Howdy and thanks for the thoughts…I have many Helle and some other “knives from the north” and love their look and edges. Something graceful about the lines and appreciate you puttering them thru the paces!
I love seeing your inner bushcrafter coming to life . There is something special with using a nice handmade wood handled knife . ...The more I learn and older I get the smaller my knives have become.
Ethan Becker has been saying for decades that handle texture doesn’t create a secure grip, good design does. Love seeing you so excited about a knife 👍
I've had this knife for almost 10 years. Very nice performer & looker. I decided to get this knife when I saw Glenn on the show Life Below Zero, process a friggen Moose with it.
I have the Eggen. It’s a beautiful knife but I find I don’t carry it much into the bush. Although its razor sharp, the lack of a 90 degree spine and full tang I’m usually reaching for the Tops Puukko or Garberg for full on bushcraft tasks. Great video btw.
You can buy all Helle knifes as blade only and make you own handle in what ever you like and if you copi the original handle you can buy the original sheath if you dont like to make that (or make handle in plastic or epoxy if you like that), I find you can beat the Helle blades as hard as you like but the handle well break long befor the blades so just make new handle if you break it or send it to helle and get a new knife or new handle on your blade
Finally, someone took a good look at the Gaupe! I've had my eye on this one for some time now. I had a hard time finding any information on Helle's H3LS blade steel, but from the research I did, the core steel in that blade is actually Helle's own proprietary stainless steel mix, closer to a 13c26 alloy and not carbon steel? I found this info online on a knife forum, so it could be wrong... Can you or anyone here confirm?
Thanks for the excellent vid and review. I don't have a Helle knife in my collection. But I might have to check one out. Scandinavians do make great knives. Always love your vids. I have bought a lot of knives based on your reviews. Also, as a fellow Colorado resident, I love the backgrounds of your hikes and camps.
Very pumped, pimped and passionate Aaron! Overpriced Mora is the Helle, as Yoda says. For heavy tasks I went Mora Companion HD and Craftline HD. For finer work Mora Kansbol and Companion never fail. I've never looked back, except had to have a Laserstrike from Esse too!
Totally an upscale more handmade Mora, but on the flipside, you can get a semi hand made knife with reliable steel for a near production price. Personally I like to buy a budget knife and stick a new fun homemade (by me) handle on it, and save money, but not everyone wants that same thing
G'day Aaron, notwithstanding the eye candy, there is something nice about the feel of a natural timber handle. Certainly easy enough to refine/shape for one's own grip. However, having made a couple of full stick tang jobs back in the day, I'd suggest a quality two part epoxy internally, (I used a blue loctited domed nut and washer on the pommel too, so I had some room for tightening should they ever loosen up, .... but they never did). Further, wood being wood, I reckon some sort of stabilising/protective treatment is required, even if its just the ol' boiled linseed oil. ...... I wonder if they've gone that far here ? I've had pretty good experiences with my 12C Companion and this one appears to have a better HT than that, though I reckon 14C would've been a wiser choice. I'm with ya, kydex or similar makes more sense out in the weather and usually a flatter carry, but on a design like this, leather is more in keeping with it, (again as long as it's properly treated). Cheers Duke.
Hello Gideon, if ya don't like thinner handles ya can wrap the handle w/tape, just say'n! There's many different brands for many different types of wrapping tools etc.! Be safe and take care, "God Bless", sincerely, Randy. 🙏😇👊
Beautiful knife, great review. Laughed at your coffee reference. I once had a patient addicted to 80+ cups of coffee a day. It took a week in the hospital to get the guy detoxed. He had full blown DTs coming off that much caffeine.
It's just something about wooden handles and handcraft. Yes, they never are perfectly symmetrical, but that is what gives the characteristics. They have been given a soul so to say. And if you really like knives, you can feel that difference. I quite understand why the old Norse and other ancient cultures as well believed knives and swords etc to be animated, having their own spirits embodied. Btw, thanks for testing out the Nord in the future. As I said I have been looking at it, but I have heard the handle is on the very large side. I have medium to large hands, but are afraid the handle on the Nord would be too large. I love the Joker Ember and Casström Lars Felt, they both fit my hand like a glove.
Helle makes a great product. We just have so many choices there are times great knives get overlooked. Not that we want to ignore these nice blades, it's just a full market and oh shiny is easy to distract.
@@gideonstactical I have a few Viking knives.. My Mora Garberg still ends up in my pack more often… Performs as well, doesn’t hurt as much if it doesn’t make it out of the forest.
@@AnAmericanFather a mora garberg cost about the same and allso made or finished by hand kinda close to where Helle knifes are made but i get your point
Hate to Break it to you but Helle makes 2 types of laminated steel: H3LS and H3LC. The Viking is H3LC (3 layers of high Carbon Steel - hence the forge finish.) The H3LS blades are like you said, high carbon core wrapped in polished stainless... The Viking is NOT stainless, at all. It's a high carbon (some might argue collector's or nod to the past) blade that should be oiled and kept dry.
People underestimate 12c27 I believe. With a decent heat treat it can take a beating and gets razor sharp fast. And the Helle 3 layer laminated stainless (H3LS) & their Laminated Carbon steel are no slouch. And of course 14C28N & Sleipner we know can perform. I believe they just discontinued the H3LS Gaupe, but many stores still have old stock of it. And as you mentioned the blades alone should be plenty of around in most places selling Helle products.
There are lots of steels that are underappreciated because their name doesn't start with "CPM.". Really unfortunately because some of these European steels are the product of centuries of steel refinement.
Norway represent🤩👊🏻🇳🇴 Gaupe (or Lynx in english) is a fantastic knife like most of the blades from Helle. If you haven't yet you should check out their Nord model.
When it comes to wood handled traditional knives - my pick is Kellam. I got a Fang roughly 8 years ago and still have it - still one of my all time favorite knives. The handle has amazing comfort and the edge geometry is also amazing; cutting/slicing (the tip is questionably thick). They also have one of the most robust stick tangs which does matter to me when it comes down to traditional knives. The issue with this Helle in my opinion is the edge geometry. It's to short and thick. My friend had a Helle Fossekallen with the same edge geometry and we both disliked it for that reason. It performed not the greatest at cutting/slicing due to the short thick edge; wedged into wood and never want to fully slice through without exerting more effort than it should have needed. The Kellam Fang with it's edge geometry does not have any issue with cutting/slicing. The Fang is 80CrV2 though the Kellam website only list it as carbon steel. Sadly the price on them has nearly doubled since I bought mine.
I have a couple old Helle knives and they're cool, I don't use them really anymore, ive had them forever. on a slightly different note, I wish some company would use super steels for a laminated blade...cold steel used to use VG-1 and 440A NOW THEY WENT WITH VG-10 AND 440A ...but wouldn't it be awesome to get something like REX-121 wrapped in 3V !
sandvik 12c27 and 14c28n are both very good stainless steels. Totally underated steels. There are better options out there but I wouldnt hesitate to buy a knife in either steel. I'd say 12c27 steel is about equivalent to japanese blue paper steel #2. Both very solid and tough.
Try out a Roselli made of ultra high carbon Wootz steel. It's internationally recognized as being crafted from the hardest steel of any knife. The achievable hardness is 68 HRC!
@@christophersteingart2237 I would say that it's "tough enough". Not worse that something like s125V, probably a bit better in this aspect. If you use it to cut and carve, no problem at all. Roselli UHC are really quite unique knives. But you'll have some hard time for sharpening.
Helle are superb classic rat tailed knives BUT Do not treat them as full tang knives These knives are not designed for battening This is abuse to the design of the knife They do NOT have the structural strength They will break Do not treat them as fancy Moras And the tip test is an abuse in these type of knives
Cool blades trade one will ya than u can get a new knife and make a video on it 👍🏻. I like Huckberry can be a little pricey love their 72 hour merino wool hoodie which I bought after seeing it on one of your videos not cheap though at $138 but ya gotta treat yourself once in awhile yeah me 😃.
For my Polish conditions, these knives are too expensive. I would definitely rather buy the Sissipuukko M95 Peltonen for half the price, or even less, which will survive everything and is more comfortable.
I hope food prep is not on the list of priorities in an outdoors survival knife. You're not Gordon Ramsay prepping a 5 star restaurant dinner for foreign dignitaries. Let's calm down now. 🤣😋
I like Helle Knives...but!...The finish varies too much. There is not meant to be a gap on each side of where the blade goes into the handle, the blade is supposed to be embedded more into the handle. Not only does it look bad, it also weakens the blade.
For my Polish conditions, these knives are too expensive. I would definitely rather buy the Sissipuukko M95 Peltonen for half the price, or even less, which will survive everything and is more comfortable.
Howdy and thanks for the thoughts…I have many Helle and some other “knives from the north” and love their look and edges.
Something graceful about the lines and appreciate you puttering them thru the paces!
I love seeing your inner bushcrafter coming to life . There is something special with using a nice handmade wood handled knife . ...The more I learn and older I get the smaller my knives have become.
Totally very special for sure!
Ethan Becker has been saying for decades that handle texture doesn’t create a secure grip, good design does.
Love seeing you so excited about a knife 👍
Helle Harding is on my wish list. Truly traditional Norway. As I'm a Norwegian I would be so happy to carry that, and proud of my heritage.
I’ve got the Utvær and Sigmund. I absolutely love Helle knives.
I want the nord next
I've had this knife for almost 10 years. Very nice performer & looker. I decided to get this knife when I saw Glenn on the show Life Below Zero, process a friggen Moose with it.
Great info I have the fosselkalen for about 3yr still hair splitter
I have the Eggen. It’s a beautiful knife but I find I don’t carry it much into the bush. Although its razor sharp, the lack of a 90 degree spine and full tang I’m usually reaching for the Tops Puukko or Garberg for full on bushcraft tasks. Great video btw.
You can buy all Helle knifes as blade only and make you own handle in what ever you like and if you copi the original handle you can buy the original sheath if you dont like to make that (or make handle in plastic or epoxy if you like that), I find you can beat the Helle blades as hard as you like but the handle well break long befor the blades so just make new handle if you break it or send it to helle and get a new knife or new handle on your blade
Bruh 😂 - that thumbnail hits
Hahah!!!
Finally, someone took a good look at the Gaupe! I've had my eye on this one for some time now. I had a hard time finding any information on Helle's H3LS blade steel, but from the research I did, the core steel in that blade is actually Helle's own proprietary stainless steel mix, closer to a 13c26 alloy and not carbon steel? I found this info online on a knife forum, so it could be wrong... Can you or anyone here confirm?
Such an awesome blade, I've had mine for about a year and love it more every time I use it. They are expensive but totally worth it.
Couldn't agree more!
Helle has a laminated stainless and now started to offer 14c28n also. Several models also come with a sharp spine 👍😃 great video
Thanks for the info!
I have several Helle knives for years. Never any problems. Made a handle for one also. Leather stack and wood. Going strong for 8 years already.
I wanna buy one just because it looks cool. That's how I roll.
Thanks for the excellent vid and review. I don't have a Helle knife in my collection. But I might have to check one out. Scandinavians do make great knives. Always love your vids. I have bought a lot of knives based on your reviews. Also, as a fellow Colorado resident, I love the backgrounds of your hikes and camps.
That is awesome!! Thank you so much and yes we are blessed by the state we live in!
AMEN@@gideonstactical
Very pumped, pimped and passionate Aaron! Overpriced Mora is the Helle, as Yoda says. For heavy tasks I went Mora Companion HD and Craftline HD. For finer work Mora Kansbol and Companion never fail. I've never looked back, except had to have a Laserstrike from Esse too!
Totally an upscale more handmade Mora, but on the flipside, you can get a semi hand made knife with reliable steel for a near production price.
Personally I like to buy a budget knife and stick a new fun homemade (by me) handle on it, and save money, but not everyone wants that same thing
G'day Aaron, notwithstanding the eye candy, there is something nice about the feel of a natural timber handle. Certainly easy enough to refine/shape for one's own grip. However, having made a couple of full stick tang jobs back in the day, I'd suggest a quality two part epoxy internally, (I used a blue loctited domed nut and washer on the pommel too, so I had some room for tightening should they ever loosen up, .... but they never did). Further, wood being wood, I reckon some sort of stabilising/protective treatment is required, even if its just the ol' boiled linseed oil. ...... I wonder if they've gone that far here ?
I've had pretty good experiences with my 12C Companion and this one appears to have a better HT than that, though I reckon 14C would've been a wiser choice.
I'm with ya, kydex or similar makes more sense out in the weather and usually a flatter carry, but on a design like this, leather is more in keeping with it, (again as long as it's properly treated). Cheers Duke.
Wholesome review. Thanks for bringing attention to this knife. The thumbnail is a dub. Kudos to the editor.
Many props for the UTRED mention. Great series and I could DEFINITELY see Utred using that knife.
Totally, and yes very good series
Hello Gideon, if ya don't like thinner handles ya can wrap the handle w/tape, just say'n! There's many different brands for many different types of wrapping tools etc.! Be safe and take care, "God Bless", sincerely, Randy. 🙏😇👊
I have a helle viking knife that I was given as a gift and I love it great knife and very well made.
Beautiful knife, great review. Laughed at your coffee reference. I once had a patient addicted to 80+ cups of coffee a day. It took a week in the hospital to get the guy detoxed. He had full blown DTs coming off that much caffeine.
Wow! That’s insane
It's just something about wooden handles and handcraft. Yes, they never are perfectly symmetrical, but that is what gives the characteristics. They have been given a soul so to say. And if you really like knives, you can feel that difference. I quite understand why the old Norse and other ancient cultures as well believed knives and swords etc to be animated, having their own spirits embodied. Btw, thanks for testing out the Nord in the future. As I said I have been looking at it, but I have heard the handle is on the very large side. I have medium to large hands, but are afraid the handle on the Nord would be too large. I love the Joker Ember and Casström Lars Felt, they both fit my hand like a glove.
Helle makes a great product. We just have so many choices there are times great knives get overlooked. Not that we want to ignore these nice blades, it's just a full market and oh shiny is easy to distract.
Well said!
If you can’t do it well with a production knife, your skills won’t magically improve with ANY tool.
I think an army of frost giants would disagree with you. Ha ha ha.
😂
@@gideonstactical I have a few Viking knives.. My Mora Garberg still ends up in my pack more often… Performs as well, doesn’t hurt as much if it doesn’t make it out of the forest.
@@AnAmericanFather a mora garberg cost about the same and allso made or finished by hand kinda close to where Helle knifes are made but i get your point
Hate to Break it to you but Helle makes 2 types of laminated steel: H3LS and H3LC. The Viking is H3LC (3 layers of high Carbon Steel - hence the forge finish.) The H3LS blades are like you said, high carbon core wrapped in polished stainless... The Viking is NOT stainless, at all. It's a high carbon (some might argue collector's or nod to the past) blade that should be oiled and kept dry.
I have 4 Helle knives, love them all. They are great knives
That is what everyone is saying so good to hear!
People underestimate 12c27 I believe. With a decent heat treat it can take a beating and gets razor sharp fast. And the Helle 3 layer laminated stainless (H3LS) & their Laminated Carbon steel are no slouch. And of course 14C28N & Sleipner we know can perform. I believe they just discontinued the H3LS Gaupe, but many stores still have old stock of it. And as you mentioned the blades alone should be plenty of around in most places selling Helle products.
Wow! I hope they haven’t discontinued the H3LS version!
There are lots of steels that are underappreciated because their name doesn't start with "CPM.". Really unfortunately because some of these European steels are the product of centuries of steel refinement.
That Sandvik steel from Ruike knives is one of the best made Sandvik.
Norway represent🤩👊🏻🇳🇴 Gaupe (or Lynx in english) is a fantastic knife like most of the blades from Helle. If you haven't yet you should check out their Nord model.
When it comes to wood handled traditional knives - my pick is Kellam. I got a Fang roughly 8 years ago and still have it - still one of my all time favorite knives. The handle has amazing comfort and the edge geometry is also amazing; cutting/slicing (the tip is questionably thick). They also have one of the most robust stick tangs which does matter to me when it comes down to traditional knives. The issue with this Helle in my opinion is the edge geometry. It's to short and thick. My friend had a Helle Fossekallen with the same edge geometry and we both disliked it for that reason. It performed not the greatest at cutting/slicing due to the short thick edge; wedged into wood and never want to fully slice through without exerting more effort than it should have needed. The Kellam Fang with it's edge geometry does not have any issue with cutting/slicing. The Fang is 80CrV2 though the Kellam website only list it as carbon steel. Sadly the price on them has nearly doubled since I bought mine.
I have three Helle knives. I love them. They're almost too nice to use.
Yes they are! But they get it done
I have a couple old Helle knives and they're cool, I don't use them really anymore, ive had them forever.
on a slightly different note, I wish some company would use super steels for a laminated blade...cold steel used to use VG-1 and 440A
NOW THEY WENT WITH VG-10 AND 440A ...but wouldn't it be awesome to get something like REX-121 wrapped in 3V !
The Last Kingdom reference was awesome!...now back to the review
Haha yes!! Great show
sandvik 12c27 and 14c28n are both very good stainless steels. Totally underated steels. There are better options out there but I wouldnt hesitate to buy a knife in either steel. I'd say 12c27 steel is about equivalent to japanese blue paper steel #2. Both very solid and tough.
can you do some Cudeman Knives reviews , they have some interesting designs and an affordable price point. be interesting to see how they stack up !
I will see what I can do
Pls compare it or review it with roselli knife
The Nord in 14c28n is my favorite Helle, even if the full tang is a little modern
Great review. Been looking at the Helle Nord for a while, I wish you could do us the honor of testing it first :P
Coming soon!
@@gideonstactical That is awsome. Thank you :)
Wicked video!! Should do a review of the Helle Nord 👍🤙
Coming soon!
My Nord should be arriving today
Love watching you ! Why the two rings ?
Try out a Roselli made of ultra high carbon Wootz steel. It's internationally recognized as being crafted from the hardest steel of any knife. The achievable hardness is 68 HRC!
Wow!!
@@gideonstactical
I'm not sure how tough it is, but I bet it carves and makes feather sticks like a scalpel for wood.
@@christophersteingart2237 I would say that it's "tough enough". Not worse that something like s125V, probably a bit better in this aspect. If you use it to cut and carve, no problem at all. Roselli UHC are really quite unique knives. But you'll have some hard time for sharpening.
Hi
You might want to look at brusletto geilo knives from norway😉
Get the Helle NORD, thats the real fulltang viking knife!!!👊🏽🔥💪🏽
Yes, planning on it soon.
Helle are superb classic rat tailed knives
BUT
Do not treat them as full tang knives
These knives are not designed for battening
This is abuse to the design of the knife
They do NOT have the structural strength
They will break
Do not treat them as fancy Moras
And the tip test is an abuse in these type of knives
Cool blades trade one will ya than u can get a new knife and make a video on it 👍🏻. I like Huckberry can be a little pricey love their 72 hour merino wool hoodie which I bought after seeing it on one of your videos not cheap though at $138 but ya gotta treat yourself once in awhile yeah me 😃.
Nice!! Ya their stuff is pricey but well worth it.
Looks good !
Would love to see you do a Randall knife review in this style
Good looking knife! Please review & compare the TBS Grizzly Buschcraft Survival Knife - Military Model!
I will look into that one
I dig councils boys axes. got a 24" and two 28"s👍
i have three Helle knives and they are excellent.
Ya, I want the nord next
@@gideonstactical i take that back i have four the Temagami, Eggen,Mandra,and the folding one can't remember the name.my next Helle will be the Utvaer
Their Utvaer design really has me interested. Meanwhile, I'm Still waiting for the knife industry to stop sleeping on AEB-L
Excellent option!
For my Polish conditions, these knives are too expensive. I would definitely rather buy the Sissipuukko M95 Peltonen for half the price, or even less, which will survive everything and is more comfortable.
love your videos
Personally I think Helle knives are some of the sexiest blades out there. Just wish they weren't so damn expensive so I could get one.
They are pricey but so good!
Have you tried the Helle Nord?
No it’s next on the list 👍
I think mora 12C27 is around 56 hrc, the Helle is probably 58, which i feel is a hardness minimum to prevent rolling
What about the Nord
Look good!
I don’t like wood handles they dry out and crack. But Helle makes some of the best looking knives.
Totally!
Gorgeous and kinda pricey but I still want one
Cowabunga.!
I do not recall giving you permission to use my body for your thumbnail....
Keep your shirt on, bruh. Save some of the ladies for us.
Hahahah!!!!
nice thumbnail 😂
Haha yes!!!!!! Thanks
I have one that's a safe queen...lol. Love the knife don't want to use it.
It’s very capable
Your enthusiasm is infectious !
Love it
Thanks so much!
A buschraft knife without a 90 degree spine just seems like an illogical design.
Gaupe means lynx 😅 gawp?
Setting the bar way too high for me bro... nice pecks!
Hahahah!!!!
Utred! Yes...lol.
Yes great show
I think boker is made in China. Heat treatment is much more important than the steel type.
Mine is also th san mi version 😊
I hope food prep is not on the list of priorities in an outdoors survival knife. You're not Gordon Ramsay prepping a 5 star restaurant dinner for foreign dignitaries. Let's calm down now. 🤣😋
I like Helle Knives...but!...The finish varies too much. There is not meant to be a gap on each side of where the blade goes into the handle, the blade is supposed to be embedded more into the handle. Not only does it look bad, it also weakens the blade.
Thirst trap alert!
Hahahahha!!!!
Gideon you are a paid actor for companies at this point. Sad to see :(
Really please explain, never got a dime from Helle.
@@gideonstactical Just trolling mate lol. Sorry. I really enjoy your content =)
Knock off the mindless gaming bs.
For my Polish conditions, these knives are too expensive. I would definitely rather buy the Sissipuukko M95 Peltonen for half the price, or even less, which will survive everything and is more comfortable.