Carbon Steel Mora Companion Vs. Stainless Steel Mora Companion. Does It REALLY Matter? 

I have a carbon steel Companion. I forced a patina on it from day one. I used mustard and Louisiana hot sauce. Worked great. Now it is stable. I like carbon steel because it is easy to sharpen. I lived 5 days a week for 15 months in an apartment away from home and I took my Mora. I used it as my kitchen knife, steak knife, box cutter, utility knife - everything. It’s a work horse. I always cleaned it and dried it after use. Occasionally I slither a thin layer of olive oil on it. Mora knives will never fail you with normal use. I wouldn’t replace mine with a $200 knife. No reason to ask for more. This knife can do 100%. But I’m not a knife snob who needs more. Where did I learn about Mora Companion? A girl who has put thousands of miles behind her in wilderness canoe trips in the Yukon and northern Alaska. She showed me her Mora and asked me to sharpen it for her. Hers is 10 years old. She never forced a patina and it is almost black. But it’s stable. And it’s sharp as hell. By the way I sharpened hers on the top edge of a car window. Don’t knock that until you try it. She was amazed. I learned that trick from my uncle. Ok enough. Mora rules!

I carry a stainless version of the opinel no 10 for food prep. And a companion carbon for everything else. Also some tissues, leather strop and a small oily leather cloth. I also have a stainless companion, which used to be my tool when I want do with just a single knife. (30min walking distance from home) But it now lives in my kitchen.

Good review of the pros/cons of carbon vs stainless Moras. One additional difference is the stainless companion is thicker than the carbon (2.5 mm vs 2.0 mm). So depending on what you want to do with your knife you may prefer the thinner carbon blade or the slightly thicker stainless blade. I usually carry a Victorinox Rangergrip 78 in addition to my Mora Companion HD Carbon for the same reason you mention. The thin, flat grind stainless blade is perfect for food prep with the added benefit of an excellent 4” saw. I find the two make an excellent combination.

I have 3 Mora Companions. For the kitchen, the model with the thin carbon steel blade. For the field, two HDs, one in carbon steel, the other in stainless. FYI, the stainless model, once the spine is squared off, strikes sparks from a ferro rod just fine. Also the carbon model in the kitchen works great, the patina is of no consequence. Nice knives if you keep them sharp.

I was looking for that kind of review ! Thank you .

That was very educational - thanks! 🙂

Great vid Wayne, already ordered the SS version and intended it for food prep on trail/at camp, you've just confirmed my thinking buddy

I just ordered the same knife (military green) in stainless steel, all I will need to do is to square-off the spine of the blade with a coarse bastard file to enable it to throw sparks with a ferro rod. Now you have the best of all the features in both blades you mentioned in this video and dont have to worry about the patina on the blade either. I bought some 550 paracord to wrap the sheath when it gets here, cant wait! Very informative, thanks for the insight.

Good morning Wayne!! This is THE best review on these knives I have been able to find. I see you are Army. From an old jarhead, Semper Fi. Stay safe. And, subbed!!!

I have sweaty hands.. probably will go for the stainless steel option

Great video. Thank you !!!

Great video!! Got me Thinking i need another mora! :) food prep! Plus ! Gives me an extra blade in case emergency

I have both, I prefer the stainless-steel version for all purposes.

Good job!

I've been looking at pages and pages and all sorts of channels to try to find out which knife i had, I bought it in China and it only had the chinese name, but finally from this guys video I found out I've got the Companion in Carbon steel, thank you very much sir! btw my single knife cost me 36USD because of the tax in this country

I bought one for myself as a birthday gift and it’s sharp as hell right out of the box. I got the carbon version since I’ve only had stainless knives till now and I live in a desert so I’m not too worried about rust as much. Good video, it helped me make my decision

Thank you, sir. I never knew carbon steel rusted like that…..or maybe I just forgot. Either way, very informative and made my finger slide across the like and subscribe buttons. I look forward to visiting you channel and learning more. High fives all around.

Nice review. I will choose two different colours to avoid pulling out the wrong one

good review

One of the best carbon Vs steel review. I just got a steel because I don't need to strike to make fire nor use the spine. I most use them for bushcraft and field dressing animals. I have always used homemade blades for outdoor tasks and they're all carbon steel except for in the kitchen, I'll use normal stainless steel. For this Christmas I am getting my first Mora and it's a companion s steel. Looking forward for the fun.

How do you keep the blade from getting a natural patina? Simple, apply a forced patina

I have the companion HD in carbon. I had to grind the spine to make it a 90 degree edge. Your reason fir carrying both a stainless steel (for food prep) and a carbon blade (for camp work) is the most logical I have heard so far.

A real man aint worrying about a knife looking "shiny"

It sharpens faster also.

I just bought a stainless Garberg, job done 1 knife.

Basic mora is awesome for food prep,my work horse is mora alround with excelent ergo grip!

While I agree that stainless steel is the more convenient choice for food prep, I still prefer carbon steel blades at my breakfast table. You can easily force a patina with vinegar or other acids. But I prefer the natural, uneven look of a grown patina. It makes every single knife unique. So I simply use my carbon steel knives to eat acidic food like apples and tomatoes. After use, I don't instantly clean them. I let them sit a little, drink another cup of coffee or watch a YT video like this one. THEN I clean the blade, dry it and don't apply any oil. Sure, the first one or two times, the blade will react quite a lot with the food. You will get the typical dark iron oxide on the food and the metallic taste (don't worry, it's actually healthy as long as you're not a baby). But after that, the reaction will quickly diminish with every use. The blade will darken within a few weeks and the patina will not only stop further reactions, it will also protect the blade from rust. I use that 'breakfast routine' as some kind of initiation rite for all my carbon steel knives I want to take into my EDC rotation. Not only does it prepare the blade for everything else to come, it also adds a lot of character to the knife and makes it my own personal knife. That's something stainless steel can't provide.

idk how the 1095 steel of the kabar compares to the mora but I've had mine for about 2 years now and it hasn't got any rust at all when I don't use it I just wipe it with some vegetable oil

Get some mineral oil or petroleum jelly for a carbon knife and it won't rust if you regularly maintain it. And don't use it for food prep. Buy stainless for food and go for something else than scandi grind for food.

Moras are the best for the buck. I have one of the original red wood handled ones with a bear guts patina plus a Mora boy scout knife and an Eldris.

Awesome

Soak the blade in vinegar or mustard overnight to get a nice even patina and add some character to the knife. Old timers used to claim that a carbon steel blade would not sharpen well until it was black.

I've got both these knives now. The stainless version has a noticeably thicker blade, and feels a tad bit heavier. Why would the blade be thicker?

Blows me away how many people think you have to have carbon steel for a striker. I use a big heavy buck with 440 stainless all the time. Strikes perfectly fine. Can't tell a difference between it and a high carbon striker. Edit: Spoke too soon. I don't think ss will strike with flint.

Is the carbon steel easier to sharpen?

I was mad at first but I like the patina

You can keep it shiny but you have to wipe it down with oil every day and wash and oil it after every use. Your best best is to blue it with cold bluing or hot vinegar. And contrary to popular belief, you can strike a ferro rod with just about anythin hard and sharp. Stainless steel, ceramic, glass, etc., you don't have to use carbon steel exclusively.

Mora MG Carbon all the way brothers and sisters,, I have stable pátina on it and I like that thin blade,, I have same HD which is thicker and I don’t even use it..Another thing is that weighs almost nothing,,and you all know spine is unfinished,,,fix it for ferro rod and off you go… Enjoy your Moras they’re great and probably don’t need nothing bigger…

Just go get an inexpensive perma blue liquid gun blue, and blue the carbon steel blade. It holds up pretty good.

you can strike the flint on knife instead of strike the knife on flint

You should have chose a different color handle for the 2nd one.

I almost bought one of these the other day. This might have confirmed my purchase. Lol

It really is a small world, isn't it? We have the same barber.💈

Just because someone don't know how to take care of carbon steel blades doesn't mean "there is no way to prevent them from rusting and patina". Also the patina does not change the quality of the steel or the taste of the food at all and the proof for that is every single Japanese kitchen knife. As a Chef and bushcrafter using knives all the time I would say that Carbon steel has much better characteristics but it needs a little more care as every other good cutting tool. End of the day Stainless steel is preferred from people who don't know or don't want to pay attention to them knife or just like to have it shiny and beautiful forever which is not the actual purposes of one knife. How to prevent rusting and patina? Basically just wash your knife with clean water after cutting anything that contains acidity and make sure you dry it very good. If you don't use it for long time coat it will boiled linseed oil and will be fine. Ofcourse there are other little tricks you can do but some things we have to keep in secret.✌🏻

Surely a mora as a food prep knife isn't ideal due to the grind?

a coating of vaseline is better than oil. It will stay on the blade longer and is actually edible.

Most Japanese chefs knives are made of carbon steel. They work fine. Robert Herder also has excellent carbon knives for the kitchen. Only for a diving knife I would prefer stainless.

Carbon is the way to go. Carry mine everyday as my EDC knife - it's really awesome especially for the price !!! 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

My OCD went "oh my" at the 1:54 mark

Is it true that the tarnishing rust cancerous?

I have a Craftline Pro in both carbon and stainless. To be honest, I can't tell a heck of a lot of difference in the way they sharpen or perform. I live in a dry climate, and have not had any rust issues with the carbon as long as I clean and dry it after use. You can put a stainless knife away wet, but I wouldn't recommend doing that with a carbon knife. By the way, I cringed every time he put the point of the knife against his finger, but maybe that's just me.

🤘

As soon as I lose my beer belly wayne I'm going to reach right around & using my mora I'm going to shave my butt 😂👌

I use carbon for everything. I grew up with old hickory knives. The taste goes away. Once you have enough patina

My carbon steel companion iv had to use steel wool and i have kept the knife oiled i mainly use my carbon as a batton splitter or just general cutting use i use a stainless for food myself i have the mora kanzobal for food prep

Yes there is something you can do to prevent the staining of carbon blades. Dry it and oil it. Mineral oil is food safe and doesn’t go rancid.

I gotta say any 90degree edge can strike a ferro rod. Stainless cant strike flint

04:02 but you just said that you do not use carbon steel to process food?!

Cutting an apple with a knife if you want to eat an apple seems like your just eating the apple as an excuse to use your knife lol if I'm gonna eat an apple I wouldnt be using a knife, I use my bloody teeth that's what they're there for hehe good information though thankyou

I won't recommand a scandi grind for food prep. A scandi is very good for carving but for food prep,I would always use a fullflat grind, because it slices waaay better through potatoes, tomatoes,meat etc. It is not funny to cut potatoes with a scandi grind knive, just because it pushes the potatoes more to the side instead of slicing through. The thinner the blade, the better it is for food prep (obviously it shouldnt be too thin,so that it flexes).

I don't know where you got the idea that carbon steel imparts flavor to food...millions of people, myself included, use carbon steel chefs knives every day, and are not troubled by off tastes. Yes, if you were for example cutting a bunch of citrus you'd want to wipe the blade with a damp cloth more often than you would your SS knives and certainly not put the knife away unwashed, but it is really not an issue in normal use. 🙂

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God Bless everyone!!!! Jesus Loves you all very much!!!!

Lmao ... So I carry two. What the hell is wrong with people today ? Seriously.

You people and your description of cancer! Patina? Bullshit!

Sure you can spray it with zinc