What if Mora used FRN?

D

dogstar

Joined
Jan 23, 2011
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Think about your basic plastic Mora. I think the handle is polypropylene (recycling #5), correct me if I'm wrong. What if they made handles out of FRN? It has at least double the tensile strength of polypropylene. That might just make the ultimate Mora, without a big increase in cost. Imagine a FRN Companion, 511 or Kansbol.

Reasons why they won't do this:
- The plastic handle works fine for intended use. I can see FRN being a good upgrade for their bushcraft models
- FRN is difficult to recycle
- It would take retooling of production lines

Anyway, just a fanciful thought from a Mora aficionado.
 
dirc said:
you're right, it likely won't happen... just as well imho, since I really dislike frn...

much rather see nice micarta ;) since we're making fanciful thoughts
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Time for a sternly written letter to Morakniv, demanding they issue a knife in Magnacut or M390, with some linen Micarta. Also the price needs to not go up too much.

I'd love to see a high end Morakniv, but then it wouldn't be a Morakniv anymore. When they tried doing that with the Garberg, they started butting heads in a new knife class they have trouble competing in.
 
Interesting thought and would be cool with FRN.

No complaints with their Sandvik 14C28N or 12C27 however; very tough and outperforms other steel attributes for the money paid.

I wish other makers besides Ruike used 14C28N with G10 in fixed blades. Perhaps there are others I am not aware of…
 
dogstar said:
Think about your basic plastic Mora. I think the handle is polypropylene (recycling #5), correct me if I'm wrong. What if they made handles out of FRN? It has at least double the tensile strength of polypropylene. That might just make the ultimate Mora, without a big increase in cost. Imagine a FRN Companion, 511 or Kansbol.

Reasons why they won't do this:
- The plastic handle works fine for intended use. I can see FRN being a good upgrade for their bushcraft models
- FRN is difficult to recycle
- It would take retooling of production lines

Anyway, just a fanciful thought from a Mora aficionado.
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Mora handles are ABS, not PP. ABS is stronger, harder, and more durable than PP. Most of the Mora's I've seen have soft inserts in the handle or an overmold of elastomer to provide a better grip, because ABS is hard and has a low coefficient of friction. But then so does FRN.

Frankly, I don't see a benefit to changing handle materials if the knife has a sufficient tang to it. Even the stick tang Moras have a tang which extends far enough into the handle to give rigidity. And the Garberg is full tang. If it's the texture or grippiness of the handle that bothers you, that's a different issue. But I don't see handle strength as an issue here.
 
abo4ster said:
Interesting thought and would be cool with FRN.

No complaints with their Sandvik 14C28N or 12C27 however; very tough and outperforms other steel attributes for the money paid.

I wish other makers besides Ruike used 14C28N with G10 in fixed blades. Perhaps there are others I am not aware of…
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Try Joker knives from Spain. I have 3 fixed blades and each one is under 100 bucks, micarta, well ground, and made of hrc 59 14c28n. Lastly the sheaths are pretty hi quality leather.
 
knarfeng said:
Mora handles are ABS, not PP. ABS is stronger, harder, and more durable than PP. Most of the Mora's I've seen have soft inserts in the handle or an overmold of elastomer to provide a better grip, because ABS is hard and has a low coefficient of friction. But then so does FRN.

Frankly, I don't see a benefit to changing handle materials if the knife has a sufficient tang to it. Even the stick tang Moras have a tang which extends far enough into the handle to give rigidity. And the Garberg is full tang. If it's the texture or grippiness of the handle that bothers you, that's a different issue. But I don't see handle strength as an issue here.
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Yes, ABS is stronger, and not much is to be gained with FRN. I've seen the lighter Moras (like the 511) snap where the tang is notched. I was thinking, maybe a stiffer handle material would have less give and give better support to the tang, but maybe Mora just needs to beef up their tangs, like the way Hultafors builds their knives.
 
Dr Rez said:
Try Joker knives from Spain. I have 3 fixed blades and each one is under 100 bucks, micarta, well ground, and made of hrc 59 14c28n. Lastly the sheaths are pretty hi quality leather.
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I like these quite a bit as well. Good working knives that are as useful as well as attractive.

Plus, the price is high value from my perspective.
 
dogstar said:
Yes, ABS is stronger, and not much is to be gained with FRN. I've seen the lighter Moras (like the 511) snap where the tang is notched. I was thinking, maybe a stiffer handle material would have less give and give better support to the tang, but maybe Mora just needs to beef up their tangs, like the way Hultafors builds their knives.
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May I ask under what conditions said knives snapped? Batoning would definitely be hard on the knife (and arguably not the right use for the tool) but I don’t think a Mora would break while making feathersticks or opening boxes.
 
dogstar said:
Yes, ABS is stronger, and not much is to be gained with FRN. I've seen the lighter Moras (like the 511) snap where the tang is notched. I was thinking, maybe a stiffer handle material would have less give and give better support to the tang, but maybe Mora just needs to beef up their tangs, like the way Hultafors builds their knives.
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I’ve seen mora tangs snap after being beaten on with a sledgehammer but, for most of us, the knife is perfectly serviceable. I’m not in love with the steel choice, the plastic handle materials or tang design, but I’m in love with the price and effectiveness. I’m not sure if I could dream up a better Mora.
 
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