I've seen a few people here ask which is the better ~$12 knife: a Mora, or one of Cold Steel's newer 4116 Krupp knives (Finn Bear, Roach Belly, and Canadian Belt Knife). So I figured I'd test them side by side to see how they fared up. I chose the Cold Steel Finn Bear, model number 20PC, and the Frost's of Sweden Mora Army Utility Knife, model 760. To know why I chose these two particlar models, see "Reasons" below. I think they're both good knives, but they're not the same in terms of quality. Read on...
Reasons: Why did I choose these two models, instead of any others in the Mora or Cold Steel line? For one, they're both stainless steel. Many Mora knives are laminated steel or carbon steel, so they're out if we're trying to make all the factors equal. Secondly, the blade lengths are about the same on both knives. The blade styles aren't exactly the same, but they're as similar as I'm going to get. The prices are about the same ($12), and the handles are about the same length and width. Both knives are made for outdoor utility use. All said, I think they can be pretty comparable.
Handles: The Finn Bear's handle is made of Zytel, a glass-reinforced plastic. The Mora's handle is made of a composition plastic. The Finn Bear's is almost teardrop-shaped, while the Mora's is oval-shaped, almost rounded. The Finn Bear's handle is 4.5" long, while the Mora's is 4.55" long. The Finn Bear has no lanyard hole or guard; the Mora has both a recessed lanyard hole and a half guard. Both handles are black. The Finn Bear's is ribbed to aid in traction and grip, while the Mora's is very lightly textured with a cobblestone pattern. Both feel comfortable in the hand, but the Mora seems more secure due to the half guard and swell in the butt. The Finn Bear's handle is straight with no swells or finger grooves.
Blades: the Finn Bear's blade is 4" long and made of 4116 Krupp stainless. The Mora's 4.15" blade is made of stainless (I think Sandvik). The Finn Bear's blade ends in a semi-skinner point, like a Puukko. The Mora has a drop point. The Finn Bear has an exposed tang just ahead of the handle, like most knives. The Mora's edge, however, goes all the way through the handle. The Finn Bear is hollow ground at Rc 56-57, while the Mora has a Scandanavian grind at Rc 60. Neither knife has a thumb ramp or thumb grooves on the back of the blade. Thr Finn Bear has etching that can be easily removed, while the Mora's blade is stamped in.
Sheaths: The Finn Bear comes with a black Cordura sheath that's 7.5" long, excluding the sewn-in black nylon belt loop that enables it to be worn on a belt up to 2" wide. The Mora comes with an olive drab composition sheath, and is 7" long. This excludes the belt attachment that enables it to be worn on a belt up to 1.75" wide. It also has a water drainage hole. Neither sheath has a snap or loop closure; they both rely on friction to hold the knife in. They're both pretty secure, but the ribbing on the Finn Bear made withdrawal from the sheath a bit difficult at times. It felt like the ribbing would wear down the Cordura pretty quickly.
Testing: Yay, the fun part: I get to test these things against each other. Here are the rules...
1. The knives are used as they are straight out of the box. No sharpening, cleaning, polishing, or modifying of any kind.
2. The knives will not be resharpened until all testing is over.
3. If a knife breaks or becomes a danger, it will be thrown out as soon as it does.
The 2 X 4 Test I take the knives, one at a time, and hammer them through a standard 2 X 4 with a rubber hammer. They will go in until the handle is touching the board. Then I grab the handle and rock back and forth while trying to withdraw them from the board. This is my way of seeing how well the blades are seated into the handles, trying to loosen them, and to see how the tip holds up. The Finn Bear was first. It went in fairly easily due to the point and the flatness of the handle butt. I rocked back and forth, trying to loosen the handle. Although I heard what sounded like cracks coming from the handle, it never loosened. Upon closer inspection, the junction where the blade tang meets the handle had cracks in it. But there was no looseness. The tip was fine. The Mora went in with little trouble. I rocked it, and was able to withdraw it fairly easily as well. There was no damage to the tip or edge, and no looseness.
Batoning We all know how to baton a knife. I used a 1" thick piece of ash, and whacked both blades at 1" behind the tip into a piece of pine. I batoned each until the entire blade was in the pine. Then I batoned the edges 1" ahead of the handle to get the blade out. The Finn Bear went in, but was stubborn. Withdrawal by batoning rolled the edge a bit, but nothing serious. Remember rule 2 above; I can't sharpen the edges until testing is over. The handle was starting to show some wobbling, but only about a millimeter. The Mora went in a little stubbornly as well, but not as much as the Finn Bear. Withdrawal by batoning proved uneventful, and the edge was intact. The handle was still solid.
The Cuttin' the Dead Animal Test My friend Ed has a surplus of deer, so we used one of his. I used the underside of the deer with two cuts about 3 inches apart to guarantee that neither knife goes through thicker hide or fur (which would make this an unfair test). One cut for the Finn Bear; one cut for the Mora. The Finn Bear choked almost immediately. It tore the fur and hide more than it cut, and the edge of the blade near the handle really tore it. Remember, it was dulled by the batoning above. Small black pieces of plastic started to fall from the handle, but the wobbliness wasn't increased. The Mora cut the fur pretty effortlessly, and made only a few inches of jagged line. The edge was unaffected, and there was no wobbliness.
Whittling Fire Sticks This is simply taking a .5" thick diameter piece of pine, 10" long, and whittling it into kindling-sized pieces until there is no more stick. The Finn Bear had a terrible time, and definitely was a pain to push through. It seriously needed resharpening after about halfway. In fact, the second half was almost impossible. The handle was still wobbly, but not any more than it was in the other tests. The Mora whittled the first 3/4 or so of the wood without a problem, then it started to dull. It wasn't serious, and was no where near the Finn Bear's level of dullness. The handle was still perfect.
Cutting Cardboard At Home I take a standard cardboard box, 15" long, and cut it in a vertical downward cut. Pretty simple. The Finn Bear forfeited; it simply wasn't sharp enough to cut through. I tried two cuts and both tore the cardboard too badly to even be considered cutting. The Mora went through with a bit of trouble, but not a lot. Some tears occured at around cut number 20, but I continued to cut number 60.
Drowning Them in Water I wanted to see how corrosion-resistant the blades are, so I soaked them for about 3 hours in a mixture of water and vinegar. That's 14 ounces of water mixed with 7 ounces of vinegar to you technical guys. Then I sat them in the dish rack for 3 hours, not letting them dry by any means except for the air. Keep in mind that they haven't been sharpened or cleaned. The Finn Bear's etching was almost gone, while the Mora's engraving was intact. There were a few very small spots on the Mora's blade, while the Finn Bear wasn't really affected. I think I counted five or six spots on the Finn Bear's blade; the Mora had about twice as many. The water / vinegar solution had loosened up some of the broken piece of the Finn Bear's handle, and they were found floating in the solution (a few had sank to the bottom).
This concludes testing, as it would be pointless to test a dull blade (the Finn Bear) any further against a semi-sharp one.
Resharpening and Final Cleaning Time to resharpen these things. I used the same diamond sharpeners, followed up by the same ceramic stick and strop. The Finn Bear was more dull, so naturally it took more time to resharpen. It took me about 25 minutes to get it hair-shaving sharp again. The blade was marred, but was otherwise okay. After sharpening and rinsing off the knife, I dried it. The blade was still wobbly, so I put some epoxy to fill in the gaps. After the epoxy dried, I polished the blade with simichrome polish and a cotton T-shirt. The etch is gone!!! Oh well. The blade still had marks, but the weren't as noticeable after polishing. A final wipe with a Tuff Cloth, and back into the sheath it went. The Mora took about 5 minutes to get back to hair-shaving sharpness. The blade had a few marks, but was perfect otherwise. I rinsed and dried it, then polished with simichrome and a cotton T-shirt. The marks on the blade were all gone, except for one small scuff. The corrosion from the water / vinegar solution was gone too. A final wipe-down with the Tuff Cloth closed my testing and review of these $12 knives.
Which One is Better? I wish I could say these were made the same, but they weren't. I wish I could say they performed the same, but they didn't. The Mora outperformed the Finn Bear in every aspect, except for corrosion resistance. Even then, the Mora's blade came out shiny and almost perfect after polishing, while the Finn Bear still had some corrosion and scuffs after a final polish. The Mora held it's edge longer and didn't start to fall apart. I think it's obvious which is the better value.
Reasons: Why did I choose these two models, instead of any others in the Mora or Cold Steel line? For one, they're both stainless steel. Many Mora knives are laminated steel or carbon steel, so they're out if we're trying to make all the factors equal. Secondly, the blade lengths are about the same on both knives. The blade styles aren't exactly the same, but they're as similar as I'm going to get. The prices are about the same ($12), and the handles are about the same length and width. Both knives are made for outdoor utility use. All said, I think they can be pretty comparable.
Handles: The Finn Bear's handle is made of Zytel, a glass-reinforced plastic. The Mora's handle is made of a composition plastic. The Finn Bear's is almost teardrop-shaped, while the Mora's is oval-shaped, almost rounded. The Finn Bear's handle is 4.5" long, while the Mora's is 4.55" long. The Finn Bear has no lanyard hole or guard; the Mora has both a recessed lanyard hole and a half guard. Both handles are black. The Finn Bear's is ribbed to aid in traction and grip, while the Mora's is very lightly textured with a cobblestone pattern. Both feel comfortable in the hand, but the Mora seems more secure due to the half guard and swell in the butt. The Finn Bear's handle is straight with no swells or finger grooves.
Blades: the Finn Bear's blade is 4" long and made of 4116 Krupp stainless. The Mora's 4.15" blade is made of stainless (I think Sandvik). The Finn Bear's blade ends in a semi-skinner point, like a Puukko. The Mora has a drop point. The Finn Bear has an exposed tang just ahead of the handle, like most knives. The Mora's edge, however, goes all the way through the handle. The Finn Bear is hollow ground at Rc 56-57, while the Mora has a Scandanavian grind at Rc 60. Neither knife has a thumb ramp or thumb grooves on the back of the blade. Thr Finn Bear has etching that can be easily removed, while the Mora's blade is stamped in.
Sheaths: The Finn Bear comes with a black Cordura sheath that's 7.5" long, excluding the sewn-in black nylon belt loop that enables it to be worn on a belt up to 2" wide. The Mora comes with an olive drab composition sheath, and is 7" long. This excludes the belt attachment that enables it to be worn on a belt up to 1.75" wide. It also has a water drainage hole. Neither sheath has a snap or loop closure; they both rely on friction to hold the knife in. They're both pretty secure, but the ribbing on the Finn Bear made withdrawal from the sheath a bit difficult at times. It felt like the ribbing would wear down the Cordura pretty quickly.
Testing: Yay, the fun part: I get to test these things against each other. Here are the rules...
1. The knives are used as they are straight out of the box. No sharpening, cleaning, polishing, or modifying of any kind.
2. The knives will not be resharpened until all testing is over.
3. If a knife breaks or becomes a danger, it will be thrown out as soon as it does.
The 2 X 4 Test I take the knives, one at a time, and hammer them through a standard 2 X 4 with a rubber hammer. They will go in until the handle is touching the board. Then I grab the handle and rock back and forth while trying to withdraw them from the board. This is my way of seeing how well the blades are seated into the handles, trying to loosen them, and to see how the tip holds up. The Finn Bear was first. It went in fairly easily due to the point and the flatness of the handle butt. I rocked back and forth, trying to loosen the handle. Although I heard what sounded like cracks coming from the handle, it never loosened. Upon closer inspection, the junction where the blade tang meets the handle had cracks in it. But there was no looseness. The tip was fine. The Mora went in with little trouble. I rocked it, and was able to withdraw it fairly easily as well. There was no damage to the tip or edge, and no looseness.
Batoning We all know how to baton a knife. I used a 1" thick piece of ash, and whacked both blades at 1" behind the tip into a piece of pine. I batoned each until the entire blade was in the pine. Then I batoned the edges 1" ahead of the handle to get the blade out. The Finn Bear went in, but was stubborn. Withdrawal by batoning rolled the edge a bit, but nothing serious. Remember rule 2 above; I can't sharpen the edges until testing is over. The handle was starting to show some wobbling, but only about a millimeter. The Mora went in a little stubbornly as well, but not as much as the Finn Bear. Withdrawal by batoning proved uneventful, and the edge was intact. The handle was still solid.
The Cuttin' the Dead Animal Test My friend Ed has a surplus of deer, so we used one of his. I used the underside of the deer with two cuts about 3 inches apart to guarantee that neither knife goes through thicker hide or fur (which would make this an unfair test). One cut for the Finn Bear; one cut for the Mora. The Finn Bear choked almost immediately. It tore the fur and hide more than it cut, and the edge of the blade near the handle really tore it. Remember, it was dulled by the batoning above. Small black pieces of plastic started to fall from the handle, but the wobbliness wasn't increased. The Mora cut the fur pretty effortlessly, and made only a few inches of jagged line. The edge was unaffected, and there was no wobbliness.
Whittling Fire Sticks This is simply taking a .5" thick diameter piece of pine, 10" long, and whittling it into kindling-sized pieces until there is no more stick. The Finn Bear had a terrible time, and definitely was a pain to push through. It seriously needed resharpening after about halfway. In fact, the second half was almost impossible. The handle was still wobbly, but not any more than it was in the other tests. The Mora whittled the first 3/4 or so of the wood without a problem, then it started to dull. It wasn't serious, and was no where near the Finn Bear's level of dullness. The handle was still perfect.
Cutting Cardboard At Home I take a standard cardboard box, 15" long, and cut it in a vertical downward cut. Pretty simple. The Finn Bear forfeited; it simply wasn't sharp enough to cut through. I tried two cuts and both tore the cardboard too badly to even be considered cutting. The Mora went through with a bit of trouble, but not a lot. Some tears occured at around cut number 20, but I continued to cut number 60.
Drowning Them in Water I wanted to see how corrosion-resistant the blades are, so I soaked them for about 3 hours in a mixture of water and vinegar. That's 14 ounces of water mixed with 7 ounces of vinegar to you technical guys. Then I sat them in the dish rack for 3 hours, not letting them dry by any means except for the air. Keep in mind that they haven't been sharpened or cleaned. The Finn Bear's etching was almost gone, while the Mora's engraving was intact. There were a few very small spots on the Mora's blade, while the Finn Bear wasn't really affected. I think I counted five or six spots on the Finn Bear's blade; the Mora had about twice as many. The water / vinegar solution had loosened up some of the broken piece of the Finn Bear's handle, and they were found floating in the solution (a few had sank to the bottom).
This concludes testing, as it would be pointless to test a dull blade (the Finn Bear) any further against a semi-sharp one.
Resharpening and Final Cleaning Time to resharpen these things. I used the same diamond sharpeners, followed up by the same ceramic stick and strop. The Finn Bear was more dull, so naturally it took more time to resharpen. It took me about 25 minutes to get it hair-shaving sharp again. The blade was marred, but was otherwise okay. After sharpening and rinsing off the knife, I dried it. The blade was still wobbly, so I put some epoxy to fill in the gaps. After the epoxy dried, I polished the blade with simichrome polish and a cotton T-shirt. The etch is gone!!! Oh well. The blade still had marks, but the weren't as noticeable after polishing. A final wipe with a Tuff Cloth, and back into the sheath it went. The Mora took about 5 minutes to get back to hair-shaving sharpness. The blade had a few marks, but was perfect otherwise. I rinsed and dried it, then polished with simichrome and a cotton T-shirt. The marks on the blade were all gone, except for one small scuff. The corrosion from the water / vinegar solution was gone too. A final wipe-down with the Tuff Cloth closed my testing and review of these $12 knives.
Which One is Better? I wish I could say these were made the same, but they weren't. I wish I could say they performed the same, but they didn't. The Mora outperformed the Finn Bear in every aspect, except for corrosion resistance. Even then, the Mora's blade came out shiny and almost perfect after polishing, while the Finn Bear still had some corrosion and scuffs after a final polish. The Mora held it's edge longer and didn't start to fall apart. I think it's obvious which is the better value.
