Cutting down trees w/a Mora?

B

bladerique

Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Messages
977
Iowa Woodsman is a member here and I just caught a cool vid he put up (one out of many).

[video=youtube;B_ZZj-5A9u0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_ZZj-5A9u0[/video]

Pretty cool that last tree.
 
That's a very clever method of batoning he's got there... No shock damage to your hand when holding the knife as you beat on it.
 
IA Knows his stuff, always fun to watch his videos. Still don't want to be stuck with a Mora though :)
 
mistwalker said:
IA Knows his stuff, always fun to watch his videos. Still don't want to be stuck with a Mora though :)
Click to expand...

A lot of guys in the special forces have a saying about firearms that goes something like "2 is 1, and 1 is none." When they go on missions(can't remember where I picked that up, a book I believe) I like to apply this with cutting edges when I'm doing anything more than a short hike. Usually a Mora or my AG Russel Woodswalker around my neck, and either a hatchet or something a little larger and full-tang on my hip.

That said, I would feel pretty comfortable being "stuck" with a Mora if I had to. And they're pretty much a no-brainer for me being a part of my overall kit.:D
 
That second technique is pretty interesting, but it's sure not something I'd do with my knife. I've cut down green douglas fir that size and larger by making a series of downward cuts completely around the tree (beavering it, so to speak) till it was flexible enough to cut while being bent. It takes longer...maybe three times longer, but the knife never gets stressed and you don't have to make a baton first.

Always good to see another way of doing things, though.
 
That bend cut was a very fast cut on a branch that size!

The in, then sideways method is something I will have to try sometime. With a full tang knife, of course!
 
I don't know if it's still the case, but as part of the survival training, I believe all members of the Swedish army had to cut down a tree with their Swedish army knife (a plastic-handled Mora).
 
Using leverage and an angled cut you can cut branches or small trees easily. Someone mentioned using the beavering technique also, with soft woods and persistence you can cut most anything but if you have to do a lot of it you would want to increase your pace by using tools better suited to the task if those ae available.
 
The second technique reminds me a one used for tree felling when the trunk is wider than the saw guide is long. "Heart cut" is the name we give it.

[youtube]utY69OBMBhY[/youtube]


But with a knife there's a thing which bothers me. When the knife blade is jabbed into the wood, batonning the handle on the blade spine side makes of the blade tip the leverage point with, in my opinion, some risk of breakage. However it works pretty well on the video.

dantzk.
 
I think this video has already been posted ages ago.
There's a IA Woodsman here probably the same person.
As for the mora method, yeah it works. Just keep in mind that those wood on the video seem particularly soft (bass wood). Then I've done it (mostly the first method) on harder denser wood (beech). Not a walk in the park but it can be done.
Then for easier trees like spruce, it's about like in the video.

I've also once downed a spruce using a mora. I didn't measured it but total diameter was about total length (blade+handle): about 10in maybe a 10-20% more. Chip by chip. Took me about 20-30 minutes. But still, can be done.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top