Of Moras and Machetes...

amcardon

amcardon

Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
942
Hey guys, I've been lurking around this forum and really enjoying myself. Haven't said much because I don't have a lot to add really and am trying to glean some info.

Anyway, I recently got into making knives with my scouts and we've made a few and I really enjoy doing it. I have really grown to understand the usefulness of different knives and their individual worth/talents and now carry one 24/7 (RAT Izula) which I never expected. That being said I have a Mora 840 carbon clipper and a Tramontina machete that I recently bought. I have heard so much about Moras that I wanted to try one out and everybody should own a machete so... So I got the mora and was a little disappointed - it wasn't the sharp tool I was expecting. In fact it was quite dull and the grind feels like it was put in with a checkering file almost; the teeth in the blade almost make it act like a serrated knife. Is this typical for Moras?

So the reason I'm posting this is because I'm trying to decide what I need to do with these knives to optimize their effectiveness. The Mora will be used as a bush/camp knife and the machete will be used for clearing brush/survival kit/relieving aggression on a downed tree... I have a grinder and feel confident in my abilities to convex an edge and/or flat grind a decent edge as well. I was thinking on convexing the machete (haven't actually received it yet, just ordered it, hopefully it will be here Tuesday). With the Mora should I just "improve" the scandi? Anybody convexed theirs and have any input?

I've tried looking back in the forum to make sure I wasn't the newb who asked the same question as the last 50 newbs so hopefully you aren't sick of answering these questions!
 
amcardon said:
In fact it was quite dull and the grind feels like it was put in with a checkering file almost; the teeth in the blade almost make it act like a serrated knife. Is this typical for Moras?
Click to expand...
It happens. Sharpness "out of the box" doesn't mean much. You'll have to sharpen it anyway so go on.
 
I would do a total resharpen on the Mora. I have had a few that arrived not quite sharp but they sharpened up real nice. The Tramontinas come pretty dull from the factory but take a very nice convex edge. A belt grinder will make short work of one and you will get a very good edge. Mac
 
Both will take and hold an incredible edge. Don't worry about that out-of-box sharpness. :)
 
I slightly convex my scandis on a stone most of the time, to give me alot of control and to make it harder to mess up. Very slight, so it still performs much like a "true" scandi, but I haven't had nearly as much issue with edge dings and dullness.

I do, when I can, give it an initial sharpening on a coarse belt on my belt sander, saves the work of doing it on the stone. I also sometimes raise the grind a small amount, which with the slight convexing makes a mean cutter.

A machete does great with a shallow convex grind. Sometimes I polish as low as 80 grit, and then take the burr off with a few passes on a fine stone followed by my strop. Other times I give the whole bevel a mirror finish, and it's a beautiful thing.
 
My 711 is the sharpest knife I've ever seen out of the box. The whole thing was shaving sharp and polished, but the front half was a absolute razor, I was really surprised for an $11 blade. To contrast that, I just bought a $150 custom scandi that came like you describe, practically serrated from the grind marks. Again really surprised, but not in a good way :( I would personally try to work out the grinds and maintain the scandi, or just spend another $17 and buy a 711 from ragweedforge.

Edit: And :thumbup: for the thread title...
 
Last edited:
I have convexed some Mora's that were intended to be hunting knives, They cut like a laser when convexed.
 
Moras sometimes come dull, but they are easily sharpened and they get extremely sharp. Out of the box, I believe almost, if not all companies will have a slight issue now and then, but it isn't a reason to just look over the knife.
 
Thanks guys! I will get to convexing the mora today.

Siguy - I also thought about bringing up the scandi a touch.

With a $10 blade I didn't expect much and if I screw it up then I'm still only out $10, right? ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top