Opinion wanted please.

S

Sudoriferous

Joined
May 3, 2013
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Hi everyone,

I was hoping for some opinion on Mora knives. I am planning to do the AT next year and never really possessed a knife for the outdoors. Since I am green on this subject and don't want to invest yet, Morakniv seems to be everywhere I look. Its cheap but people say its a good knife for the money you pay. There are three questions I have as a person who knows nothing about this. #1: What is the reason for a thicker or thinner blade in these type of knives? #2: I know this is an old debate, but as a person who doesn't know how to sharpen a knife (not yet at least) which one would be easier to do so, carbon or stainless? And last, #3: Can I use sand paper on the trail to sharpen them? Trying to keep the weight to a minimum. I appreciate any response that can shine some more light into the decision making. I know they are cheap and maybe I am over thinking this, but when does one learn?

Thank you,
-Sudo
 
I'm not sure what the "AT" is but maybe thats because I"m from a little further south than some. I haven't used a mora outdoors but I gave one a hell of a workout renovating. In short it was ok. Easy to sharpen. A thin blade is lighter, can generally get sharper (due to blade angles) and is great for detail work. A thicker blade is heavier and generally better at taking a beating with things like chopping or usung your knife as a wedge to cut wood. All of that can be dependent on the quality of the steel, heat treat and construction.

The benefit of stainless is simply that it's less prone to rust. That is often at the trade off of other properties like edge retention though.

The big questions to consider are:
What do you expect to use your knife for and
How often do you plan to do it?

If I were heading out for more than a couple days and using my knife to do light cutting I would expect a mora to dull. If I expected to be using the knife regularly or envision cutting anything harder than rope or food I would probably spend a little cash and upgrade. Something like an Esee3 or Izula. It will cost a bit more but will last years if you look after it.

Consider a swiss army knife too. They are generally inexpensuve and great for the light stuff.

I have never had success sharpening with sandpaper but I am convinced that's my fault. Make sure you practise your sharpening before you go.
 
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Chris Larrikin said:
A thin blade is lighter, can generally get sharper (due to blade angles) snip
Click to expand...
Can u explain this? A 30 degree angle is 30 degrees...thick or thin blade ....
I agree that thinner blades slice better, thick and thin can be sharpened to the same angle.
 
I've used Moras for 15 years+ now and my #1 is still one of my favorrites. Same one, never needed to replace it so far. I'll be heading out for 3 days into the Sierra Nevadas with mine today.

I can't say that I agree with Chris' comments about Moras going dull so fast or easily and I'd guess that the majority would share my opinion. Mora knives are routinely handed out to be used in some of the best survival schools here in N. America for good reason as they perform excellently as a woods and bushcraft knife. -You'd kinda expect this from a Scandinavian knife. I don't baton with my knives, never needed to, but I have used my #1 to cut down 4-5"saplings without damaging or dulling it. (Get a copy of Bushcraft by Mors Kochanski for this and other techniques). It will handle all of your cutting needs wheter food, chores, or woodworking.

Yes, you can use sandpaper to sharpen them, and you can extend the life of the edge if you give it a stropping in between use. You can use the rough side of a leather belt or even your jeans or bit of canvass. I find that sandpaper (wet/dry Emory paper in 320, 400 grits for maintenance and 220 sparingly if you need to do a complete resharpen) works better for knife newbs, as you can push the blade in the direction of the spine rather than pull it towards you edge-first like with stones. This is easier to manage.

Plenty have carried a Mora for thru -hiking the AT due to its weight, cost and performance, then again, many have made it with nothing more than a SAK.
 
The Mora classic is my go-to small fixed blade. It excels at carving, slicing, food prep, and general bushcraft and camp chores. Personally, I see no reason you shouldn't already have one! Regarding sharpening, stropping the Mora's Scandi edge on some 1000 grit sandpaper every now and then is a great way to keep it sharp I've found. Obviously you should bring one or two strips of coarser stuff in case you want to save time on a more dulled edge, but you should be good just with occasional runs over fine grits. Regarding ease of sharpening, it pretty much couldn't be easier. I think you'll have no troubles.
 
I've owned several hundred dollars in custom knives and still use my $13 Mora the most. So yeah it's a good pick. I would suggest you go with the stainless as it's less of a pain to maintain(keep from rusting). Sharpening ease should be about the same between both stainless and non-stainless. For sharpening, sand paper is what I use to sharpen with though if you're new you may think about getting a small medium/fine pocket stone. The great thing about scandi grinds is you can lay the stone flat on the bevel which makes it extremely simple to sharpen. An alternative would be to glue some sandaper to a fake credit card you get in the mail or something similarly small and flat. As far as thin or thick that's a preference thing. Some guys feel naked with a knife less than 1/4" thick and there are guys like me who wouldn't think of going over 1/8" thick. So it's up to you. On a scandi grind knife like Mora I'd suggest thinner rather than thicker do to that type of grind though.
 
It's my understanding that weight is a very important factor on the AT. With that in mind, and the fact it is a quality knife, I would have to say that the Mora would be a good choice for your endeavor.

Tom
 
Are you doing the full AT, or sections? A mora is awesome, but I would say that you could get by with something smaller if you aren't through-hiking. I've never needed a blade that big while backpacking, but I've never gone more than 2 weeks at a time.
 
Mora's are pretty smaller by most folks standards and are quite lightweight so they're a great choice IMO.

I'm currently testing out the 2000 but I'm not sure if I love the Sandvik compared to my old basic Mora in laminated steel on the right...



Amazin knives for the money. :thumbup:
 
Well you won't be chopping down trees or splitting logs on your backpacking trip; food prep will be your most common cutting tasks. A thinner blade will be more suited for that than a thick blade, and it'll be much lighter weight also.

Carbon vs. stainless, it's just personal preference. I'd go with whichever has the higher rockwell hardness (rc) so it doesn't need sharpening so often.

Mora is a good choice all-around. Light weight, inexpensive, durable. Being a fixed blade is a definite plus - safer, lighter weight, more hygienic, more convenient

Sharpening. No opinion on the sandpaper. But instead of carrying a sharpener with you, maybe stick one in your mail-ahead caches? If it was only a week or two, I'd say you wouldn't need one at all.

-------

Probably more serious backpackers carry a Swiss Army Knife that any other single piece of equipment. The best attribute is that they contain multiple tools that you might otherwise have to carry separately. Scissors, tweezers, blade, etc. The worst is trying to clean food or gunk out of the folding mechanisms. Last thing you want out there is some gastro-intestinal 'event'.

Look at the super-lightweight fixed blade knives from AG Russell as well. Only a little more expensive than a Mora, but better steel and a super-safe locking sheath. I use the Hunters Scalpel for hiking, but you might prefer the next size up Bird and Trout.

If you want to spend more and have something nicer, maybe consider a custom fixed blade knife? The For Sale By Maker section here at BladeForums is full of suitable blades. I recall a long-ago topic about a couple of people who carried a small custom when through-hiking the Continental Divide Trail. Wish I could find a link...
 
A Mora is the perfect backpacking knife and will be a great companion for your trip. They are light, stout, inexpensive and easy to sharpen. Check out YouTube etc. for how to sharpen, but they are very easy and forgiving to learn on. The main thing I like about Mora's compared to other lightweight knives is that they have full sized, comfortable handles.
 
Czechmate said:
I'm currently testing out the 2000 but I'm not sure if I love the Sandvik compared to my old basic Mora in laminated steel on the right...
Click to expand...

The laminated ones have a higher hardness IIRC. Do you prefer it because it holds it's edge longer?
 
I happily stand corrected :) It would appear that most people's experiences are different to mine. As said I was using mine in revovations though - including cutting old carpet with 40 years worth of embedded dirt and grit, cutting plaster board and MDF etc.

We also don't have Moras sold as commonly here so we don't have the same range. I certainly wasn't knocking the Mora though - mine was definitely great value for money.
 
From what I understand, in Sweden the Mora is basically used as a utility knife and thrown out when dull. So you're experience with one is for the most part what they were intended for. I did not like them for a long time because I thought they held terrible edges. After sharpening with a micro bevel though, the edge is much more robust and stays sharp longer.
 
I have a Mora Bushcraft Forest. EXCELLENT knife. You cant go wrong with that one. Wicked sharp.
 
I've been using Moras and similar Scandinavian knives outdoors for a few years. I've got several models, some of the thicker new ones, some basic models like the #1, plastic handles, wood handles, stainless, carbon, etc. I've tried out quite a few and so far I'm happy with their performance.

The only one I've damaged was a laminated Frosts #277 (really small knife) which I abused. The others have held up fine. Pick whichever model looks cooler to you. Don't worry too much about steel type, they all tend to be easy to sharpen. You might want to go with stainless for ease of maintenance. Personally, I prefer their laminated blades or the carbon steel ones because they seem to have slight advantage in edge holding (plus I like the way carbon steel stains and gets a patina as I use it).

Sandpaper works perfectly for sharpening. It's what I carry when I travel. Pack a couple of different grits and a small leather strop charged with buffing compound (toothpaste works in a pinch), if you strop your knife from time to time you won't need to sharpen it often.
 
I own a Mora Clipper and two Mora Utility. The Clipper is a perfect knife for what you are looking for. Runs around 15.00.
 
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