TNman's Folkekniven
Check out TNman's photos on his original Henry thread, pages 2 & 3, at link: http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 7&start=10
Folkekniven specs (current knife model on the Helle web site)
~~~Blade material: Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel
~~~Blade thickness: 3 mm
~~~Blade length: 88 mm
~~~Handle material: Curly birch
~~~Handle length: 105 mm
~~~Sheath material: Genuine leather
PT7's look at the Yakut / Evenki
Yakut / Evenki specs
~~~Blade material: SAE52100 steel, hand forged high carbon content
~~~Blade thickness: 5 mm
~~~Blade length: 114 mm
~~~Handle material: Native maple burl hardwood, fully round handle
~~~Handle length: 114 mm
~~~Sheath material: Genuine leather treated with beeswax and oil
Some comments about the Yakut / Evenki. I've not seen a hand-forged knife design like this before. What is most interesting is the how the blade was forged. Here is a brief description from the web site:
The blade of a Yakut knife is sharpened asymmetrically. One side of the blade is flat and has a small groove (fuller) that increases its durability, while also reducing its weight. The other side of the blade has a slightly curved shape. This feature prevents the knife from digging into the material during cutting. Therefore, left-handed and right-handed blades have to be a mirror images of each other, otherwise working with them will be uncomfortable for left and right handed users respectively. The Concave/Convex geometry of the Yakut blade leads to very low surface contact with the material being cut, and thus extremely low resistance.
The other important characteristic of the Yakut blade is that it is easier to keep sharp because it requires only one-side sharpening. You save 50% of the effort because you only sharpen the concave (flat) side. Secondly, when sharpening, you don't have to try to hit the same angle, over and over, like with the conventional knife. You lay the Siberian blade flat on the fuller side, and sharpen by sliding the blade bottom to top, thus hitting the same angle all the time. And if your knife is forged from a high carbon content steel, that edge you create will be held a lot longer.
In a demo video I've seen by a Canadian, this blade does quite well for wood carving, as well as regular outdoor use for harvest prep after the hunt, cleaning fish, campsite needs, etc.
Thinking about adding this different knife design to my small collection. Especially like the shape and looks of the wood handle. At the same time, I've found articles that state hand-forged tools like this knife (and also axes) are considered to be historical pieces of ethnic art in the Siberian tradition. So my final comment & thought is that the Yakut / Evenki just might be the perfect companion to my 1864 Russian top break revolver!
PT7
PT7 wrote:I appreciate the info on your knife, TNman. I've not before heard of Helle knives. Pulled up the home web page and then found your knife there. Looks like some good reading ahead for me.
Th Helle current specs, plus some of the other knife descriptions, are quite close to the specs I have on the new blade I'm considering. So that has given me a fun project and a segue to posting some info on my potential knife purchase. Here is what I'm going to do.
I'll keep your info from this thread, read up some more on the Helle, then add specs/description of the blade I'd like to get in another thread in our Knife forum. For me, I'll have a good comparison of your Norwegian-made knife, and the hand-forged traditional Siberian Yakut / Evenki knife I may get. PT7
TNman wrote:Hey PT7, The knife is a Helle Eggen a sort of entry level Helle. I’ve had it for about 15 yr and have field dressed several dozen whitetails with it I reckon. The blade on mine is 3.5” long but the current ones are about 4” long it seems. It has the typical scandinavian edge grind and is made of laminated steel...a very hard central layer sandwiched between SS steel outer layers. It is dangerously sharp and easy to touch up with a good ceramic rod or stone. The handle is generous for a good firm secure grip; I added the diagonal grooves for a better grip. …. Helle makes a lot of different model knives and I give them my highest recommendation for a good working/hunting knife...but use with care.