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Thread: Mora knife?

  1. #1
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    Default Mora knife?

    So my main go to knives for camping ect are an old beat up K-Bar USMC. It’s held up very well. I also have a Becker BK9. This thing is huge. I bought it several years ago because I wanted a big knife. Well it’s realistically to big. Great chopper but sucks for everything else. It’s built like a tank but just to big. I usually toss it in the trunk / tool box when camping. If I was going to carry something like that I feel I’d be better off with a hatchet and a utility type knife. So I decided I need / want a light weight fixed blade knife that will be good for camping hiking ect. The Mora knives caught my attention. I know they are not 80-100 dollar knives and don’t expect them to be. However I hear all kinds of raving about them. So I bit the bullet and purchased a Mora MC heavy duty carbon. It’s the OD green one with the thicker carbon steel blade. First impression was great. I was like cool it’s big enough to not be a small knife but small enough to carve. It’s way lighter than my other fixed blades knives. I found a bunch of pine pitch yesterday I processed most of it and kept a few of the nodes / balls / whatever you want to call them. I decided to see if I could crush one of the balls and use my ferro rod to light it and make a fire I used the Mora to shave some peals from a dry stick. I suck at feather sticks. Still trying though. The Mora was relatively sharp. I sharpen all my own knives I can probably get it sharper. I got everything set up grab my ferro rod with full intention of using the spine of the knife. Failure no freggin sparks none at all zilch. I’ve scene a bunch of YouTube videos of people using Mora knives on ferro rods. I’m disappointed this one does not have any black coating on it. Maybe it has a clear coat of some kind but the ferro rod seemed to mar / ding up the spine of the Mora knife leading me to believe the metal is very soft. But how it’s supposed to be a carbon steel blade which is supposed to be hard! Anyway I’m a bit disappointed that it won’t spark a ferro rod. I don’t want to have to mod a knife that’s supposed to be a brush craft type knife to spark a ferro rod. I have full intention to use this knife for what it’s meant for. I know it’s gonna get beat up. Anyway any idea of their is some kinda clear coat that I’m gonna have to strip off to make the ferro rod work? The fire did work I use my home made hacksaw blade striker. Took a few strokes but the small ball that I crushed caught a spark and lit on fire. In a real emergency I’d probably build a tender bundle with char and use that to ignite the pitch to conserve my ferro rod.

    This is the knife that I purchased.

    Morakniv Companion Heavy Duty Knife with Sandvik Carbon Steel Blade, 0.125/4.1-Inch, Military Green https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NZVZ3E..._vvqVCbG70DH4S


  2. #2
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Nothing wrong with a Mora. Know its limitations and use it accordingly.
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    Nvm figured out the problem. Apparently not all Mora knives have a square spine. It appears square but I looked at it under a magnifying glass. The very edge is rounded it should be an easy fix. Tomorrow I’m going to square the edge with a bastard file. I still think all their knives should have square edges the knives are marketed to camping hiking.

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    I waiting on my favorite knife. I promise, it will never touch a ferro rod....

    Alan

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    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alan R McDaniel Jr View Post
    I waiting on my favorite knife. I promise, it will never touch a ferro rod....

    Alan
    The spine will be squared in case you change your mind.
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    That's fine. You never know when an emergency survival situation might arise and change my mind about a lot of things! I like square spines anyway.

    Alan

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    I've used my USA KA-BAR for years and it still does amazing!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgpCGwAJLCc

    I think you are better of with sticking with that one (although I have never used the Mora so I could be wrong), but it does not seem to me a rugged as the KA-BAR...

  8. #8
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Any and all knives are mearly tools. Learning how to properly use the tool that you have is the most important thing.
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    I grabbed a piece of marble tile that I keep around as part of my sharpening kit. Sprayed some flint 80 grit sandpaper with 3M glue spray stuff slapped it on went to work on the spine and edge. I squared the spine the worked the edge to 3000 grit. Finished the edge with a home made leather strop. Nice and sharp and the spine throws mad sparks! I just think these knives should come with a squared spine. Anyway I’m planning to purchase the brushcraft black DLC version that the sheath has a ferro rod. Unless it’s a custom made knife they are never as sharp as you can get them. My only complaint is the spine not being square. But I can live with that. I love the fact it’s so light!

  10. #10
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    Every Mora knife I have ever used was sharpened right down to the handle with no choil to speak of. That sharp section right down to the handle has only one function, to cut your finger.

    That part is the section of the blade I use on the ferro rod. I slide the ferro rod right up against the handle and scrape. Dulling the edge for 1/8" at that spot is a sacrifice I am willing to make.

    The cheaper Mora knives have that rounded and unfinished spine for a reason. If they polished and squared that spine it would add several dollars to the cost. The rough spine is a tradition and almost a trademark of Mora offering fine steel at a cheap price.

    One does tend to forget that you pay practically nothing for a Mora, compared to other knives with the same stuff in them, then gripe because it is not perfection. Their reason for existence is to provide a good working knife at a good price, not to become a status symbol.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    I once "had a discussion" with Mora about the scratches left in their knives from manufacturing. The guy was really confused. Their knives are working tools, he said. They are going to get scratched. Why should they go to the trouble of polishing the blades when they are just going to get scratched? I asked him if he had ever purchased a new truck. He said if I ever paid that much for a Mora knife he guaranteed it would have a polished blade and there would be no scratches. It was clear I was not going to win.

  12. #12
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    I agree with what you are saying. I’ve been using this knife for all kinds of stuff. I do feel that knives are tools and when used will get beat up scratched up ect. I sharpen all of my knives razor sharp. If I broke this knife or lost it due to my own stupidity I would replace it. I just ordered the brushcraft black today. I was simply annoyed that the spine was not square and it appeared that it was. I love how lightweight the whole package is. My plan is to sharpen the brushcraft black test it to make sure it sparks a ferro rod then add it to my work go bag. The one I already have I’m going to keep using the heck out of it. As far as the knife edge. I’m kinda a knife nut and I cringe every time I see someone damaging a knife edge. However I have a small folder knife that I use the very inside edge of the blade because it will fold their is no lock it’s friction only. So if I don’t have to use the edge I’m not.

  13. #13
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Twig View Post
    However I have a small folder knife that I use the very inside edge of the blade because it will fold their is no lock it’s friction only. So if I don’t have to use the edge I’m not.
    That surprises me to some extent, but I am probably from a different generation, one that grew up using folding knives with no locks.

    It was not until I was grown that the Buck 110 began the stampede to lock back knives and the present insistence that they are the only type worth using.

    Simple folding knives, some without any spring at all, similar to the Opinel, have been mainstays of knife use all through history, right back to Roman times. They are some of the most common artifacts in post-contact Native American sites.

    One of my favorite woodcraft knives is the simple Barlow, which has gone basically unchanged since the 1600s.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

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    Or a "Sod Buster". No lock, but you needed Kevlar thumbnails to open it and you'd by golly better have anything you wanted still attached out of the way when you closed it. Somehow life was better when we weren't so protected from ourselves. Folks learned how to be careful.


    Alan

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    I gave #3 son one for his high school graduation. We got through supper before the trip to the ER. Five stitches on his right index finger. He became a paramedic.

    Alan
    Last edited by Alan R McDaniel Jr; 05-04-2019 at 04:45 PM.

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    Alan, that's not funny but I chuckled. I'm just a bad person.

  17. #17
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    His mother and I figured the reason he became a paramedic was due to the amount of time were spent in three ER with him. I took pictures of the visit I mentioned and he is watching intently the stitches being made and tied. He was more interested in that than the fact that his finger was cut.

    In his job he sees a lot of stuff much worse than cut fingers. He's more careful now.

    Alan

  18. #18
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    I carried a three blade Old Timer forever. It's somewhere in the house but danged if I can find it. Miss that rascal. Loved that knife.

  19. #19

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    I took a three day wilderness survival course in northern GA with an Opinel. No beating on it but it got me through. I wouldn't recommend that as your primary survival knife. I carried a Mora for awhile just because everybody said it wouldn't hold up. I still have it. My wife has one too. Then "Crash the Enabler" started bringing his knives to camps and I bought one. My wife claimed it when I got home. Bought another one... and another... and another... I have some other knife makers' knives and I love the feel of a handmade knife.

    My EDC has a good commercial folder that's a locker. I guess I'm just agreeing that a knife is a tool that has purposes and limitations.

  20. #20
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    One old style that I had and still use often is the classic 4 blade BSA style knife.

    I prefer them over a multi-tool for most uses.

    They have ruled the outdoors for more than 100 years and were one of the first things licensed and labeled by the BSA. They were so recognized as outdoor tools that every branch of the military has issued them.

    When you go through the Air force survival school as all tactical airmen must, meaning that they have survival trained millions over the years, you are issued a 4 blade scout knife" and an AF "pilot survival knife".

    Almost every knife maker of worth still offers a "scout knife" as a standard model.

    And yes, Crash the enabler has affected us all.

    TBH I am always looking for what new innovation in leather work he is going to come up with!
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

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