pain before. Zero degree scani grinds have one purpose whittling ....I had this happen with two knives over my many years of using scandi blades . One was the Condor bushlore that knife was so soft you could not keep an edge without a micro convex on it. The other looked just like your outcome here and that was Real Steels new Bushcraft Plus scandi edition. The real steel was 14C27N german steel which ive had excellent experience with on the Garberg but the real steel dented and warped cause the relief edge is just to thin . The only reason the Garberg doesnt do the same is because its grotesquely thick edge, why its so loved is a puzzle to me. I love Mora esp their Bushcraft Black and their Heavy Duty blades they have never failed me but the Garberg design is flawed. I've since become more of a full flat grind user but i do love a well made scandi for carving. I recently purchased a TOPS Brakimo and have become a true fan. The handle is thin its no "bushcraft comfy grip" that said after using it for 10 months now I'm sold on the design. The knife just works for the woods, its tough yet still detailed enough to carve and notch out wood and it feathers better than any knife I have had so far. I love my bushcraft blades I make my own mods from Brisa Enzo blanks and have made many puukko blades from old knives. I never thought I'd put the Brakimo on my list of best knives but imo I think its one of the best survival /campcrafting woods knives on the market. I do have my eye on the Brisa Nessmuk knife though 😍 That and the Tops Dragonfly which is a combo of the Brakimo and Nessmuk design...Kind of a hidden gem in the U.S knife market which has a great price point too.

[@RAF_Ai]

great video mate! one question. what kind of leather cord you you use as a lanyard here? is its 4mm cord? thank you

[@thewimpycamper7692]

Great video!! Appreciate the detailed review 👍

[@adventureoutdoorsuk9271]

The Wimpy Camper thanks for your comment. I'm incognito at the moment due to family distractions. I met the guys from Casström at the bushcraft show and promised them I would give a longer term review on my replacement knife which has been fantastic and no edge issue at all. I urge everyone to please watch the full series on this knife and not be put off from buying one. Casström really are a great company and they gave me 1st class customer service and after care. Thanks again and I promise I'll have some new footage up soon. AOUK.

[@geoffnepo]

I've been using this Lars Falt for usual firewood processing including batoning hard dried wood, and I don't baby it in anyway and so far had no issues failure with the edge whatsoever - hope this helps

[@adventureoutdoorsuk9271]

Cheers @geoffnepo it's good to know. I've had my replacement a few years now and so far it has been flawless. I don't really baton with it, certainly not hard wood, but it does work for me around camp, carving, clearing small branches all the usual wood craft needs. The best thing for me, it strops back to razor sharpness so well. I'm considering doing a long term follow up review, what do you think? 🤔 Stay Safe

[@phils8393]

Hi, spurce wood can have hard lumps in it of resin which are like concrete. I have damaged an edge of cpm3v steel cutting spruce in the joints where the branches meet

[@redcanoe14]

Greetings from a Yorkshireman in BC, Canada! Thanks for the good review of this knife. Considering you are new to KZbin you have a good detailed and fair-minded style. I make a few knives and have a lot of knives gathered over many years in the outdoors. I almost bought a Lars Falt Knife when they came out. I am so sorry to see the edge has rolled (and chipped?) I cannot recall but I think the blade is an O2 equivalent from Bohler? I cannot recall the Rockwell hardness? I have done a lot of testing of blades and do not baton. I would expect, based on my own experiences, that the folding would occur during batoning of a knife with a zero grind with a softer Rockwell hardness. I would suspect if chipping is a problem it would likely be a higher Rockwell hardness with a zero grind. Zero grinds are not good for batoning as there is too little metal thickness on the very edge of the blade. I have found this with axes as well as knives (of course axes are used mainly for chopping and splitting). I now always strop a micro convex on the edge of new blades and do not lose cutting ability, but also have no chipping and rolling issues. Just to note, original so called Scandi knives were what is sometimes today described as Scandi-Vex, I know this to be true because some of the old knives I have were passed on to me from my Sami Ancestors (some are well over 100 years old). I will follow your next video to see what the outcome with the Casstrom LF is...Good Luck!

[@adventureoutdoorsuk9271]

Hi Brother, thanks for taking the time to reply. I appreciate your feedback and detail. Simply put, I know the knife could theoretically take a heavy baton, but I just don't like doing it, I don't see the need as I always carry an axe. However, any half decent modern knife should be capable of splitting small branches down with the grain. By small I mean a 1inch diameter or so. Scandi-vex, my Bushcraft Black has a natural micro convex on it from my sloppy sharpening and stropping style and as you rightly say it is much stronger. I would agree too that you don't lose any sharpness and mine carves so well. *Update. Casström have posted out a replacement today, I will post another video at the weekend and I will be putting a micro convex on the knife as I use it over coming weeks. I have asked Casström to update me with their QC investigation on the blade as I am confident there is a defect in the process and/or the material. I know the knife was not treated in any way beyond its capabilities. Thanks Again.

[@redcanoe14]

Yes, it should stand light use, stropping will make a significant improvement to a zero edge. Check on the Rockwell hardness as advertised. Where do you live? Good to hear from you and thanks for subscribing :)

[@Macovic]

Pretty chocked! Do they have heat treatment problems?

[@chrisdc3101]

Hello, i have two lars fält knives, one with the curly birch, and a blade blank i finished myself. The blade i buyed at casstrom webshop, never problems with edge, even with hard battoning. Maybe a bad batch of knives with yours.Thanks for the review anyway.

[@oddball1999]

I used mine for a couple of weeks and have only used it with fir so far and it somehow got a chip in the blade.

[@Superbus753]

Hi. Actually there is an other possibility to why the edge was damaged. It could be that the edge got overheated during the grinding progress on the belt sander. That can happen pretty fast and easily. It the edge gets overheated the steel at the very edge isn't good anymore. a good sharpening on water stones would get rid of that "bad" steel. (Are you shore that there wasn't a big not in the fat wood. that can easily destroy a fine candy edge. knots in fat wood are very nasty)

[@adventureoutdoorsuk9271]

Tarquinius Superbus Yeah I've been there a few times with fat wood. It was merely a branch section of about 1inch diameter and pretty straight grain. There were no knots to speak of, either way you wouldn't want to lose that much steel on a one week old knife re-grinding it. I really wish I was recording the moment it happened!! I've seen so many videos of people abusing this knife and not so much as a roll, mine was a million miles from being put to 'hard use' so I remain convinced there was a defect somehow. Thanks for your reply.

[@Superbus753]

Yeah I can totally understand you. But burnt edges happy really easy, also the best company can't totally avoid it and it can't be easily spotted in QC. But if you know a steel well and it doesn't perform as it normally should (edge holding, toughness, too easy to sharpen) it is often a burnt edge. Normally it doesn't take much to remove the burnt steel. You were just especially unlucky that you got a big chip (if you have recognized bad performance before you wouldn't have lost much steel). By the way edge burning even happens with semi custom and custom knives.

[@Macovic]

Belt sander. That might be the problem.

[@TheAnonymousSword]

The Problem with overheating via grindig also is that the thinner the grind is, the easier it is to overheat in final sharpening. With a beltsander this can happen very fast. Also it will happen faster in scandi and convex grinds because they have huge primary bevels which when ground hot, will store heat in the very apex of the blade which will botch the heat treatment. Have seen this on moras in 12c27, bark rivers and one Casström i owned. This is something that should be covered by warenty and not be an issue to be replaced. Also it is never a bad idea to use the tools you want to take on a longer trip beforehand and have a backup in any case.

[@ballybally2234]

Lars Falt's "how to use a knife" boik includes a picture of him batoning with this knife which supports what you quote from Casstrom's website re it should be up to hard use

[@chrisdc3101]

Back again, i even finished sfk 10 with k720 steel.As you know zero scandi grind.No problems with the edge !!!🤔

[@loicsans]

I also own this knife, mine also came with rolled edge. I have only used it for feather sticks and some carving and not had any deep chips. after the use, the edge has rolled even more. I think the steel K720 is way too thin on the edge and would be better as a convex grind.

[@adventureoutdoorsuk9271]

Loïc Sans I think if a knife already has even a slight roll and that isn't addressed, it will only increase as pressure is put over it. If it's a small roll a few passes over a 1000 grit stone and a loving strop should set it right. The more the edge is stropped, the stronger it should become, if you let a little convexing to occur. IMO. Good Luck.

[@TheAnonymousSword]

I think K720 is fine in a scandi. Also the scandi on most bushcraft knives has a very dull angle when compared to a classical finish puukko. Also you can always fix these issues of too accute grinds with an additional microbevel if the heat treatment isn‘t botched in the first place. If only the edge is overheated and thus rolled you might have a chance by removing some of the apex by grinding down the knife significantly.

[@helenrobaro3937]

A swedish knife huh it has a chip on it but good quality anyway good vid.