View Full Version : Mora knives on eBay
Spotted these this morning, going for £5:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Swedish-Mora-Knives_W0QQitemZ6553731986QQca tegoryZ1403QQssPageNameZWDVWQQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Anybody know if they are any good?
it will be the best five pounds u'll ever spend!
there a great knife for the price
u can get em razor sharp too
Spotted these this morning, going for £5:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Swedish-Mora-Knives_W0QQitemZ6553731986QQca tegoryZ1403QQssPageNameZWDVWQQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Anybody know if they are any good?
They are excellent.
Postage a tad steep(another 3 quid, and I now *know* even Recorded deliv on these for UK is under £1.50;-)), but still work out about the same as the group purchase I ran a few weeks back...
Go for it. They are superb for the price.
Jim.
My only minor criticism would be that the sheaths are *not* Kydex. They're either polythene or polyprope.
Is there anything to choose between these and the other cheap mora knives (clipper, swedish army etc). I remember seeing a thread recently for the black pastic ones going for £5 somewhere (bushwear?)
The answer to everyone's "first knife" question always seems to be :"buy a mora" but there seem to be different versions/makers. Are they all ok or can anyone make a strong case for a particular one?
(Yes, I am looking my first fixed blade knife but don't want to take out a mortgage to buy one)
Thanks
Dave
The red birch-handled ones like this are the 'classic' model, with carbon steel blade, made by both KJ Eriksen and Frosts. As carbon steel it will rust, but it will cast sparks with a firesteel. This is the type favoured by Mors Kochanski.
The plastic ones are half tang but still very robust. I don't like the look of them but they are functional. The clipper I think has a chequered handle so grippier for fish filleting etc but more likely to give blisters when woodworking.
You can also get Moras with a purplish red handle and laminated blade. (I see a used one is going on ebay for £21 including post and still afew hours to go. You can buy them new for a tenner!)
My choice - get a classic Mora, remove handle, sand off the paint, treat with linseed or danish oil and reassemble. Looks nicer and gives a better grip.
fa11en ange1
19-08-2005, 15:07
I see a used one is going on ebay for £21 including post and still afew hours to go. You can buy them new for a tenner!
That would be mine it had a starting price of just a £1 and now it's up to £16 (+£5 P&P) and there are 15 people watching it!!! :eek:
I guess the abuse of Mr Mears' name has probably helped. Figured it had to be worth a try, seeing as the knife was surplus to requirements.
It is truly amazing just how much some people will pay through ebay though. :rolleyes:
My only minor criticism would be that the sheaths are *not* Kydex. They're either polythene or polyprope.
Well said. Forgot that bit.
They were never gonna be anything else if the whole thing's a fiver, so I forgot about it immediately...
Jim.
Is there anything to choose between these and the other cheap mora knives (clipper, swedish army etc). I remember seeing a thread recently for the black pastic ones going for £5 somewhere (bushwear?)
The answer to everyone's "first knife" question always seems to be :"buy a mora" but there seem to be different versions/makers. Are they all ok or can anyone make a strong case for a particular one?
(Yes, I am looking my first fixed blade knife but don't want to take out a mortgage to buy one)
Dave,
For what it's worth, I prefer the wooden ones ( I have a clipper and a SAK, too, so I've tried all sorts.)
The blades on the plastic ones are a trifle slimmer and more flexible, and the sheaths are absolute bobbins (in my opinion)
The maker seems more or less irrelevant - minor variations in blade shape/handle size. If it's a Mora #1 it'll be pretty much standard (wooden handle). The plastics show more variety, but quality always seems up to scratch.
Most of the plastics have a shaped grip that'll help you steer clear of the blade if you are new to this sort of tool, the wooden ones don't (as standard)
Get one of each, and save the mortgage for knife # 3 :D :D
HTH,
Jim.
They were never gonna be anything else if the whole thing's a fiver, so I forgot about it immediately...
Oh, granted - I just don't like to see things being mis-sold :)
(especially when I've got quite so much Kydex on hand!)
Oh, granted - I just don't like to see things being mis-sold :)
...And you spend time on Ebay :eek:
Jim. not Ray Mears, Mors Kochanski, Lofty wiseman, Horace Kephardt :rolleyes:
Isshogai
19-08-2005, 22:52
daved, as a first fixed blade they really cannot be beaten.
I've got several custom knives from various makers, one costing 30 times the price of the Mora. Do they cut any better than the Mora? No way! Are they easier to sharpen than a Mora? Nope! I've a plain carbon steel blade and one from Jim's group buy which I believe is stainless. Both have the traditional wood handle.
Buy one and learn from it. Then you can choose which (if any) custom knife you would like.
Beakytzw
20-08-2005, 00:15
They are excellent.
Postage a tad steep(another 3 quid, and I now *know* even Recorded deliv on these for UK is under £1.50;-)), but still work out about the same as the group purchase I ran a few weeks back...
Go for it. They are superb for the price.
Jim.
Unless your me :) then the postage is really steep cos you for get too tell jim your correct postal address :)
I really don't like the wooden handle mora knives. I had one but it really hurt may hand to use. I find the plastic handle knife from woodlore to be one of the best I've used(I've noticed woodlore are now selling the clipper instead). I gave the classic mora to toddy who found it worked very well for ladies hands.
OldJimbo
20-08-2005, 17:03
I seem to do fine with all of the handles - but I have a great preference for the larger ones with wood. A big factor can be the paint which makes the handle far too slippery and leads to discomfort and even blisters. I got into removing the paint before even trying to use the knives.
Unless your me :) then the postage is really steep cos you for get too tell jim your correct postal address :)
It's repacked and I'll try and send it to your address as supplied recently (by recorded) on Monday AM.
Third time lucky.... :D
Jim.
one from Jim's group buy which I believe is stainless.
Less sure of that now, to be honest. Mine discoloured a bit cutting fruit, so I think I may have been wrong.
(I wouldn't leave one somewhere damp/unwatched in any case...)
Jim.
Isshogai
21-08-2005, 13:14
JimH
It's a bit academic now anyway. My Dad came round yesterday and decided he liked it..... ;)
Andy
I got this KJ Eriksson classic Mora knife while on a trip in Norway/Sweden. I paid 56 kroner for it, about 7 euro:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~eraaij/pics_noorwegen/mora.jpg
Overall, I found it an excellent user knife, but there are a couple of things about it that I don't really like:
- The tang goes full into the handle, but there is noticable space at the enrty point. If you use the knife a lot in wet conditions, you get rust where you cannot remove it. Solution: seal it with a bit of heated epoxy.
- You need to be careful that you do not cut yourself at the beginning of the edge. since it sticks over the ricasso. Same for the spine. You could do a cold grind/file job on it to make it a bit more safe (edge) and comfortable (spine).
- As Jimbo said, the sloppy red paint should be sanded off and the handle should be sealed with a turpentine/lineseed mix or something like that.
- The blade on my version was pretty off center. I actually selected the best of the bunch. Quality will vary on thse mass produced knives. Same goes for temper - there is a soft spot of 1 cm on my blade - the edge keeps rolling there.
Handle shape is personal preference off course. I would like to get a couple of flat mora blades and fit leather/antler handles on them, like I did with this Kankaapaa blade:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~eraaij/puukko/finished_puukko.jpg
So I guess that with a customized Mora knife you would have your Bushcraft needs pretty well covered at a fraction of the cost of a 'real' custom.
-Emile
Get one of each, and save the mortgage for knife # 3 :D :D
HTH,
Jim.
Now that is the type of advice I like! I can squander money on two knives on the grounds that it is a "scientific" comparison and still feel virtuous that I have saved money by not buying the third knife!
JimH, you are a true genius! ;)
Still, I'd better rein in my enthusiasm for the moment as I still have to find something to sharpen them with ...
Dave
Well, I ended up ordering one of these, and it turned up at the weekend. I thought I would post a few initial impressions as they might be useful to other newcomers getting to grips with knives. The one I got is a "traditional" Mora, about 8 inches long with a blade length of around 3.75 inches and an orange wooden handle.
Plastic sheath: I had been warned about this, but it was far worse than I imagined. Reminded me of a plastic toy sword I had as a kid. Comes with a small piece of leather stapled to it for attachment to a belt. Although the quality is bad enough to bring a grown man to the edge of tears, it is surprsingly functional and holds the knife quite tightly. I couldn't get the knife to shift even by turning the sheath upside down and shaking.
The knife: I was immediately surprised by how light it was - lighter than my small SAK. The blade also quite small - I was a bit concerned that a 4 inch blade would be difficult to manage but it seems about the right size. It is only .75 inch/2cm wide - narrower than I was expecting. This is a knife for fine work rather than hacking through a jungle. The blade came covered by some nasty sticky oily stuff to protect it from rust. This was a real swine to shift and along with the orange handle and plastic sheath give you a rather poor first impression.
Once I had cleaned the blade I was quite pleasantly surprised by the blade. It is a nice functional shape and curves gently to a point. The bevel was quite a surprise (this is the first flat ground knife I have seen) as it is quite a fine angle. Coupled with the thinness of the blade (2mm max) I can imagine this coming up quite sharp and being good for carving. The bevel is around 5mm wide so it should be reasonably easy to hold flat on a sharpening stone.
The handle is as garish a colour as people have described - no losing that in the grass and is not very well finished. Some people commented that the handles don't suit them and I can see why. I have reasonably small hands (for a guy) and I found it only just big enough - those with hands like coal shovels are not likely to get on with this knife. The shape of the handle grows on you (it is like an elongated rugby ball) and is quite comfortable if you are doing light cutting. I find it less comfortable if I need to grip it tight as it thins a little too much towards the end. The handle tends to pivot around your middle finger and you need to grip it quite tightly with your little finger - quite tiring after a while.
As eraaij pointed out, the quality of the finish is not high. The paint is uneven and a bit flakey, there are gaps where the blade enters the ferrule and the cutting edge overhangs the handle - could be easy to cut yourself. My blade was also a little bent where it joined the handle. A bit of pressure from my foot seems to have sorted this out now. The blade was not particularly sharp and will need honing before any serious use - I managed some crude whittling but my arms are still as hairy as ever :)
Overall, the impression is that this is a cheaply made but functional knife put together on a budget. Once sharpened, I am sure it will be a good knife but If you are expecting something fancy then you will be disappointed - this is a cheap working knife rather than something for a display cabinet. It will grow on you but just try not to think about the sheath!
Sorry for the long post but I thought it might be useful for newbies to know what you get from a cheap knife - kind of an antidote to all the postings about "gucci" knives on this site.
Right, now I've got to buy something to sharpen it with ...
OldJimbo
31-08-2005, 17:24
Yep - that's a pretty fair assessment of the knife as a person gets it! It exactly matches my disbelief years ago...
And there's still the tedious business of burning the paint of the handle and giving it an oil finish and then sharpening. It can easily take a couple of hours to flatten the bevels and get a really good edge. I go even further and put in extra time to flatten the sides of the blade and round the tops of the bevel shoulders and polish with green buffing compound.
Yet with all of the pretty, high tech steel, expensive, tough - you name it - knives I've got - it's the Moras that go into the bush with me...
Hi guys, I am a newbie :) and have a mora, so heres my pennies worth. First of I bought it from Ray Rears web site. It is the one with the green plastic handle and the very BAD plastic sheath that when I wear around my waist it digs well into my skin :( Soon changing that though, found these on ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Leather-Sheath-for-Mora-Frosts-Clipper-Bushcraft-knife_W0QQitemZ5234778538QQcat egoryZ16042QQssPageNameZWDVWQQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem so have bought one!
The knife it self is pretty comfy in hand and has done all the food prep, fire lighting and camp gadgets that I have managed to do :D I have made a little custom job on it by attaching a plaited leather cord through the lanyard hole! I would put a piccie on but I am a dunce at the techie stuff.
There we go my pennies worth, not a bad knife crap sheath but a fab learner.
miniac
The knife in the sheath is a clipper, will a mora fit the sheath?
:o Err did'nt think about that, doh. Just found some piccies on the web an it appears to be pretty much the same handle shape but with a rubber grip. Hopefully it will be the same! If not my sellers account on ebay will see a bit of action
:o Err did'nt think about that, doh. Just found some piccies on the web an it appears to be pretty much the same handle shape but with a rubber grip. Hopefully it will be the same! If not my sellers account on ebay will see a bit of action
Let me know how you get on, I nearly did the same!
You could always buy a clipper as well they are about a tenner I think!
Will do, Goose.
Hum, buying another knife, twisting my arm! :D will have as many as she does in the kitchen drawer
Bardster
03-09-2005, 13:51
The blade came covered by some nasty sticky oily stuff to protect it from rust. This was a real swine to shift ..
Comes off real easy with white spirit or turps - just wiped off.
( yes I got two to play with too) ;) :rolleyes:
Let me know how you get on, I nearly did the same!
You could always buy a clipper as well they are about a tenner I think!
Well pleased :D :D
So you don't have an excuse to go knife shopping now!
So you don't have an excuse to go knife shopping now!
Err no, but then I am in line for a bearclaw field knife :D
Minotaur
08-09-2005, 20:19
Those sheaths looked very familar.....
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8266
Thought it might be Tiffers but apperently not.
Going to try and make my own because I want a few of them and and at £20 ish quid a go...
tetra_neon
01-10-2005, 06:14
Hi all :D my first post. I bought one of these in the hope of using it in the Peak District as I have just moved to Sheffield to study at Uni.
I blowtorched and sanded the handle to my liking and treated it with danish oil - much better!
But as for the blade, I have a few queries...
I understand that after I have sharpened the blade (with a stone that cost more than the knife itself!!), what sort oil should be applied to the blade?
Also, Is there any point in grinding the blade down to a single bevel? I read something about someone doing it to this knife, and the process being very laborious.
I wish I had followed my gut and got a few of these to experiment with!
Ah well, thanks v much!
-Matt
Matt,
These knives should have a single bevel already.
I think you might be referring to my recent post about having a go at sharpening the knife? Well, just because I had trouble, it doesn't mean you will too. :) There is a knack to sharpening that can be harder to pick up than you might expect so don't be put off if you don't get it right first time. From my experience, it is worth having a look to see how straight your blade is before investing too much time with the waterstone. Looking at the reflections under a strong light should give you a reasonable idea of the condition.
A 1000 grit stone will take a fair old amount of time to flatten out a warped edge, so starting with something co****r might be a good idea. I opted for wet and dry paper because it is cheap and I had some handy, rather than some inverted-snobery about it being "better". (As a student, you will no doubt appreciate cost-effective solutions - although that might not kick-in until your third year!).
If you have gone to the trouble of sanding and oiling your handle, it is worth protecting it before you start sharpening, particularly if you are using wet and dry - it is easy to end up sharpening the handle too if you aren't careful ;)
I will have to leave it others to guide you on how to go about the sharpening as I am not really qualified to do so myself.
Best of luck with it - don't neglect your studies mucking round with knives though!
Dave