I just ordered my first Mora. I choose the Triflex due to all the positive reviews. After some researching I learned about the short tang. I purchased this knife as a beater to have around the camp and was hoping for some good service life. Just wondering if there is any problems with these knives holding up to rough use and probobly a little abuse (batoning) here and there? Any worries with the short tang and handle strength?
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Mora Triflex and short tang. Any worries?
- Thread starter BIG45-70
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Gave one to my Father for a skinning knife and he loves it for that use. I don't know how well one would hold up to "batoning", if it were an option I'd buy a cheap hatchet or folding saw. But let us know how it turns out I'm curious.
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No worries here, but if you need the reassurance check out the Mora Bushcraft Force. It has the longest and widest tang of the Mora line.
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I don't worry about it since they are such inexpensive knives ( I actually don't own any moras at the moment though) I know from experience that they can handle light batoning. If you have to hit it really hard then you're doing it wrong. And if you break it it's not a big expense. If you want a tougher blade for a similar price you're going to forfeit the light weight and better steel of the mora.
Well I would think a full tang knife like an ESEE or a Busse or the like would take a lot more varied types of strikes over time. Let's say you position the belly of the knife on the wood while holding the handle firmly. If you then strike the blade between the wood and the handle of the knife, your are going to send a lot of leverage from that blade into the handle material on the Mora. The would be opportunity to start working loose...even more so if you struck the end of the blade. On a full tang, your are hanging on to steel...the same piece of steel that is taking the leverage. Long term that is going to stand up better.
If you are batoning straight down and letting the handle ride a little bit, it should not matter.
Me, I avoid the issue...I've got an axe.
It doesn't hold up to rough use as well as a "heavy duty" full tang sharpened prybar. It doesn't hold up to processing large pieces of wood as well as a cheap hatchet or folding saw. It also doesn't hold up to driving Phillips head screws as well as a Phillips head screwdriver. Also it doesn't make cappuccinos as well as a DeLonghi EC702 15-Bar-Pump Espresso Cappuccino Latte Coffee Maker Machine.
And it's a terrible light source at night.
And it's a terrible light source at night.
chiral.grolim
Universal Kydex Sheath Extension
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There are a series of videos demonstrating the durability of the Mora Clipper (similar to the Triflex), the first one linked here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCXu1UQSKmg&feature=related
The series carries on to destructive abuse demonstrating edge stability, etc. It's quite impressive.
There are also a number of other videos demonstrating the lengths of abuse a Mora can be taken to. The main issue with the tang that I have seen is excessive force leveraged on the handle such that the tang comes loose - batonning the handle in an attempt to force the blade point- or edge-first into a strongly resistant medium, resulting in the handle sliding up the blade or rotating off the tang (respectively). To avoid failure, the Mora pommel should not be hammered on and leverage should not be excessively applied near the pommel.
The full-length + full-width tangs of many modern knives might be called "over-built". They certainly reduce likelihood of catastrophic handle failure... but that is generally not the sort of catastrophic failure experienced in bladed tools in general, as the majority of high stress is endured by the blade itself rather than the tang. That said, the tang is still vital to the tool's integrity as it must be able to endure the stresses of normal use, and "over-built" tangs are designed to endure the stresses of extreme use.
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The series carries on to destructive abuse demonstrating edge stability, etc. It's quite impressive.
There are also a number of other videos demonstrating the lengths of abuse a Mora can be taken to. The main issue with the tang that I have seen is excessive force leveraged on the handle such that the tang comes loose - batonning the handle in an attempt to force the blade point- or edge-first into a strongly resistant medium, resulting in the handle sliding up the blade or rotating off the tang (respectively). To avoid failure, the Mora pommel should not be hammered on and leverage should not be excessively applied near the pommel.
The full-length + full-width tangs of many modern knives might be called "over-built". They certainly reduce likelihood of catastrophic handle failure... but that is generally not the sort of catastrophic failure experienced in bladed tools in general, as the majority of high stress is endured by the blade itself rather than the tang. That said, the tang is still vital to the tool's integrity as it must be able to endure the stresses of normal use, and "over-built" tangs are designed to endure the stresses of extreme use.
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Depends on your use. I would have no qualms over using a partial or stick tang knife but then again I carry a chopper of some sort. If this is your single blade "survival knife," go with a fuller tang like the force or a different brand all together.
Mora is cheap and simply reliably built. So it sort of invites you to use it for all the staff you would never considered for something more expensive. But I believe it is not exactly built to withstand a serious abuse. I have done some scraping and light prying with my working Mora, and damage to the edge I believe was always more significant than it would be to a knife with, for example, convex grind. Or to some thick sharpened prybars already mentioned here. But I keep it proper scandy grind without any micro bevels - I do not believe in that kind of practicality. And I always keep it very sharp. Keeping it sharp in regular use is not difficult. But restoring the edge after it was destroyed takes more doing compared to a knife with some regular grind. I might be wrong - I have had already a small argument about that with a member here. So it is just my own personal opinion. I have done it a few times myself. So now I sometimes consider going and fetching another tool before subjecting Mora to another edge destroying experience... 
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