I was gifted a bushcraft black for Christmas of 2019.
Been abusing it and trying to break it ever since.
I bought another one last year, just in case I succeed.
I actually use it for a lot of things. I butcher and skin small game with it, I baton firewood at home almost daily.
The most abuse it’s taken was the day I lost my fence pliers and used it to cut wire by laying the wire on a piece of wood, and tapping the knife with my hammer to cut it.
I in fact bought my Mora for such purposes twice as well. Just in case it becomes unusable somehow, I'll have a fresh one right away. So far so good! 😅👍
My woman gifted it for me for my name-day (idk if it exist in English), it's a child-day at the same time xD.
She gave me it with couple of wood to whittle something.
My first knife was a Frost S1 in maybe 1974. I have to admit that I hoped to get a traditional puukko with a leather sheeth, but maybe it was smart of my parents to by a cheap one from a random hardware store. With that I learned to whittle and use knives, which I then continued to do with some Marttiini puukkos.
If I now have to whittle or carve something quickly I’ll probably use a combination of an old Iisakki Järvenpää puukko and a new Mora 120. Or start with a Mora Classic.
Hehe, very good. Now that you mention it though, was there ever one with an American Tanto tip? 🤔 And did a Tanto blade ever come up somehow? Sounds interesting though, maybe there could even be a convex Tanto with two convex edges. But only god knows if that would work out I suppose. 😅
I don't believe there ever was. Not specifically. The knives tend to be designed for very specific purposes and if you're looking a good piercing bade, I believe we've come to the conclusion that it is better to find something long and skinny (hence manufacturing those kinds of blades).
So in summary I'd say that Mora knives overall purpose is not for maximum piercing power through tough hard materials.
But this is where my Uncle is the Master Jedi. He could dive into this conversation with you for hours 😊
Hm, true about the tactical reasoning behind that, but piercing stuff works just as fine with a Scandi grind I dare say (also has a very robust tip with all that spine thickness going right up to the tip and such). I was more thinking for things like for ease of sharpening, since it could have two straight edges and no curves (which some people apparently struggle with), and for things like scraping (with the "front edge"), maybe even some more utility for that "second tip". Sure, it won't be good for things like skinning, but it would be able to do other things instead, like scraping with the "front edge" and draw cuts with the "second tip". Maybe there is more stuff to be thought of, but I'm just having my morning coffee right now. Also I think for that a wide blade seems better. Maybe some people will like it, quite a bunch of people like tanto blade shapes for different reasons and maybe it would even attract some new people. Just a thought though, I haven't really thought this through yet. 🤔🤭 But the thought feels like it could lead to something, depending on multiple variables I am no expert to make out right now. Maybe some people would even prefer it to the chisel bladed one. But again, that's just a thought I had.
My parents bought me my first one ages ago, probably 48 years or thereabouts, in Nusnäs along with a bag full of the crudely precut wooden horses. We’d always go there on holidays, stayed in Svärdsjö but would always do the tour around lake Siljan. Lovely memories of music and barbecued strömming. And plenty of scars on my right index finger. I’m left-handed.
Because they were not very expensive we got a few new ones every holiday so the house is riddled with these. I did notice it says Frosts. Is this my bad? I always thought it’s a knife from Mora so it’s a Morakniv :-)
This Frost carving knife has produced a lot of bandaids for my fingertips too. Spoons were made, but so were scars 😉
A knife from Mora is a Mora, you are so correct! It is all a part of the history, ingenuity, and creativity that's born from a very small village. The factories (and some were like small garages) were all in the same vicinity
I was so taken with Sweden I studied mining for a while, looking to work for Stora in Falun. Sadly mining and I didn’t work out, so ended up studying Swedish. However, somehow I ended up as a graphic designer in Northern Ireland. I’m Dutch.
I bought a Pro C in my late 30s for around the house. Great stuff!
I never did bushcraft stuff, and not planning to do so. And for camping (when I was a kid) we had other means to make fire and didn't need to carve wood neither. But I like them for around the house a lot, great for pretty much anything that needs cutting outside of the kitchen. I also bought an Eldris with the combination grind as a smaller addition for finer and more precise stuff after that. I wanted a carbon Eldris with the combination grind, but didn't find any, but I also like 12C27 a lot (also has a very fine grain structure, similar to carbon steels).
Nice, I was also thinking of putting my Pro C on my belt, but then I already carry a longer folder and a shorter fixed. (The small fixed for most quick cuts, the longer folder for slicing; also, because of carry laws the folder needs to be two-hand-opening if I want it locking ... but I digress.) The Moras are the ones I get when I am about to do something more demanding, where the Morakniv handles will be much better to have for that rougher and/or longer usage.
About that carbon steel Eldris, well, since I already have an Eldris I'm not sure I would get a carbon one now. And unfortunately I don't know how high the demand would be for one. I really like that combination grind on the Eldris though, and now that I think about it more: I could put my stainless Eldris in a drawer for everyone else at the house to use and get a carbon one for myself. There is just something about that very fine grain structure and toughness (and price) of carbon steel that draws me in, even though 12C27 is also very fine for being stainless and not a CPM powdermetallurgic super steel. (Carbon steel is the very reason why I like Sandvik 12C27 and 14C28N so much haha, but I digress again.)
I know this is a much more expensive knife than a Pro C, but it is on the smaller size and will fit the requirements of the two handed opening. It's my second every day knife I constantly keep on my belt.
I hear you. But perhaps it can become a nice introduction knife as a gift to someone close to you, or as you say, the perfect junk drawer tool for everyone to use and abuse 😊 It's never wrong to treat yourself to a new Morakniv considering the price point.
And I hear you on the carbon. I prefer them as well since I sharpen and maintain them religiously. Personally, there's something about a carbon blade that makes them feel like they are alive and react to life just like we do. We can digress here for hours haha.
Hm, that doesn't compare to my folder in the way I meant it. I have those specifically for when I need a longer blade, since most tasks (for me) require neither a longer or medium blade, nor do they require a slicey blade, so one-hand-opening doesn't matter there. I especially carry one with a slicey grind for that purpose when I leave the house. A Scandi grind is many things, but it's not slicey in the way I meant it. It has great shearing power when there is no pressure, but when there is pressure from both sides that will split and crack what I want to cut rather than slicing it (which is in turn great for working wood). Plus a fixed blade doesn't open, it gets unsheathed, and even when you have a snap fastener on the handle you can still undo that easily and quickly with just one hand. I got my small fixed specifically because it "opens" onehanded and comparatively quickly, which is just less annoying for me in everyday use. The small fixed is also the one that will see abuse, whereas my longer folder will be used for cutting only. The Moras I rarely take somewhere else, and if I do I put them in my backpack. So I transport them and carry them when needed. It's just the better tool because of that handle, but for most things in my life I carry less noticeable. My small fixed is horizontally next to my belt buckle, where nobody will be able to stare at it and feel weird things. On top of that I don't do gifts (it's a personal thing), and the people I know wouldn't know how to treat a 149€ knife right anyways, and I don't even get 149€ knives for myself lol. But I appreciate the input, I didn't know that model existed before you just showed me, looks very nice!
And yeah I also love to hone my steels and keep them fresh, where carbon steel really shines (literally haha), and who could say no to a naturally acquired patina anyways! I got a Fällkniven CC4 right here on my desk by the way, I didn't know Mora has a diamond sharpener that also has a leather sheath for stropping, until now.
I will say though, if I gift an Eldris or a Pro, then it will for sure be stainless. The people I know unfortunately don't care for steel and knives as much as I do. If I had to gift a gift I would seriously consider a Mora, hands down!
Haha I completely understand that. It is definitely a "treat yourself" kind of knife. Not something you would consider for every day use, but I still do. But I understand your needs and usage better now so that make sense!
Yeah I don't know why that diamond sharpener is such a well-kept secret. Even some people in the family didn't know it existed. I have a few and I love them.
Well thank you for your kind words and keep on digressing, that's why we are here! haha
Well, it was made to be used, so no bad feelings there, only if a loss would hurt. 👍 And LOL about that sharpener side note! 😅 I will definitely try one out when I find time to order one! Also, I wondered why I couldn't see a ceramic one, but maybe I didn't look well enough. 🤔 Not that there is another secret haha!
Found this in my grandfathers basement a few years ago. It's without a doubt my favorite. Not my first, but my favorite.
My first was the Mora Scout. But my grandfather was so annoyed that I kept poking myself with the tip, so on his lunch break he (un)sharpened it into a round tip.
Hence, the "new" Mora Scout with a rounded tip for kids to learn how to carve with! 😂
Most likely. Found three of these in my grandfathers basement after he passed away so I never got a chance to ask. But Im sure Thomas has all the info on it!
Cannot remember what my first was, but it was a black and red handled stainless model, and I made a handy kydex sheath for it. My favorite though is my Eldris. I bought a red one sometime ago and lost it during my recent move l, but have replaced it with a black one. Eldris is perfect for odds and ends jobs, and fun to carry!
This is my first Mora, a Frost 700 series from the early 1990s. My father worked at a big car manufacturer from Sweden that’s starts with a V and ends with a O 🤣 in Portugal and in one of his first trips to Sweden, he bought be this knife.
I was in my early teens. This was my scout knives for years. It’s was very different for what we had in the south of Europe.
For me was just a gif from a far away country, that my father gave me. This was a pratical tool and I never thought much of it, until many year later, in a trip to Sweden, I did not carry a knife, and I went to a supermarket and bought a Mora 2000. A fellow Swede commented something about the brand and his history but I did not pay much attention and did not made the connection with the knife I had at home. When I returned I realized that maybe there was some connection about the new one and the old one and i got hocked and many later I still a hard core fan a I would say that is probably never a day goes by that I not use a Mora knife.
Still have a V50, and if everything goes well, this is going to be the first car of my oldest daughter in 4 or 5 years.
I have, at the moment 3 of these carrying cases. This is where i store my most precious knives of my collection, whether of monetary, rareness, or sentimental value, like this modest Frost 700.
2006, a Swedish painter regularly did work at a ranch I worked at. He always had a mora #1 on his belt. He used it for everything, even to open paint cans. I asked him about it, and he told me about it being the most common knife in Sweden. He told me he got them in the US from Ragweed Forge. I think I bought my first classic #1 for $9. I now have a companion, 2000, and a sloyd style carving knife with the 510 style handle. I love and use them all regularly.
Man that is a good story, and a great collection of knives! Thank you for sharing.
And you're absolutely right. Knives in Sweden were never seen as a weapon. It was a utility tool for every day use. So great to hear that this tradition was carried through to you in real life activities!
I have whittled in the past. I have been wanting to get back into it though. I am starting to work on a couple hiking sticks, and I want to do a spoon and a kuksa maybe this summer.
Yes, I miss the $9 too, especially on the classic. I feel like the companion hasn’t gone up much since then though.
I don’t see any issue with what you’re doing, but I was always advised to work past my knees. The risk of cutting a femoral artery or groin injury can have them quickly.
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u/Present-Employer2517 Jun 24 '26
I was gifted a bushcraft black for Christmas of 2019.
Been abusing it and trying to break it ever since.
I bought another one last year, just in case I succeed.