Mora - Add Microbevel or no?

B

Burncycle

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Jan 3, 2005
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I didn't want to hijack the other thread, but a couple of people mentioned this and I was curious. For those of you who have been using Mora's in the woods for a long time, do you prefer to add a microbevel or find that it's not necessary and just keep it scandi?

For those who add microbevels, what method do you use and how does it affect it's characteristics? (I'm assuming more edge strength at the cost of a little sharpness)

Regards
 
If you are going to use it exclusively for carving, I stay no microbevel.

But if you plan to use it for many task then i would certainly recommend putting a microbevel because it tends to be tough and chips less. If you abuse a full scandi, It will chip quite easily and putting a microbevel on helps. In addition, I have that microbevels are an easy way to make a knife REALLY sharp.
 
I agree with him^

to create the micro bevel just strop the knife at a slightly steeper angle then the main grind
 
Perhaps you can achieve a compromise by stropping on leather after each use at the same angle as the original bevel thereby creating a convex microbevel that IMO will carve better than a secondary V Grind and will outlast a scandi. The trick is not to put too much pressure when stropping.
 
I believe mine all become microbeveled with a convex over time because of stropping. I haven't really noticed a difference though.
 
A microbevel will add strength to the edge, and make it easier to quickly sharpen the blade. Just make sure that you can maintain the correct angle for the microbevel. My Bushcraft Triflex has a 25 degree inclusive edge so I don't put a microbevel on it but I put a microbevel on most of my other Moras (20 degree inclusive).

A microbevel on a Mora is like a pony motor on a John Deere 820, it just makes life easier.
 
A microbevel on a scandi is like training wheels on a Harley.
A microbevel on a Mora is like a pony motor on a John Deere 820

Oh dear, I hardly know what to think!

I have asked before
What is a mircobevel?
The result of stropping or relaxed (sloppy?) sharpening my primary bevel
Or a new intentional hone line on the edge, where that is this mircobevel becomes my primary sharpening bevel

My High Q carbon gets a mircrobevel from stropping, and once in a while I put the knife to my 4000 grit waterstone to bring it towards flat again

My Mora 106 laminated carving knife chips if I do not put a microbevel with my extrafine DMT stone, so the DMT is putting my final hone on the microbevel
And again once in a while flatten it with a waterstone to keep the micro bevel micro not a full secondary
 
Is a Mora of sufficiently high quality not to flop over when doing the tasks you put it to without adding an extra bevel? The answer seems to be sometimes.
 
I saw a video not too long ago where a guy made a portable strop out of a paint stick. He just cut it to length to fit inside a ziplock bag (I have been thinking about buying a Mora and have thought that a packable strop would be handy). Good luck with whatever you choose.
 
The great thing about them is they are inexpensive enough to experiment with. Try it with the Scandi grind and see how it works for you. If you have any issues, throw a micro bevel on there and play with that for a while. In my use, micro bevel was the way to go. YMMV though as the saying goes :thumbup:
 
I use my mora mostly on dry/hard wood, so a micro convex (achieved with sand paper and compound stropping) suits it fine. On green wood, I'd keep it true scandi.
 
Mora makes knives for woodcutting only, the blade is about 5 cm long (2 Inch) and have a "true scandi grind" this is a wood cutting tool, not really made to cut anything else. You don't often see them on this sight, as they make crappy bush craft blades.

They also make utility blades which have a lower angle on the primary grind, these are the once you see here often, they benefit from a small micro bevel ( or convex micro bevel), as the primary bevel is to low to make a stable bush craft knife, that is used for more then just cutting clean wood.
 
from about septmber to december my moras have a slight microbevel from using a butchers steal( for skinning,quarting and boneing deer) but i usualy work them out at the end of the year when I clean them oil them and put them away for a year. my woods knifes get stroped on the edge witch gives them a very slight micro bevel. seems to work good for me
 
Moras with general purpose designs come from the factory with a microbevel. For maintaining that microbevel sharpen the knife to a zero edge ("true scandi") then do one or two light strokes at the lifted angle on each side. A micro bevel really is micro. You shouldn't be able to see it at a casual glance--you should have to actually look for it.
 
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