Mora Bushcraft Survival Knife Review 2011/07/29
The Mora Bushcraft Survival Knife from Morakniv is a complete
package. You get the knife, firesteel, sharpening stone and a robust
sheath that holds everything nice and securely. Will this be your new
bushcraft kit essential? Let's check it out.
Introduction
"There’s a long tradition of knife making in Mora. We have been creating
sharp knives for the rest of the world for more than 400 years. For
Morakniv the journey started in 1891 when Frost-Erik Erson returned to
his home village of Östnor in Mora after four years in North America.
When he opened his timber sled factory the first seed was sewn to what
would eventually become the company and the brand that we know today –
Morakniv"
The Mora Bushcraft Survival Knife
The grip is a very pleasant sticky rubber that is excellent in the dry
and reasonable in the wet. When being used in a dry dusty environment I
did notice fine dust sticking to the grip which is then hard to clean
off. The ergonomics of the handle are very good with the forefinger
groove adding a lot of stability in the forehand grip but does feel like
its gets in the way in the chest lever grip. This may create a hot spot
after prolonged use. The finger guard is just the right size to not
restrict choking up on the blade too. The palm swell is not as large as
I would normally like but this is a mass produced knife and it has to
fit as many people’s hands as possible. When I use The Mora Bushcraft
Survival Knife the more I like the subtlety of its features. The
style of the knife attracts a lot of attention as it looks really
professional.
Blade
The blade thickness is 2.5mm which is very thin for a true bushcraft
knife in my opinion. I certainly prefer the thicker knives. However
after using The Mora Bushcraft Survival Knife I am starting to think
that this will be my light weight hiking knife instead of a pure
bushcraft knife. Its ‘distinct’ tip is good for separating tendons and
meat preparation. On the other hand it is not too spear like to seem
fragile. The Scandi grind is very shallow at 5mm deep but the blade does
cut well.
Talking about strength there is no
indication of the tang construction in this knife, which until someone
x-rays it we will not know.The blade on the Mora Bushcraft Survival
Knife is very sharp and cutting wood is no problem at all. I stropped
mine and it seemed to help a little with cutting through paper.
Sharpening this blade is a doddle, get some waterstones and the Scandi
grind will be easy to sharpen. The little diamond ceramic stone on the
sheath however has a major design flaw, in that you cannot sharpen the
blade closest to the handle as the plastic gets in the way.
Sheath
The sheath on the Mora Bushcraft Survival Knife feels solid and compact.
A drainage hole in the bottom allows water to easily drain out of the
sheath. It holds the knife very well and it is secured with a nice
audible click when you push it in all the way. Mora has made two
attachment options to suit different styles of carry, a standard belt
loop and a clip. I really like the sheath in its design and looks (apart
from the position of the sharpening stone).
Conclusion
Mora holds the crown for good cheap knives but this one is not in that
list in terms of price. In my opinion it is slightly overpriced and in
some aspects over engineered. The sharpener does not work well at all
and the position it’s stuck on stops you from sharpening your entire
knife. The Mora Bushcraft Survival Knife does feel very good in the hand
and cuts well, like most Mora’s. The balance of the knife is good too.
It’s a one stop shop, as you get everything you need to go out into the
woods. The lighter tasks of bushcraft are completed with ease with this
knife; jobs like feather stick making, carving and making fire. However
for the heavier tasks it does fall short with its 2.5mm thick blade and
no full tang. Tasks like battoning I would not attempt with this knife,
unless they were with the thinnest pieces of wood. If you are looking
for a good cheap bushcraft knife then get a Carbon Clipper, firesteel
and separate diamond ceramic stone. You can file down the spine of most
knives (carbon) to produce a ridge to strike the firesteel on anyway.
All of this you can get for around £24. The price for the Mora Bushcraft
Survival Knife is somewhat higher.
I really enjoyed my time using this
knife and it may possibly be my hiking knife in the future. In a
forest school situation it performs very well as it lets the students
keep the knife and firesteel as one.
-Sunny
