What's up with Morakniv??

Without sophisticated testing equipment there's no way to know exactly what steel is used on any knife. We can only take the manufacturer's word for it and hope they are telling the truth. Steel comp is only half of the equation anyway. Blade geometry and heat treatment are the more important factors in knife performance.

Even if the steel changes, if they will hold the same edge and retain the same toughness with a different steel, let them go ahead and switch steels. At the end of the day, my Mora Companion in Carbon steel is the one I drag through the gravel and smash into logs and don't have to worry about it failing or getting banged up. In the unlikely event that my stupidity gets the better of my knife, I can order a new one for a $20 bill.

Don't sweat the small stuff. Use it, and if it doesn't work, don't buy another. This is the most clear message to any manufacturer.
 
My Mercator K55K is in carbon steel, no steel marking, but it cuts like a beast and is a joy to use. Should I throw it away? :eek: Nah. I’ll keep enjoying what a great knife it is, as others have done for the past 150+ years. :)
 
Snipe 1 said:
It is sad that so many in the community have become obsessed with percentages of carbon, chromium and vanadium instead of just enjoying knives for what they can do.
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No it isn't. There are a lot of different ways to enjoy knives, many that, gasp!, aren't the same as the way you enjoy knives.

Some folks are into messing with the newest steels and what they can do. Good for them! :thumbsup:
 
marcinek said:
No it isn't. There are a lot of different ways to enjoy knives, many that, gasp!, aren't the same as the way you enjoy knives.

Some folks are into messing with the newest steels and what they can do. Good for them! :thumbsup:
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You are right, of course. But my heart says, ‘Just use ‘em!’ Can’t help an emotional response, I suppose. The guy I’ve climbed with and mountaineered with for over 20 years was absolutely thrilled with a Rat-1 I gave him in February. He’d never seen such a good folding knife: loves it. We have strived to get to the places other people don’t get to, but he has already done fine with a SAK. But, he isn’t a knife enthusiast so it’s beside the point, I know. Yeah, let’s celebrate it all. But, I still celebrate people who use their stuff a little bit more than the rest - I know you use knives - because simply they are more like me. I’m human after all. ;)
 
Reitwagen said:
I would venture to guess that many of the laypeople who buy Moras put them to more use than most enthusiasts with their high-zoot knives made of R12-BFD Mondo-Steel du jour.
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Such is the weird catch-22 of most 'knife enthusiasts'. They save their money to buy some super knife made of unobtanium that could cleave the earth in half and sustain no damage; then they deem it too expensive and pretty to use and resort to using some crappy $20 gas station special to open clamshell packaging because they don't want to screw up their nice knife with 'hard use'.

Which is, of course, also why the Moras are generally perfect. Inexpensive with good ergos and geometry and adequate steel (whatever they use) to make for a good knife using experience that won't make people feel guilty.
 
Pilsner said:
You are right, of course. But my heart says, ‘Just use ‘em!’ Can’t help an emotional response, I suppose. The guy I’ve climbed with and mountaineered with for over 20 years was absolutely thrilled with a Rat-1 I gave him in February. He’d never seen such a good folding knife: loves it. We have strived to get to the places other people don’t get to, but he has already done fine with a SAK. But, he isn’t a knife enthusiast so it’s beside the point, I know. Yeah, let’s celebrate it all. But, I still celebrate people who use their stuff a little bit more than the rest - I know you use knives - because simply they are more like me. I’m human after all. ;)
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That's cool. Nothing about the way other people use their knives (or the way I use my knives) makes me sad like @Snipe 1 .

My point is not that I am bothered or saddened by our fellow members with a steel fetish, it's that I thing have a steel fetish about a Mora is missing the nature of a Mora's importance to the layman and the knife junkie -- that it is a great-performing knife in spite of being cheap, ugly, having an uglier sheath, and being made on nondescript steel. That's what makes it special and unique.
 
Coyja said:
Best way to learn how great Moras are is put them in the kitchen.
i've got 3-4 in the rotation that have been going for years with no issues.
They chop something every day, and I love em!
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Respectfully, that's probably one of the worst places for any of the standard scandi-ground models. They're good in paring cuts like in wood carving, but pretty bad slicers because the geometry thickens so rapidly. Which is why Morakniv also makes culinary knives, which all have thinner grinds.
 
Never had a problem.
One is a Mora 2000, which is a better slicer, but the rest work just fine, too, Debbie Downer ;)
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Respectfully, that's probably one of the worst places for any of the standard scandi-ground models. They're good in paring cuts like in wood carving, but pretty bad slicers because the geometry thickens so rapidly. Which is why Morakniv also makes culinary knives, which all have thinner grinds.
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Yup. Try slicing a carrot or onion with one. You just basically break it.
 
My main thought as to why they wouldn't feel like listing steels on the higher production volume knives is that its very possible that at this point they have several steels worked out, and just batch based on what's cheapest. A few points in any direction is unlikely to be discernible to the end user, so it seems a non-issue. The lower volume knives, targeted at the market that wants to know, those it makes sense to list.
 
Coyja said:
Best way to learn how great Moras are is put them in the kitchen.
i've got 3-4 in the rotation that have been going for years with no issues.
They chop something every day, and I love em!
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Codswallop. Moras are a good, inexpensive knife that you can beat on without worry, and are easily replaced. But they suck in the kitchen. They don't work as well as a paring knife, and fall far short of the capabilities of a chef's knife -- in the kitchen environment. You can use them if that's all you have, but they're nowhere near great in that application.
 
Mora's are like SAK's and Mercators; the whole rest of the 99% of the world who are not knife nuts, and don't care what `alphabet steel of the month is in there knives, just use the heck out of them and they obviously work well enough for non knife snobs. Just like the cheap carbon steel machetes you'll find all over Latin America. The working folks don't know, and don't care. They just get the job done.
 
My gosh, this thread has turned into a crusade for "I don't care what type of steel it has, it's cheap and it simply works!"

Yet, outside of this thread, folks magically start to give a damn.

Why is it acceptable on a Mora when its not acceptable on a SOG or Gerber cheapy? (Which are also good ergonomically)

Hello Pot. This is kettle. o_O
 
Mora has always been transparent about the steel they use in their knives. The topic also has been discussed many times here at BF.

From this BF thread:

dePaul
"The SS line of Frosts sports Sandvik 12C27, HRC 58-59. The carbon steel Frosts uses is Uddeholm UHB 20C (eq. to AISI 1095), cold rolled and heat treated to 59-61 HRC. Other carbon steel used: German C.D. Wälzholz-Brockhaus GmbH CK 101 and CK 95, cold rolled, HRC 60.

The laminated steel core in models from Frosts are made of Uddeholm 2140 (eq. to AISI O1), HRC 60-62. Outer layer is AISI 420J2.

The standard SS from KJ Eriksson (no longer existing) is Sandvik 12C27M (Modified), HRC 58. The Co changed names and the steel used nowadays is Sandvik 12C27.

KJ's carbon steel was Uddeholm UHB15LM (eq. To AISI 1778) and DIN CK 75/80 (eq. to AISI 1080), both steels HRC 58. Since the Co changed names, these steels have been replaced by Uddeholm UHB 20C (eq. AISI 1095) and C.D. Wälzholz-Brockhaus GmbH CK 101 and CK 95.

The Hultafors SS series is japanese Aichi AUS-8 and the carbon steel variant is SK-5 (eq. to AISI 1080).

The Lindblom knives feature a chinese SS/EN 715 stainless steel. HRC 58-60.

Previously, the blades from Frost were a little bit thinner than those from KJ. Today, they are the same thickness (the thinner variant).

The steel used in Erik Jönsson knives is 1778 (SS 1778) springsteel. No stainless blades are manufactured any longer.

Helle uses Sandvik 12C27 in the SS line and UHB 20C in the carbon blades.

~Paul~"

AND

By mntgunr
"update to old thread....as of Nov27,2013, company production manager states carbon steel is west euro C100, and not swedish, and has been for decades.....their website, as well, only cites the Sandvik stainless as swedish......note also his suprising take on superiority of THEIR stainless over carbon steel...
"The carbon steel we use is according to "C100" (1% carbon) and that is a well-defined knife steel alloy made with good accuracy worldwide.
However we use only carbon steel from European steel mills evaluated over decades (almost centuries). As C100 not is available from Swedish steel mills that is not an option.
The steel mill we use has been our supplier for decades so there is no recent change. Also the overall critical attribute of the knife blade, both for stainless steel blades as well as for carbon steel blades, is achieved inhouse in our factory in Mora Sweden with our own secret recipes for heat treatment, grinding and sharpening."

And in the second half of the video the CEO of Mora mentions they are at present using 12C27 and C100 steel for their entry level line.

Dutch Bushcraft Knives Mora tour factory and interview with Mora CEO.
 
Smaug said:
My gosh, this thread has turned into a crusade for "I don't care what type of steel it has, it's cheap and it simply works!"

Yet, outside of this thread, folks magically start to give a damn.

Why is it acceptable on a Mora when its not acceptable on a SOG or Gerber cheapy? (Which are also good ergonomically)

Hello Pot. This is kettle. o_O
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EDIT: Ninja’d ^^^ :D


Because basic Mora are exceptionally good knives for the price. Not so regarding the others you mention, which is why Mora is exceptional. Have a look on their website and fill your boots because you can find out the steels they use. I really couldn’t give a toss. They work very well, they don’t break, they are low maintenance, they are cheap. That’s it. No mystery. No hypocrisy. I feel the same way about Mercator, Victorinox, Opinel, and a few others. If people feel they must know, heaven knows why, what steel a really cheap knife is made from, then do your research and then make your decision.

If I spend anything over say £40 on a knife I don’t know about, then I would like to know what it is made out of. That is roughly my threshold. What’s yours?
 
kamagong said:
Codswallop. Moras are a good, inexpensive knife that you can beat on without worry, and are easily replaced. But they suck in the kitchen. They don't work as well as a paring knife, and fall far short of the capabilities of a chef's knife -- in the kitchen environment. You can use them if that's all you have, but they're nowhere near great in that application.
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I mean, sure they thicken up slightly quicker in the grind, but in most cases they are actually of thinner stock than Mora's chef knives.
Most of what I use is 0.78 thickness, and their chef knives are either just marginally thinner, or a fair amount thicker (.098 for chef knife, .117 for butcher). I bought a few user chef knives from Rivers Edge cutlery awhile back that have a small saber grind that absolutely sucks, and they were made for the kitchen. The Mora's do work better for me. Now, I have a Helle Viking that is useless in the kitchen, and will break an apple in two.

Anyhow, all I said is a great way to get to know them is to have a few in the kitchen, not that they should be your only option.
If you're not out in the woods everyday, then they are a lot of fun to use for food prep.

In terms of steel, I don't mind that they don't specifically label the steel, since there isn't much variation, but would like to see a few models in a premium option... Mora 2000 in ZDP-189... yum.
 
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