My newest review is the nice Morakniv Viking from Frosts' of Sweden. Some companies list this as a Tradesman, others as a Viking. It's model number 640, and it has a carbon blade and red handle. The knife is 8.75" long overall. It will cost you about $8 at your local knife shop. Here's the rest...
Handle Specifications and Impressions: The Viking's handle is 4.5" long red and is made of a plastic composition, like plastic. It has a lanyard hole recessed into the butt, and has small grooves on the sides to let the lanyard come out while still staying out of your way. I like this. There's a half guard to keep your fingers off the edge. The handle has a nice texture to it, and really fills the hand. Although it's plastic, it doesn't feel fragile or flimsy.
Blade Specifications and Impressions: The Viking's blade is 4.25" long, and the cutting edge goes all the way into the handle. It ends in a clip point. The blade has a Scandanavian grind, and is made of carbon steel. It has a hardness of 58-60 Rc. The right side of the blade is blank; the left side says: "Frosts - MORA SWEDEN" over "KOLSTAL - HIGH CARBON". The blade came razor sharp, and maintained that edge until the end of the day I tested it. I batoned it into pine, cut up food, and cut up everyday items. Cardboard, plastic tubing, paper, etc. It ate through all of them. Deer skin was no match for it, either. I touched the edge up at the end of the day; it didn't really need it, but I did it anyway to smooth out any burrs I might have not seen. I'm very satisfied with this edge, but I'm not surprised because Moras are always good on edge retention.
Sheath Specifications and Impressions: The sheath is made of black plastic composition, and is 9.5" overall. It has a belt loop that will fit on a belt up to 1.75" wide. The bottom of the sheath, on the inside, has a hole for water drainage. The front has the Mora logo stamped into it, while the back says "Made in Sweden". There's no snap or closure on the sheath. Instead, the sheath has grooves in each side so that the knife can be inserted from either the left or right; the groove holds the half guard in place. The belt loop is attached via ridges in the plastic, which makes it feel cheap and flimsy. I don't like this sheath at all, but it hasn't failed or broken in any way.
I really love everything about this knife, except the sheath. But with a price tag of $7 or $8, I can overlook it. I'm not afraid of damaging or hurting this knife, because I know I can't. If I do, then I just did something a knife isn't made to do. I'm looking into the entire Mora collection to replace a lot of my hunting knives that cost ten times as much. Give it a shot.
Handle Specifications and Impressions: The Viking's handle is 4.5" long red and is made of a plastic composition, like plastic. It has a lanyard hole recessed into the butt, and has small grooves on the sides to let the lanyard come out while still staying out of your way. I like this. There's a half guard to keep your fingers off the edge. The handle has a nice texture to it, and really fills the hand. Although it's plastic, it doesn't feel fragile or flimsy.
Blade Specifications and Impressions: The Viking's blade is 4.25" long, and the cutting edge goes all the way into the handle. It ends in a clip point. The blade has a Scandanavian grind, and is made of carbon steel. It has a hardness of 58-60 Rc. The right side of the blade is blank; the left side says: "Frosts - MORA SWEDEN" over "KOLSTAL - HIGH CARBON". The blade came razor sharp, and maintained that edge until the end of the day I tested it. I batoned it into pine, cut up food, and cut up everyday items. Cardboard, plastic tubing, paper, etc. It ate through all of them. Deer skin was no match for it, either. I touched the edge up at the end of the day; it didn't really need it, but I did it anyway to smooth out any burrs I might have not seen. I'm very satisfied with this edge, but I'm not surprised because Moras are always good on edge retention.
Sheath Specifications and Impressions: The sheath is made of black plastic composition, and is 9.5" overall. It has a belt loop that will fit on a belt up to 1.75" wide. The bottom of the sheath, on the inside, has a hole for water drainage. The front has the Mora logo stamped into it, while the back says "Made in Sweden". There's no snap or closure on the sheath. Instead, the sheath has grooves in each side so that the knife can be inserted from either the left or right; the groove holds the half guard in place. The belt loop is attached via ridges in the plastic, which makes it feel cheap and flimsy. I don't like this sheath at all, but it hasn't failed or broken in any way.
I really love everything about this knife, except the sheath. But with a price tag of $7 or $8, I can overlook it. I'm not afraid of damaging or hurting this knife, because I know I can't. If I do, then I just did something a knife isn't made to do. I'm looking into the entire Mora collection to replace a lot of my hunting knives that cost ten times as much. Give it a shot.
