I want to test 2 blades head to head, but...

[jimh0220]

OK, so I have a MORA 4" knife that I have had for years, so I decided to buy another Mora to use as well. Well, before I had a chance to use it, I also picked up a Cold Steel Finn Bear. Except for blade steel and handle material (wood vs Polypropyline, they are desinged for the same purchase. I like both, and want to estasblish which is the most durable and comfortable, so I can know which to trust out in the woods.

Here's the issue, it KILLS me to put these knives through the kind of abuse I need to to evaluate which will be the best for me. I realize that, worst case, I out a whopping $30 max, IF I destroyed both knives, but I have a hard time abusing knives, period!

Help talk me off this ledge of insanity so I can do what I need to so I can use the right tool next time I need it!!

Thanks,

Jim

 

[nevermind35]

I agree with your reasoning that this would be an experiment worth doing. I have also wanted to do tests similar to this but I also have a problem abusing knives. I'm interested in the results you get. What kind of tests are you thinking about doing?

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Moved to Knife Reviews & Testing.

Why don't you start by taking them into the kitchen, and use each one on alternate days for food preparation. Then take them outside and use each on a pile of sticks, sharpening them into spearpoints.

This will give you a good working evaluation of comfort and control, and how both will perform on sharpness and edge-holding.

You don't need to test to destruction to find if a knife will perform on ordinary tasks. But these tests may help you decide which you're more comfortable using.

 

[GrinderMcgee]

Couldn't agree more. If the Mora has served well for years, substitute the Finn Bear or even carry it in addition to your trusted Mora. In time you will come to a more educated decision.

No need to destroy your tools in hard use if everyday chores are your role for these knives. Both serve your budget needs and more than likely they will compare similarly.

 

[knarfeng]

you have a paid membership and can search. Use the Advanced Search. JNieporte already posted just such a comparison between a Mora and a Finn Bear. He posted it here in the Testing Forum a couple of weeks before you joined up.

J does good reviews and I trust his results.

 

[jimh0220]

you have a paid membership and can search. Use the Advanced Search. JNieporte already posted just such a comparison between a Mora and a Finn Bear. He posted it here in the Testing Forum a couple of weeks before you joined up.

J does good reviews and I trust his results.

Thanks for pointing that out. I'll check it out before doing the tests I have in mind.

Esav, thanks for the suggestions. Much kinder than what I have in mind.

 

[jimh0220]

One question I didn't see answered: Handle to blade connection. I want to know if the Finn Bear will hold up to abuse without breaking from the handle. I'm pretty sure my Mora will, as it has a full tang. Wrong to do a little hammer to the spine test, or is this just overkill?

 

[230grains]

I'm a knifetests.com fan and I don't see even the smallest point of D-testing a mora and similar knife. It'd be like putting a car on a runway and seeing if it can fly. I'm a big heavy indestructable chopper lover, but I love my moras too, but they're apples and oranges. I've never batoned with my moras, they're for more delicate tasks even if they can handle more. Want a test?

fuzz sticks, snares, food prep, maybe game prep, general utility. No need to whack it with a hammer or bend it till it snaps. Maybe very light batoning, but don't go and try and split a redwood.

 

[Guyon]

OK, so I have a MORA 4" knife that I have had for years, so I decided to buy another Mora to use as well. Well, before I had a chance to use it, I also picked up a Cold Steel Finn Bear. Except for blade steel and handle material (wood vs Polypropyline, they are desinged for the same purchase. I like both, and want to estasblish which is the most durable and comfortable, so I can know which to trust out in the woods.

Here's the issue, it KILLS me to put these knives through the kind of abuse I need to to evaluate which will be the best for me. I realize that, worst case, I out a whopping $30 max, IF I destroyed both knives, but I have a hard time abusing knives, period!

Help talk me off this ledge of insanity so I can do what I need to so I can use the right tool next time I need it!!

Thanks,

Jim

I fail to see why you'd need to destroy either knife to establish which is the more durable and comfortable user. In line with what Esav said, I suggest you set yourself a reasonable series of tasks with each knife, do the same things with each one, take some notes as you go, and compare your assessments.

I'm assuming we mean the same thing by "durability," and if that's the defining characteristic you need for a user, then I would suggest you go with a thicker steel and a full tang. The Mora and the Cold Steel might not be the right models for you in the first place. There are custom makers here who produce some very nice bushcraft blades with both attributes. You might try a Koster Bushcraft knife, for instance.

Edited to add...

One question I didn't see answered: Handle to blade connection. I want to know if the Finn Bear will hold up to abuse without breaking from the handle. I'm pretty sure my Mora will, as it has a full tang. Wrong to do a little hammer to the spine test, or is this just overkill?

That depends. Do you plan to use a hammer on the spine in the woods? My guess it that it's much more likely you would baton with a piece of wood. The latter might be a more reasonable test and one less likely to mess up the knives.

If you don't mind me asking, which Mora do you have with a full tang? That's one I might like to get. As far as handle to blade connection and tangs go, I remembered this photo where someone x-rayed some different Moras. Took me a bit to find it, but here it is...

.

 

[Broos]

If you want to call it testing, then you should make efforts to try to do exactly the same test to each knife. Otherwise I'd call it a review.

If you want completely unreliable results for how well it can withstand impacts on the spine with hardened steel, then beat on it randomly with a hammer.

If you want slightly less unreliable, but more defensable results for the same, then figure out some way to control the hammer strike energy and impact location to create as equal blows as you can to hit the spine.

If you want to test how well it withstands normal knife batoning, then hit it with a piece of wood or nylon hammer - you can do this either trying to keep it "scientific" or just do a review via normal or extreme (batoning in very cold weather could qualify for extreme use) - this will remove the failures that would occur just from hardened steel on hardened steel impacts, and be a better test imo.

If you want a test to determine how large of an impact it can take, then you need to hit it hard enough to break it with one impact, and be able to determine how much energy the knife absorbed during failure - a charpy test offers some ideas how to do this (hitting it with a known energy and measuring how much of that energy the sample absorbed). That would be as close to a "knife toughness" test you could get. The problem with a knife is to be able to design the test so that each strike is causing the same conditions on each knife (secure both knives the same and hit each in the same spot, so they will experience the same stresses from the equal strikes).

If you want to test it for how many impacts it can take, then you should do it so that each impact does not cause damage to the knife. I do not think there is much value in testing a damaged knife, since at that point you are only testing how a damaged knife can withstand impacts. By designing the test to not cause damage with each strike would yield results that are better than testing a damaged knife.

 

[neeman]

...I'm assuming we mean the same thing by "durability," and if that's the defining characteristic you need for a user, then I would suggest you go with a thicker steel and a full tang.
The Mora and the Cold Steel might not be the right models for you in the first place.
There are custom makers here who produce some very nice bushcraft blades with both attributes. You might try a Koster Bushcraft knife, for instance....

+1 :thumbup:

Look at the Queen Premium Drop Point Hunters full tanged in D2 for $41
http://www.crisnercutlery.com/hunters.htm
$10 more than you would pay if you destoyed two perfectly good knives!