Don't confuse strength with wieght. Fallkniven tested their knives at an industrial laboratory. Peter once shared some confidential comparisons, and yes they work well for chopping and splitting. The Swedish AF issues them, US Navy passed them as optional flightcrew carry. A Fallkniven will likely bend before breaking. As an anecdotal example, I woke one early morning to discover my cat missing. She had slipped out and was in a 5' oaktree stump surrounded by coyotes. I grabbed the F1 and raced outside. We were seperated by one of those cheap wrought iron security fences with soft welds. I shoved the blade between two panels and leaned on it. A loud PING was followed by @ 80' of fence folding over ( even cheaper installation.) I grabbed my cat and walked back down the hillside, politely saying good morning to my staring nieghbors . Once inside I realised I was in my underwear <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />