I've read a lot about laminated blades, and I got my first one about six years ago. What is a laminated blade? It's one layer of steel sandwiched between a different (most often softer) kind of steel. This gives the hardness and edge retention of the harder steel while still keeping the toughness and corrosion resistance of the softer steel. Laminated blades are costly for the most part. Call them what you want - San Mai, clad, 3L, triple layered - it's all laminated steel. Up until I found the Mora, I wasn't able to try out a laminated knife blade due to financial restrictions (the laminated knives I saw costed between $100 and $180). Then I found the Mora S-1, which is now consider to be the best laminated knife out there cost-wise. It's only $15 in most places. The model is S-1, and there are two versions out there: one made by Frosts' of Sweden and one made by Mora of Sweden (after Frosts' and Eriksson merged). I'll note the differences at the end of the review, but put an asterik (*) where there is a difference. The knife I'm reviewing is made by Frosts'. Here we go...
The Handle: The S-1 has a birch handle, and it's painted red (*1). It's 4" long (*2), including the 5/16" stainless steel throat. For me, this is a bit short for a handle. It fits well in the hand and covers all four fingers, but it still is a tad short for me. Another 1/2" on the butt would help out enormously. The butt is flat, and you can see the tang through it. It's a rat tang knife, so the handle is covering a 3/16" diameter rounded tang. No lanyard hole. The handle is oval-shaped, and it helps with grip. Unless you're really putting lots of torque on the knife, it's not going to roll in your hand. The birch is sanded smooth and uncoated. I was going to rub linseed oil in it, but decided it wasn't necessary. After six years of use, the handle is still tight, with no cracks or splintering. There's no guard provided, so you'll have to be careful if you do anything resembling a thrust or push. Even then, the handle is short enough that you can palm the butt and still use the knife normally. It's a humble design, but it's effective and not irritating.
The Blade: The S-1 has a laminated blade, as already established. Specifically, it's a center layer of high carbon sandwiched by two layers of softer low carbon. The center layer (the core) is 61-62 on the Rockwell scale.
Ragnar says: "This gives a finer edge without making the blade brittle, but the edge can be more fragile when cutting hard materials such as bone. Because the sides of the blade are softer steel the blade is less rigid, and will bend rather easily."
I find all of this to be true, except the bending part. Every laminated blade I've gotten has been as stiff as other non-laminated blades I've owned. The spine will ding more easily, but that's not the same as bending.
The blade is highly polished (*3) and is 3-14/16" long (*4) by 3/32" (just under 1/8") thick. It's 11/16" wide (*5) and sticks out a bit on both the spine end and the edge end. Specifically, it protrudes 1/16" from the top (spine) and 1-/16" from the bottom (edge). This isn't a huge deal, but the protruding spine makes it uncomfortable if you're used to having your thumb on the junction between the handle and blade. The protruding edge might nick you at first if you're not careful of if you have larger hands, but it's easily avoidable by choking back on the handle.
The blade is Scandanavian ground, and it produces a razor-sharp edge. You can see the lamination line if you look carefully; it's a slightly darker color than the outer layers and it's about 1/8" from the very edge. Cool.
The blade ends in a slight clip point, and is pretty nice as a piercer. It's almost like a needle. In terms of what's stamped on the blade, it has the Frosts' logo next to MADE IN SWEDEN over LAMINATED STEEL. (*6)
Overall, this is a very useful and sharp knife. The blade takes a very wicked edge and holds it through some real work, as long as you keep its limitations (don't go chopping hard wood with it) in mind. It's actually the perfect all-around knife for, well, cutting. Kitchen stuff is easy, as is butchering game. Woodworking is also easily done, and you can use this as a light camp knife. The traditional look of it won't likely scare anybody, and it doesn't come off as a super ninja death tool. Also, it's a GREAT laminated steel for less than 20 bucks!
The Sheath: The sheath sucks, but anybody familiar with Moras will know this. The first thing I do when I buy a Mora is buy a cheap leather sheath. The ones that comes with the S-1 is black plastic, and it's 6-1/4" long not counting the belt loop thingy. It has a design on the front and a ridiculous floppy belt loop. I've tried to use these, and they wear out in about a week of everyday carry. With the knife inserted the entire package is 8-1/2" long, leaving 2-1/4" of the handle sticking out. This is good because there is no way to retain the knife in the sheath; it's all friction. I like these pouch-style sheaths, but this one just sucks. I'm pretty sure the sheaths were designed to keep the blade (and you) protected if you decide to throw the knife in a toolbox or carry it in your pocket. (*7)
To conclude, the Mora S-1 is a great cutting tool. Yes, the sheath is horrible and the handle could be better, but the overall package is very nice for normal use. As I said before, it's a quality laminated steel for less than 20 bucks. Pick yourself out a cheapo leather sheath for $4 or $5 and you'll still be under $20; then you're set. The Swedes are making these great, quality knives with really nice steel at a price that nobody else can touch, so it behooves you to take full advantage. For the money, I really don't think you can get a better fixed blade.
Differences: Here are the differences between the Frosts' of Sweden S-1 (the very knife I'm reviewing) and the Mora of Sweden S-1 (which I also have in front of me)...
*1. The handle on the Mora of Sweden looks to be painted a darker shade of red than the handle on the Frosts'.
*2. The Frosts' has a 4" long handle, while the Mora of Sweden's is about 4-1/8" long.
*3. The Mora of Sweden's blades come with a shinier finish than the Frosts'.
*4. The Mora of Sweden's blade is 1/16" longer than the Frosts'.
*5. The Mora of Sweden's blade is 13/16" wide and sticks out 1/32" further on both the spine-end and the edge end.
*6. The Mora of Sweden has the Mora of Sweden logo, otherwise the stampings are the same.
*7. The Mora of Swden has three holes drilled into the back of the sheath, presumably for water drainage. The Frosts' sheaths have no holes.
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As an aside: for those of you with larger hands, Frosts' makes a larger laminated knife. It's called the S-2, and it's the exact same thing as the S-1 but larger (6/16" longer blade and 5/16" longer handle). I have two and they're great.
The Handle: The S-1 has a birch handle, and it's painted red (*1). It's 4" long (*2), including the 5/16" stainless steel throat. For me, this is a bit short for a handle. It fits well in the hand and covers all four fingers, but it still is a tad short for me. Another 1/2" on the butt would help out enormously. The butt is flat, and you can see the tang through it. It's a rat tang knife, so the handle is covering a 3/16" diameter rounded tang. No lanyard hole. The handle is oval-shaped, and it helps with grip. Unless you're really putting lots of torque on the knife, it's not going to roll in your hand. The birch is sanded smooth and uncoated. I was going to rub linseed oil in it, but decided it wasn't necessary. After six years of use, the handle is still tight, with no cracks or splintering. There's no guard provided, so you'll have to be careful if you do anything resembling a thrust or push. Even then, the handle is short enough that you can palm the butt and still use the knife normally. It's a humble design, but it's effective and not irritating.
The Blade: The S-1 has a laminated blade, as already established. Specifically, it's a center layer of high carbon sandwiched by two layers of softer low carbon. The center layer (the core) is 61-62 on the Rockwell scale.
Ragnar says: "This gives a finer edge without making the blade brittle, but the edge can be more fragile when cutting hard materials such as bone. Because the sides of the blade are softer steel the blade is less rigid, and will bend rather easily."
I find all of this to be true, except the bending part. Every laminated blade I've gotten has been as stiff as other non-laminated blades I've owned. The spine will ding more easily, but that's not the same as bending.
The blade is highly polished (*3) and is 3-14/16" long (*4) by 3/32" (just under 1/8") thick. It's 11/16" wide (*5) and sticks out a bit on both the spine end and the edge end. Specifically, it protrudes 1/16" from the top (spine) and 1-/16" from the bottom (edge). This isn't a huge deal, but the protruding spine makes it uncomfortable if you're used to having your thumb on the junction between the handle and blade. The protruding edge might nick you at first if you're not careful of if you have larger hands, but it's easily avoidable by choking back on the handle.
The blade is Scandanavian ground, and it produces a razor-sharp edge. You can see the lamination line if you look carefully; it's a slightly darker color than the outer layers and it's about 1/8" from the very edge. Cool.
The blade ends in a slight clip point, and is pretty nice as a piercer. It's almost like a needle. In terms of what's stamped on the blade, it has the Frosts' logo next to MADE IN SWEDEN over LAMINATED STEEL. (*6)
Overall, this is a very useful and sharp knife. The blade takes a very wicked edge and holds it through some real work, as long as you keep its limitations (don't go chopping hard wood with it) in mind. It's actually the perfect all-around knife for, well, cutting. Kitchen stuff is easy, as is butchering game. Woodworking is also easily done, and you can use this as a light camp knife. The traditional look of it won't likely scare anybody, and it doesn't come off as a super ninja death tool. Also, it's a GREAT laminated steel for less than 20 bucks!
The Sheath: The sheath sucks, but anybody familiar with Moras will know this. The first thing I do when I buy a Mora is buy a cheap leather sheath. The ones that comes with the S-1 is black plastic, and it's 6-1/4" long not counting the belt loop thingy. It has a design on the front and a ridiculous floppy belt loop. I've tried to use these, and they wear out in about a week of everyday carry. With the knife inserted the entire package is 8-1/2" long, leaving 2-1/4" of the handle sticking out. This is good because there is no way to retain the knife in the sheath; it's all friction. I like these pouch-style sheaths, but this one just sucks. I'm pretty sure the sheaths were designed to keep the blade (and you) protected if you decide to throw the knife in a toolbox or carry it in your pocket. (*7)
To conclude, the Mora S-1 is a great cutting tool. Yes, the sheath is horrible and the handle could be better, but the overall package is very nice for normal use. As I said before, it's a quality laminated steel for less than 20 bucks. Pick yourself out a cheapo leather sheath for $4 or $5 and you'll still be under $20; then you're set. The Swedes are making these great, quality knives with really nice steel at a price that nobody else can touch, so it behooves you to take full advantage. For the money, I really don't think you can get a better fixed blade.
Differences: Here are the differences between the Frosts' of Sweden S-1 (the very knife I'm reviewing) and the Mora of Sweden S-1 (which I also have in front of me)...
*1. The handle on the Mora of Sweden looks to be painted a darker shade of red than the handle on the Frosts'.
*2. The Frosts' has a 4" long handle, while the Mora of Sweden's is about 4-1/8" long.
*3. The Mora of Sweden's blades come with a shinier finish than the Frosts'.
*4. The Mora of Sweden's blade is 1/16" longer than the Frosts'.
*5. The Mora of Sweden's blade is 13/16" wide and sticks out 1/32" further on both the spine-end and the edge end.
*6. The Mora of Sweden has the Mora of Sweden logo, otherwise the stampings are the same.
*7. The Mora of Swden has three holes drilled into the back of the sheath, presumably for water drainage. The Frosts' sheaths have no holes.
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As an aside: for those of you with larger hands, Frosts' makes a larger laminated knife. It's called the S-2, and it's the exact same thing as the S-1 but larger (6/16" longer blade and 5/16" longer handle). I have two and they're great.
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