Helle Knives Fossekallen Triple Laminated Stainless Steel Fixed Blade

This is a great tool. I have used a number of knives in this general size and configuration over the years for fieldcraft, farm chores, and work in my woodlot. This knife excels at all the things I need it to do, and exceeded my expectations.Pros:+Comfortable, ergonomic handle. Handle shape works for multiple grips, and prevents one's hands from sliding up on the blade. I have extra large hands, and was not sure the handle would be big enough for me, but it turns out to be a great fit for me. The handle is surprisingly thick for a knife of this size, which works really well for me, and helps me be precise with the knife. People with smaller hands might have a different experience; or it might work for them too. Sometimes knives with this kind of a handle just seem to work for everyone. Plus, it is birch, so an owner can sand down the handle a bit if they want, and make a custom fit. No harm in that, at all.+Taking an edge: Tremendous. Gets razor sharp, quickly.+Keeping an edge: Surprisingly good. Not as good as the modern super-steels, but plenty good enough for fieldcraft applications. It doesn't bother me to strop this thing on my belt, or touch it up with a ceramic rod, from time to time in the field. The super-steels stay sharp longer, but are harder to sharpen, particularly in the field.+Cutting, carving: Tremendous. The Scandi grind on this thing bites deeply into wood.+Size, shape: Terrific. Just the right size for fieldwork. I tend to buy larger knives, in order to get enough handle for my big hands, but then one does not have quite the leverage and tip control that one gets with this knife. If the blade was any shorter, or longer, it would be less functional. It is just the right length. The rounded belly of the blade works great for slicing and carving. The tip is slightly dropped, which works well for fieldcraft tasks as well.+Weight: This knife weighs in at just 3.5 oz.. That is amazing. A Bark River Aurora, also a fantastic knife, weighs between 6 and 6.25 oz. I love having this thing on my belt. I really don't notice that I am wearing a knife, which is great when I am hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, and so forth.+ Sheath: Excellent. Holds the knife securely, even when moving fast over rough terrain. Well made.+ Rust resistance: The blade is apparently two layers of Sandvik 12C27 steel, with a layer of high carbon steel sandwiched between them. A lot of bushcraft/fieldcraft people prefer all carbon steel, like 1095, a tool steel, or the modern super steels. That is fine, but I am outside a lot in winter, during rain and drizzle, and on rivers and lakes in canoes. There are always tradeoffs. The stainless steel on this knife gets the job done well, without rust, in the context that I have described.+ Aesthetics: This knife is beautiful. More beautiful in person than in the pictures. I am fine with a plain knife that works well, I didn't buy it for the looks. However, I notice that it makes me smile every time I take it out of the sheath.+ 3/4 Tang: The funny thing about calling this a 3/4 tang is that the tang is large enough to be considered a full tang on other fieldcraft knives. However, because the handle is so big and round, the tang only extends about 3/4 of the way from the top of the handle to the bottom. This is by design, to insulate your fingers from the cold steel with the wood of the handle, when you are out in a northern forest. If you changed out the handle for more modestly sized scales, the tang would be the same size as the scales, instantly transforming this into a "full tang" knife, if you see what I mean. Essentially, it has a full tang, but an oversized handle, for working in cold weather.Cons:- None, really.- The fit and finish are good enough, but the knife is semi-handmade - It doesn't look like it was made by a precision machine. I like it like this, but some people don't like the fact that no two Temagamis look exactly the same.- If you think you need a super-steel, buy a different knife. There are knives that you can hack up metal pans & cinder blocks with and still shave hair off your arm. I only use this knife out on the trail or around the farm, so I don't need a heavier, more expensive, survival type knife, most of the time. I take an axe on the trail, and only baton small pieces of dried wood with this knife. It batons small pieces of wood great when I need to start a fire, but I use the axe for the larger pieces of wood. I am not sure where the idea came from that we need to be able to split logs with a four or five inch knife, but it seems un-necessary. Use an axe. That being said, the three layer laminated blade is surprisingly strong. It is plenty strong for fieldcraft.To sum up: Buy it. It is a truly great knife for an active lifestyle and hard work. It is well thought out in the way that a traditional Scandinavian knife would be, with the added advantage of the triple laminated steel. I expected it would be good, but it exceeded my expectations by a wide margin.

If your looking for a great "do it all" kind of outdoor knife, this Temagami is a great buy. It's beautiful, ergonomic, performs well, and isn't too expensive. I'm always a little bit leery with Helle knives due to some sketchy quality control issues I've been subjected to with previous purchases. This blade came perfect. No defects, the grind was centered, and everything looked great. It has worked great as a general camping/bushcraft blade so far. Sharp out of the tube. I did a linseed/pastewax treatment on the handle and it really brought out the curly birch. It fits the hand very well, and for a bigger blade (i usually only like blade lengths under 3.5 inches) it has great balance. It shreds through wood making tent stakes, notches, and feather sticks. It even excels at batoning due to the extended tang, although i will add, I'm not a big fan of using a knife to baton generally. I have not got to use for any hunting/game cleaning but the blade shape appears indicative of a good knife. The sheath is decent, def not anything to write home about, but it does a decent job and has good retention. All in all, this is a great blade that really could be a one knife outdoor option.

I loved this knife! The handle was warm to the touch and had a soft texture that covered the tang on the palm side which is important if you plan to use it in cold conditions. The handle ergonomics were also excellent making the knife feel very natural to hold. The sheath was very well made and very evenly dyed light brown color that retained the knife well. Full disclosure: I did return this knife for no reason that involved the quality or the seller, instead it was a payment arrangement I had made with Amazon which they did not satisfy so if you are tempted to purchase this item make sure you can purchase it make sure you pay for it in full up front because it apparently Amazon is unwilling to follow through on other arrangements on this item.

What I liked about Helle initially was its approach to making knives. It's traditional and practical. It's been ongoing for decades and the process takes time to complete so that each and every piece is to the utmost quality. You believe that immediately when you take the knife out of its packaging too.The Fossekallen has a comfortable handle and an extremely sharp edge. The sheath is sturdy and thick, with a button-closure. The knife is ready for use and the craftsmanship will keep it going for a long time, especially if it's maintained.While I don't buy knives in this price range often, I saw it more as an investment. Given the quality of the knife and its versatile usability, I figure I'll have it my entire life (hopefully).That said, it's worth every penny because not only is it a beautiful knife, but it's useful in the kitchen, in the backwoods, hunting, fishing, camping, you name it.

Helle knives are probably not as well known as usual names like Buck, Case, Boker u get what I mean. However the knife blades on Helle knives and their beautiful handles are not only beautiful but the blades are designed and hand made with quality that normally requires far more money. I will continue to add Helle knives to my larger personal knife collection.