All round knife..

[Scottieoutdoors]

Hey all,

I'm looking at fixed blade knives with an eye to picking up something that will cost very little and also be pretty all roundy in its abilities.

As much as I love looking at the member classifieds I certainly can't justify spending the money that is often commanded by what's on there and realistically I've never had anything more than a cheap folder and I don't particularly want to do any batoning with it, hence searching for a fixed blade.

I'm thinking mora knives might be the best place to start knowing that if I do something ridiculous and lose it/break it/fail in sharpening it then it's not going to be financially heart braking, but there just seems to be about a hundred options from heavy duty companion to robust pro etc etc..

Any advice would be thoroughly welcomed!

 

[Wildgoose]

I’d wager that every member here has, or has had, a Mora companion.

Great knife at little cost

 

[Scottieoutdoors]

I’d wager that every member here has, or has had, a Mora companion.

Great knife at little cost

I figured it'd probably be the best way to go, I think erbwurst even suggested so a while ago...

Not sure which is the best to go for though:

Mora Knives | Morakniv | The UKs Biggest Mora Knife Store

View our extensive range of Morakniv Knives, from Mora Clipper/Companions knives to wood carving knives. If we don't stock the Mora Knife you were looking for it probably doesn't exist. Now including

www.springfields.co.uk

 

[TLM]

I think I have about 4 or 5 Moras around, mostly std Companions, 2 stainless I guess. Got them at about eur 2 each. Very practical and the cost/usefulness ratio is VERY high.

 

[gra_farmer]

Condor knives used to be a brilliant, slightly up market alternative to moras until about 7 years ago. They are still a good consideration.

But the main mora alternative is the Hultafors blades

 

[MCNZ]

Wasn't bushcraftuk selling some Hultafors knives with fire steels? The OK4 is a great first proper knife.

 

[Tony]

Yep, shop link above, the OK4 or the heavy duty knife would be good as allrounders

 

[Van-Wild]

Mora Companion or the Robust. Great knives. Come wicked sharp and can be touched up in the field with ease.

I've used them for years as a garden knife, bushcraft knife, dressed deer with one many times, Box cutter..... on and on they go. If I were to recommend any knife for all round bushcraft 100% it's the Mora Robust for the budget conscious!

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

 

[dwardo]

I'd just pick the one you like the look of. You will likely have many more in the future so just take a leap of faith so to speak. The forum one would be a as good a place start as any. Good price too.

 

[Broch]

Mora Companion are great little knives but, if it was to be used for a wide range of tasks, I would go for the Heavy Duty Companion (3.2mm instead of 2mm blade). OK, not as good for dicing carrots but you'll have more confidence in it for the tougher tasks.

Mora Heavy Duty Companion Carbon Knife

#html-body [data-pb-style=N071KI0]{justify-content:flex-start;display:flex;flex-direction:column;background-position:left top;background-size:cover;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-attachment:scroll}The Mora Companion Heavy Duty (HD) is exactly as it's name suggests - a heavy duty version...

www.springfields.co.uk

 

[Murat_Cyp]

Get mora companion, ideally one stainless and one carbon. I have two stainless on my kitchen block. They get used and abused daily. Great slicers. You might also want to get the sharpening system in the link. Cheap and cheerful. Good platform to learn sharpening scandi grind.

Woodwright SHARPENING SET - Woodsmith Experience

The Woodwright SHARPENING SET is an inexpensive way to get many of your woodworking tools super sharp. Especially suitable for carving knives

woodsmithexperience.co.uk

 

[Billy-o]

The Russell Green River camp knife is worth looking at.

20-ish dollars, soft-ish 1095 steel, 2.5mm

 

[Yorkshire Viking]

Yep don't think your wrong about Mora's, I have a couple and my son has the mora safety.

 

[Erbswurst]

I did recommend you to buy a used stainless steel Mora Garberg if possible with leather sheath.

It currently is offered here:

Sold - MORA ''GARBERG'' stainless Multi & Leather sheath

I'm selling this NEW in Box Mora Garberg Multi-mount sheath system with a Leather Belt Sheath aswell. The Mora Garberg Knife is the first "Full Tang" knife that Mora have produced and we are firmly behind the idea. Mora are one of the best producers of quality knives in the World and it was...

bushcraftuk.com

But if You currently can't afford it, I recommend you to get a Opinel No8 Carbone. It's good, light, cheap and easy to sharpen.
Should you later want to buy the Garberg you can give the Opinel No8 carbone to your wife because it's very light and an optimal food preparation knive that also serves very well as all purpose knife. You just can't baton with it, that's the only downside.

I have nothing against the Mora Companion but in my opinion the far lighter Opinel No8 Carbone is for hiking tours the better choice.
And if the knife isn't as robust as the Garberg anyway you can also take the Opinel.

And it's the best choice for the second person if the first one carries a Mora Garberg and a Victorinox Climber or Compact.
In my opinion that's the best combination for two persons.

In your special case even the Opinel No9 might be the better choice because if your hands are as large as the body you could get problems with a too small Opinel.
They are offered in many places and if you have a shop accessible that has it, you should look if your index finger could touch the edge if you work with the knife.
No8 is the normal size for adult men.
No9 is the size for men who need the largest available working gloves in a usual hardware shop.

But your wife can use the No9 as well.
It just doesn't fit well into her trousers pockets.
For food preparation it's even better than size No8.

Don't take a stainless Opinel. The friction is too low. They are dangerous for bushcraft. That are pure kitchen and vegetable harvesting knives.

Hultafors OK4 and the bigger handled and cheaper Hultafors GK (heavy duty) knife aren't good for food preparation because they have a long finger guard and a short blade.
They are good crafting knives but no all round / all purpose knives.
(Mora Companion and Companion HD are all purpose knives, as well as the unbreakable Garberg.)

The Hultafors GK is strong and very cheap though. And that's why you also could buy this and an Opinel No9.
GK for heavier tasks, Opinel for finer tasks. The GK is no unbreakable survival knife like the Garberg. But if your life doesn't depend on it and you even still would have the No9 as a life boat that should be OK in England.

I think that the smaller handle of the OK4 is too small four your hands. That's why I would recommend the cheaper GK in your case if you want a fix bladed user for survival training in civilised areas.

Hultafors Gk costs approximately 10 €, Opinel No9 approximately 12 €.
If you know about the limitations both will serve you well.

 

[Billy-o]

I think the Garberg represents a big step up in price, Erbswurst and once there, there are lots of other options like the Roselli Carpenter or the puukkos that Varusteleka have been selling for the past few years - lightweight, effective scandi grinds, in tougher steels which, when paired with something like that Opinel 8 you mention, a TK4, or any other good, light, flat-ground, thin 3" to 3 1/2"-ish locking folding blade, will work a charm.

The first things I bought when I started thinking harder about what kinds of knife are best for camp, and stopped just taking the kitchen cutlery out with me (which worked perfectly fine btw ) were a Falkniven F1, a Roselli Carpenter, an Opinel 8 and a Nowill Navy knife. I could and sometimes think I should have stopped right there. I still have them, though the F1 has a thinner grind on it now and the Roselli always did need a better sheath.

(If you happen to go look at the Ragweed Forge site to check prices, make sure and look at their UHC Kitchen Knife - for no other reason that it is awesome looking - reminds a little of the Peltonen)

 

[Erbswurst]

Yes, the Garberg is more expensive.
In my opinion it's the best in the price range up to 200 € although it's far cheaper than the offers from the competition in a similar quality and that's why I did recommend it to him earlier.

Here I just wanted to point out that I didn't recommend the Companion to him, although it's surely no bad knife. But I am no fan of it.

When it became in a German forum the most recommended knife I asked myself "why that?", went to the writing desk, took it out, put the blade between a few wood boards, dit put the knee onto the boards, took the handle and broke the blade. Easily! I need more force to pull out nettles of the ground.

My philosophy is to get for recreational use immediatly the cheapest of the very good options and to stick with it for ever rather than upgrading step by step in the civil middle price range what's in my opinion just a waste of money.

I generally recommend the best military surplus options that will last for decades, and the Morakniv Garberg, the Victorinox Compact or Climber, perhaps a Pathfinder Bush Pot 1,8 litres for two persons and new all leather double stiched hiking boots with easily replaceable soles. And if possible a new real military sleeping bag that's part of a modular system.

You can save the money by buying cheap Solognac clothing or used field uniforms and everything as military surplus that you can get. Just the knives you have to buy new or second hand on the civil market and the medium high hiking boots which are the most expensive point.

I don't recommend to buy civil stuff in the middle price range. I exclusively recommend high end equipment.
Luckily you can get it also in the military surplus shops as cheap as chips if you know what you have to look for.

The Opinel Carbone series is a rare exception where you can buy a very good civil piece of equipment for a very low price that you never will "upgrade" later.

But let's say, if you have 180 € and need a pair of boots and really want a fix blade knife, well then take 170 €, buy yourself a pair of Schladminger 100 leather boots and take the Hultafors GK for 10€.
Because like this you get the boots that you need and get a surprisingly good knife for the price of a package of cigarettes. That's no waste of money even if it will end up in the garden shed or if you gift it later to a teenager in your circles. And well, the GK is OK, no question. You can even stick with it for ever.

Sad would be to buy a non convincing knife for 50 € if you can get the Garberg for 80€.

And I remember you here: We talk here with and about a very tall man! The knives that fit well in your hands don't neccessarily will be comfortable to use for him.
The Hultafors GK has a large handle, Opinel No9 has a large handle, the Garberg has a large Handle.

I thought about pointing out that we currently have a very good offer of a Lars Fält knife in the forum. It also has a large handle and is a bargain here. But this is nevertheless more expensive than necessary because it functionally isn't better than the cheaper Garberg.

Middle class people usually buy middle price range stuff because they were taught since generations that they make the best deals here.
Regarding outdoor equipment that for sure isn't the case any more.


You make far better deals with the most expensive civil equipment, military surplus and a few cheap newcomers from Asia like the Hultafors GK that's designed in Sweden and made of Japanese steel in Taiwan.

 

[Broch]

All I can say, without writing an essay, is that I disagree with you.

There are many good deals, across the price ranges, as long as you define the requirement clearly.

Scottieoutdoors said he didn't want to baton, didn't want to spend a lot, was looking in the Mora Companion range. I agree with him, the range of Mora knives is unnecessarily confusing so, those of us that own and have used them, have advised to try and clarify that.

If I said I wanted a reliable car that got me to work 20km away each day and I didn't want to spend much I suspect you'd advise me to get a BMW.

 

[Sebc]

If your interested in a cheap garberg I am thinking about selling my carbon black with leather and multimount sheaths. I'd sell my old companion ss but it wouldn't be worth the hassle for how cheap they are. To be honest if you want a cheap solid knife the companion is perfect.

 

[Erbswurst]

Solid?

It's a good knife but for sure it isn't solid.