Morakniv Garberg impressions

2

2ndunamended

Joined
Jul 30, 2016
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I've got a Mora Garberg with leather sheath coming this week. I have four other Moras (a Companion, one Ultimate survival in black and one in stainless, and a Lite My Fire). I didn't pay retail for the Garberg so I'm eager to receive a full tang Mora. It's clearly a want, rather than a need but I do love full tang utility.

Now that the Garberg has been in the wild for a while, I have a couple questions for those of you who have one. (I did do a cursory search in the forums but most of the posts were around SHOT so I thought I'd see what folks have experienced more recently).

1.) How's the leather sheath? Is it sufficient for EDC? Does it seem like it will hold up? Approximate weight?
2.) How's the grip? The Companion and Bushcraft Survivals all have the nice, tacky rubber grips. The Garberg looks nice with the checkering, but I'm certain the grip will be harder and potentially prone to slip.

Thanks in advance for sharing your impressions.
 
As long as you have checkering you shouldn't have a slipping problem. A hard plastic will be more durable. Mine should come next week .It looks good from the drawings that's why I'm getting it. My desire is a straight handle and straight blade -- not that common.
 
mete said:
As long as you have checkering you shouldn't have a slipping problem. A hard plastic will be more durable. Mine should come next week .It looks good from the drawings that's why I'm getting it. My desire is a straight handle and straight blade -- not that common.
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Do you get to use it without adult supervision!? :)
 
Is the 12C27 stainless more likely to scratch than the Garberg's 14C28N stainless?

I ask because I'm somewhat new to the förundran that is Mora, and when I got my first Companion recently, I put it to work with some serious backyard bushcraft practice- feathering wood, notching at will, fighting grizzlies, etc... Having only had experience with a Mora Bushcraft in carbon steel, I was half surprised by the amount of scratching on the cheek of the Companion. These are the type of scratches that have nothing to do with functionality- purely aesthetic. Is this normal?
 
I still have my earliest knife a carbon steel Helle ,brought back from Norway in 1947 ! My grandmother's gift ! That started it ,been at it ever since. In those days parents weren't paranoid they taught their kids usefull skills !
 
Just received my Garberg and leather sheath yesterday. I haven't done anything with it yet other than wear it on my belt.

Cursory impressions- it is a beautiful knife, in the Mora way, which is to say it screams sexy utility. That's about it. Great balance in the hand. I prefer the grip of the Bushcraft Survival knives (for now) as they are slightly more ergonomic and tacky. The Bushcraft survival also have the nice finger guard protrusion that would make sense on the Garberg's harder Polyamide handle.

The steel, from a visual perspective is what grabbed my attention the most upon the initial unveiling. It almost looks unfinished and plain. In staring at it for awhile, my impression was that it looked like a well-cut prison shiv with a nice handle. Don't get me wrong- it's sharp as a razor and the lines are unique for a Garberg. But the 14C28N stainless just doesn't seem as refined (purely from a visual perspective) as any of my other Moras, carbon or stainless. To me, it looks like mass produced industrial steel (almost like it's a prototype), which I wasn't expecting. The full tang feel contributes to this as both the spine and steel butt are extremely sharp- sharp enough to throw sparks with either, or even feather wood. I'm not kidding- they are like mini-blades, which I think offers tons of unexpected extra utility. I'm not complaining about the steel, just working through my own first impressions.

The leather sheath is well made and not too heavy. Great protection with the top flap. Fits nicely on the belt with a little wiggle room for adjustment upon sitting down.

Anyway, more later. So far, my Garberg has opened a few envelops better than some of my thinner blade Moras. Hardly even worth mentioning since this knife is for so much heavier duty, but a tribute to the razor sharpness and daily utility nonetheless.
 
That knife looks amazing. Have fun with it. I just got my first Carbon companion this past month and I am already a huge fan of Mora. Amazing utility knife.
Enjoy , I am looking forward to more info and some pictures if you are able.
 
The Carbon Companion is a must have. I'm getting seriously tempted to try a Garberg even though it overlaps functionality with so many other fixed blades that I have ... but it sure is pretty.
 
The 14c28 is Sandvic's premium blade steel. All commercial steel is mass produced these days. Mora's finishing process will determine what it looks like, nothing else.
I will be interested in hearing your opinion of any noticeable differences between 14c28 & 12c26.
 
BellaBlades said:
That knife looks amazing. Have fun with it. I just got my first Carbon companion this past month and I am already a huge fan of Mora. Amazing utility knife.
Enjoy , I am looking forward to more info and some pictures if you are able.
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SALTY said:
The Carbon Companion is a must have. I'm getting seriously tempted to try a Garberg even though it overlaps functionality with so many other fixed blades that I have ... but it sure is pretty.
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Which carbon Companion do you both have- the MG or the Heavy Duty MG? I imagine both are great.
 
For purely personal reasons, I'm still on the fence about the Garberg. I'm admiring it's beauty as it sits on my desk- not where it should be, hard at work hacking, carving, slicing, batonning. My ambivalence is purely because of the handle/grip, and nothing to do with the overall capability of the Garberg.

I use my knives as tools, with a specific purpose as well as a secondary purpose. The issue with the Garberg is my secondary purpose. I'm thinking about transitioning from a folder to a fixed blade for self defense purposes. I carry a firearm so my knife isn't necessarily my first line of defense. That said, I carry a Skeletool for grunt work, and a Spyderco Military for self defense. But I love the fixed blade utility of Moraknivs- they are sharp, rock solid, and lightweight. Any of the Companions or Bushcrafts fit my needs well, and since I carry offhand, I can deploy them defensively, quickly.

Whereas most of the Moras have the tacky, ergonomic grip with a subtle but effective finger guard, the Garberg handle is harder and does not have a finger guard. Therefore, in a potential self defense situation requiring a thrust (or even when needing to penetrate wood or something else), I fear a slip of the hand over the blade (especially with wet hands).

Mind you, none of this is a concern with respect to the intended use of a Garberg, i.e. bushcraft. But given that I want to have a primary and distant secondary purpose for carrying a fixed blade, it's a factor for me. Especially when I consider how brilliant the other Moras already are. If I'm every in the woods and require a heavy blade, I've got my Tops DART and a light ax. So the 3/4 tang of the other Moras isn't really a problem for me for the type of scenarios I would use them. Nor would it be in a self defense scenario.

So ultimately I just have to decide if I want to keep the Garberg for bushcraft style work. I thought about wrapping the Garberg handle but I don't think it would be effective to make the grip chubbier. If the Garberg had the grip of the Bushcraft Survival, it would be a no-brainer for me. As is however, I've got decide if it fits in my everyday utility rotation.

Regardless, everything I've mentioned above speaks well of the entire Morakniv lineup. They are cost effective and extremely high quality knives across their offerings.
 
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To answer your question. Here is the beauty I was gifted by another member. Price to value. This thing is amazing. I cannot drop the cash on the Garberg. But it looks great.

Here is the one.

 
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BellaBlades said:
To answer your question. Here is the beauty I was gifted by another member. Price to value. This thing is amazing. I cannot drop the cash on the Garberg. But it looks great.

-Snip-
Click to expand...

:thumbup: :thumbup: Most knife for the money on the planet IMO!
 
2ndunamended said:
For purely personal reasons, I'm still on the fence about the Garberg. I'm admiring it's beauty as it sits on my desk- not where it should be, hard at work hacking, carving, slicing, batonning. My ambivalence is purely because of the handle/grip, and nothing to do with the overall capability of the Garberg.

I use my knives as tools, with a specific purpose as well as a secondary purpose. The issue with the Garberg is my secondary purpose. I'm thinking about transitioning from a folder to a fixed blade for self defense purposes. I carry a firearm so my knife isn't necessarily my first line of defense. That said, I carry a Skeletool for grunt work, and a Spyderco Military for self defense. But I love the fixed blade utility of Moraknivs- they are sharp, rock solid, and lightweight. Any of the Companions or Bushcrafts fit my needs well, and since I carry offhand, I can deploy them defensively, quickly.

Whereas most of the Moras have the tacky, ergonomic grip with a subtle but effective finger guard, the Garberg handle is harder and does not have a finger guard. Therefore, in a potential self defense situation requiring a thrust (or even when needing to penetrate wood or something else), I fear a slip of the hand over the blade (especially with wet hands).

Mind you, none of this is a concern with respect to the intended use of a Garberg, i.e. bushcraft. But given that I want to have a primary and distant secondary purpose for carrying a fixed blade, it's a factor for me. Especially when I consider how brilliant the other Moras already are. If I'm every in the woods and require a heavy blade, I've got my Tops DART and a light ax. So the 3/4 tang of the other Moras isn't really a problem for me for the type of scenarios I would use them. Nor would it be in a self defense scenario.

So ultimately I just have to decide if I want to keep the Garberg for bushcraft style work. I thought about wrapping the Garberg handle but I don't think it would be effective to make the grip chubbier. If the Garberg had the grip of the Bushcraft Survival, it would be a no-brainer for me. As is however, I've got decide if it fits in my everyday utility rotation.

Regardless, everything I've mentioned above speaks well of the entire Morakniv lineup. They are cost effective and extremely high quality knives across their offerings.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you were looking for a strong secondary purpose defensive knife, this is not it.
 
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