can my frosts mora regain a razors edge/How much to spend on a good knife

[sshearing228]

Hi am new to bushcraft and own a Frosts Mora which was lovely and sharp.I brought a ray mears whetsone to sharpen it but have not acheived the results i was hoping for am i better of buying seperate stones of different grit?I am thinking that the ray mears stone is better if you are already out and just need to improve your blade.

Another question would be , How much would you reccomend spending on a half decent knife and where to get one.I know for example you can spen 250 on ray mears knife but is it better than a handmade knife for 80 quid say for example.(obviously depends on who made it)

 

[Nat]

Sharpening is down to technique. You can have the most expensive wet stones and still blunt a blade.
British Red on here did a tutorial on how to make your own sharpening blocks using emery paper and wooden blocks and i've found that sharpens my blades just as well as a £40 sharpening stone.
As for expensive knives, well how long is a piece of string. I've got two moras and a MOD survival knife, cost me less than £45 in total and they do me when out and about. I've had custom made knives, expensive Ka Bars and at the end of the day it's what you're happy with.
My advice would be to stick with Moras to begin with until you find or decide on a knife shape and get one custom made.
Remember, just because it says Ray Mears on it, if you're just starting out it won't turn you into him

 

[Dangerous Dan]

The short answer is yes you can, it just needs practice and a little patience. There are several articles this forum that should set you on your way.

Please, don't be duped into parting with £250 for the sake of a sharp edge, the Mora is more than capable.

Ray Mears is certainly an inspiration to many but he's also a great marketing machine. Before purchasing anything with celebrity endorsement have a hunt around, you may well find equivalent or better kit at a much better price.

 

[sshearing228]

I see your point thanks guys i was using RM as an example i realise that he is a marketing machine and getting other products the same as his would be far cheaper i guess it depends on the knife and not the price (wouldnt wanna be ray mears i am better looking lol)

 

[FGYT]

Regardless a blade made of 01 carbon steel ( about £4 worth ) and £5 to £20 for handle material and sheath material plus a couple of hours work
Bish Bash Bosh £300 please

they are all about the same unless you really mess up the HT etc anything over £100 and your really paying for a name and maybe solid gold Pins
course differnt more complex steels can up the blade price and you can pay for extra craftsman stuff but wont change the basic cutting ability of 01

lucky i made a woodlore copy to try it for under £5 and didnt like it so glad i didnt pay for a proper one etc

ATB

Duncan

 

[Siberianfury]

Another question would be , How much would you reccomend spending on a half decent knife and where to get one.I know for example you can spen 250 on ray mears knife but is it better than a handmade knife for 80 quid say for example.(obviously depends on who made it)

Nope,
the woodlore (ray mears knife) is a good general purpose knife and all but it is by no means superiour to any other bushy. a £10 frosts mora will cut better due to the thinner blade and better edge geonetry, the spear point makes it a bit harder to contorl in finer tasks than a flat spine, the knife has no liners, so is less durable than many other full tang knives, the blade is 4mm thick, which means its heavy and can be unweidly.

the knife is great at battoning, due to the thick blade however having used a mates woodlore i would say its not "the" perfect bushcraft knife at all, my mate perfers his clipper anyway.

i use a wide selecton of knives, some production, handmade and custom and personaly i perfer the straight spine puukko style, however everyone has a different perfrence.

ATB
Josh

 

[demographic]

Whatever knife you get its going to go blunt with use so you're best off learning how to sharpen a Mora cos that way its cheap.

Plus they are bloody good knives anyway.

 

[Hoodoo]

Hi am new to bushcraft and own a Frosts Mora which was lovely and sharp.I brought a ray mears whetsone to sharpen it but have not acheived the results i was hoping for am i better of buying seperate stones of different grit?I am thinking that the ray mears stone is better if you are already out and just need to improve your blade.

Another question would be , How much would you reccomend spending on a half decent knife and where to get one.I know for example you can spen 250 on ray mears knife but is it better than a handmade knife for 80 quid say for example.(obviously depends on who made it)

It doesn't have to be a Ray Mears knife to be better. If you could just get Ray to touch your knife, that would suffice. :umbrella:

 

[mr dazzler]

only recently I got a tiny nick in my mora knife that I carve with, and this was causing a fine scratch on the wood. I like a smooth burnished finish to the cuts. I used a waterstone (2 actually) I happen to have a few good waterstones which I use to sharpen chiles and plane irons for carpentry. Any way a few swipes on the stones, and passes with the leather strop soon had it restored. The steel is very easy to sharpen and keep sharp.

 

[sshearing228]

It doesn't have to be a Ray Mears knife to be better. If you could just get Ray to touch your knife, that would suffice. :umbrella:

whatever floats your boat mate!

 

[Siberianfury]

If you could just get Ray to touch your knife, that would suffice. :umbrella:

its true, Ray has magic fingers, he can transform a peice of popcorn into a functonal bushcraft knife with just one touch.

 

[bushwacker bob]

It doesn't have to be a Ray Mears knife to be better. If you could just get Ray to touch your knife, that would suffice. :umbrella:

Thats blasphemy.:twak:

 

[tenderfoot]

Ray Mears knows all about knives.
He also seems to know a lot about bushcrafters..

 

[phaserrifle]

only recently I got a tiny nick in my mora knife that I carve with, and this was causing a fine scratch on the wood. I like a smooth burnished finish to the cuts. I used a waterstone (2 actually) I happen to have a few good waterstones which I use to sharpen chiles and plane irons for carpentry. Any way a few swipes on the stones, and passes with the leather strop soon had it restored. The steel is very easy to sharpen and keep sharp.

I put two massive nicks in the blade of mine. took a file to get the nicks out, and I'm still not getting it as sharp as it used to be. more work with the stones is needed.

lesson learned: in a competition between the edge of a mora and a nail in a bit of wood, the nail will win.