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Mora knives for camp.

I've even got a K-Bar, now that's a bear sticker! As Samsam explained the double tang on the buck prevented his bloody, slippery hands from sliding down onto the blade and cutting himself. I don't have bearanoia, but the full tang knife has appealed to me ever since I read that account.
 
The tang of a knife is the part that is inside the handle, basically a continuation of the blade. I have never heard of a double tang. Full tang, stick tang hidden tang are the common tangs. I think Samsam must have meant double guard.
Bear spray and 12 gauge 870 Remington pump shotgun with Buck barrel and slugs is what Alaska Department of Fish & Game issued to Commercial and Sports Fisheries Divisions field crews. We also had rubber slugs & buck shot to discourage non-aggressive bears from hanging around camps.
 
A number of my knives are D2 steel. Stainless steel that equals the performance of D2 is prohibitively expensive. At least for me.
In the case of Mora knives, the difference in price between high carbon and stainless is only about $6, so, I'm guessing, their high carbon performs better, but they aren't very specific about what their steels are other than some, or all, being Sandvik.
I bought a basic model and it seems good for the price, but I'd definitely recommend upgrading to the companion. I still haven't received my Companion with the heavy duty carbon blade yet, but the stainless I have is finished very well. The steel gleams and no rough edges.
If price wasn't a consideration, would I buy a Mora? Maybe not, but price is always a consideration. I've bought all my knives with the intention of actually using them, but most sit in a drawer because I don't have the heart to get them all beat up in the real world. Mora knives are so cheap, who cares if they get beat up.
The real question for me is folder vs. fixed. The best knife is the one you have with you.
 
At a local flea market a number of years ago I saw a large collection of very used Moras (or Hultys). Stainless blades, with plastic scales.
The blades had lost a fair bit of depth to the point they nearly resembled boning knives. Maybe someone had taken new knives and ground them down to be good and cheap boning/filleting knives, and then eventually had decided to restock but what do I know? I thought it would take a lot of work at the table and the wheel to lose 1/3 of that steel. Hard to beat their value. I already have one in perfect condition, and despite being the least attractive blade in my humble collection, they're an excellent camp chore Scandi. An axe completes the kit.
 
While I have a few fixed blade knives, and yes I DO have a Brazilian Tramontina with a 9 1/2" blade, but the only thing it's good for is fighting zombies or pulling down your pants- I prefer my smaller folders because the hardest thing it does is maybe peel bark of a hot dog stick or cut through 1/2" SYR, I've lost far too many pig stickers because of loose straps, bad snaps, or just poorly made sheaths, I also find they tend to snag on everything from canoe gunwales to pack straps, My little folders live in a zippered pocket and aren't much slower than fumbling with a snap you can't see...
 
I really like the Mora 106 model laminated steel carving knife. Very light weight, no guard to get in the way, with a comfortable birch wood handle that fits well in your hand. Comes from the factory really sharp, is easy to keep that sharpness, if needed it can be honed to razor sharpness with a leather strop.
I don’t care for the plastic sheath, I cut off a little more than a third off the top of it, then use the remaining bottom 2/3’s for a sheath liner in a proper leather form fitting Scandinavian dangler style sheath.
 
My Dad always said beware of people with large knives.
An old Kabar with a slim 4-5 inch blade is all you need to gut a fish, spread mayo or cut a line.

At home there a bunch of stainless steel knives in blocks on the counter. But when I cook I reach into a drawer of old carbon steel knives with names like Sheffield. Some are from the 1800s. It is pleasure to use a sharp knife in the way it was intended.
 
ppine said:
At home there a bunch of stainless steel knives in blocks on the counter. But when I cook I reach into a drawer of old carbon steel knives with names like Sheffield. Some are from the 1800s. It is pleasure to use a sharp knife in the way it was intended.
Click to expand...

;) It is pleasure to use a old sharp knife in the way it was intended

DSCI2888.jpg . DSCI2890.jpg . DSCI2891.jpg
 
I have two Moras. One is a Companion. The other is a Light My Fire, which is basically a Companion with a fire steel in the handle and a secondary bevel edge on the tip. Here they are with my Benchmade Bushcrafter 162:

Two Moras and a Benchmade Bushcrafter.JPG

The Moras are a good value for their low price, but I consider them sort of "meh" in performance. I'm not a big fan of Scandi grind. It can't can't cut boxes as well as the high flat grind of the Benchmade or the full convex grinds of my Bark River knives. Nor can the Mora Scandi grind baton through wood or featherstick as well as those other grinds. The Moras are also less desirable for batoning because they have a structurally weak partial (or stick) tang. My full tang Benchmade Bushcrafter does a great job batoning through very hard wood.

I use my Moras mainly as kitchen knives at home, where they are less functional than a good hollow grind kitchen blade. But I'm too cheap and disinterested in kitchen stuff to buy good kitchen knives.

I also find the Mora (stainless) Scandi grind difficult to sharpen, but that may simply be due to the fact that I am the world's most incompetent knife sharpener.
 
I don't use axes for anything. If I did, I wouldn't take one on a canoe trip. Too heavy and cumbersome for my preference and needs. A Silky pruning saw can cut any reasonable diameter firewood log easily and fast. Batoning such campfire-size logs with a full tang fixed blade knife (or short machete) is very easy, very practical and very safe.

I used my Benchmade Bushcrafter to baton some hard, twisted grain maple firewood into kindling sticks just this past weekend on a two day canoe trip. I used a police billy club as my baton until I could find an appropriate piece of maple.

Billy club baton for splitting firewood.jpg

This trip was in New Hampshire, not my back yard. And I've never batoned wood in my basement. It might disturb the mice.
 
Glenn that is a wonderful fireplace for using a reflector oven.
Jim
I too have a couple Mora knives and maybe four Buck pocket knives. I used to have a Buck sheath knife that I bought in the ‘70’s but it was stolen out of my shed about 15 years ago.
Jim
 
ppine said:
when I cook I reach into a drawer of old carbon steel knives with names like Sheffield.
Click to expand...

I have my grandfather's carving set, made in Sheffield of good English steel, probably early 20th century. A couple strokes on the steel every time I carve something keeps it cutting well, it's better than an electric carving knife in my mind. Once a year we host Greek Easter, cook a lamb on the spit, and I carve it up with that old knife.. it has a horn handle, believe all that lamb fat and olive oil keeps it in good condition ;-)

my brother's primary saltwater knife for the last 40 years has been a basic Mora, the blade is starting to slim down from many years of sharpening, it's still trucking though.
 
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