Fallkniven R2 Scout with Custom Leather Sheath

Fallkniven knives have a reputation for being one of the finest and most reliable fixed blades you can carry in the outdoors. 

Offering a variety of models, these Swedish knives have a solid following with outdoorsmen and military forces around the world. The Fallkniven F1 is arguably the leading Fallkniven favorite and is in use by Swedish airforce pilots as a survival knife since 1995.

One of Fallkniven’s newest additions to their knife lineup is the Fallkniven R2 Scout. 

This new blade is a compact yet extremely robust fixed blade knife. At 3.25 inches, the Elmax stainless steel blade is nimble in the hands and capable of easily processing wood about wrist size and smaller making it a great knife on the trail, camp, or hunt. It is a great companion knife and is a good knife choice to have in the truck or bugout bag.

The Swedish Elmax steel comes razor sharp and maintains its edge after hard use. The R2 is 7.13 inches overall from tip to tang and weighs 132 grams.

Fallkniven R2 Scout Elmax Steel

 

The R2 Scout is designed for hard use. It has a thick spine at 4.88 mm which means the blade is very strong considering the blade length.

I've only used this knife in typical outdoor settings where I have split firewood, cut various rope thicknesses and fiber-types. And while not my first choice for use as a food prep knife, the sharp edge and convex grind can cut and slice food items in camp. 

The R2 Scout carries and packs well. I have discreetly carried it on Boy Scout outings with my son and managed to easily avoid looking like Rambo.

This stout little knife is not meant to replace a larger or specialized knife or an axe by any means, however it is built like a tank and there is no doubt it will withstand a ton of use. If you are hard on your knives; I think this full tang knife can take extreme 'outside-the-normal' abuse. (I don't know why you would other than a survival situation... but hey I've seen YouTube videos where guys get thousands of views by destroying knives).

On their website, Fallkniven states, 

A few words about the dimensions of the knife: The reason why we have chosen to have a really strong blade back is to give the knife the strength to withstand stress. The blade tang, i.e. the part of the blade that goes inside the handle, is also wide and strong and is visible at the handle end. The tip of the blade is reinforced in order to prevent it from breaking. In the event of the tip breaking in some way, it is possible to grind out a new tip. Same thing with the edge – if there is an edge damage, it is no problem for us to grind out a new edge. The knife is heavily dimensioned to withstand much strain, so if you use this knife with some thought, it will last a lifetime.

R2 Scout Spine is 4.88 mm Thick

The handles on this little beast are made of Thermorun, which is Fallkniven's standard hard rubber-like knife grips. 

They are hard, tough, yet have a small amount of suppleness to them. Combined with small checkered stippling on the handles, the R2 Scout is sure to stay in your hand in wet and harsh conditions. 

About the only way you are going to kill these handles is with fire.  If this were to happen, I'm pretty sure a bit of 550 paracord will get this knife back in action until you can add some custom scales!

Thermorun Handle and Lanyard Hole

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The R2 Scout comes with a Zytel sheath that has a locking mechanism to keep your knife secured until you unlock it. 

While the sheath is pretty well made, I prefer leather sheaths. I enjoy working with leather and decided to hand make a sheath for my R2 Scout. The original Zytel sheath will be stored and used if I know I'm going into some extremely wet weather.

R2 Scout Zytel Sheath

I hand stitched the leather for my project sheath and used Chicago-Screws to bind the two sheath halves. 

These screws were also used to attach a removable belt loop on the backside that can be used to carry the knife in a traditional carry or scout carry.

Custom Leather Sheath | Fallkniven R2 Scout

I enhanced the look of my sheath by grooving a pattern on the front leather. There was no planning involved and was all done 'on the fly'. 

I then dyed parts of the pattern in Oxblood Red and Charcoal Black. I made a leather lanyard for my R2 Scout and finished it with a wooden bead that I dyed in Oxblood Red to compliment my custom sheath.

Hopefully you have found this piece informative and inspiring. The Fallkniven R2 Scout is my go-to daily-carry knife right now. I carry it confidently knowing this robust knife can cut, feather, split wood, and is strong enough to use in an 'in-extremis' survival situation if necessary; knowing the blade has the strength to withstand what it was designed for and can probably take much, much, more. 

I like what Fallkniven has done by making this compact 'carry anywhere' knife. With the R2 Scout, small does not mean weak; the specs speak for themselves. I will argue that this knife is almost 'overbuilt' for this category of knives, but it performs delicate tasks as a small knife should despite its stoutness.

The R2 Scout is the perfect daily carry knife, especially with a smaller and flatter custom sheath. 

I believe if you can comfortably carry it on you; the knife you carry - is the knife you will have when it matters most.

Lastly, if you have not tried making a leather sheath, I highly encourage trying it out. You WILL get better if you TRY!

R2 Scout Specs. Source: Fallkniven

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