FROST-Mora all purpose fixed blades?

J

JD Spydo

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Nov 20, 2004
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I was going through some of my older "Wilderness Way" magazines a couple of weeks ago and I come across an article that I didn't remember reading the first time. It was an article about the FROST-Mora brand of Swedish made fixed blade knives. What was very interesting to me is the fact that "Wilderness Way" magazine very rarely ever publishes articles on production made knives.

But this article really praised this particular make of knives for survival and all purpose knife use. It went to point out that you can get them either in carbon steel or the Sandvik Stainless blades. The article also praised them as being really high quality cutlery for a very modest price. They also pointed out that the handle and sheath were designed for all kinds of survival and wilderness applications.

I was just wondering if any of you guys/gals had ever heard of this brand of Swedish made knives. They appear to me to be a poor man's version of the Spyderco Temperance 1 model. They seem to have a design that is quite useful. I want to know more about these if any of you have them or have used them.
 
Mora's generally are ecxellent users. I believe Frost recently aquired Mora and continues use its brand. However I might be wrong in this one. One the best models is Mora 2000 that is one of the more expensive mora's for $23 - $33. Its excellent bushcraft knife. Thin blade doesn't take prying but it cuts like berserker demon.

Mora Clipper is also good and cheaper knife. One of the best hard use fixed blades with that price category.
 
Moras are awesome bushcrafting knives, there are videos of people hacking down trees with them on the internet. For 10-30 dollars you won't get so much value out of any other knife. Their woodworking knives are amazing too, I have one of their drawknives for making rustic furniture and it holds up superbly.
 
Been around FOREVER, I have seen mora knives that were 50 years old. There used to be three companies, now there is one I think. All from the same town, MORA
 
Frosts merged with Ericksen (not the cellphone company) and are now Mora of Sweden. I have four of their blades; a laminated carbon wood-handled thingy, a carbon outdoors knife with a rubberized handle, a stainless outdoors knife with a rubberized handle, and 10.25" stainless bladed chef knife with a fibrox-like handle that's freaking huge at the heel; and they're all much better than their price tag suggests (won't be throwing out more expensive blades that serve the same purpose, but these Mora of Sweden knives are all very good).
 
Two and a half thousand posts, and you're asking about Moras!? :) ;)

I foolishly overlooked them for many years as "cheap and nasty" - but have now seen the light.



They are outstanding knives, even when you don't take the price into consideration.
 
Something that has not been mentioned is that the laminated steel versions are readily available as bare blades. If you want something dressier than the factory handles, hilt them yourself and get what you want.

The supplied sheaths are plastic and not much. It's a measure of how good Moras are that many of us buy $25 custom sheaths for our $10 knives.
 
I LOVE, Mora knives, outsanding bushcrafters and can be used for just about anything. I knew of one Dental Surgeon who used one of there smallest to cut peoples gums up :)
 
JD Spydo said:
The article also praised them as being really high quality cutlery for a very modest price.
Click to expand...

Take a look at:
http://newgraham.com/store/product/6836/Clipper-Stainless-Blue/
http://newgraham.com/store/product/6845/Craftsman-Triflex-Carbon-Black/
Once my package arrives I will have these 2. Notice the prices? Notice that I got a stainless and a carbon steel knife for very little money?

I ordered a $70 knife and threw in an Opinel and those 2 Mora knives - that is 3 extra knives to play with for 50% more cost (well less than 50% because I was paying shipping anyway, so adding a couple of cheaper things to the order doesn't add much to the total bill). Think of the benefits of a knife that costs less than $15 and yet takes a sharp edge and can be used for various camp chores.

A Frost/Mora may not be the best, but they are pretty good usable knives for a damn good price. Just look at the knives that are easily better, then look at what they cost! Think about the tasks that you would rather not use an expensive knife for.
 
I always assumed that everyone who logs on to BF knows about the ubiquitous and inexpensive Mora knives. There's no good reason not to have a few:D
 
One of the best bangs for your buck. Use 'em, abuse 'em... my personal favorite Moras are the Frost's laminated blade woodworking models.
 
Moras (whether Frosts' or Eriksson) are awesome and inexpensive. I have a few...
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(The last two aren't Moras, but are still Scandanavian knives.)

002-7.jpg


001-8.jpg


005-12.jpg


006-11.jpg
 
I have two of them, the 510 and the clipper. I also have a mora crook knife and have one of their carving knives on the way (model 120). They're good knives, nothing fancy but they work, or of course you could rehandle them and make them as fancy as you want. Great prices too.
 
I've been so enamored with Spyderco, Benchmade & Boker that I've obviously overlooked some great value user blades. I need to rectify that problem immediately>> and I will. Wilderness Way magazine also has articles about using them for all kinds of different survival applications. They consider them extremely versatile and somewhat low maintenance as well.

Thanks for the great feedback guys and I hope all of you have a super holiday season. But don't stop because I want to know more.

Also was I being fair calling them a Poor Man's Spyderco Temperance model?
 
As someone said earlier, the companies merged and now you can buy knives that say MORA, where previously there were individual brands like KJ Eriksson and Frosts of Sweden.

All are generically referred to as Mora knives, and they represent the best price/value ratio of all knives, bar none. What makes it even better is that they are made by free, voluntary labor rather than in what are essentially forced servitude camps disguised as Chinese or Pakistani factories.

Be careful that you don't confuse Frosts of Sweden with Frost Cutlery. Once upon a time (early 80's perhaps) Frost produced some pretty decent knives in Japan, but for the past many years they have consistently produced some of the lowest quality knives on the market.

As to sheaths: the Clippers have a pretty decent molded sheath, all the others are simply blade covers at best. What one poster said about us buying sheaths worth more than the knives is completely true. On the bright side, a collection of Moras makes a excellent justification for buying some leather and learning to make your own sheaths.
 
JD, as a fellow Spyderco fan I can say I enjoy the Moras I own. I have the 760mg "military" model. It's got a hand filling, comfortable handle. The sheath isn't that great, but it's certainly functional (I did have to enlarge the belt loops to fit my thick leather belt though). The sandvik steel sharpens to a fine edge quickly, is super corrosion resistant, holds an edge acceptably and is pretty tough to boot. I've bent the 760's blade 90 degrees and had it return to true, though this isn't something I'd ever repeat because I'm sure it does the blade no good. It's also taken tons of batoning through wood AND metal without any damage beyond some dulling of the edge. The thin stock makes them slice pretty well. Overall good knives.

Compared to a Spyderco, the sheath might leave you wanting more, the handle texture and design doesn't have the grip retention the Temperance does, but the steel will perform like a softer VG10, that is it will hold an edge a bit shorter of a time but seems to be able to take some serious lateral stress while just bending and sharpens a bit quicker. Great for what they sell for.
 
Vivi said:
JD, as a fellow Spyderco fan I can say I enjoy the Moras I own. I have the 760mg "military" model. It's got a hand filling, comfortable handle. The sheath isn't that great, but it's certainly functional (I did have to enlarge the belt loops to fit my thick leather belt though). The sandvik steel sharpens to a fine edge quickly, is super corrosion resistant, holds an edge acceptably and is pretty tough to boot. I've bent the 760's blade 90 degrees and had it return to true, though this isn't something I'd ever repeat because I'm sure it does the blade no good. It's also taken tons of batoning through wood AND metal without any damage beyond some dulling of the edge. The thin stock makes them slice pretty well. Overall good knives.

Compared to a Spyderco, the sheath might leave you wanting more, the handle texture and design doesn't have the grip retention the Temperance does, but the steel will perform like a softer VG10, that is it will hold an edge a bit shorter of a time but seems to be able to take some serious lateral stress while just bending and sharpens a bit quicker. Great for what they sell for.
Click to expand...

I have a 760 that started its life as an asphalt shingle trimmer when I built a utility shed. After that humble beginning left it with a terrible collection of scratches and scars, I reprofiled the clip point into a dropped point and used it to dress and skin a couple of whitetails one season just to see how it would perform. I'm pleased to say it did a great job and, despite the rather severe use of shingle cutting, it still has a great edge and is still a solid performer. I'll snap a picture and post it in the next few days if I can.
 
elkins45 said:
As someone said earlier, the companies merged and now you can buy knives that say MORA, where previously there were individual brands like KJ Eriksson and Frosts of Sweden.

All are generically referred to as Mora knives, and they represent the best price/value ratio of all knives, bar none. What makes it even better is that they are made by free, voluntary labor rather than in what are essentially forced servitude camps disguised as Chinese or Pakistani factories.

Be careful that you don't confuse Frosts of Sweden with Frost Cutlery. Once upon a time (early 80's perhaps) Frost produced some pretty decent knives in Japan, but for the past many years they have consistently produced some of the lowest quality knives on the market.

As to sheaths: the Clippers have a pretty decent molded sheath, all the others are simply blade covers at best. What one poster said about us buying sheaths worth more than the knives is completely true. On the bright side, a collection of Moras makes a excellent justification for buying some leather and learning to make your own sheaths.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all of that detailed clearification Elkins :) I suspected that the Frost cutlery company that we all know from the sleazy infomercials on late night TV could not possibly be involved with a reputable company such as Mora of Sweden. Like I said over at another knife forum recently I had used Sandvik steel before. Not only on knives but on professional tree trimming equipment and I'm here to tell you that there is nothing at all wrong with Sandvik's steel.

Now the article in Wilderness Way magazine didn't say whether the carbon steel versions were also made with Sandvik steel but a friend of mine from Michigan said on another forum that the carbon steel Mora knives were darn good as well.

Also Elkins I would like to give you a High Five for your testimony about Chinese, Pakistan and other countries who produce horrible blade steel as well as a couple of other 3rd world hell holes I could mention. The Swedes for years have been known for quality steel production>> not only on cutlery but on other applications as well.

This is really great discovering a top quality hard use knife without breaking the bank to get it. And not having to stoop low to buy from 3rd World slave drivers. I'm looking forward to checking out and learning more about this great line of cutlery. I truly want to thank all you guys for your great information and I hope your Christmas is the best ever. :)
 
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