Which Frosts Mora ??

F

flashlife

Joined
Feb 16, 2007
Messages
641
Hi guys. Been lurking for awhile...1st post.

I'm in the market for a Frosts Mora...but which model?
I know, I know...buy them all.... but I like to research before I leap. :)

I need about a 4" blade, but want to know your experiences with the different
steel types. I've read here (and elsewhere) that Mora's are a good bang for the buck.
Of the three below, how are they for edge-holding, breakage, etc.

These are the three candidates:
1. 780 Craftsman Tri-Flex = differentially tempered 4.125" carbon blade, hard edge, tough blade spine.
http://www.lifeviewoutdoors.com/store/knives/fro780.html

2. 840 Clipper = 3.875" carbon blade.
http://www.lifeviewoutdoors.com/store/knives/fro840.html

3. 860 Clipper = 3.875" stainless blade.
http://www.lifeviewoutdoors.com/store/knives/fro860.html

All comments and recommendations welcome.
 
I have both the carbon and SS blade clippers either one of those would suit you well I love mine
 
I love my traditional wood handled laminated blade model. The tang on those goes all the way through to a retainer on the pomel.:thumbup:
 
Flashlife, I have the 780 Tri-Flex Craftsman and the carbon steel Clipper you have psoted. I like them both very much. I like the handle a little better on the 780, but prefer the sheath on the Clipper. For the price, try them both. Better yet, get both the 780 Tri-flex and the stainless steel Clipper. That way you can try out both handle styles and both steels.

And welcome to BF!
 
I have the KJ Ericson #510 carbon blade knife on http://ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html and I love it. It out performs a lot of knives that cost substantially more, and being that it is a single beveled carbon blade makes it very easy to sharpen. For $9.00 you can't go wrong, just keep it oiled if you are going to use it around a lot of moisture. Mine sees a lot of water and sweat but I haven't had a problem with it rusting yet.
 
I'm a fan of the 860 clipper. The stainless makes it a good option for canoe camping, and the handle is very nice. Grippy, comfortable, light knife.
 
The correct answer to this question is the 510, the worlds best fixed blade. ;) Seriously, 510. I can't get mine to stay out of my hand for very long. It's my main woods blade over several others.
 
Thanks, to all !! :)

I got the Triflex craftsman, and stainless Clipper.
I like the clip-on sheath of the clipper, as well as the great handle.
Gotta make a good sheath for the Triflex though...and of course, order the carbon blade clipper. :)
 
I usually go for carbon steel instead of stainless--rust is rarely an issue in my arid environment, and I figure the carbon steel is likelier to be somewhat less brittle, and potentially could be used for striking sparks, should that become desirable. (I use them as survival-kit knives, mostly).

I like the feel of the Clippers better than the Craftsmen. The rubberized handle section greatly improves grip, and also works better for smaller hands, should that be an issue (as for some other members of my family). I would feel a little nervous trying to clean a bunch of slippery fish, for example, with the out-of-the-box handle on a Craftsman. This is not to say I don't like the Craftsman--it's also one of my favorites, but I always modify the handles by sanding them with very rough sandpaper, which converts them from dangerously slick to very grippy.

Two little design issues bear consideration. The Clipper scabbard can be clipped over a belt, etc., without removing the belt, etc.--advantage for utility, though some report they've lost Clippers this way when they popped off a belt. The Craftsman scabbard has a widening in the belt-slot that lines up exactly with the lanyard-hole in the handle. I've found that this lets you run a small-sized carabiner through both lanyard-hole and belt-slot, which more or less locks the knife into place. It takes a little getting used to, but it's an easy way to improve retention to near-failsafe level. (And, if you feel you'll likely need to access the knife in a hurry, you just don't run the carabiner through BOTH the lanyard-hole and the belt-slot that day.)

I've seen the above-referenced X-ray pix of the tangs of these Moras, and though it's true that the tangs don't go all the way back through the handles, the plastic of the handles is tough enough that I don't anticipate any serious weakness issues out of this. I'd actually imagine that the blades would snap far before the plastic would. I note, also, that these half-tang Moras have much wider tangs than do the traditional through-tang-construction knives with wood handles.
 
Thanks, Return...
I haven't played much with the triflex, mainly due to the sheath, tho' the handle is quite slippery...I'll try the sanding trick.

I agree that the feel of the clipper is superior (so far); and the clip-on ability of the clipper sheath is great. I've found the clipper sheath is just right to clip inside a thigh-cargo pocket and the knife retention is adequate for most of the "strenuous" activity I do. :) The inside-the-deep-pocket carry should prevent the sheath from catching on things that would make it pop loose....we'll see.

Thanks for the info about the weird "keyhole" in the triflex sheath, the two belt slots being different lengths with the longest having a keyhole at the top.
I hadn't noticed that the hole lined up with the lanyard hole in the knife handle. I like the fact that the sheath can be left or right handed, but find that its grip on the blade is too strong...takes quite a pull to withdraw the knife. I'll twiddle with it. :)

I've seen the X-rays of Mora handles/tangs, but haven't read anywhere here that a handle broke. Since I don't plan on doing any major prying with it, I'm OK with the handles.

All in all I love the Moras...now Ijust gotta keep from buying "too many" ...
 
I recommend going with a clipper. Mine is one of the Sportsmans Guide OD Military Moras.
 
I say carbon clipper and erikson 510 are good :thumbup:
also the classic wood hanled models look nice :) , I was thinking of getting one of those.
 
I had just finished reading Bushcraft by Kochanski. I soon afterward bought a bunch of different types of Moras from Ragnar (they are inexpensive enough to do so). I put the knives to a series of tests. The green handle version, I believe the 740, it BROKE on me when I was testing it out via the Mors Kochanski method of pounding it into a tree and standing on top of it. While pounding it into the tree the handle broke! I never even got the chance to stand on it. I was surprised to see the knife's steel barely went into the handle. No better than a folding knife in my opinion.

To be safe, I took those X-rays that people have seen on occassion floating around the outdoors forums. As people can see, the KJ Eriksson models have a nearly full tang. The Frosts, barely 1/4 tang?!?!?

There is a BIG difference between the Frosts and the KJ Eriksson models. The KJ Eriksson models are far superior. Calling those knives Moras is the same as calling Wenger and Victorinox the same quality type of knife. They are both swiss army knives, but I would prefer more specifics as to which brand. The Victorinox brand being superior to the Wenger. These are my opinions based on my experience with the knives. In regards to KJ Erikssons, I love the 510. Its good quality. Also, I suck at sharpening knives, but the KJ Erikssons knives are the only knives I have been able to sharpen to hair razing sharpness.

I have since learned that the 2 companies have merged together, but I hope that Frosts quality will go up and not KJ Erikssons quality go down. Only time will tell. . . . .
 
Frosts are ok, but I say go for an Eriksson. Here is the x-ray of the tangs

tehmoras.jpg


I feel much safer with the Eriksson tangs
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top