Knives for beginners?

[oscarrs]

Hi guys, what kind of knives would you reccomend for all round bushcraft for beginners?

 

[johnnytheboy]

Mora companion stainless steel

 

[C_Claycomb]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I moved your thread here where it will be more at home with all the other knife threads.

This is a topic that gets asked about frequently, and there are a lot of threads already.

The short answer is: a Mora, or a Hultafors cranftsman.

I agree that the stainless Mora Companion is excellent. Orange handles are good for not losing them. The sheaths are good. They take a fine edge pretty easily, not too thick, comfortable secure handles.

Oh, one other thing....if your post does not appear immediately, don't despair! The first few posts of new members get manually approved by a moderator, and if no one is on-line at that moment, it can take a while.

All the best

Chris

 

[Great egret]

+1 for the Morakniv Companion

 

[HillBill]

I prefer the Mora 510 over the Companion. Reason being the handle is better suited to a variety of grips. The blades are more or less the same. Either way, you wont go wrong with a Mora... Best part is, they are cheap and easily replaceable.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[TeeDee]

Hi guys, what kind of knives would you reccomend for all round bushcraft for beginners?

Mora and the ability to sharpen and hone it -then spend time learning how to get the max out of a budget knife .

You will no doubt be tempted to look at other knives and there is a time and place for that but like any trade skill set , the apprentice tends to practice with inexpensive tools before learn how to optimise less , over more.

Find the limits of a cheap , light but very practical giant-killer of the budget knife range.

 

[demented dale]

Hi guys, what kind of knives would you reccomend for all round bushcraft for beginners?

i am not a beginner but i use a mora companion with a spyderco triangular sharpener. both very simple and effective. x

 

[fielder1963]

Moras are ideal for this. I'll also throw in a left field suggestion, the Milwaukee Tradesman knife. It's surprisingly good if you want something different.

 

[TLM]

Mora is a knife in northern tradition. Others would work too. So around 2-3 mm thick and 10 cm long, simple blade shape, handle that fits your hand. Sheath that holds the knife securely. Number 1 property; made of steel and heat treated so that it can be sharpened properly, proper edge geometry does help here.

Moras are one of the cheapest alternatives that work well. I guess I have half a dozen spread around. When trekking I often carry a longer and heavier knife so that no hatchet is needed, depending where I am going.

 

[slaine_23]

Moras are grand, the Hulafors craftsman I’d argue is better - all the advantages of a mora, steel as good of not better, easy to take care of, cheap as chips, decent sheath and has a finger guard.

Hultafors HVK Craftsman's Knife 380010 carbon, fixed knife

Hultafors HVK Craftsman's Knife 380010 carbon, fixed knife: Handle/blade: polypropylene/carbon fiber Blade length: 9,2 cm Weight: 80 grams

www.knivesandtools.ie

 

[HillBill]

Moras are grand, the Hulafors craftsman I’d argue is better - all the advantages of a mora, steel as good of not better, easy to take care of, cheap as chips, decent sheath and has a finger guard.

Hultafors HVK Craftsman's Knife 380010 carbon, fixed knife

Hultafors HVK Craftsman's Knife 380010 carbon, fixed knife: Handle/blade: polypropylene/carbon fiber Blade length: 9,2 cm Weight: 80 grams

www.knivesandtools.ie

Finger guards like that get in the way i find. One of the reasons i prefer the Mora 510 over the clipper.

 

[stonepark]

For general bushcraft and carving, Mora knives are great to start with as they are inexpensive and often still perform as a back up knife once you upgrade, Companion Heavy Duty would be my starting place in either carbon steel (rusts if not looked after but holds the sharper edge slightly longer) or stainless (slightly faster wearing but doesn't rust). (£16 to £20).

Companion HD

Probably as important to get a decent folding saw and/or an axe for processing firewood quickly, rather than rely on a knife for wood processing.

I probably have between 20 and 30 fixed blades with quite a few blade shapes, blade steels, sizes and uses.

Avoid all cheap non-branded or funny named knives as generally the blade steel is either poor or soft or quite often both (usulally indicated by the fact it last lists the blade steel as high carbon or stainless without specifying the actual steel used.

For a slightly higher budget, BPS do a few knives which are also good value such as Bushmate.

BPS Bushmate

After that, you get what you pay for in general and the choice is almost limitless.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Hi guys, what kind of knives would you reccomend for all round bushcraft for beginners?

From a design standpoint, the suggested knives score well because:

• Blades around the 4 inch length are short enough to be controllable for carving and long enough for slicing
• Blade depth is enough for a little belly to help with food prep, skinning, carving, but still have a pronounced point for tight curve cuts in carving and similar detail work, cutting divots in bow drill hearths.
• Handles lack finger grooves and other features that interfere with comfort across multiple grips used for carving.
• Handles are rounded and broad enough to spread load in heavy cutting, unlike thin, rectangular slab handles that concentrate load and make blisters.

 

[HillBill]

From a design standpoint, the suggested knives score well because:

• Blades around the 4 inch length are short enough to be controllable for carving and long enough for slicing
• Blade depth is enough for a little belly to help with food prep, skinning, carving, but still have a pronounced point for tight curve cuts in carving and similar detail work, cutting divots in bow drill hearths.
• Handles lack finger grooves and other features that interfere with comfort across multiple grips used for carving.
• Handles are rounded and broad enough to spread load in heavy cutting, unlike thin, rectangular slab handles that concentrate load and make blisters.

AI for the win!!!

Genuine question... How do you type a bold full stop, in the upper portion of a line (not lower like a normal full stop) When that option is not available on any keyboard?

 

[C_Claycomb]

AI for the win!!!

Genuine question... How do you type a bold full stop, in the upper portion of a line (not lower like a normal full stop) When that option is not available on any keyboard?

I am not entirely sure what you mean about bold full stops. I just used the forums "List" formatting option to create a bullet point list. Nothing new there. There are a whole bunch of formatting tools available on the forum. If you are able to add smiley faces, you can format the post. It just requires BB code to be toggled via the three dots at right.
No artificial intelligence required.

 

[HillBill]

I'll have a poke tomorrow. Bit of a luddite generally. Currently trying to change my sleep pattern so i can go to bed before 6am. Foods in... (Pork, Thai Green Curry tonight)... But there is a fair to almost certain chance, i'll be replying to this properly by 4am.).... Don't wait up...XXX

 

[wickerman]

hultafors heavy duty knife very strong easy to sharpen and only about £6

 

[C_Claycomb]

hultafors heavy duty knife very strong easy to sharpen and only about £6

I never warmed to mine, it had quite a steep secondary bevel that did not cut wood well and required a lot of coarse stone work to remove, also, less pointy, so less good for carving and detail work. Good for splitting wood though.

 

[wickerman]

I never warmed to mine, it had quite a steep secondary bevel that did not cut wood well and required a lot of coarse stone work to remove, also, less pointy, so less good for carving and detail work. Good for splitting wood though.

yes has a secondary bevel but never been a problem i use it mainly to prep game but have split wood and used with ferro rod to light a fire

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Another vote for the Mora Companion. I believe the craze for battoning is over, so I can safely say the Mora will cope with everything you need a knife to do.
For a folder, I'd go with an Opinel but I've also got a soft spot for Swiss Army Knives. All cheap & cheerful but up to the task.