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.

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.

Excellent bushcraft/field knife. Helle makes some great products. I have seen some reviews complaining about some minor fit/finish issues (handle), but I think it gives the knife a little character. It was extremely sharp right out of the box. I've done quite a bit with it and its retaining its edge. I just do some stropping with compound to keep it razor sharp. The handle feels great. You can work with it with little to no fatigue. It has what I call, a half full tang. The tang goes through the length of the handle and is exposed at the top. Its about double the width of a rat tail tang, but about half the width of a full tang. It gives the knife better strength then most other Helles, but still is pretty light. I did test it with some light batoning and it did well. I don't recommend doing heavy batoning with it, but thats not really what (in my opinion) knives are for (get an axe!). I like the sheath. Simple, well made and has very good retention. It carries very well and you quickly forget its there. I'm very happy about this purchases, but I did take off one star. I believe its a bit overpriced. I collect knives and use them heavily and at that price, you could get a good Bark River or Falkniven. As an example, my Bark River Aurora was about the same price and is very comfortable bush crafting knife, but a lot sturdier and refined. Overall very happy with this product. Teams up well with my GB Wilderness Hatchet, Bahco Laplander Saw and SAK Farmer!

Allora un coltello veramente fatto bene! Sapevo già delle lame Helle che son di ottima qualità di acciao e che arrivano affilatissime.. E comunque essendo fatte con filo scandinavo sono molto facili da affilare... Avendo una lama senza manico in quanto me lo volevo costruire io il coltello! Ammetto il mio manico fa schifo a confronto avendolo fatto in paracord mentre questo e' in radica di legno!questa lama è in acciaio al carbonio!!! Detto questo lo ritengo eccezionale come lama e bellissimo come manico! Nicola

切れ味も良くフェザースティックを作るのに適したナイフです。バトニングで薪を割るのは、別にナタを用意して割ると良いと思います

Beim Kauf solcher Artikel unterscheide ich oft zwischen denen, die man braucht und denen, die man haben muss :-). Dieses Messer gehört - zumindest für meine Anwendung, zur letzteren Kategorie. Ich lasse mich üblicherweise weder in Kanadas Wildnis aussetzen, noch breche ich regelmäßig einen Elch auf. Wir sind aber schon gerne draußen und ich habe ein Messer gesucht, das man gut mitnehmen kann und das auch beim Essen zubereiten, Brot und Schinken schneiden, Fisch ausnehmen, Camping, eben überall, wo man ein Messer braucht, eine gute Figur macht. Und gut aussehen sollte es. Da hätte es auch ein preiswerteres Messer gegeben. Ich habe mich trotzdem für das Helle Temagami wegen folgender Eigenschaften entschieden: - Es hat eine relativ große Klinge, aber noch im legalen Bereich, man darf es in Deutschland überall dabei haben. - Die Klinge ist scharf - sie kam schon sehr scharf hier an, nach dem Abziehen auf einem Leder ist sie extrem scharf! - Das Messer ist eine schlichte, sehr robuste Konstruktion, und für die Größe recht leicht. Meins wiegt (nachgewogen) 157 g, die Scheide noch mal 48 g dazu. - Der Griff ist groß, was bei Handschuhgröße XL wichtig ist, er ist griffig, das ganze Messer liegt gut in der Hand. - Der Griff ist aus sehr schönem Birkenholz - ich mag Naturmaterialien, wenn's sicher auch praktischere Kunststoffe gibt - Die schlichte Scheide aus dunkelbraunem Leder (sieht etwas anders aus als auf dem Bild) hält das Messer stramm (gut!), es wird nicht rausfallen. Das Messer wird zusammen mit einem Tuch in einer netten Pappröhre als Verpackung geliefert. Es hat meine Erwartungen erfüllt und bisher alles, was ich ausprobiert habe, gut mitgemacht. Ich würde es wieder kaufen, auch wenn ich den Preis von knapp 140 € für die relativ einfache Konstruktion für recht hoch halte. Da trägt sicher der Name des kanadischen Outdoor Experten seinen Teil dazu bei...

ich bin einfach schon seit langem ein Fan norwegischer Messer, also auch ein helle Fan - auch wenn die Verarbeitung oft etwas rustikaler ist als z.B. bei Brusletto - früher (1980er-90er) war das auch durch einen sehr deutlichen Preisunterschied der beiden Marken zu bemerken - seit helle diesen Preisunterschied aufgeholt hat kaufe ich die Messer eigentlich nur noch bei deutlichen Sonderangeboten. Wie in diesem Fall: 75,-€ für ein Trofe, da kann ich nicht widerstehen... Daher mein Urteil... der helle-Laminatstahl sucht seinesgleichen, auch wenn man die Spitzangel mit unsachgemäßer Gewalt auch irgendwie kaputt bekommt und der Stahl der Außenlagen etwas Anfällig gegen zerkratzen ist - dafür kann man eine verbogene (!!!) Klinge wieder bruchfrei geradebiegen...

Habe das Messer jetzt seit einigen Jahren, häufig genutzt und mehrmals auf dem Wasserstein geschärft. Stahl mit hervorragenden Eigenschaften. Muss man halt nach Benutzung abtrocknen, wie bei Windmühlenmessern in der Küche aus Carbonstahl, ich lasse meine Messer aber eh nicht in Pfützen liegen. Dafür viel bessere Schnitthaltig- und Nachschärfbarkeit. Wem das Temagami eine zu dünne Klinge hat, soll sich ein Beil kaufen - oder sonst einen schweren Klumpen. Ich habe viele Wildschweine und anderes Wild aufgebrochen, Holz bearbeitet (wobei sich für letzteres, wenn man nichts anderes macht, spezielle Schnitzmesser mit kurzer Klinge in Verbindung mit einer Handsäge zB von Felco besser eignen) etc, dickere Klingen braucht man nicht. Verarbeitung ist einwandfrei und der Griff wunderschön. Allerdings eher für mittlere bis größere Männerhände geeignet.