Flea Market Find

[orvet]

I picked up a knife yesterday at a flea market.
There is no detectable stamp on the knife, but the name on the sheath is: FJELLKNIVEN.
Beneath the name is "NORWAY."
OAL- 8-5/8 inches.

Does anyone know anything about these knives?
Is it related to Fallkniven?

I would appreciate any info anyone may have on this knife.

Thank you,
Dale

PS- I did a Google search on Fjellkniven, but most of the knives I saw were birch handles,
They were obviously far newer than my knife.

[woseyjales]

A lot of folks swear by their puukko pokers.
Some kind of connection to fallkniven wouldn't be surprising.
You might try a fallkniven history search see if that leads back to fjellkniven that way since direct search didn't scare up anything.

Main question now is will it cut warm butter?

[Owd Wullie]

Helle Fjellkniven is still in bidness.

Heinne Haynes's sales spiel.

Comfortable in the hand, the Fjellkniven is ideal all rounder. The curly birch handle is contontoured to provide a comfortable yet firm grip. With a drop point blade, this knife is ideal for skinning and detailed cutting tasks.

All Helle knives use laminated stainless steel used to produce a tough, razor-sharp blade. The technology was developed by Helle in cooperation with a Norwegian steel mill. This high performance steel is available only in our knives, and gives each blade a unique combination of high strength and long lasting sharpness. Laminated steel is another Norwegian tradition that is rarely found in other parts of the world.

Each knife is hand crafted by experienced and dedicated tradesmen. Each blade is shaped to achieve a shaving sharp edge. Knife handles of carefully selected arctic curly birch and "aged wood" are shaped to precise dimensions and finished to a hand rubbed patina. Each wood handle fits the hand comfortably and has its own distinctive grain and figure, making your Helle knife "one of a kind."

Helle takes as much pride in crafting their handsome sheaths as they do their knives. Fine leathers, of the quality used in the making of the best saddles, are vegetable tanned in accordance with strict quality control standards. After forming and stitching, the finished sheath is rubbed with saddle leather greased to produce its luster and protect against stains and moisture.

They aren't cheap either. Prices I've seen are $60's and up.

[orvet]

I have found out a bit on these so since picking this one up last week at a flea market.

The company name is Helle, named after the Helle brothers who started the company in 1932. The factory is located in Holmedal, Norway, where it began in 1932.
The knives are “hand crafted” by experienced cutlers, as opposed to being “factory-made.”
Info from- http://www.ragweedforge.com/helle/helle.html

I suspect that they may operate along the same lines as some of the primer handmade smoking pipes companies Denmark. The craftsmen do most of the work in their own homes, and the factory buys all of their production.
I do not know this for sure, so if anyone knows more about this company, please tell us!

A current production Fjellkniven with a Burch handle sells in the $70-$75 range.

Dale

[woseyjales]

Well I'll be dadburn, a Helle production eh?
Quite a coincidence since I'm waiting on my first Helle
acquisition to show up any day now.
Speider model with contoured birch handle & laminated 3.5" blade.
El cheapo model at just $45 but should chop carrots okay.

Didn't see much point in paying shipping on just one lil ole Opinel.

[orvet]

I did find out a bit more info on Helle knives.

Fjellkniven means Mountain Knife in Norwegian.

Today the Helle Fjellkniven is made with laminated stainless steel. The core is a special blend of high carbon stainless, made for Helle. The core is hardened to 58-59 on the Rockwell C scale. The outside layers are softer 18/8 stainless to make for an easy to sharpen blade that is not brittle. They are ground with a single bevel for the full length of the blade. Making it easy to lay the bevel flat on a stone and sharpen.

My Fjellkniven is carbon steel, so I am not sure if it is laminated or not.

Here is a good website for info on Helle Knives. If you go back to their home page they have other Norwegian knives as well.
http://www.ragweedforge.com/helle/helle.html


Dale

[woseyjales]

Hey Dale,
While looking around the ragweed site, I found a paragraph which may 1/2
answer your question about whether your carbon blade is laminated.
" ...The laminated blade sandwiches a layer of hard higher
carbon alloy between two layers of tough lower carbon alloy.
This gives a blade that holds an edge without being brittle,
and is easier to resharpen.
>>>> It is done with both carbon and stainless steels."

I like the style of your older Fjellkniven, newer one looks like it shares
the name and nothing else.

Here is my speider (Scout) model. Not shown in the ragweed lineup.
KnifecountryUSA shows same two speiders as ragweed then has this
one as a third speider choice.
Descrip says this one IS laminated ss blade.
Very ergonomic handle, very lightweight and scary sharp.




BTW- to get back on topic, my last fleamart find fixed blade was a 153UH NIB.
Wasn't much of a fleamart price, but whataya gonna do?
Time to fish or cut bait, right??

[orvet]

Nice Helle Howard.

I cleaned mine up and sharpened it.
I am used to handling sharp knives.
I rarely get cut with a knife, usually when I bleed in my shop it is from a piece of equipment.
But while sharpening that old Helle I got bit.
That is a FINE piece of steel!
I think I could shave with it, no problem, (except perhaps cutting my throat).

Mossdancer thinks it may have been a military model.

Dale

[Froggyedge]

I picked up a knife yesterday at a flea market.
There is no detectable stamp on the knife, but the name on the sheath is: FJELLKNIVEN.
Beneath the name is "NORWAY."
OAL- 8-5/8 inches.

Does anyone know anything about these knives?
Is it related to Fallkniven?

I would appreciate any info anyone may have on this knife.

Thank you,
Dale

PS- I did a Google search on Fjellkniven, but most of the knives I saw were birch handles,
They were obviously far newer than my knife.

Ah...
Experiencing bursts of old memories now!
I had this model, the early "Fjellkniven" from Helle in Holmedal, Norway as a boy/youth when hiking!
My specimen of the knife had a sheath that did not fit perfectly, and I was afraid of loosing the knife when wearing it on my belt in the woods. Therefore I usually had another knife on my belt and carried the "fjellkniven" as an extra knife or backup knife in my rucksack.
The model was a very popular one and it was in production for many years, starting in the thirties, I believe.
I'm no expert on these knives, but there were two different versions of the "Fjellkniven". As far as I know the one that you got is the most common.

The name lives on in the modern "Fjellkniven" from Helle, but this is really a quite different knife, designed in the mid nineties.

[justold52]

Well with all this talk of 3 layered blades and Helles.

I have to show off my Helle. She is like a caddlac of a kinfe in my hand. Sure wish I could test her out feild dressing something.

Helle Safari HE 35 Curly Birch 3 layers SS Norway 9 1/2

[orvet]

Here is an interesting article by Dennis Ellingsen about a Fjellkniven or "Mountain Knife" from his childhood.
Scroll down to page 8 for "Hilsen fra Norge." An interesting article on his personal Fjellkniven.
http://www.oregonknifeclub.org/Newsletter%200911.pdf

Dennis is the Show Coordinator for the OKCA (Oregon Knife Collectors Association) show that is coming up next month.


Dale

[Froggyedge]

Interesting and fun to read for a Norwegian!
Great link! Thank you!

I have a couple of knives from Brusletto quite similar to the one depicted in the article, both dating back to my childhood days.

«The Norwegian knives are not referred to as Puukko knives, but they sure look to be of the same family»

That is correct. Puukko is a Finnish word and it is not used in Norwegian, although the knives may look quite alike.
In Norway we refer to our traditional fixed blade knives as «tollekniv». «Tolle» comes from the old norse word «talga»/«telje», which means «spikke» (Whittle). Often they are also referred to simply as «slirekniv», «slire» meaning sheath.
Our Swedish neighbors use a similar word: «Slidkniv».

A thousand years ago the old vikings would call their fixed blade knives «Talguknifr».

[Froggyedge]

Just a few recent pics of the current Fjellkniven...

[orvet]

Nice blade Froggy!
Is that your new hiking knife?

Dale

[Froggyedge]

Thanks!

I've had the current Fjellkniven from Helle since last year, but I haven't used it until now.

Fjellkniven and the Fangstmann (meaning Trapper) from Brusletto are my two most recent Norwegian fixed blade users.

Both very nice for hiking!

[justold52]

Hello again Froggyedge;

I would like to know how the Fjellkniven's tip works for you.

Are both blades about the same thickness?

Let us know your opinion please.

From here I like the Brusletto tip.

[Froggyedge]

Hi!
I'm away from home this week and I didn't bring neither the Fjellkniven nor the Fangstmann, but when I get home I'll take some pics and make a comparison for you!