Mora vs ALL

[collim1]

Do you think the Mora Bushcraft Black is really worth its price vs an heavy duty?!?

I prefer the handle of the Bushcraft Black and the 90 degree spine compared to my companion.

The Companion is a great knife, but it seems to be my least preferred between the Bushcraft black, Forest, no 1 and no 2/0. I can't really provide a reason why just is.

 

[MrFixIt]

Do you think the Mora Bushcraft Black is really worth its price vs an heavy duty?!?

I have 3, 2 blacks in carbon and 1 orange in stainless. I have beat the snot out of them and they keep coming back for more.
As far as the "Heavy Duty" model, I have not used one, so can offer no opinion there.

 

[ocnLogan]

So far the Mora I bought to "try out" along with my BK2 has been my most used outdoors blade. As others have said they're not just an excellent value, they're also great designs, executed quite well.

I'll agree that they're tougher than you'd think. And personally I think they pair better with knives larger than an ESEE 6. I feel like the whole point of "robust" knives in the 4-6in range is to make it so they can be the ONLY cutting tool you take somewhere (with the Becker Bk16 being about as small as I consider that genre, and the ESEE 6 the upper end). If you decide to take multiple knives, one of which is a mora, I feel you should skip up and bring something appreciably larger, so there is less overlap in the "skill sets" of the knives you bring. That could be just me though.

My normal kit is a Corona folding saw, BK9, and Mora. Sometimes just the Mora and the saw. The BK16 I just got might start changing things though.

But it really is amazing how much value you can get from a Mora, a Tram machete, council tool axe, and a buck saw blade (or corona folding saw). There really isn't much you can't do with that set of tools, and even if you bought every one of those, you'd still be under $100.

 

[MeanBeaver]

I used to think I needed a full length, full tang, and 1/4 thick piece of tool steel with a saber grind in order to survive a hike. I was wrong. The last few hikes I went on, I didn't even bring a fixed blade. Just a buck 110 and leatherman wingman/Victorinox climber. And I survived. I bought my first mora yesterday, a companion MG. I think it's PERFECT for a backpacking or hiking blade. It's so lightweight it's unbelievable. Some people don't like the sheath but I'm fine with it. I've recently found that I vastly prefer knives that are good at cutting. Funny how taste changes over time.

 

[pinnah]

I am currently thinking to swap my ESEE 3 with a Mora as companion to my bigger ESEE 6...I know the ESEE 3 is superior in every field and it is an outstanding knife...but in the woods the Mora is just showing better wood cutting capabilities (my 3 seems sometimes to get stuck in the wood during the feather stick making, and requires many more strikes to sharp a stick for tent peg and so on)...

IME, what you are seeing is why a scandi, or better yet, a convexed scandi (aka convex or convexed sabre) grind is superior to a full flat grind for wood working.

I find I can control the angle of the blade better for more consistent shavings than I can with either FFG or hollow grind. A convexed scandi or convexed sabre grind will also split wood well, but gives up a bit on slicing capability.

As others have noted, there are super nice convex or scandi blades out there. Bark River makes nice convexed blades.

But here is an interesting review that pits an expensive Bark River against a Mora Companion HD. One has to wonder if a knife that costs 20x more is 20x better?

[video=youtube;sLlxWbce4iE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLlxWbce4iE&list=FLByelOYNpINNJtbaLpAfh0Q&index=14[/video]

I convex my Moras. I like them better that way. Takes about 15-30 minutes on a course stone.

Mora Companion by Pinnah, on Flickr

 

[pinnah]

I bought my first mora yesterday, a companion MG. I think it's PERFECT for a backpacking or hiking blade. It's so lightweight it's unbelievable.

This depends on how one backpacks. If you become skilled with modern stoves, tarps and tents and as you become skilled in reducing pack weight, then many people end up with something like the Victorinox Classic or Leatherman PS4 Squirt as the the PERFECT backpacking knife/tool. In the 35 years I've been playing in the woods, I've never once needed to build a fire. This includes several winter trips per year on average.

Don't get me wrong, I dig my Moras and I carry them on XC ski trips when I'm carrying an Emberlit stove (instead of white gas).

But it bears remembering that backpacking doesn't demand anything more than a simple Boy Scout knife or SAK or tiny multitool.

 

[MeanBeaver]

This depends on how one backpacks. If you become skilled with modern stoves, tarps and tents and as you become skilled in reducing pack weight, then many people end up with something like the Victorinox Classic or Leatherman PS4 Squirt as the the PERFECT backpacking knife/tool. In the 35 years I've been playing in the woods, I've never once needed to build a fire. This includes several winter trips per year on average.

Don't get me wrong, I dig my Moras and I carry them on XC ski trips when I'm carrying an Emberlit stove (instead of white gas).

But it bears remembering that backpacking doesn't demand anything more than a simple Boy Scout knife or SAK or tiny multitool.

I'll honestly 100% agree with that. There really aren't a lot of things that NEED cut (from what I've seen in my limited experience) aside from food prep. Even when in the woods, I like good food. That being said, I vastly prefer a fixed blade over a multi tool or folder for that. They're esier to clean up. I just recently started getting really into the outdoors again, so that very well may change again. I guess I probably should have included best backpacking knife FOR ME.

 

[Ombra]

So far the Mora I bought to "try out" along with my BK2 has been my most used outdoors blade. As others have said they're not just an excellent value, they're also great designs, executed quite well.

I'll agree that they're tougher than you'd think. And personally I think they pair better with knives larger than an ESEE 6. I feel like the whole point of "robust" knives in the 4-6in range is to make it so they can be the ONLY cutting tool you take somewhere (with the Becker Bk16 being about as small as I consider that genre, and the ESEE 6 the upper end). If you decide to take multiple knives, one of which is a mora, I feel you should skip up and bring something appreciably larger, so there is less overlap in the "skill sets" of the knives you bring. That could be just me though.

My normal kit is a Corona folding saw, BK9, and Mora. Sometimes just the Mora and the saw. The BK16 I just got might start changing things though.

But it really is amazing how much value you can get from a Mora, a Tram machete, council tool axe, and a buck saw blade (or corona folding saw). There really isn't much you can't do with that set of tools, and even if you bought every one of those, you'd still be under $100.

I like the way you think! :thumbup:

 

[Ombra]

I used to think I needed a full length, full tang, and 1/4 thick piece of tool steel with a saber grind in order to survive a hike. I was wrong. The last few hikes I went on, I didn't even bring a fixed blade. Just a buck 110 and leatherman wingman/Victorinox climber. And I survived. I bought my first mora yesterday, a companion MG. I think it's PERFECT for a backpacking or hiking blade. It's so lightweight it's unbelievable. Some people don't like the sheath but I'm fine with it. I've recently found that I vastly prefer knives that are good at cutting. Funny how taste changes over time.

That is true...I started with a Victorinox several years ago as (shame on me) the only knife for a hike...then I start camping and I slowly move my taste on the beasts knives like BK2 and ESEE 5 (Youtube has a very bad influence to me sometimes)...then went for bushcraft style knives, then only with ESEE 6...then and ESEE 3 was paired to the 6...and several other combination in the middle I don't want to bore telling you...
Now...trying to be VERY HONEST the greatest knives ever used were Mora's (better than most bushcraft jewelery knives...that I love anyway) and a BK7 and the Victorinox Trailmaster...
But we need more knives anyway, right? .......right???