Broken mora's?

[upnorth]

Thanks for the positive remarks but if yea don't like them don't blame me. LOL! Just kidding but seriously the reasons why I like those models being the handle size and shape works well for large hands and seemed better with gloves but that's just my view. Also the sheath sucks for a belt but the knife rides deep so is good for inside my pack. Also back in the day they were a bit thicker than the Clipper with a deeper tang. Very inexpensive around the 10-15 dollar range.

Thanks for the pics. Yes the sheath retention\clip is the only minor issue for me, as I have figured out secure ways of carrying other models. Beauty of these things though is that loss is obviously not a financial issue.

 

[GrinderMcgee]

Not to mention that you can remove the knife, blow into it, and the hole in the bottom focuses your breath if you are using it to breath life into a fire. I'm one of the few people that actually like that cheap plastic sheath.

I agree with above posts that you can break any knife. Give me a long enough cheater pipe and a large vise, I can snap any of them. And so can you. Keep in mind it's design parameters and adjust accordingly.

I am addicted to the noise the Clipper/Companion sheaths makes. I have made sheaths for every other fixed knife I carry except this one. I clip them to different spots or carry around the neck like I imagine a cool Scandinavian bushcrafter might. But the sound is my guilty sin to keep the chincy sheaths around.

I've seen many broken on the internet, never broken one myself.

 

[Chris Pierce]

Leather sheaths are not fundamentally unsafe. They just have to be made correctly. They only thing that I don't like about the mora sheaths is the belt attachment. Otherwise they're great.

 

[effer]

Mora's sheath is great! With some heat modification is can be made to hold a hanging weight, yet you can still extract your knife easily with one hand with a push of a thumb (just like kydex). There is also absolutely zero rattle and you can carry it upside down on your pack straps, or horizontally on your belt, if you want. I wish mora made it like this to begin with, but there is only so much you can expect out of the box on such inexpensive knife.

I also have seen broken moras on the net (just like other knives), but I think you need to be very dumb and put it through a lot of abuse to break it.

 

[james terrio]

If moras came with a leather or even (gasp) a kydex sheath I'd be a lot happier with them. Not that I'm unhappy now.

That would at least double the cost, though.

Regarding tang designs... on such a light thin knife I really don't have a problem with the stub tangs on Moras. There's only so much pressure you can put on them unless you're just trying to break it, and making it full-tang would simply add more cost with little to no benefit.

The really funny part is, most thicker, heavy duty "full tang" knives are so heavily skeletonized to prevent them being ridiculously heavy that they don't have any more steel in them than a similar sized knife with a hidden tang, anyway. Tang breakage is nearly always the result of outright abuse, and/or poor geometry - mainly, sharp inside corners/stress risers - not whether or not it's full or partial. (FWIW, I make full tang knives almost exclusively and I do indeed lighten them up, so I'm not picking on them. It's just a fact.)

 

[Chris Pierce]

That would at least double the cost.

They'd still be a steal.

 

[WRGreen]

After some of these actions I begin to wonder what the damaged knife vs. injured "bushcrafter/survivalist/heavy user" ratio is.

 

[jdk1]

I have a buddy with an seemingly endless toy expense account who loves knives..the perfect friend The last time I we "yard crafted" he had a collection of Moras. They do cut very well. We were concentrating on feather sticks for getting Emberlits going. His Light My Fire Mora, with a very thin blade, made feather sticks by just looking at them. I was truly amazed. That and the fact you always have a little firesteel with it made me think it's the perfect last ditch pack knife. And it's SS to boot. Drop it in the bag and forget about it. I busted out my DPX HEST to see how it compared. It didn't. Not at all. The HEST is not for bushcraft, and it's a good thing, because it cuts wood like crap I carry it for very different reasons, but the comparison was still an eye opener. The Mora is a good woods knife, period. I agree with Bill. Paired with a nice, light khukuri (or other big knife/axe/hatchet/machete/saw/name your poison) a wee Mora would leave one very well equipped. I am definitely picking up a few LMF Moras to have stashed about.

 

[james terrio]

I am definitely picking up a few LMF Moras to have stashed about.

Nothing wrong with that at all. I put 'em in a class I call "bucket knives"... throw it in a bucket in the truck, boat or garage and forget about it. Five minutes or five years from now when you suddenly need a beater knife, it'll be fine.

They'd still be a steal.

Well, maybe. To a lot of folks here, yes... but in the grand scheme of things we're a pretty small subculture. And by far most bushcraft/survival folks either do that kind of work themselves or have a friend who does. Handle or sheath-wise, I just can't see putting a lot of extra labor and money into working on a $15 knife, but hey... everyone needs a hobby

The majority of them are sold as basically disposable/leave it in the toolbox or tacklebox for 350 days of the year/don't really care if I lose it over the side of the boat/etc. Doubling or tripling the cost doesn't seem like a lot, but when you're talking about thousands of knives a year and pricing yourself out of the bulk of your market, it just wouldn't make any sense to the companies.

There's probably a good reason they've stuck with the same basic models, materials and price points all these years...

 

[neeman]

There's probably a good reason they've stuck with the same basic models, materials and price points all these years...

Kudos to Mora for actually changing their lines and models
They have created the Bushcraft/Survial series for prices well above the simple $12 mark
These knives are no longer throw away bucket knives, but a respectable piece of bushcrafting gear

So adding $25 for a leather sheath for a $40 knife could easily be added value to the package

 

[Chris Pierce]

I understand all of that James. I'm not saying that they should produce better sheaths. Just that I'd be happier if they did. I can see how you'd misunderstand though

 

[Translash]

Never really broke a mora before, but I've never batoned with one. My next outing, I will put one of my moras through a rigorous test to see how they really hold up. I did however snapped off the tip of my Mora 911 while using driving it into wood to help split it. Was a dissapointed that it broke so easily, but fixed the tip on my harbor freight easily. I wouldnt bet my life on a mora in the wilderness as my ONLY knife at this moment, but they are good for cutting tasks thats for sure.

 

[Woods Walker]

Kudos to Mora for actually changing their lines and models
They have created the Bushcraft/Survial series for prices well above the simple $12 mark
These knives are no longer throw away bucket knives, but a respectable piece of bushcrafting gear

So adding $25 for a leather sheath for a $40 knife could easily be added value to the package

I think the Buchcraft thing along with some of the other higher priced Mora knives are more marketing than anything else. Why did they dump one of their most popular models, the 911 and 946? Mora "Bushcraft" Triflex above 911 below.

I believe the 911/946 had to die so they could charge 25+ dollars for a 10.99 knife.

 

[Kiah]

I think the Buchcraft thing along with some of the other higher priced Mora knives are more marketing than anything else. Why did they dump one of their most popular models, the 911 and 946? Mora "Bushcraft" Triflex above 911 below.

I believe the 911/946 had to die so they could charge 25+ dollars for a 10.99 knife.

When I first saw the "Bushcraft" line I had the same thought. I paid eight or nine bucks for my 911 new. Weird to see that handle as the "premium" model considering they were the same price as the rest before the name change. Looking at Ragnar's site I see you can even get 'em with a FS on the sheath for only $75 ... . Thankfully I didn't really like the handle to begin with, so no urge to buy a more expensive version.

On a side note, I don't see the 740/60/80 listed anymore either. Did they stop making those? The 780 was a steal. Did pick up one of the "fire knives" on the exchange a while back. That one still seems worth the asking price.

 

[Woods Walker]

When I first saw the "Bushcraft" line I had the same thought. I paid eight or nine bucks for my 911 new. Weird to see that handle as the "premium" model considering they were the same price as the rest before the name change. Looking at Ragnar's site I see you can even get 'em with a FS on the sheath for only $75 ... . Thankfully I didn't really like the handle to begin with, so no urge to buy a more expensive version.

On a side note, I don't see the 740/60/80 listed anymore either. Did they stop making those? The 780 was a steal. Did pick up one of the "fire knives" on the exchange a while back. That one still seems worth the asking price.

Funny you should bring up the 780. Mora took the 780 Trifex blade combined that with a green 911 handle and 10 dollar knives became a 28 dollar knife.

 

[Bo T]

Funny you should bring up the 780. Mora took the 780 Trifex blade combined that with a green 911 handle and 10 dollar knives became a 28 dollar knife.

I really like my 911. I like my Triflex, also. But they (Triflex) used to be less than $20. I don't know if the Triflex is much if any better than the carbon Moras, but the idea of decarburizing the surface of the steel to increase the toughness of the blade was a great one

 

[Harden Knives]

I personally think moras are good steel and solid for the money. If you ever break one at the thinner part on the tang, you can either re-weld or grind the tang back into a point a bit and get some practice with making knife handles .

 

[Kiah]

Funny you should bring up the 780. Mora took the 780 Trifex blade combined that with a green 911 handle and 10 dollar knives became a 28 dollar knife.

Yeah, I looked into it after I posted. Too bad, the handles on those were really good for someone with larger hands that didn't like rubberized handles. Looks like they've dropped the Tradesman and Scout as well and relegated the 510's guardless handle to a carver.

 

[zpstl321]

Yeah, I looked into it after I posted. Too bad, the handles on those were really good for someone with larger hands that didn't like rubberized handles. Looks like they've dropped the Tradesman and Scout as well and relegated the 510's guardless handle to a carver.

I really don't like the angle the blade extends out from the handle of the more expensive models. I do like the looks of the Light My Fire models and will likely pick on one or two before to long. The Companion model really is perfect for my needs and it is a tough knife. It is a little bigger than I thought it would be when I ordered it, but now that I've used it quite a bit I really, really, like it.

From time to time I consider selling or trading my more expensive knives for Mora Companions in different colors. They really are perfect little blades. I prefer mine in Stainless though.

 

[jdk1]

Hopefully this isn't too much thread drift, but considering the OP is about broken Moras, I'll add that I just ordered a Hultafors GK due to it's tough reputation. For $14 shipped it's worth a try. It's similiar to the Moras, but the GK appears to be a real brute of the species. I like the Mora Companion, but wouldn't (yet) feel safe with it as my only blade. More so the LMF version, which is an awesome carver, but quite svelte. After watching some abuse videos of the Hult GK, I'm not worried about that one. It's also reputed to be made of Japanese SK-5, which I like. The nice thing about these blades (Moras and Hults) is even the brutish models are light weight and cheap. You could probably carry a Hult GK and Mora LMF for less weight than most outdoor blades, and have all knife bases covered for less than $40! Throw in an $8 Tramontina machete and there's not much you couldn't do.