Recently got my first Mora knife after a longish wait. It is the Companion model in Sandvik Stainless steel. Heres a quick review.
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Despite offering most of their products at relatively entry level prices, Morakniv is a highly regarded knife make among enthusiasts the world over. Their simple ergonomic designs along with their scandi grinds make them a preferred choice among the outdoorsmen, craftsmen and the general users alike.
Specs of the knife are:
Blade Length: 4.1" (104 mm)
Blade Steel: 12C27 Sandvik Steel, 57-58HRC
Blade Thickness: 2.5 mm
Overall Length: 8.6" (218 mm)
Handle Material: Rubber
Weight: 4.1 oz. (116 g)
Made in Sweden
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Design:
The Mora is unlike any of the other 4 to 6 inch medium sized knives I have. While the other knives seem like heavy, purpose built tools that will last till the end of time, the Mora feels like a slightly better made kitchen knife in comparison. But this comparison does no justice to the capabilities of the knife, as i soon learnt.
The blade length is about 4 inches with a rather small belly and a drop point. The grind is a flat scandi with no micro bevel. The handle is hard plastic with a rubber coat, which is grippy to say the least. I personally found the handle to be rather slim for my hand size and my hand did get sore after a few hours of hard use. So the handle profile is not aces in my book.
The Mora companion comes with a basic but stùrdy hard plastic sheath which does what it is supposed to just fine. The sheath has a belt clip as well as button dangle arrangement to carry it around. The knife mildly clicks into the sheath but i am not sure how well the retention will hold with use and wear. All said and done the sheath is a bonus given how well the knife is made and the price it sells at.
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What i like about the design of the knife is its compact dimensions. Even with the knife in the sheath the overall profile is slim. Its light weight will make it easy to carry for the camping day trips as well as the hiking trips.
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In Use:
I couldnt wait to for a camping trip to put the knife to use. So on a Sunday I dug up a log of hard wood I had around(courtesy Brihaji). The block of wood was about 3.5x3.5×18inches. For some reason it seemed like a bright idea to carve out a spoon of some sort from that wooden block using the Mora.
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So with that bright idea and zero experience of wood working or carving i set about my task. Thought of getting the desired slice of wood from the block by batoning it. The wood being almost as wide as the length of the blade, I couldn't use the Mora to go through it so had to use the Old Hickory for the batoning.
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Got a piece about 1 inch thick and drew the rough profile of what i thought resembled a long stirring spoon. Then got down to carving the profile out using the Mora. The knife did a pretty fine job of taking of chunks of wood in an extremely controlled manner despite the wood being rather hard. The wood had a knot in it at the center length wise and offset to the left width wise. This knot made it extremely difficult to take off wood around it. I found this to highlight a short coming in the Mora. The shortish length of the knife restricts the amount of leverage that can be applied. Hence you have to work harder than you would have to with a longer knife. This was confirmed when using the Old Hickory in the same knotted area. The longer blade made it easier to slice off wood despite the resistance of the twisted grains of the knot due to the extra leverage i could apply.
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After about two odd hours of shaving off wood i was finally holding something that resembled a spoon! I was happy with what i was able to accomplish using two rather simple knives in turning a block of wood into a useable item.
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Everything the reviews told of the Moras wood working capability was true and I am highly impressed with the prowess of the scandi grind.
I intended to keep this knife exclusively for use of my better half for food prep during our camping trips but I have a feeling that is about to change. The only complain i have of this knife is its rather slim handle which I found a bit small for my hands while using it and having to apply force. Other than that I find this little budget knife capable enough to match up to some of the pricier beauties out there.
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So that about sums my initial impression of this knife after putting it to some use.
Small suggestion:
While doing any DIY projects at home that will make a mess, especially when doing said project without the better halfs knowledge, make sure the Bai is coming that day. Else having to clean up your own mess after putting in considerable time and effort into a "project" is really not a fun thing to do
Cheers.
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Lock, Stock and Barrel.
