Knife recommendation for bushcraft

A

aguerra

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Sep 20, 2013
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Hello everyone, I am new to the forums. I am a beginner at bushcraft and all though I have some overall knowledge about bushcraft, I lack much experience. I am looking for a good, reliable knife in in the sub $75 range and if it's possible, sub $50. Looking for a blade length around 4", not much larger than that. I prefer a fine edge knife and I have been looking at Morakniv Bushcraft Survival but I really have no idea yet on what I will end up buying. I am not in a rush to buy it yet either.

What I plan to do is take this knife with me to all my camping trips and general woods exploring, and eventually take it with me on a cross country hitchhiking trip I plan to do soon. On the hitchhiking trip I plan on mostly camping out in the woods but I want to see a lot of wilderness, as I am a hobbyist landscape photographer with love for nature. So this knife won't be chopping trees or anything extreme, but it will most likely be splitting wood, some carving, and normal use of that sort. I don't want such a large, heavy knife because of the fact that I'll be travelling with it a lot and weight is a factor, as well as trying to keep out of trouble because of carrying a huge blade or something. Thanks for any help!
 
Mora companion. Carbon or stainless. Mora 711. Mora 2000. Mora forest. All very very light. Very strong for the weight. Rediculously good for the price. QC issues usually only come it to play on the relative sharpness out of the box. Like most volume manufacturers, you will get a dullish one here and there. Spines are often not finished at all...just the stamp mark...but that's a model to model thing. On the otherhand, the sharpest knife I have ever purchased out of the box...was my Mora 2000. Probably the top 3 or 4 sharpest knives I own are Moras.

Yes, Mora is what you seek. And at 1/4 to 1/2 of your stated price range!!!
 
And by all the reviews I've seen of Moras, I assume that just because a knife isn't full tang doesn't mean it's not reliable and strong. Thanks guys!

Edit: and I forgot to ask, how would you compare one of those Mora with a Condor Bushlore?
 
Condors are great, especially when you get one from 42blades, as he makes sure they're all ready when you get them. However, a Mora is how a lot of people start off, to see if they like that type of blade. Can't go wrong with either in my opinion.
 
aguerra said:
And by all the reviews I've seen of Moras, I assume that just because a knife isn't full tang doesn't mean it's not reliable and strong. Thanks guys!
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Though I personally prefer full tang knives a well made thru tang knife "Mora" is strong enough for all of your cutting. slicing and shaving chores.

The area were the strength may come into play is prying and from your description of stated needs, You don't want a sharpened pry bar.

The Mora is fine for your needs and you can get two of them for your money.
 
Mora's these days have pretty long tangs. They do vary. Most are pretty wide and most extend 80% of the way into the handle...some more. Some of the smallest ones maybe 75%. You will have to search a long time to find somebody who has broken one or had the blade work loose within the handle. Probably find fewer that have had such an experience with a Mora than other costlier brands.

Condor make a good knife of good steel. I am not so fond of the big ricasso on so many of them. A Mora is sharp all the way to the handle...and a few millimeter inside the handle too for that matter...having taken the wooden ones apart to epoxy them up.
 
If you're not in a huge hurry, and if it sounds like fun, I highly recommend building a kit knife. You'll know a lot about the thing by the time you're done and it's super rewarding.

I recommend looking at Gene Martins website, or for a knife much less involved, take a look at Enzo. :)
 
OP, based on what you said your activities are and what you will be doing, I would suggest you get a nice Swiss Army knife like the Camper or Explorer.
 
you might check out the "Great Outdoors" subforum here. There are many knife choices, and reviews listed.
 
HoosierQ said:
Mora companion. Carbon or stainless. Mora 711. Mora 2000. Mora forest. All very very light. Very strong for the weight. Rediculously good for the price. QC issues usually only come it to play on the relative sharpness out of the box. Like most volume manufacturers, you will get a dullish one here and there. Spines are often not finished at all...just the stamp mark...but that's a model to model thing. On the otherhand, the sharpest knife I have ever purchased out of the box...was my Mora 2000. Probably the top 3 or 4 sharpest knives I own are Moras.

Yes, Mora is what you seek. And at 1/4 to 1/2 of your stated price range!!!
Click to expand...

Yes. :thumbup:
 
Mora all the way. I have the Robust and like it a lot. A combination of a Mora and an SAK (I carry a Victorinox Super Tinker everyday, or the Fieldmaster if camping) and you have a winning team for your needs.
 
I use a Mora Robust most of the time, sometimes a Condor Bushlore. Marttiini is another knife company to look at, similar to Moras. There are other Puuku styles knives that can be had on the cheap, and take quite a beating.
 
I have a Mora Bushcraft survival and it is good knife. Comfortable, long rat-tail tang(not full), easy to sharpen and the coated carbon steel blade spine could strike spark with ferro rod easily. After about an hour of batoning dry wood and with just a minute of sharpening on Spyderco sharpmaker, it is back to paper-cutting/shaving sharp. :thumbup:

For Mora purchases, if you care about what kind of tang is the knife, I do recommend to check out their tang pictures here before buying.
 
aguerra said:
Hello everyone, I am new to the forums. I am a beginner at bushcraft and all though I have some overall knowledge about bushcraft, I lack much experience. I am looking for a good, reliable knife in in the sub $75 range and if it's possible, sub $50. Looking for a blade length around 4", not much larger than that. I prefer a fine edge knife and I have been looking at Morakniv Bushcraft Survival but I really have no idea yet on what I will end up buying. I am not in a rush to buy it yet either.

What I plan to do is take this knife with me to all my camping trips and general woods exploring, and eventually take it with me on a cross country hitchhiking trip I plan to do soon. On the hitchhiking trip I plan on mostly camping out in the woods but I want to see a lot of wilderness, as I am a hobbyist landscape photographer with love for nature. So this knife won't be chopping trees or anything extreme, but it will most likely be splitting wood, some carving, and normal use of that sort. I don't want such a large, heavy knife because of the fact that I'll be travelling with it a lot and weight is a factor, as well as trying to keep out of trouble because of carrying a huge blade or something. Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...

Welcome!

The mighty Mora's have become a standard "go to" utility/woodcraft/camping knives indeed. The newer Robust and Heavy Duty models are made even more, well, "robust". They are all well below $50.

That being said; have a look at Hultafors and the lower-cost Matiinis as well. These all round out popular the Euro-Scandi designs -

Hultafors (model "GK")

hultafors-craftmans-knife-heavy-duty-gk-range.jpg


Martiini (model "14 Lynx with wood handle")

71BqZBgRGPL.jpg


Outside the Euro-Scandi persuasion, as was already mentioned above, have a look at Condor Knife and Tool's offerings.
 
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Mora is the way to go. I have handled many scandi knives, many custom made and some even to my specs. Still, if I take a Mora it just feels right. Light enough, strong enough, affordable enough. I have used my Mora Robust even for quite a bit of batoning (though very reasonable) and have had no problems.
 
Thanks for all the info guys! I am going with Mora, they seem like great knives! I'll also experiment with making my own knives. It looks like a fun project to keep my busy.
 
If you get a Mora, don't get a Clipper. I snapped the blade out of the handle after about 10 minutes of skinning small branches. That thing had a ridiculously short tang, like dollar store kitchen knife short.
 
Since you're just getting started, a Mora is the way to go, as most people have said. Spend $15, us the crap out of the knife. If you are still practicing bushcraft after wearing out a Mora, you can splurge on an expensive knife.

BTW, if you manage to separate the blade from the handle, re-mount the blade for a fun project.
 
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