Potential issues with Morakniv Companion?

[Guy McVer]

So I was looking at a Companion and because I like to overthink things, I started wondering about some potential issues with it.

The main thing I'm wondering about is the fact that the scandi grind goes straight up and in to the handle. The most obvious potential issue with this is contamination by dirt/grit and germs and such, and the difficulty of effectively cleaning this area with any real confidence in the end result.

The next potential problem with this area deals with sharpening. In order to sharpen the knife, you are going to have to get the stone all the way up against the handle. This would not be an issue if there was such a thing as a perfect 90 degree angle in real life. Over time what I'm worried about is the gradual appearance of a small raised section of unsharpened material right up against the handle. Does that make sense? Also what will probably happen is that the portion of the plastic handle that meets the grind will get beat up from repeated contact with the stones.

Am I just making something out of nothing, or are these real issues?

Oh, and yes before anybody posts about it, I am aware that this knife comes from the factory with a micro bevel, and that it should probably be kept with one in order to have a suitably durable edge.

 

[Rich S]

I've used Morakniv Companions and other Moras for years with no problems. If your concerned about dirt between blade and handle, just run a bead of superglue or epoxy around it. Re: the sharpening question, yes you will get a small unsharpened at the junction. How small depends on your sharpening skill. I've not found it to be a problem. Morakniv is a great knife company.

 

[MolokaiRider]

The composite handled Moras are pretty tight where the blade tang enters the handle. I believe they are over-molded.

You could always add a small choil.

What I have experienced is the handle getting wear marks from my stones. There is a right angle from the handle to the edge, which means I can sharpen the whole edge, but it does gouge the handle.

 

[Guy McVer]

Re: the sharpening question, yes you will get a small unsharpened at the junction. How small depends on your sharpening skill. I've not found it to be a problem.

If your concerned about dirt between blade and handle, just run a bead of superglue or epoxy around it.

Wouldn't that exacerbate the problem with sharpening where the blade meets the handle? And wouldn't the glue get worn away by the stone?

Morakniv is a great knife company.

Yeah I actually do own a couple, but I mainly got them to put in emergency kits. The reason I went with them is that they're lightweight, cheap, and they use good quality stainless steel so you can confidently stash them away somewhere and forget about it. I was just thinking about the possibility of actually having to rely on one as a primary blade for the long term. I know they're durable, so that's not a problem I'm really worried about. I could just be overthinking this.

I have experienced is the handle getting wear marks from my stones. There is a right angle from the handle to the edge, which means I can sharpen the whole edge, but it does gouge the handle.

I wonder if it wouldn't be a bad idea to put a piece of tape there, or if the extra thickness of the tape would be bad for sharpening up against the handle.

When you use stuff, it gets scratched up. It could just be an issue of "it's normal wear and tear, and don't worry about it". In other words it's not a long term durability issue. It's only cosmetic.

 

[kreisler]

 

[Jordan@DLT]

I would say that given the price its not a big issue, if it becomes a problem you can retire it and get a replacement.

 

[Spey]

So I was looking at a Companion and because I like to overthink things, I started wondering about some potential issues with it.

The main thing I'm wondering about is the fact that the scandi grind goes straight up and in to the handle. The most obvious potential issue with this is contamination by dirt/grit and germs and such, and the difficulty of effectively cleaning this area with any real confidence in the end result.

The next potential problem with this area deals with sharpening. This would not be an issue if there was such a thing as a perfect 90 degree angle in real life. Over time what I'm worried about is the gradual appearance of a small raised section of unsharpened material right up against the handle. Does that make sense? Also what will probably happen is that the portion of the plastic handle that meets the grind will get beat up from repeated contact with the stones.

Am I just making something out of nothing, or are these real issues?

Oh, and yes before anybody posts about it, I am aware that this knife comes from the factory with a micro bevel, and that it should probably be kept with one in order to have a suitably durable edge.

From my perspective, would say the best advise would be to spend the $14 and test each of your reservations personally.
I think it would be beneficial for you to learn how to sharpen that particular situation ("In order to sharpen the knife, you are going to have to get the stone all the way up against the handle.")
I am speaking from a perspective of having owned a Companion for a number of years, and would suggest you consider comparing what you might learn against the cost, and strongly believe this would be one of the best cost vs life-cycle-learning experiences you could make. Hint: you may even learn that you prefer that knife with no secondary, as have I (first hand experiences trump internet parroting - from my experiences ;-).

EDIT: my $14 reference from Ragweed Forge online listing, local sporting stores sell them around $16-20

 

[Guy McVer]

So based on the responses so far, I am coming away with two main points.

1. Yes, this is in fact a real issue with the design of the Companion.
2. It's not a big deal because the Companion is an inexpensive knife which can be easily replaced.

I can't say I'm happy about that. I look at Moras as affordable and reliable emergency kit knives and backup knives, not as disposable toys.

So apparently because you have to get all the way up to the handle when sharpening, you can't actually sharpen the Companion in the usual simple mindless back and forth motion, or else you'll end up removing material from the handle too. As you go across the stone, you'll have to simultaneously move the knife in a lateral motion to keep the handle from rubbing against the stone, which will have the net effect of making the sharpening process take longer. This isn't a terribly unusual way to sharpen, but it's definitely less simple than you'd want from a scandi.

The good news is that for field sharpening I don't think it actually makes much of a difference because you'll be using a small stone which is moving across the knife as opposed to moving the knife across the stone.

I like the way they made the garberg a lot better. I wish Morakniv made a smaller, lighter, cheaper version of the garberg... and no, the kansbol definitelly doesn't count.

Anyway, I am still uncertain about the issue of cleanliness where the grind meets with the handle.

 

[Spey]

So apparently because you have to get all the way up to the handle when sharpening, you can't actually sharpen the Companion in the usual simple mindless back and forth motion, or else you'll end up removing material from the handle too. As you go across the stone, you'll have to simultaneously move the knife in a lateral motion to keep the handle from rubbing against the stone, which will have the net effect of making the sharpening process take longer. This isn't a terribly unusual way to sharpen, but it's definitely less simple than you'd want from a scandi.

In my experiences, I would disagree with those comments.
The angle of the handle, at the ricasso on a Companion, is pretty much exactly oriented as to how I choose to run a stone, sandpaper, strop, etc. when sharpening & maintaining a scandi grind. The pattern left on the blade bevel will be slightly angled in perfect orientation for pull cuts (which is the majority of how most work is performed in wood cutting/shaving).

Picture below illustrates the grind pattern I am referencing on two of many scandi grinds I use and maintain:


My FinnWolf exhibits the same (slightly less) angled pattern:


If scratching the plastic handle with your stone were to be an issue, simply covering with painters tape is what I suspect most do for protections (same goes for protecting the ricasso or any type of handle scale). Having a blade where the actual sharpened edge extends ALL THE WAY to the handle is actually a performance feature in my mind as it extends the actual cutting edge of the knife to the maximum.

EDIT: RE: "because you'll be using a small stone which is moving across the knife as opposed to moving the knife across the stone."
I actually find the exact opposite to be both easier and more accurate sharpening method, move the blade across the stone. Example: lay stone on a moist paper towel (provides traction) along the edge of a flat surface (table, etc.) or a piece of abrasive paper and move the blade across the abrasive. Much easier control/consistency of the angle of approach guiding the knife on the abrasive than to attempt to hold the stone. Also, much easier to keep all your sharpening grind-lines parallel (example those two Enzo in 1st pic above) to one-another providing more uniform cutting along entire apex.

 

[Guy McVer]

In my experiences, I would disagree with those comments.

Nice to hear from an actual experience sharpening this knife. Thank you.

The angle of the handle, at the ricasso on a Companion

Gettin' all fancy on me with them pretty words, huh?

The Companion doesn't have a ricasso.

You could always add a small choil.

Yeah, I was thinking along similar lines... What if I were to just blunt a small section of the edge right next to the handle, and just never sharpen that part? Would that really be such a bad idea?

 

[Spey]

Nice to hear from an actual experience sharpening this knife. Thank you.

Gettin' all fancy on me with them pretty words, huh?

The Companion doesn't have a ricasso.

I will accept your TINY comments there.
I had thought there was a short ricasso section that was flush to the plastic handle (ricasso buried inside the handle) on the Companion.
I stand corrected, appreciate the criticism on this ;-)
It is what it is on a sub$20 knife.

Can't find my orange Companion to illustrate, but here is an example of my Bushcraft Forest; where if you look closely it actually had a VERY narrow ricasso that I sharpened as described above effectively replacing the ricasso (now apexed) with above described back angled strokes extending the apex all the way to the handle (even though in this case the front face of the handle is perpendicular to the edge - unlike the Companion). If you look close you will see where I have sharpened away small areas of the handle on each side somewhat in similar fashion to how the Companion is from the factory, and cosmetically (if that's what you are worried about) I doubt anyone would even notice. This blade had super non-symmetric secondary's (requiring frustrating regrind) and has been sharpened a number of times since I have owned it.



Interesting how much resistance to experiencing for yourself, for less than a single Jackson bill :-/
Hopefully something productively useful here for you ;-)
Regards,

EDIT: at 6:00 into this video illustrates how simple Companion sharpens on a stone (with little to no contact or damage to handle).

 

[Guy McVer]

Interesting how much resistance to experiencing for yourself, for less than a single Jackson bill :-/
Hopefully something productively useful here for you ;-)
Regards,

I have a Companion already. It's sitting in a kit that I hope to never to use. I keep saying I like Moras because they're cheap, light, quality stainless knives you can buy and put in a kit. I'm not touching it for now, and I am resistant to the idea of getting another one just to practice sharpening it. If I do buy another one it will be for an actual use case, and I'll sharpen it then.

I also have some other Moras too. One of them is a Garberg, which I have sharpened. I like the Garberg, but it's a little heavier and a tad pricey for an emergency kit knife. It's more of a regular use knife, and I have gotten some use out of it. It's funny because I've seen people hate on the Garberg for not being super cheap like other Moras, but it's been one of my favorites so far. I wish they did make a cheaper lighter version of it though, so I could put that one in a kit instead of the Companion, which is not necessarily a bad knife, and I do overthink things sometimes. I do still think the Companion is good for what it is.

Oh but the sheath situation with the Garberg is all kinds of stupid.

 

[catspa]

Seems like an emergency kit knife won’t be sharpened often enough to demonstrate the sharpening issue, but if it bugs you tape the handle or your stone.

When enough grime builds up to become visible, boil it and rake the joint with a toothpick (or the tip of your backup knife).

If you touch up with a ceramic rod, you’ll never get closer to the handle than 1 radius. So what? I can’t imagine even an emergency where a radius more of cutting edge would be the difference between success and failure.

I’ve used Companions extensively outdoors, and those issues have never been a problem for me. Just insensitive, I guess.

Parker

 

[Spey]

I have a Companion already. It's sitting in a kit that I hope to never to use. I keep saying I like Moras because they're cheap, light, quality stainless knives you can buy and put in a kit. I'm not touching it for now, and I am resistant to the idea of getting another one just to practice sharpening it. If I do buy another one it will be for an actual use case, and I'll sharpen it then.

I also have some other Moras too. One of them is a Garberg, which I have sharpened. I like the Garberg, but it's a little heavier and a tad pricey for an emergency kit knife. It's more of a regular use knife, and I have gotten some use out of it. It's funny because I've seen people hate on the Garberg for not being super cheap like other Moras, but it's been one of my favorites so far. I wish they did make a cheaper lighter version of it though, so I could put that one in a kit instead of the Companion, which is not necessarily a bad knife, and I do overthink things sometimes. I do still think the Companion is good for what it is.

Oh but the sheath situation with the Garberg is all kinds of stupid.

So sorry for my colossal waste of time here.
This reads to like you need to use your knife, maintain it, attempt to modify it based on your application specific criticisms for data points.
But that is all on me mistakenly getting in the way of someone simply liking or disliking something based on ..., ..., ..., thinking you may use it ;-)

Don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with thinking things through (I over analyze all the time). I'll rest with what I said in Post #7

 

[Guy McVer]

Seems like an emergency kit knife won’t be sharpened often enough to demonstrate the sharpening issue

Naturally. But what if it is? What if I end up having to rely on it for a long period of time? Then it might be a problem, and that's more or less what's on my mind.

tape the handle or your stone.

Okay, that is actually kinda brilliant. I had thought about taping the handle, but taping the stone makes a lot more sense. Instead of the tape rubbing the stone, you'll end up with the handle rubbing the tape, which is obviously way better. Plus you won't have to worry about the tape on the knife when you go to use it. Very nice.

When enough grime builds up to become visible, boil it and rake the joint with a toothpick (or the tip of your backup knife).

Yup, boiling it is probably the way to go, but I think it's best not to pick at it too much for fear of making a bigger gap appear. A crafted toothpick is probably good enough to use and won't be hard enough to do any damage. Good stuff here.

If you touch up with a ceramic rod, you’ll never get closer to the handle than 1 radius.

Yes, and that actually highlights a problem with round ceramic rods in general, but only on some knives. But anyway, I would be using a flat stone to sharpen with. But if forced to by the loss of my flat stone, I would switch to a saber grind and at that point I'd be unable to get all the way to the handle anyway. Some more great stuff here.

I can’t imagine even an emergency where a radius more of cutting edge would be the difference between success and failure.

Yes.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

A tiny blunted section at the very base of the blade is not really a problem. Furthermore that section of edge is unlikely to experience much wear for the same reason that it's difficult to *perfectly* hone that region. Any "issues" being described so far that are actually present with the knife are purely cosmetic and will not impair your ability to use the knife. In short, just get out there and put it to work.

 

[kane22]

Probably the best knife you can get for 20 bucks. Mine all seem to be sealed around the blade/handle. As long as you have a stone with a 90 degree edge you'll have no trouble sharpening it. It will require a little care not to scratch up the handle a tiny bit.