Several months since I thought I'd get a "quality" bent knife for carving spoons. For 7or 8 years I have used mora 162 and 163 quite happily, but took notice of the relentless "mora bent knives are crap" vibes you get on spoon carving forums and you tube etc. I got one of robin wood's bent knives thinking ah ha a whole new level of carving pleasure awaits.....well for starters when I pay £8.50 for shipping on a single blade I expect it next day,, not nearly a week later...so that wasnt a good start. And dont get me wrong, its a well made blade and really does come very sharp out the box. But thats about it. My mora 163 when placed alongside and cutting the same cuts in the same samples of wood performed absolutely just as well as robins version. I just modified mine dramatically (rounded the back, narrowed the blade width, removed one edge to get a flat spine, eased the tip and rounded it, put it onto a massive handle. I know how to sharpen a blade and keep it sharp. Robins knife is good if your not used to fettling and sharpening, so for a beginner you wouldnt need to do all that work, BUT once it dulls you would still have to learn how to hone it up or repair chipped edges etc. You gotta learn to hone sooner or later....Frankly I think I wasted 27 quid or 32 or whatever price it was. I came to the conclusion that the "mora knives are crap" mantra is just hype, aimed at selling boutique blades....I never realised just how good my mora 163 is,even if I have altered it almost beyond recognition over the last few years.
not that impressed with robin wood knife
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I've read that same diss about Mora spoon knives.
Never wanted to believe it since their other products are quite good.
Another good spoon knife is cleverly disguised as a farrier's hoof knife.
The Mora 171 is an example, single edge and both right and left hand models.
The Mora 188 is double bevel, like the Ukal/Supervet and not as useful as the single edge (see above).
I also have Diamond (Taiwan) and Hall (Canada).
Farriers give these knives rough treatment and the blades are resharpened many times.
Time passes, the worn knife gets tossed for a new one.
There's still a lifetime of wood-carving steel in the worn ones!
The local farrier uses Hall (Canada) knives. New, they cost me $50.00 each
I give the farrier $5.00 (he's happy) for my choice of the old, narrow-bladed ones in the "dead-box".
I've bought a lot of top quality wood carving gouges, etc over the years, It's an impressive line up.
However, I admit that I usually pick up one of my old farrier knives first.
You need to revise the bevel from approx 25 degrees to 12 degrees.
In the process, you will learn to make it and keep it carving sharp.
Never wanted to believe it since their other products are quite good.
Another good spoon knife is cleverly disguised as a farrier's hoof knife.
The Mora 171 is an example, single edge and both right and left hand models.
The Mora 188 is double bevel, like the Ukal/Supervet and not as useful as the single edge (see above).
I also have Diamond (Taiwan) and Hall (Canada).
Farriers give these knives rough treatment and the blades are resharpened many times.
Time passes, the worn knife gets tossed for a new one.
There's still a lifetime of wood-carving steel in the worn ones!
The local farrier uses Hall (Canada) knives. New, they cost me $50.00 each
I give the farrier $5.00 (he's happy) for my choice of the old, narrow-bladed ones in the "dead-box".
I've bought a lot of top quality wood carving gouges, etc over the years, It's an impressive line up.
However, I admit that I usually pick up one of my old farrier knives first.
You need to revise the bevel from approx 25 degrees to 12 degrees.
In the process, you will learn to make it and keep it carving sharp.
Those little Mora carvers (106/120) are great ... the curvy knives are too, but I have snapped two. Don't know if that's usual or not. Dropped them. They snapped. I just saw that they are selling them in MEC ... what with Fjallraven on everyone's bedeckment list, seems bushcraft style is getting big in Canada. MEC was pretty utilitarian til recently.
Robson V is right, hoof knives work too
Look for Equinox. Mainly under a tenner
(You do hear a lot of complaints about Robin Wood, it is true. I'd consider shipping it back if it is pos)
Robson V is right, hoof knives work too
Look for Equinox. Mainly under a tenner(You do hear a lot of complaints about Robin Wood, it is true. I'd consider shipping it back if it is pos)
To reiterate, theres nothing particulary BAD about woods's knife, its just that my own personalised modified MORA163 is absolutely every bit as good as his. The point I was making was dont believe the hype that you can only carve well with "proper" tools, or that getting an out of the box blade will solve all your problems...
I'm glad you have made that point clear. I have a couple of knives from Robin and I'm more than pleased with both but, as you say, a bit of 'customising' of any knife made of a good steel will often result in a better tool - or at least one better suited to the user. My first spoon knife was made from an old hacksaw blade and it made the same quality spoons
(OK, maybe my standards aren't that high )
Speaking with personal experience the Mora spoon knives are crap as they come. It's only when you mod them like you say you've done done do they become good carvers.
If they were decent as is you wouldn't have needed to mod it like you did. Try comparing an unmodded Mora against the RW and I bet you'd be singing its praises instead of running it down
I think people mis-understand what Robin Wood set out to do with his spoon carving tools. I don't think he wanted to sell "boutique " blades; he was trying to provide a set of reasonably priced tools that would enable anyone starting out in greenwood carving to get going without having to learn sharpening skills first. There's no doubt that they could be improved by someone with the knowledge, skill and patience, as can the Morakniv hook knives. But these are ready to carve out of the box.
Z
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just to reiterate...I wasnt running DOWN woods's knife, I was running UP the mora 163, that should of been clear from reading what i wrote....I was fully expecting to be super impressed and knocked out by a superior piece of recomended carving kit......only I wasnt because my mora proved to be every bit just as good and effective. Through practise and experience I have made it into a very good tool. And any way "novices" have to deal with sharpening sooner or later....even if you are a starter and get a "good" tool out the box as a short cut, if you cant be bothered to learn how to maintain it you will experience frustration etc when it goes dull and doesnt cut sweet any more,thats just how it is!
I disagree. Mora are Mora, you know what you’re getting is going to need some work. A personal,piece from a single maker should arrive ready to perform exactly what it was designed to do.
You may claim to be upping the Mora, but you mentioned both the £8.5o postage and waiting a week, plus the fact you think you’ve wasted £30 odd quid. Your thread title also reflects disappointment. His tool production rep is bad, I’ve seen some atrocious axe heads.
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Years ago when I first read about the 'spoon knife' tool and wanted to have a go myself I looked at Mora and like you read about how 'meh' and ' they were and that for a little more money you can get this and that etc.
I ended up buying a Ben Orford medium? spoon knife after phoning him and asking what would be the most versatile tool for the money. I think I paid £30-40. It works well, came sharp and is still as solid as the day I got it. But it wasn't very well finished imo. Deep scratch and grinding marks on the bevel, exposed glue coming out of the handle and no mirror polish like I had expected.
Now, my neighbour at the time went to a wood craft day type thing and brought back a Nic Westermann spoon knife blade! He showed me (just as I had showed him my Ben Orford one the weeks before) and I was a bit annoyed. It was perfectly mirror polished, no ugly scratches or uneven lines etc. It looked perfect!
I did consider selling or swapping mine and getting a Robin Wood one, or a Mora to modify.. but I had a proper think and let it go. My tool from Ben Orford works well, just like it should. I was just being a tart who wanted the latest slap, getting suckered in to the silly game of buying the latest and shiniest crap out there.
Enjoy what you have and use it! balls to anyone who turns up their nose or thinks their over priced gear is important.
I have no intention of buying another.
(edit:Just remembered it wasn't a Robin Wood blade my neighbour had, but a Nic Westermann! derp)
I ended up buying a Ben Orford medium? spoon knife after phoning him and asking what would be the most versatile tool for the money. I think I paid £30-40. It works well, came sharp and is still as solid as the day I got it. But it wasn't very well finished imo. Deep scratch and grinding marks on the bevel, exposed glue coming out of the handle and no mirror polish like I had expected.
Now, my neighbour at the time went to a wood craft day type thing and brought back a Nic Westermann spoon knife blade! He showed me (just as I had showed him my Ben Orford one the weeks before) and I was a bit annoyed. It was perfectly mirror polished, no ugly scratches or uneven lines etc. It looked perfect!
I did consider selling or swapping mine and getting a Robin Wood one, or a Mora to modify.. but I had a proper think and let it go. My tool from Ben Orford works well, just like it should. I was just being a tart who wanted the latest slap, getting suckered in to the silly game of buying the latest and shiniest crap out there.
Enjoy what you have and use it! balls to anyone who turns up their nose or thinks their over priced gear is important.
I have no intention of buying another.
(edit:Just remembered it wasn't a Robin Wood blade my neighbour had, but a Nic Westermann! derp)
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Morakniv blades of all sorts are made from one of the best steels in the world. Steels good enough for several Japanese knife ( kitchen, utility) makers to use them. Truly expensive blades.
Steel made in Sweden. Knifes 100% made in Sweden. ( the only factory knife producer in Sweden)
Morakniv products are almost entirely machine made, barely touched by humans.
Finishing - so so. Pure function
Edge - so so. Pure function.
Handles - pos. Pure function.
Price - fantastic.
Unfortunately for us, there is only one maker of the Mora knives today, company is called Morakniv.
There used to be two or three big makers, plus one or two smaller ones, that made those knives.
They were better finished, with a nicely finished wooden handle.
People like to think they are rubbish, but many generations of Swedish men can not be wrong.
A Mora kniv design has been fine tuned for over a century. If it does not work to your liking then you are doing something unusual.
I am sure Robin Wood makes a really good product too, but can never compete on price with the Swedish company.
Steel made in Sweden. Knifes 100% made in Sweden. ( the only factory knife producer in Sweden)
Morakniv products are almost entirely machine made, barely touched by humans.
Finishing - so so. Pure function
Edge - so so. Pure function.
Handles - pos. Pure function.
Price - fantastic.
Unfortunately for us, there is only one maker of the Mora knives today, company is called Morakniv.
There used to be two or three big makers, plus one or two smaller ones, that made those knives.
They were better finished, with a nicely finished wooden handle.
People like to think they are rubbish, but many generations of Swedish men can not be wrong.
A Mora kniv design has been fine tuned for over a century. If it does not work to your liking then you are doing something unusual.
I am sure Robin Wood makes a really good product too, but can never compete on price with the Swedish company.
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Being a spoon carver I have tried many different spoon knives, I started off using a Mora single edge and to be honest I used that for 8-9 years and found it satisfactory before I found out about modding it. I bought a Ben Orford expecting a superior tool I used it for a few months then consigned it to the tool bag as I liked the overall look and feel but the tool suffers poor edge retention, I have never owned a Robin Woods spoon knife but did borrow one of his carving hatchets and my honest impression is the haft is beautiful in the hand but the hatchet head itself was terrible. I have tried a Nic Westermann and a Belzeboocrafts and I really like using these tools and plan on owning some when funds and time allow me to acquire my own, I currently own a spoon knife from a local maker Rhys Harris of VC Works which I handled myself as the only downside to his is the handle shape but this is my personal preference and I can not fault the blade at the moment and this is after 3 years of use so far. I suppose what it really comes down to is find something that you like and works for you and you can afford. Keep them sharp folks.
I think the big gripe about Mora spoon knives is that they generally don’t perform well out of the box, this is a stark contrast to pretty much every mora straight bladed knife I’ve ever used (and I’ve used a fair few) which are superb as they come.
I’ve had back experiences with the the Mora spoon knives and now a few others who have, yes you can do some work to get them up to scratch but many beginners don’t have the skill/knowledge to do it well or easily.
Personally I agree with the OP that it’s a good learning curve and for the price you can afford to knacker one but do understand that route isn’t for everyone and can easily put newcomers off.
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I’ve had back experiences with the the Mora spoon knives and now a few others who have, yes you can do some work to get them up to scratch but many beginners don’t have the skill/knowledge to do it well or easily.
Personally I agree with the OP that it’s a good learning curve and for the price you can afford to knacker one but do understand that route isn’t for everyone and can easily put newcomers off.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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