Busse vs. Mora?

[gixxer1237]

Mora gets it done well for cheap. There are better knives that will do everything they do better than a Mora. On my next bush outing I'm going to try only packing one knife, my NMFSH if its here by June. I would not try that with a Mora. Not versatile enough. A Mora and axe would be a great combo to, but as I've had to add weight to my pa k to be the mule of my family group I want to save as much weight as possible. Nmfsh can do a lot a Mora can't do. No knock on the Mora just the truth.

 

[PatrickKnight]

Abuse= Busse
Fine wood carving tasks = Mora

A Busse will not carve or do fine bushcrafting tasks nearly as well as a Mora would and a Mora will not be on the same continent as a Busse when it comes to taking abuse. Both are fine knives just designed for different tasks.

Mora gets it done well for cheap. There are better knives that will do everything they do better than a Mora. On my next bush outing I'm going to try only packing one knife, my NMFSH if its here by June. I would not try that with a Mora. Not versatile enough. A Mora and axe would be a great combo to, but as I've had to add weight to my pa k to be the mule of my family group I want to save as much weight as possible. Nmfsh can do a lot a Mora can't do. No knock on the Mora just the truth.

When I hit the woods I normally only have one fixed blade with me and the blade length is under 4 inches, I am not going to say the brand here because its not a Busse but 99% of people can do everything they need to with a Mora. Some people myself included would argue that a Mora is a more versatile than a Battle Mistress is.

 

[emt1581]

Well I said I would post back so here goes....

My Mora 511 arrived today. I didn't get to give it any hard use yet, just separating my NC Sabrett's and Vienna Beef's.

My first impression is that this is a great little kitchen knife. It did arrive shaving sharp which is more than I can say for my Busse's. The knife itself it pretty tiny and feels like a toy, but it strikes me as a serious slicer. Based on size/measurements alone, I wouldn't feel confident in it as a survival/outdoor blade but maybe that changes after I put it through it's paces. The grip is well designed but, again, feels like a toy.

As for the sheath, just because it was inexpensive I'll go easy on it. But who-ever thought of the whole belt attachment should be shot. Useless as the handle on a piss pot! And I've seen the crafty bastards that put a button on a leather loop....shouldn't need to do that! And I'll be a SOB if I'm going to hang this from a dress shirt. The snapping in place is efficient but a little to light. I'd prefer it a little tighter.

Overall, I have a feeling this is going to end up being my new kitchen/eating knife.

-Emt1581

 

[PeterPHWS]

Yes, well: the problem with this thinking is that it is fantasy rather than reality based.

In real world use for chopping sharps, weight matters a lot. A Busse that can chop into a dead tree for dry wood doesn't just cost more than the alternative Mora + axe combo if you are hiking, it weighs a lot more too. And it is actually more likely to break than the axe - if an axe does break if will be the shaft, and you can improvise a replacement. And if you really need a machete for path clearing and you have a Busse, then the fates have mercy on you, because trying to swing a BM all day will be a nightmare. Or if you're in that favourite fantasy knife user scenario of "SHTF" and you need a pry bar, then you are a lot better off with the real thing than a Busse (trust: prying is much better done with blunt objects than sharp ones, especially if ERs are being over run by zombies.) The times when a Busse is actually going to be a better carry than a lighter and cheaper combination of blades are pretty rare; someone asked what knife to carry in the military recently and no recent soldier suggested a Busse, all of them ruled out heavy knives, and one suggested a Mora...

Busse make excellent knives of a particular type, but this excellence isn't - it can't be - as universal as some fans think. Because in the real world weight matters an awful lot in anything you carry, and even more in anything you have to swing with your arms for hours at a time. "Over-built" isn't a always cost-free safety margin; it can often be a crippling nuisance.

Upgrade to a Gold membership so you can do a search on other peoples posts and in particular mine and you will see that I have tested and posted extensive reviews of all manner of knives and knife/axe/saw combo's and you will see why I favour a 14oz Busse Basic 9. It is lighter than any Mora / Axe combo and offers the best all round performance to weight ratio I have come across.

If the Mora/Axe combo was better I would say so.

You don't need to be in the military to have a good working knowledge of knives but as it happens I probably qualify quite well on that basis if it matters .....

 

[bulldog6]

It sounds like the original comparison assumed a Mistress variant of Busse vs Mora and a Hatchet. I don't know anyone that would trek into the woods expecting a Mistress alone to fulfill all chopping and cutting roles. It just sounds like a very misleading comparison.

Given a choice, I would prefer an axe for chopping, but if I'm limiting myself by weight, I would choose a Mistress over a hatchet. In either case, something smaller would serve as a second or third knife.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Good thread! I enjoy reading about a knife users personal choices, positive or negative, argumentative or passive, its all good.

Weight? For years backpacking at Philmont I never needed an axe, I had an old Western brand fixed blade and an Old Timer pocket knife. I even got one of those wire saws once upon a time and it worked great and weighed less than the pocket knife.

Never did get into that whole plastic handled knife craze, plastic (to me) does not inspire confidence. Personal choice. I'd rather have an Old Hickory butcher knife when it comes down to it, and I do! Its old, handle warped, but it works so well.

With all the fancy doo dads available in titanium, and all those really nice mini stoves, all a person really needs nowadays is a pocket knife to open the packaging on the coffee.

Mostly a nice, adult discussion.

Philmont is great. There are, of course, other places and climates - say the Cascades or western PA in the Winter.

You only need a pocket knife until you need more. It's that "Be Prepared" stuff.

Some Nordic makers are turning out puukkos )("pukkot," really) in tougher steels, such as 3V. A 3/16"-thick diamond-cross section on a 4" blade makes for a pretty stout knife.

 

[leatherman]

I do love the Brusletto (I still have a little Troll around here somewhere) line, and I also have a nifty bark handled Finnish knife. There is something uniquely warm about the feel of a birch bark handle.

One of my all time favorite users is a Roselli, ultra high carbon Hunter, love the large handle and wide blade and that carbon steel is unreal.

Ragweed is my toy store, been so since my early days here in 2001.