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STICK
10-26-2010, 23:08
A while back I picked up one of the Classic Mora knives to carry with me backpacking. The knife is a really nice knife as well as light weight. Then I saw the Mora Clipper 840 and thought I wouldn't mind trying it out too (Thanks Jason Klass... :)) So, on a recent trip I stopped in at a knife store and found one. It too is a sweet knife. I believe that I have found the backpacking knife for me.

Here is an initial review I posted on the knife:

http://stick13.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/the-mora-clipper-840/

Panzer1
10-27-2010, 01:26
why is it a "classic" knife?

Panzer

TOW
10-27-2010, 07:30
why is it a "classic" knife?

Panzer
because stick thinks so......

generoll
10-27-2010, 07:54
perhaps you noticed that he capitalized the word classic. as in that's the style or name of the knife. sort of the same way he capitalized Clipper.

Trailbender
10-27-2010, 08:06
A while back I picked up one of the Classic Mora knives to carry with me backpacking. The knife is a really nice knife as well as light weight. Then I saw the Mora Clipper 840 and thought I wouldn't mind trying it out too (Thanks Jason Klass... :)) So, on a recent trip I stopped in at a knife store and found one. It too is a sweet knife. I believe that I have found the backpacking knife for me.

Here is an initial review I posted on the knife:

http://stick13.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/the-mora-clipper-840/

They are really good knives, I use mine to baton wood, ect. They are actually the bushcraft knife of choice. I haven't treated mine gently, but it is in great shape. With that said, you want to carry a folder too, a small pocketknife. I only carried the pocketknife on my thru, as you don't need the larger blade.

lbbrown
10-27-2010, 14:17
Ray Jardine has a kit available that includes a Mora blade and pieces of wood with which you make your own handle. Jardine also sells a leather sheath kit. Check out www.rayjardine.com (http://www.rayjardine.com).

STICK
10-27-2010, 16:25
generoll, that is correct. Classic is part of the name for the knife. I would assume that this name was given partly because it is a knife that has been around for a long time as well as the simple design. Classic.

Anyway, here is an insert from the description of the knife, which verifies what I already said:


The Frosts Traditional "Mora Series" Knife is a classic - recognized the world over for its strength, durability and craftsmanship. This is a very popular survival and outdoor knife. The Morakniv™ Classic 1 has a 4 inch (99 mm) Carbon blade length and 8 inch (200 mm) overall length. The tradition can be explained by the knives - with their classic red wooden handle, they are pleasant to work with and have just the right feel. Features Traditional Red Birchwood Handle, Carbon Steel Blade, Black Plastic Sheathe.

This is quoted from this site:

http://www.swedishknives.com/morakniv.htm

Trailbender, I have a Gerber Paraframe folding knife that I have been carrying for a few months. Even though I picked the Mora knife up before my last triip, I still carried my Gerber too. Actually, I wanted to attach the Mora to my pack strap, but I don't believe that it will work out. The Mora knife is 8.5 inches long which makes it a little hard to attach it too my pack strap.

lbbrown, thanks for the link. I will have to look into that.

mr. dribbles
10-27-2010, 20:55
Check into "forcing" a patina on the blade. I used vinegar for my Mora Carbon Clipper- soaked the blade in a cup of vinegar for 20 minutes. Not a speck of corrosion after 1 year.

STICK
10-27-2010, 21:03
Thanks for the tip on the vinegar. I had read that you can stab a potato and let it sit in the potato for a while, as well as using mustard to force a patina. I will probably try one of these methods, but first I want to try and have the small rust spots polished out first.

TheYoungOne
10-28-2010, 14:48
Ray Jardine has a kit available that includes a Mora blade and pieces of wood with which you make your own handle. Jardine also sells a leather sheath kit. Check out www.rayjardine.com. (http://www.rayjardine.com.)

I noticed that Cody Lundin guy carries one around his neck on that Dual Survival show.

The Mora knives are great camping knives. Crazy cheap at around $10 to $20 but built solid. The only thing you got to watch is rust on some models. If I get one I might try Mr. Dribbles vingar trick.

STICK
10-28-2010, 17:46
Yea, the carbon steel will rust pretty fast from what I understand. But Mora also uses other types of steel also on some of their knives. The Mora Clipper is also offered in a stainless steel blade. The SS blades are the Mora Clipper 860's and the CS blades are the 840's.

JimM
10-28-2010, 21:33
Check into "forcing" a patina on the blade. I used vinegar for my Mora Carbon Clipper- soaked the blade in a cup of vinegar for 20 minutes. Not a speck of corrosion after 1 year.
I did the same thing with similar results a couple of years ago. I soaked the blade after I cleaned the coffee maker with white vinegar.

SMSP
10-28-2010, 23:34
Both of those knives are a good balance between function, weight and cost. If you break it or lose it, it would be easy on the pocket book. You could buy 3-4 Mora's for the price of one of the Big Brands, which would be hard to find in that weight range.

SMSP

Wags
10-29-2010, 00:49
i've been using my mora for 4 years now. no worries yet

mr. dribbles
10-29-2010, 15:39
The knives are a great value. Check the length of the tangs (http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/827030/). I wouldn't baton the knives with the shorter tangs, but for 12 bucks I'll use it well and not shed a tear if it breaks.

Trailbender
10-29-2010, 20:47
The knives are a great value. Check the length of the tangs (http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/827030/). I wouldn't baton the knives with the shorter tangs, but for 12 bucks I'll use it well and not shed a tear if it breaks.

I batoned with mine for years with no issues.

STICK
10-31-2010, 18:35
Mr.Dribbles, thanks for the link. From what I understood I thought the Moras were all at least 3/4 length tangs if not full. I don't see myself needing to do much batoning, but was looking forward to being able to use these successfully if needed to do so. I will have to take them out and try it out here at home sometime. But I am like you, at $12 they cannot be beat...

Looking through that link, I saw that someone x-rayed the knives to see the esact length of the tangs. That was pretty cool. So, I sent both of my Moras with my wife to work tonight and she is going to xray them and hopefully put the pictures on a cd for me. I will let everyone know once I see them.

generoll
10-31-2010, 20:33
carbon steel tends to take and hold an edge better then SS. You can always clean the rust off a blade, getting one to take an edge is sometimes more of a challenge.

STICK
10-31-2010, 21:04
Those are a few of the reasons that I wanted the CS over the SS. Now I just gotta figure out how to sharpen them myself...

BackTrack1
10-31-2010, 22:02
I just bought one of these knives, why should you soak it in vinigar though?

STICK
10-31-2010, 22:34
Soaking it in vinegar will force a patina on the blade, but this is only one method of forcing a patina. I have heard of sticking one in a potato and letting it sit over night as well as covering it in mustard for a while. The patina is a coating that helps to protect the blade from rusting so easily.

So, which one did you get? Does it have the CS or the SS blade?

BackTrack1
11-01-2010, 07:30
Soaking it in vinegar will force a patina on the blade, but this is only one method of forcing a patina. I have heard of sticking one in a potato and letting it sit over night as well as covering it in mustard for a while. The patina is a coating that helps to protect the blade from rusting so easily.

So, which one did you get? Does it have the CS or the SS blade?

Thanks Stick,
ive never heard of putting a patina on a blade before, guess i'll try that .
i actually bought 2 of them, got 1 for my buddy too. i saw them in my backpacker magazine and thought it looked like a nice nife for backpacking,
I got the one with the rubber handle and carbon steel blade, i wasnt real impressed with the sheeth at first but after useing it a little its not bad, i was worried it would fall out and get lost but it seems to lock into its case pretty good, def. worth $20.00. much lighter than a regular Buck knife.

STICK
11-02-2010, 17:31
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu88/STICK13/TangXray.jpg

While looking through some other sites about these knives I saw where someone xrayed the knives to see how long the tangs are. So, I sent my knives to work with my wife the other night and she xrayed them for me. The above is a screen shot of the picture. I tried typing on them, but then when I tried to resize and what not, the text is kind of small and hard to read.

So, the top one is the Mora Classic (http://stick13.wordpress.com/gear/knives-multi-tools/mora-s-1-knife/) knife (the one with the wooden handle). When I measured it with a ruler, I came up with the handle measuring at 4 inches and the blade at 3 7/8 inches. As can be seen in the x-ray, the tang is almost the same length as the blade, so I would say that the Classic Mora has a full tang. Correct me if I am wrong.

The bottom knife is the Mora Clipper (http://stick13.wordpress.com/gear/knives-multi-tools/mora-clipper-840/). I measured the handle at 4 3/4 inches, and the blade at 3 7/8 inches. As seen in the xray the tang is definitely not the full length on the Clipper. It actually measures about 1.8 inches long which is about half the length of the blade.

So, anyway, I just thought this was neat and thought I would share it here.

SMSP
11-02-2010, 22:39
Great! Thats why x-rays cost so much, they gotta inflate the prices so the employees can bring stuff to work and play.

Naw, just kidding, every job has it's perks, including mine.

Thats interesting information you found. I wonder with the Clipper, if the blade has pressure on it, does the handle towards the end tend to flex any, or not? When compared when doing the same with the Classic?

SMSP

STICK
11-02-2010, 23:11
Actually, it's not the xrays that cost so much, but instead paying the dr to read them...

Anyway, I haven't gotten brutal with either of the knives yet. They both seem to be pretty sturdy knives. They say that you can pound one into a tree and stand on it without it bending or breaking. I dunno, haven't tried it and probably won't, but I would say that based on the xrays, the Clipper would not be able to handle a person standing on it... Anyway, I will take them out sometime and baton with them to see how they do as far as that is concerned. Regardless, they are tough knives, and for a super price.

SMSP
11-03-2010, 00:33
Actually, it's not the xrays that cost so much, but instead paying the dr to read them...

C'mon man, dont pour salt on it. What bites even more about the dr, is you dont even get a face to face with them. Well, it's a good thing the dr didnt read your knives x-rays for you or those would have been some expensive knives!

On another note, my goto knife for backpacking has been the Glock knife. Yeah, I know, it's heavy for backpacking. It weighs around 8.8oz. Anyway, I have had two of them for the longest time. So I finally choose one and have been putting it through the ringer and abusing it on purpose. This past New Year's, while on an overnighter, I spilt some wood with it. That was a lot of work. And, I wasnt just doing it to do it. It got cold that night and everything was wet on the ground. Some campers left some nice oak from the their previous car camping, so we help ourselves to it. It split wood but the blade has a little bit of bend it in now, but it's still usable. I have pounded tent stakes in the ground with it's other end as well. Now, this Glock knife looks rough, but it has done what I have put it through. I didnt get any pics or video of that, I guess I'll have to do it again.

For the Mora's price and reputation, they seem like a bargain.

SMSP

Trailbender
11-03-2010, 08:22
C'mon man, dont pour salt on it. What bites even more about the dr, is you dont even get a face to face with them. Well, it's a good thing the dr didnt read your knives x-rays for you or those would have been some expensive knives!

On another note, my goto knife for backpacking has been the Glock knife. Yeah, I know, it's heavy for backpacking. It weighs around 8.8oz. Anyway, I have had two of them for the longest time. So I finally choose one and have been putting it through the ringer and abusing it on purpose. This past New Year's, while on an overnighter, I spilt some wood with it. That was a lot of work. And, I wasnt just doing it to do it. It got cold that night and everything was wet on the ground. Some campers left some nice oak from the their previous car camping, so we help ourselves to it. It split wood but the blade has a little bit of bend it in now, but it's still usable. I have pounded tent stakes in the ground with it's other end as well. Now, this Glock knife looks rough, but it has done what I have put it through. I didnt get any pics or video of that, I guess I'll have to do it again.

For the Mora's price and reputation, they seem like a bargain.

SMSP

I had the Glock knife as well. I found the blade to be too thick for batoning well. The blade is supposed to split the wood like a wedge, but the Glock knife is so thick that the sides of the blade are in contact with the wood and not the wedge portion. This made it truly suck for batoning, and one of my criteria for a wilderness knife is that you can baton well with it. I have had my mora clipper for several years, and beat the crap out of it, and it is still in perfect shape.

Liv2Ride
11-03-2010, 09:58
[QUOTE=STICK;1063381]...Actually, I wanted to attach the Mora to my pack strap, but I don't believe that it will work out. The Mora knife is 8.5 inches long which makes it a little hard to attach it too my pack strap..../QUOTE]

Hey there Stick. I have the 711 and the Clipper. Both in carbon steel. I have no problem in carrying the 711 on my shoulder strap. I even carry it upside down for a quick draw but if you use the original sheath you will need to get creative or risk having it fall out.

There is a guy on ebay that makes and sells Kydec neck sheaths for an upside down carry for a bunch of the Mora knives. I had him special make me one for the 711 because even though it's longer than the Clipper I prefer it because it does have almost a full tang.

I don't have a problem in keeping my Mora sharp and rust free. I use a standard wetstone sharpening stone. It only takes about 5 minutes at the most.

Trailbender
11-03-2010, 11:58
[QUOTE=STICK;1063381]
I don't have a problem in keeping my Mora sharp and rust free. I use a standard wetstone sharpening stone. It only takes about 5 minutes at the most.


I use a cut down diamond rod I keep on a lanyard with a pocketknife. I can get a razor edge with the diamond rod, especially after my thru. Everyone wanted me to sharpen their knives, so I got plenty of practice. Diamond rods make every other sharpening method obsolete.

SMSP
11-03-2010, 16:46
I had the Glock knife as well. I found the blade to be too thick for batoning well. The blade is supposed to split the wood like a wedge, but the Glock knife is so thick that the sides of the blade are in contact with the wood and not the wedge portion. This made it truly suck for batoning, and one of my criteria for a wilderness knife is that you can baton well with it. I have had my mora clipper for several years, and beat the crap out of it, and it is still in perfect shape.

That explains why it was quite a work out then when splitting wood with the Glock Knife.

SMSP

StubbleJumper
11-03-2010, 17:28
Hey there Stick. I have the 711 and the Clipper. Both in carbon steel. I have no problem in carrying the 711 on my shoulder strap. I even carry it upside down for a quick draw but if you use the original sheath you will need to get creative or risk having it fall out.


Quick draw? Is that in case there is a fast moving salami that you suddenly decide to slice?

I carry an Opinel carbon steel folding knife (this is a sweet combination of light and sharp!), but I've never felt like I've needed quick draw capacity!

Liv2Ride
11-03-2010, 19:30
Quick draw? Is that in case there is a fast moving salami that you suddenly decide to slice?

I carry an Opinel carbon steel folding knife (this is a sweet combination of light and sharp!), but I've never felt like I've needed quick draw capacity!

Then don't.

Liv2Ride
11-03-2010, 19:32
[QUOTE=Liv2Ride;1065134]


I use a cut down diamond rod I keep on a lanyard with a pocketknife. I can get a razor edge with the diamond rod, especially after my thru. Everyone wanted me to sharpen their knives, so I got plenty of practice. Diamond rods make every other sharpening method obsolete.


I'll need to look into that since I already carry a very small stone for times when I need to touch up the blade away from home. Thanks.

SMSP
11-04-2010, 02:37
Found a site w/ some more x-rays:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=423013

SMSP

SMSP
11-11-2010, 00:31
[QUOTE=STICK;1063381]...Actually, I wanted to attach the Mora to my pack strap, but I don't believe that it will work out. The Mora knife is 8.5 inches long which makes it a little hard to attach it too my pack strap..../QUOTE]

Hey there Stick. I have the 711 and the Clipper. Both in carbon steel. I have no problem in carrying the 711 on my shoulder strap. I even carry it upside down for a quick draw but if you use the original sheath you will need to get creative or risk having it fall out.

There is a guy on ebay that makes and sells Kydec neck sheaths for an upside down carry for a bunch of the Mora knives. I had him special make me one for the 711 because even though it's longer than the Clipper I prefer it because it does have almost a full tang.

I don't have a problem in keeping my Mora sharp and rust free. I use a standard wetstone sharpening stone. It only takes about 5 minutes at the most.

Anyway information on the guy who makes the kydex sheaths?

SMSP

SMSP
11-11-2010, 00:56
Stick - thanks for the information on Mora knives. I decided to order a couple for myself. For the value and their reputation, dang, can't beat the price.

I got mine in today:

#840-MG: The #840 in Military Green with the Carbon Steel blade.
Weight of Knife w/ my scale:
Knife & Sheath – 3.8oz
Knife – 2.6oz
Sheath - 1.2oz

I really like the sheath. I dont usually wear knives on my side, but I like the way the knife is snug in the sheath.

For the #840 from: http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html (http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html): The carbon steel Clipper has a 3 7/8" (100 mm) blade of unpolished carbon steel .079" thick. It has a solid plastic handle with a checkered black rubber coating in the center for improved grip. The handle is a bit smaller than the 731 shown above, and would work better for someone with smaller hands. It's supplied with a good quality plastic sheath with a belt hook that can be snapped over the belt (http://www.ragweedforge.com/840-sheath-hook.jpg). The knife and sheath weigh a bit over 3 1/2 ounces. $10. Out of Stock. #840-MG; it's also available with a military green sheath and trim (http://www.ragweedforge.com/860-mg.jpg) for $12.
__________________________________________________ __________

#440, The Sports Knife, has a stainless steel blade.
Weight of Knife w/ my scale:
Knife & Sheath – 3.1oz
Knife – 2.3oz
Sheath - .8oz

The sheath for this knife has a an extra keeper strap to secure it in the sheath. The upper portion of the sheath can slide off the bottom portion of the sheath and can be used with the extra keeper strap. The knife snaps in pretty snug to the bottom portion alone. The grip is a hard plastic though.

For the #440, From http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html: the Sports Knife has a stainless blade, .078" thick, with a rather long clip and an acute point. Depending on how far the blade is set into the handle, the length can vary a bit, from about 3 3/4" to about 4". The handle has the smallest diameter of the plastic handled Mora knives, and would be better suited to smaller hands. (The handle is about 4 1/8" long, with about 3 1/2" between the guard and curve at the pommel.) Unlike the others, the sheath has a keeper strap, and will fit wider belts up to 1 3/4". The sheath can be used for either left or right handed carry. The handle and sheath trim come your choice of five colors; yellow, black, green, blue or red. The knife and sheath weigh a bit over 3 ounces. $12.50.

I too, am impressed by these knives' construction and quality. For less than the weight of my Glock knife, I can carry a fixed bladed knife and a small Swiss Army knife (2 blades, bottle opener, can opener).

SMSP

SMSP
11-11-2010, 22:39
Pics of the Mora #840-MG Clipper and #440 Sports Knife.

SMSP

STICK
11-11-2010, 23:07
SMSP, congrats on the purchases. For the price, the Mora's are hard to look over.

I like the sheath set-up that you have for the 440.

Trailbender
11-12-2010, 09:20
Stick - thanks for the information on Mora knives. I decided to order a couple for myself. For the value and their reputation, dang, can't beat the price.

I got mine in today:

#840-MG: The #840 in Military Green with the Carbon Steel blade.
Weight of Knife w/ my scale:
Knife & Sheath – 3.8oz
Knife – 2.6oz
Sheath - 1.2oz

I really like the sheath. I dont usually wear knives on my side, but I like the way the knife is snug in the sheath.

For the #840 from: http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html (http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html): The carbon steel Clipper has a 3 7/8" (100 mm) blade of unpolished carbon steel .079" thick. It has a solid plastic handle with a checkered black rubber coating in the center for improved grip. The handle is a bit smaller than the 731 shown above, and would work better for someone with smaller hands. It's supplied with a good quality plastic sheath with a belt hook that can be snapped over the belt (http://www.ragweedforge.com/840-sheath-hook.jpg). The knife and sheath weigh a bit over 3 1/2 ounces. $10. Out of Stock. #840-MG; it's also available with a military green sheath and trim (http://www.ragweedforge.com/860-mg.jpg) for $12.
__________________________________________________ __________

#440, The Sports Knife, has a stainless steel blade.
Weight of Knife w/ my scale:
Knife & Sheath – 3.1oz
Knife – 2.3oz
Sheath - .8oz

The sheath for this knife has a an extra keeper strap to secure it in the sheath. The upper portion of the sheath can slide off the bottom portion of the sheath and can be used with the extra keeper strap. The knife snaps in pretty snug to the bottom portion alone. The grip is a hard plastic though.

For the #440, From http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html: the Sports Knife has a stainless blade, .078" thick, with a rather long clip and an acute point. Depending on how far the blade is set into the handle, the length can vary a bit, from about 3 3/4" to about 4". The handle has the smallest diameter of the plastic handled Mora knives, and would be better suited to smaller hands. (The handle is about 4 1/8" long, with about 3 1/2" between the guard and curve at the pommel.) Unlike the others, the sheath has a keeper strap, and will fit wider belts up to 1 3/4". The sheath can be used for either left or right handed carry. The handle and sheath trim come your choice of five colors; yellow, black, green, blue or red. The knife and sheath weigh a bit over 3 ounces. $12.50.

I too, am impressed by these knives' construction and quality. For less than the weight of my Glock knife, I can carry a fixed bladed knife and a small Swiss Army knife (2 blades, bottle opener, can opener).

SMSP

That is the same exact knife I have. I have not treated it gently, and it is still in great shape. I did a month AT section last year where it got rained on every day, and it only had a few rust spots at the end.

Liv2Ride
11-12-2010, 12:02
[QUOTE=Liv2Ride;1065134]

Anyway information on the guy who makes the kydex sheaths?

SMSP

He goes by mudhole9 on ebay. Just do a search by Seller and he should pop up. I just saw on ebay that he has another Clipper sheath for sale. If you email him and ask him to make a sheath for a different model he will as long as he has that particular knife on hand. If he doesn't have the specific knife you can mail him yours and he can make one from it. Don't worry you can trust him to send your knife back.