• Fällkniven A1x
• Gränsfors Wildlife Hatchet
• Leatherman Tools
• Kirschen Carving Knives
• Dianova Sharpeners
  • • The Önne & Önne Strigel
    • The Classic Long
    • The Military Badge

---

Fällkniven A1x

The Fällkniven A1x is unarguably one of the best and most reliable European high-end survival-, bushcraft-, military- and expedition knives. It is precision and quality at it’s best. This no-nonsense design has all the features a proper survival knife should (imho) have, like a full tang, a convex edge, ease of sharpening, a drop point and being safe to use. A reassuring, reliable knife, that can save lives.

Ease of use: This is my go to knife. The balance and the effective grip length are spot on. This massive piece of metal has a thickness that is ideal for splitting wood and the swedge & tip are ideal for priming. The weight and sharpness allows me to do all my outdoor tasks. (together with my Silky saw.) The Thermorun handle/scales are really safe, even in wet conditions. The spine is sharp enough to ignite a fire starter.

I consider a full tang (the knife’s blade extends throughout the knife as one piece) to be a must for this type of knives. The A1x has the tang extended into a butt/pommel with lanyard hole (well out of the way of the sharp end) and the two handle scales are attached to the sides of the tang with metal screws. Full tang is the strongest way to construct a knife and can handle typical uses like chopping or batonning wood very well. The extra weight of this thick extended blade is very usefull for many survival and bushcraft tasks, luckily they have not skeletonized it to save weight.

It’s convex edge, can be sharpened razor-sharp, is very strong (HRC 60) and offers very little cutting resistance. Fällkniven makes these knives from high-end stainless laminated cobalt steel, which means that the CoS core is placed in between two layers of softer steel. This results in a tough blade, able to handle a lot of ‘abuse’ and the CoS core can still be sharpened very easily.

With regards to safety, the knife sheath is worth mentioning, because it has both a transport lock and a safety catch. The knife itself has an effective front quillion/guard and scales are mounted to both sides of the tang. These are made from Thermorun, an elastic plastic that absorbs blows and offers a lot of grip.

Specs:

• Blade thickness: 7mm
• Weight: 400gr
• length: 284mm
• Blade : 161mm

---

Gränsfors Wildlife Hatchet

The Gränsfors Wildlife Hatchet is the pinnacle of small camping hatches. The modest weight of the head (450 grams) is made effective by mounting it on a slightly longer handle, giving the axe plenty of swing and power. The total weight is 600 grams.
Carefully handforged from Swedish recycled high-carbon steel (C55/C60), these axes are the very best, offering an extremely long useful life. The slightly rounded poll adds to the balance of the axe and can function as a ‘priest’. The handle is made of A-grade hickory cut with parallel grain, an excellent wood for this purpose as it is strong and flexible, with long fibres. The vegetable-tanned leather sheath covers the cutting edge effectively, without adding significant weight.
Gränsfors Bruk assures that all elements of their production have the least possible impact on the environment!

But! Leave no trace! Process dead or fallen braches, driftwood or other non-invasive gathered wood.
Removal should not be noticeable, neither does your wood cutting waste.

---

Leatherman Tools

To me, Leatherman defines the standard. The tools I use most for climbing-, backpacking-, trekking- and kayaking activities, are the ones above, ofwhich the Skeletool Multitool is my all time favourite. I have used these since the first one came out in 2008. This is their take on functionality, minimum weight and maximum carryability, the Skeletool embodies the belief that a tool is ‘no good unless you have it with you’. The half serrated knife suites me better than the fully serrated (RX-model) or the non serrated (CX) versions.

The other must have is the Raptor Rescue. The absolute best Rescue, First Aid, do-it-all Scissors available!
Since my days as a ‘medical first responder in the army’, I have had many first aid certifications and tasks specialising in outdoor activities, so I find myself carefull and discerning about the tools I use.
The Raptor Rescue is part of my First Aid kit and accompanies me on all of my adventures, whatever they are. This will cut anything, clothes, backpack straps, but also the finest silicon tent fabric. It comes with a Lanyard Hole, a Replaceable Pocket Clip and a sturdy plastic Holster.
There is a 7 grams lighter and slightly cheaper version available, the Raptor Response: Excellent first aid bandage scissors, but they don’t come with the strap cutter and carbide glass breaker (the rescue stuff).

The Skeletool KBX is the knife blade of a Skeletool as an ultra light pocket knife. I like this because it has the correct size (small, but very adequate and very light). This should be the go to pocketknife for all of UL-fans.

Last but not least, I use a number of add-ons, accessories and whatnot from Leatherman, like:
the Tool Pouch, the Blade Sharpener, the Bit Driver Extender, and the Bit Kit Set.

Skeletool Functions & Specs:

Needlenose Pliers Regular Pliers Hard-wire Cutters Wire Cutters 420HC Combo Knife Carabiner/Bottle Opener Large Bit Driver

weight: 142 g. closed length: 10 cm. open length: 15,24 cm. blade: 6,60 cm. width: 3,15 cm. thickness: 1,32 cm. material: 420HC Stainless Steel

Raptor Rescue Functions & Specs:

420HC Stainless Steel Folding Shears Strap Cutter Ring Cutter Ruler (5 cm) Oxygen Tank Wrench Carbide Glass Breaker

weight; 164 g. closed length: 12,7 cm. open length: 20,3 cm. shear length: 4,8 cm. width: 4,8 cm. thickness: 1,7 cm. material: 420HC Stainless Steel, Glass-filled Nylon, Carbide

Skeletool KBX Functions & Specs:

420HC Combo Knife Bottle Opener

weight: 36,85 g. closed length:  8,77 cm. open length: 14,9 cm. blade: 6,6 cm. width: 2,0 cm. thickness: 0,76 cm. material: 420HC Stainless Steel, Type II Anodized Aluminum

Kirschen Carving Knives

My set of Kirschen Carving Knives are high quality blades made of high carbon tool steel (hardness 59–61 HRc) and hornbeam (a tough, hard type of wood) handles.
This is the set I chose after testing dozens of different brands and types of carving knives. They fit well in the hand and are easy to maintain.
These knives need some initial honing before use and require some oil to keep them rust free.

The set contains:

• a double-sided, curved cutting edge knife
• a narrow, angled cutting edge knife
• a straight cutting edge knife
• a pratical and beautiful verlours-leather bag

---

Dianova Sharpeners

I use these, Swedish, Dianova sharpeners. Their high quality diamant sharpeners are extremely practical and effective.

The Önne & Önne Strigel

The Önne Strigel is a whetstone block offering an extra fine (1200 grit) diamond whetstone side and a leather strop side.
The Önne is a whetstone block offering a with fine (600 grit) and a coarse (300 grit) side.

Together, these blocks cover all my homebase needs. They are surprising lightweight at respectively 70g & 60g and come with an anti slip pad mat and soft case. Their well proportioned dimensions (150x45x17mm) are very well chosen. It’s big enough to comfortably whet my Cold Steel SRK.
Length 150mm, Width 45, Height 17 mm.

The Classic Long

The Classic Long is a lightweight double sided diamond knife sharpener with long handle for comfort. It has a fine (600 grit) and a coarse (300) side. This my preffered field sharpener because it handles really well! It is a whole lot of sharpener at a mere 45g.
Length 170 mm, Width 20 mm, Thickness 3 mm, Diamond surfaces 75×19 mm.

The Military Badge

The Military Badge is a diamond knife sharpener with a pocket clip for easy carrying. This is the ultimate backup and/or ultralight sharpener at 22g. At has 30 micron monocrystalline Diamonds of the highest quality rating (coarse/300 grit).
Length 85 mm, Width 25 mm, Thickness 0.5mm.