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RSF Knives - Custom Knives by Roger Falt For six months now I have been using a custom knife crafted by Roger Falt of RSF Knives in Sweden . I had seen pictures of Roger's knives on the internet and was very impressed. His knives looked well made, and unlike some custom knife makers, the blade and handle appeared to have actually been designed for use by hunters. I spoke with Roger and he agreed to ship one of his knives to me for a rigorous field trial. The knife arrived in early April, just prior to the spring bear season, which was excellent timing. When I opened the box I found it contained a black rectangular cordura case with Rogers logo embroidered on the outside. Zipping it open, I found the knife in its form fitted oiled leather sheath. A very attractive package and well thought out. The cordura case also has internal pocket that will hold a sharpening steel or stone, which makes for a neat and compact way to carry your knife 'kit' on a trip.
Made of hardened 01 tool steel, the knife has a 3 ½ inch blade and is 7 7/8 inches overall in length. The blade has a slight drop point and is fairly deep, a good design that is suitable for both field dressing and skinning. This is an extremely strong blade with a thick spine, which means it can easily handle chores that will break other blades, such as splitting the pelvis on game animals. The handle scales are made of black micarta, with a brass lanyard tube and elegant mosaic pins. The handle is nicely contoured and approximately three quarters of an inch thick. All in all a very durable handle that is nice to look at.  As luck would have it, I had just finished trapping a couple of spring beavers when the knife arrived and they needed to be skinned. I used the knife to skin the two rodents and as expected the shape of the blade proved to be excellent for skinning.
A note of caution. The blade is made of 01 steel, not stainless as we have all become so accustomed to. You must not forget to wash and oil a blade made of this steel, as it will discolor and rust if neglected. Not a big deal, just something that I had to remind myself of. The next step in the torture test for this knife was spring bear season. Over the course of three weeks I used the knife to skin a total of 7 black bears. I did not have to sharpen the blade at any time, but made sure that I washed the blade and stropped it between animals. To say that I was impressed would be an understatement. Roger had obviously done a wonderful job of putting the 'edge' on this knife and it held up well beyond what I would have expected. Roger Falt |
The knife itself is extremely pleasing to the eye and it is a joy to hold in your hand. If there is one thing I can say about a lot of both off the shelf and custom knives I have used over the years, it's that they do not fit my hands well. This knife feels like an extension of my hand and was obviously designed by someone with actual field experience. 
