Fällkniven SK1 Jarl

Simple functional design with a razor sharp blade are the hallmarks of knives from the Norse countries, and this SK1 ‘Jarl’ (which is apparently Swedish for Earl) typifies this tradition featuring plain clean lines, a curly birch handle, nickel silver bolster and pommel, and a 3.25” clip blade made of 3G triple laminate steel.

3G is a three layer steel with a central core of hard (Rockwell 62) powdered steel providing a super sharp edge, sandwiched between two tougher less brittle outer layers of VG-10 steel. This knife is a real looker and made to an exquisite standard from very high quality components.

I have to confess that although I like the look of traditional Swedish hunting knives, I’m not over keen on using them. Having said that I realise that I am in a minority, and that indigenous people all over Scandinavia get on with their knives just fine, but there are three features often found in the general design that I’m not keen on; smooth ‘barrel’ handles, no guard, and deep sheaths.

On the SK1 I found that the ‘flattened’ barrel handle was a little too smooth to get a good grip on, and the low hung traditional sheath was so deep and tight that the knife was difficult to draw – so make sure that you have a lanyard through the pommel before putting it in the sheath for the first time. I realise that both these problems can be easily addressed – and may even sort themselves out in time - but I have to point them out. One really big plus point – as far as I’m concerned - is that the SK1 bucks tradition and has a small half guard on the nickel silver pommel, which in some respects makes up for the smooth handle. Again on the plus side, the blade is quite simply superb – as always with Fällkniven knives.

The mid-size SK1 Jarl hunter has many fans and deservedly so. Another two models in this series are the compact SK3 ‘Juno’ which is 5.75” long with a blade of 2.75”, and the SK6 ‘Krut’ a much larger knife at 11” long and a 6.25” blade.

PRICE:
£253.95 (SK1 Jarl on test)
£185.95 (SK3 Juno)
£368.95 (SK6 Krut)