How Good Are Moras?

C

Confederate

Joined
Sep 5, 2005
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I've seen some favorable reviews of the Frost Mora, not only here but at Stephen Regenold's Gear Review Blog. I've always thought that Frost products were not generally very good, but just so-so, very similar to M-Tech in quality. But if the carbon steel in these Moras is good, it sounds like a good idea to pick up a set.

The knives don't look like they'll be winning any beauty contests, but how good are similar Frost knives without the Mora name?

"What makes a Mora knife so special?" Regenold asked. "They’re cheap, lightweight and simple—a no-nonsense knife that comes with a plastic sheath. Its straight blade is sharp out of the box, and it feels well-balanced and strong in the hand. But what really has made Mora knives famous are their superior steel blades. The steel, which comes in four varieties from Frosts Knivfabrik—carbon-steel, stainless, Triflex and laminated-steel—is known to hold an edge well, and it is regarded as extremely tough and resilient."

Sounds like an excellent recommendation. If anyone has anything to add, I'd like to hear it.

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Won't win any beauty pageants!
 
You're thinking of "Frost Cutlery". Moras are made by "Frosts of Sweden" (now called "Mora of Sweden" after merging with "KJ Eriksson". It's a completely different company, and the two have nothing to do with each other.
 
Frosts of Sweden is not the infamous Frost of late-night TV informercials.

They are entirely unrelated.
 
Hmmm - should I delete that 2 minute "late" post?

Nah, it's a point worth confirming.

Anyway: People love Moras. There are many, many posts praising them.
For a similar knife I prefer the Marttiini, made in Finland.

But the Mora is a great value as well. No doubt about it.
 
kiahs said:
You're thinking of "Frost Cutlery". Moras are made by "Frosts of Sweden" (now called "Mora of Sweden" after merging with "KJ Eriksson". It's a completely different company, and the two have nothing to do with each other.
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Yup, I noticed the name stamped on the blade of my new Frost 780 triflex-Erik Frost, Mora Sweden
 
It really FROSTS me when companies have the same name. Anyway, it's good to know. I'm not echanted with Frost Cutlery. I've just seen the two listed together on sales sites.

I visited the site listed above and yes, they do have variety, but most of them are still ugly. Even so, I may pick up a few of them with carbon steel blades. Thanks, all.
 
Yeah, maybe they are ugly. I think of Mora knives as totally functional, which gives them a unique character, kind of like Shaker furniture. The black plastic sheaths in particular are bug-ugly, but they do a great job of securing the blade so you don't lose it, and keeping that razor edge from doing you damage (at least in the sheath:rolleyes: ). I usually end up making leather sheaths for my Moras, except for the one bouncing around in the cargo box that I use to cut through tires, for lawn edging, and to loan when silly people who don't carry knives ask to borrow one. Their carbon steel is excellent.
 
Confederate said:
It really FROSTS me when companies have the same name.
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"Frost Cutlery" was founded in 1978 by Jim Frost in Tennesse.

"Frost's of Sweden" was founded in 1891 by Erik Frost in Mora, Sweden.

The names being (sorta) close are purely coincidental.
 
I visited the site listed above and yes, they do have variety, but most of them are still ugly. Even so, I may pick up a few of them with carbon steel blades. Thanks, all.
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Check out the other scandi blades on that site. Some are quite pretty, while still giving the cutting ability of the ugly ones. They do cost more though.
 
The Regular Mora #1 is a nice blade, but the Swak and clipper line are better, and the Mora 20o0 the ultimate mora IMHO.
 
If you don't like the stock Mora like is pictured above, the blade can be rehandled to be prettier and it makes a fun project too.

I just finished up a little whittler. I picked up the knife with handle for around $8.00, tore the handle off, and rehandled it in osage orange and wenge with copper bolsters and a lanyard loop.

Just need to make a sheath for it.

The steel is great, and the finished product has a lot more "soul" than what you started with.

Andy
 
Moras are excellent for the price, and as knives, much better than some misshapen tacticals ruined with choils, complex guards and serrations. Even so, they're "cheapo" knives, and can't be expected to handle really hard use or perform as well as similarly designed more expensive knives.
 
The Eriksson models 911 (carbon steel) and 946 (stainless) are excellent knives, and extraordinary values. The rubber-covered grips are hand-filling and very comfortable, the swivel clip plastic sheath very sturdy and useful, best of the plastic sheaths, IMO. I prefer the stainless Sandvik 12C27M over the non-laminated carbon steel blades (1095) both for its edge retention and corrosion resistance.

The 545 is a nicely designed modern Mora as well, a bit smaller than the 911/946, but the hard plastic handles tend to show some stress cracking, probably due to shrinkage. I haven't seen one come apart, however, and this may not affect function and tool life in normal use.

The Frosts 906 laminated carbon steel (O-1 core, stated 61HRC) is sold as a carving knife, but makes an outstanding utility blade, great around the workshop. The plastic sheath however is very poor, for me it works best to completely cut off the belt loop (which cracks almost immediately upon use anyway) and cut the mouth of the sheath down maybe 5/8". It then makes a nice liner for a leather belt sheath, and even carries nicely as-is in pocket or tool kit/bag. The plastic used in the handle does not demonstrate the same problem as seen on the 911 and 946.
 
Dog of War, do you know if the stainless fillet knives are the same Sandvik 12C27M steel?
Thanks.
 
Hi, Jon. My understanding (and according to Ragnar) is that in the Eriksson line, 12C27M is used, while the Frosts use 12C27. I believe this is true with the filet/fishing knives but have never checked specifically. The difference between these two steels is rather small: 12C27M -- "M" being for "modified" -- has a bit less carbon and is stated by Sandvik to have been designed to be the more corrosion resistant of the two, even OK to put through commercial dishwashers. "Regular" 12C27 has a little more carbon and should be expected to have a bit better edge retention. But in my experience both will take a very fine edge and hold it quite well. I think you'd be very pleased with either one, so if choosing between an Eriksson or Frosts I'd be more concerned with picking the handle/sheath/blade length I wanted.
 
Swedish Mora and Frost knives are excellent cheap knives for work and backpacking IMO. I love them. :)
 
After I had read a lot of good things about Moras, I bought a Mora 2000 a few years ago. I was disappointed at first. It didn't look like much of knife, didn't came sharp out of the box and seemed to have a rather thin blade compared to all the tacticals i've owned before. I put it away in a drawer for months.

One evening after I had sharpened other knives I remembered I still had a rather dull Mora on which I could further practice my sharpening skills. It could be sharpened easily and took a keen edge. I started using it for kitchen and utility work around the house and soon was impressed by its cutting power, handling and edge holding. Not only was it up to every task I put it through but it outperformed knives which had cost 10 times as much. Now it is the knife I use most often. It has proven itself to be all the knife I need.

Unfortunately, it is not all the knife that I want. I keep on buying high end end knives which sooner or later all end up in a drawer. The Mora 2000 on the other hand sees constant use. Although it is butt ugly, I've really come to admire this knife.

- Mike
 
i just got back from camping next to a group of Swedes.

they used Moras for everything that we post that knives aren't for. they feel even a 'disposable' knife should be of decent quality.

buy it, beat it, break it, toss it. none of them would even think of sharpening one. for anything aside from utility work, meaning actual bushcraft, there was a Helle and a rough looking custom in camp. the attitude was that if one guy has a knife, they all have a knife.
 
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