Mora Survival Black sharpening

pjandyho

pjandyho

Joined
Feb 12, 2014
Messages
673
Never was interested in a Mora because I am very much a full tang guy, but lately I was bitten by the Mora bug when I saw the black beauty on YouTube so I thought I just gotta have one. Yes, it is a Mora Bushcraft Survival Black with a coated black blade, and reaching me in a couple of days.

I understand that for a Scandi grind you sharpen the entire flat side of the bevel, but since the black is coated for protection against the elements, how does one sharpen it? I noticed some people actually introduced a secondary bevel on the very edge just to prevent from wearing out the coating on the primary Scandi bevel, and some like virtuovice on YouTube actually removed the entire coating on the primary bevel so he could get a perfect Scandi edge.

On one YouTube review, the reviewer said this knife came with a micro secondary bevel, or something along the line. So what is what? Could anyone who have owned this knife tell me about your experiences?

Many thanks!
 
Sounds like you pretty much answered your own questions. Micro bevel is just secondary bevel in very very subtle level.
 
I have the Bushcraft Black which seems to be the same model and so far I've been putting a (micro) secondary bevel on it on the Sharpmaker set to 40 degrees. It may not be the best option but it works well so far. I wouldn't worry too much about the coating as it's already coming off in places on mine, probably won't last in the long run.
 
All other things equal, the area of the blade most prone to functional damage from corrosion is the edge - where there is no coating.

Don't worry about the "Scandi" grind. At best, it is claimed to be better for wood-carving, not general outdoors work.
 
Here's mine and You can see that I sharpen it without care for the black coating!
I primarily choose cutting performance over corrosion resistance and the coating had to go.
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For a stainless option I take the Mora Bushcraft Orange.


Regards
Mikael
 

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I would just sharpen mine properly for a scandi grind and not worry about the coating.

With a little care the Bushcraft Black will stay sharp a LONG time with frequent stropping. I strop mine on leather loaded with green compound and then plain leather and it maintains its edge for a very long time. The thin scandi edge responds really well to the strop. I have not actually had to put mine to the stones yet.

The factory edge is very sharp despite the noticeable grind lines on the edge. The coating has remained somewhat through stropping, but when its time to put it on the stones then care will have to be paid to make sure its clean and dry when put away to prevent corrosion.

Moras are great. The Bushcraft Black and Bushcraft Forest are awesome. I love them both. Don't worry too much about the coating. I have never had a problem with my uncoated Carbon Moras as long as minimal care was taken to prevent corrosion.
 
Thanks guys. I wasn't worried about the aesthetics but rather the lost of protection from the elements. I just disliked having to oil the knife every so often and leave it feeling greasy and oily. I did order some Tuf Cloths when I placed another order for an L T Wright so I think that might work. I am also awaiting for my strop from StropMan and I hope that I could get it soon for use with the Mora.

As for sharpening equipment, I am pretty ill equipped. Currently I only have a Gatco Ultimate diamond set, a similar setup to the Lansky. I was thinking of getting some stones for use with the Mora and my incoming L T Wright. What would be the recommendation from you guys? Should I get a diamond table top set so I could use it on harder 3V and INFI steels as well?
 
I use cheap stones from Fällkniven, the DC4 and the CC4 + a strop.

Regards
Mikael
 
I use King 1k and 6k water stones. Sharpens up a Mora SS or Carbon very well. Can't speak for the other steels you mention.

Diamond is unncessssry for Moras in my opinion. Certainly would work but leave Grind marks pretty deep that have to be sharpened out in other stones anyway and remove more metal than necessary.
 
Thanks guys for the response. I am looking into water stones but right now I am keeping my options open. Maybe I might just use sand paper to sharpen it instead and then strop it to a mirror edge.

Last night I received the Mora Black and I like it. The handle feels good and it is pretty lightweight which is a good thing. The blade is sharp but not anywhere I would consider razor sharp. Slicing through newspaper I can feel some resistance whereas my Spyderco PM2 and Esee 3 just goes through the same paper effortlessly.
 
collim1 said:
I use King 1k and 6k water stones. Sharpens up a Mora SS or Carbon very well. Can't speak for the other steels you mention.

Diamond is unncessssry for Moras in my opinion. Certainly would work but leave Grind marks pretty deep that have to be sharpened out in other stones anyway and remove more metal than necessary.
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A diamond hone, if used with very light pressure, should not leave too deep a scratch pattern on a Mora. I wouldn't use an XC diamond, unless the edge was pretty badly damaged, but anything from coarse up to EF has worked very well for me. A Mora finished with very light passes on a fine or EF diamond stone, followed by a little light stropping on plain leather, takes on a wonderfully toothy, razor sharp edge. If you wanted a more polished edge, you could go to EF and then use a more aggressive strop to polish.

Being a purist, I do sharpen my Moras the traditional way, on the Scandi bevel. Any corrosion on the edge can be taken off with sharpening or stropping, so long as it isn't allowed to pit the blade.

Honestly, a $6 Norton Economy Stone should do a great job with a Mora, if you're not looking to spend a lot of money.
 
I always figured that the full scandi was work at home while the microbevel was for quick sharpening in the field.
 
Hey guys, I watched a YouTube by Ben Orford on sharpening Scandi grinds and I think it is pretty easy as long as I am careful about maintaining the angle. For the field I think a strop should do. I think I will just go ahead and sharpen the entire flats of the bevel and do away with the black coating.
 
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