My first review of a fine bushcraft knife, this in-depth review goes into details on the Mora Classic no. 2. I go into detail in metallurgy to clear up the cloud around Mora's steel compositions, and I include macros at the end.
Wow, so much great information condensed into a small video. This was really helpful and you gave me some ideas on what to do with the sheath, thank you.
It´s not a fancy knife with all the bling and fake purposes.. It´s a cheap rigid knife and copangion trough life in the Woods, by the creek or in your handywork.. The Morakniv Original is a friend through life, no more or less.. I have had mine since 1984 and it´s still a pleasure and that´s enough for me.. !!
About the sheath, blade and other quirks with the handle and colour. The Mora classic is a workers knife or an allround knife made to be cheap and usable. The paint is what was traditionally the cheapest paint made from burnt iron ochre mixed with linseed oil and copperas. The sheath and it's attachment is also cheap and is made for carrying in a regular belt or to be hooked on your bracer or trouser buttons. The knife is made cheap by the long swedish tradition of taking away everything that isnt there to make the product function as it's intended to do. The name Morakniv is from the town Mora and kniv (knife). The knifes were produced by a company called Frosts and became so popular that everybody started to call the knifes from Frost that were based in Östnor in the parish of Mora for the Mora knife. While it's a good knife it isn't made to be a special "bush knife". It's a knife knife.
+secularnevrosis Thanks for the info! That's interesting about the company name, didn't know that before. About the sheath, even using it for trouser buttons just seems very unstable and flimsy. I can't imagine this plastic sheath actually harkening back to any tradition. The argument could be made for minimalism, but scandinavian minimalism only strips down dead weight to improve function, not limit function. This harkens more to mass production than to tradition, especially considering it's plastic. Thanks for the info about the handle paint! Excellent knife bang for buck, thanks for your input.
icemanreed The sheath was originally made of leather and the plastic one was made to "resemble" that sheath i belive. Most usable if you have worker trousers with that set of pockets on your leg. Most people here in sweden just have this kind of knifes in their tool boxes or trunk of the car. Cheers.
I find it somewhat irritating that Scandinavian knives are often sold in the US as bush knives or hunting knives. They're not. They're all round knives used for whittling more than anything (the Norwegian name for the type of knife is "tollekniv", which means whittling knife. But also for cutting rope or cloth, food, or pretty much any everyday purpose for people who do NOT go into the bush or hunt.
Have carbon Mora's and have stainless Mora's For well over a decade now. I like the carbon slightly more, feel it works better with ferro rods (the stainless ones throw a spark too when you 90° em) Also because you can pick up some flint and strike sparks off of em. Other than that, the 12c27 really sharpens nicely for a stainless and I don't feel the edge retention is much different, atleast when you cut wood. And both can become hair popping/whitlling sharp.
I watched this 9 years after it was posted. I've been analysing steel compositions for far longer than that. I agree with your generalizations, but the more I learn about steel compositions, the more I opine that everything is complicated when all factors are considered. The devil is in the details.
Thanks so much! I really enjoyed learning so much about the Mora! It really brings a finer appreciation to a blade that is my current favorite go to. =)
Absolutely, so glad you got something out of that! As a thanks for your enduring support of the channel, I thought you deserved a shoutout and a requested video. Thanks again, I appreciate it!
Thanks for your nice review! :-) If the colour of the handle is the same kind of red as the Eldris knife then it's called Dala Red (or Falu Red) which refers to the Falu copper mines.
Regarding the "belt clip thingy": We don't carry the our knifes in the belt, we have buttons (rivited buttons) on our workman's trousers/overalls where we clip it on. This is not a bush knife, it is a wood working knife. But I agree that when they sell them to the USA they should use a different sheeth. And as someone else commented: we store this kind of knife in a toolbox or hang it on the wall in our workshop.
vinniesdayoff The concept does not exist. Sami (long) knifes are common among the (rich) outdoorsy type people, I personally would just use a Morakniv or Hultafors for less than 100 sek (10€). Morakniv classic scout are common with scouts and other kids groups. No need for anything expensive or sturdy. We have axese for those things.
May not be specialized as a bush knife, but most wood working knives excel at bushcraft. So far as I am concerned, it is also a decent bush knife. That foundry may not have intended to produce them for that purpose, but getting a 1095 equivalent steel that's technically considered a fixed blade for under $20, is almost un heard of in the US, Unless you know about Morakniv. Of course other knife companies are trying to enter that market though.
I suggest you use a file to square up the back of the knife if you expect to use it with a fire rod. It may take a few minutes on some of these knives because the steel is hard.
Regarding the 'better performance' of stainless... I suppose it depends what you want from your knives. For me, stainless moras do not perform better. And I'm not just saying that. I actually tested it. I commented your video before with links to video-evidence but that went right to you spam, unfortunately :)
The early models had unstained birch handles, but it soon became red, in part because it's easy to find, in part because it wouldn't look ugly so quickly, and yes, the red iron oxide paint is both traditional and cheap. And the answer to the shape of the handle and lack of any guard is that this type of knife is often used the other way around, with the edge facing you and the thumb pressing down what you cut (like dried meats, pencils or peeling fruit or vegetables). Or sideways, like when scaling fish. Or used instead of scissors/shears, by embedding the tip in a table and dragging paper or cloth past the blade. Highly contoured handles with guards are for knives only meant to be used in one position. True multitasking knives tend to end up with rounder handles.
Regarding the 'better performance' of stainless... I suppose it depends what you want from your knives. For me, stainless moras do not perform better. And I'm not just saying that. I actually tested it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-H5XX3KqB6Og.htmlm27s ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IU3JdaPYhc8.htmlm16s It's a rather old video of mine and the quality isn't as good. Sorry :)
I think you're probably right, simply because of C100's higher carbon content with no chromium to soften it down, yielding a higher rockwell. The difference has to stem from the carbon and chromium by default, because just about every other element is nearly identical to the stainless composition. Anyway, thanks for the input! Trying to learn as much as I can about these steels on this end, too! :)
i got my mora cl. nr.2 today , and its better made than yours. the spine is finished and rounded edges like a companion . and its 2,5mm thick not 2mm. the tang is also longer , its tull rat tail tang
