12.6.2016

Ok, so I did a ton of research looking for a good survival knife and while hunting down the chosen one I came upon this little piece right here. In less than sixty seconds I had placed my order for it. Why? Because the blade is made of what is one of the most ultra premium knife steels made today, and at this price it's a gift.This knife is made by Swiss company Morakniv using Elmax Steel which is made by Swiss company Bohler-Uddeholm. It has a Rockwell hardness of 59-61 RC making it one of the hardest knife steels found today. The alloy is a high chromium-molybdenum-vanadium mix that's fused together using the latest particle metallurgy process which virtually eliminates the presence of carbides in the alloy which make the steel prone to chipping.This material provides what is arguably the best combination of edge retention, corrosion resistance, hardness (RC scale), wear resistance and ease of sharpening available today. Elmax steel is good enough that it's been categorized alongside some of the best alloys that Crucible Industries has to offer.Granted this knife lacks some of the characteristics of a full blown survival knife, such as full tang, but it does make a perfect companion for things such as cleaning out fresh caught fish and cutting meat without the bone. The orange colored handle is perfect because it aids in locating it should you drop in in a shallow stream or heavy shrubbery. This knife came to me razor sharp and I mean "RAZOR" sharp as the first thing i did was shave my arm with it. This is a testament to the ability of the Elmax steel to hold a fine edge. Once the edge has worn out the straight edge blade is a snap to resharpen. The handle is good sized and feels very comfortable in my hand. The blade is exactly 2mm thick so again it's not the "chopping survival tool" you want to get lost with but as a perfect camping companion it definitely more than meets my qualifications. The sheath is made from the same orange material used in the handle which I love as it makes the whole thing highly visible. It holds the knife securely in it and protects the blade well. It even includes a drain hole in the bottom to drain any moisture that may get caught inside. It has a hefty built in belt clip with a positive clamping feature that attaches it securely to your belt so losing it is not easy.While my search for a nice hefty blade made from Elmax steel or M390 steel (also made by Bohler-Uddeholm) still goes on, I can say I did find a prefect little camping companion in this knife, and at this price I'll be ordering some more to have extras around the campsite. It also comes in military green so I'll probably order another orange and a green as well.One of the best online reference guides I found online regarding knife metals can be found at bestpocketknifetoday.com. There you will find handy charts and plenty of information regarding knife metals used today. Happy camping!Update: I had originally located a Morakniv website where it specifically stated the use of Elmax steel in the manufacture of this knife but due to my inability to find this site again I will have to recant on that thought and go with the advertised alloy which is Sandvik Steel, and still an excellent knife steel. Not as good as Elmax but still good.

16.5.2014

Note: I have six of these now, all the same model. As such, this review will cover them in general; individual exceptions will be noted at the bottom.The venerable Mora knife has been a staple of outdoor knives for a while, and it's easy to see why. They're inexpensive, made of good materials, and are of reasonable quality for the price. Why? Let's see...The Handle: The handle of the Mora Companion is just over 4-1/2" long. It consists of a hard, plastic core that's molded directly over the tang. On top of this, there's a black rubberized overlay. the overlay is textured very lightly. The handle doesn't have a lanyard hole, but you can drill one in a few seconds if you want one.I find the handle very comfortable, even while cold, wet, greasy, or with gloves on. There's no guard, but the handle is textured in a way that your fingers shouldn't advance to the blade's edge without some serious force.The Blade: The Companion's blade is made of carbon steel. It's designated as UBH-20c (made by Sandvik) by Morakniv, and it seems to have the exact same properties as American 1095 carbon steel. It's hardened to 59-60 on the Rockwell scale. It's 2.5mm thick. The blade is Scandanavian ground, meaning there is no secondary bevel: the grind goes straight from the grind line to the cutting edge. This makes the knife very easy to resharpen. Mine came very sharp, and was shaving hair with just a light stropping. The cutting edge goes all the way into the handle, so there's no ricasso. I like that. The spine of the blade is left rough, but I used a file to make mine sharp at the corners for use as a flint striker.Since this is carbon steel, not stainless, it can be prone to rust. Keep it dry or oiled, and it will be just fine. You can also search the web for videos on how to put a patina on the blade. Use the knife a lot, and it will do this on its own anyway. You can also find stainless versions of the Companion for about a dollar more than the carbon model.Out of the six Companions I have, four were perfect. One had an uneven grind to the left, and one had an uneven grind to the right. In cutting, this makes very little difference.The Sheath: The Companion comes with a plastic sheath. It's very basic, but effective. The knife simply slides in and "clicks" lightly. It holds the knife tightly enough, as I can turn it upside-down and shake it lightly without the knife coming out. There's a belt attachment on the back, which can snap over a belt up to 1-3/4" wide. There's a hole on this belt clip, which is there so you can attach the knife to a button on your clothing. A drainage hole is on the bottom of the sheath. The sheath is very basic, but it's more than adequate for a knife of this price. Since this is usually an outdoor or bushcraft knife, most people wrap the sheath with parachute cord. Good idea.In the sheath, the knife weighs 3.7 ounces. Less than 4 ounces for a 4" bladed fixed blade knife, in the sheath, is pretty good. The Mora is known for being a workhorse. It's sharp and tough, and if not abused, will last for years. For less than $15.

27.1.2013

The Mora Knife has my respect and will likely become the new standard for a knife of this size, with the versatility that it offers. This blade came to me, out of the box, sharper than any knife I have previously purchased anywhere. Therefore the amount of items I will be attempting to use this blade on will be in the thousands and it will be tested for capabilities that I would only save for the very best.So far I have been using this blade around the house and in the workshop to perform tasks such as, slicing up chicken and pork for food prep, even taking out bones along the way. I have used it in the workshop to snip zip ties and chop, yes, chop heat shrink tubing,as well as some outdoor activities like de-barking limbs and cutting out notches in branches for uprights. I really haven't found much of a need to pick up another knife for most of these tasks and the blade remains sharp and strong.Having used this knife so often, for the time I have had it makes me happy, because in some cases I have purchased items that are so specialized that I will really only give them a few tasks to handle and they will sit until that time. For this blade, I find that I use it more than it sits and it has even become my EDC (everyday carry) blade of choice.The blade has a nice textured grip, which will not change, when damp or wet. It has a sheath that will not break or split from bumping it around. Finally, the blade is holding up well and judging by its use I likely wont have to sharpen it for some time to come. The carbon steel is a great choice for this blade. I am a 200 lbs. 6 foot tall guy, in gloves I wear a large for size reference and the handle fits perfectly in my hand without any movement when working with the knife. However, I also had my mother take a hold of this knife and even in her hands, because of the shape, she found it very comfortable and her hands are considerably smaller than mine.Wrap-Up:I love the versatility of this blade, its VERY sharp grind, its overall comfortable and safe grip, and yes, its price tag. For the money it is a step above what I have been finding out there, so much that I plan on getting a couple more so I have one permanently kept in the car and I will be getting one for the moms, so she doesn't jack move mine.I gave this knife a 4 star out of 5 rating due to the quality control of the blade when I received it. Though I am not going to go through the hassle of returning it for a new one, I did find that the top grind to the point had excess material that was not removed, which has weakened the point of the blade. I have included images of this on the product page so you can see what I am talking about. SO, if I do get another one of these I will check out the QC and if it comes perfect, like I know it can I will bump this up to a full 5 stars...Now that I think about it, I will just go ahead and order those now, why wait...Hope this review helps out, any questions prior to purchase just leave a reply and I will try to help out if I can.

17.7.2013

I don't know much about knives really, and am no outdoor expert either but I do enjoy backpacking and day hiking. Last year I decided I wanted to try a lightweight fixed blade rather than the typical swiss army knife I'd been taking.I got a carbon steel Frost Mora Clipper. I lost it the other day on a backpacking trip, got home and it had fallen out of the sheath which was attached to my shoulder strap. I'm going to go try to find it as I have a hunch that it fell out when I took my backpack off and flung it over a huge fallen log that I was going to climb over. Wasn't far from trailhead so maybe I'll get lucky. Meanwhile though I ordered and have now received this one,which is labeled as a Morakinov.My Frost Mora was really nice, very sharp and useful for making makeshift tarp pegs etc. This new one is basically the same things but there is one huge improvement. My Frost Mora was loose in its sheath. If you held the sheath upside down and shook it the knife would fall out. Having a knife this sharp not be securely contained in its sheath seems like a bad idea. I put a loop of paracord around the sheath and also used a piece of inner tube to give the sheath a tighter grip on the knife, and it seemed secure but obviously was not secure enough, as evidenced by the fact that it fell out somewhere along the way.This Morakniv is much more secure in its sheath. I can't get it to fall out of the sheath by shaking. I think the handle on the knife is slightly bigger, as I can put it in my Frost Mora's sheath and it is more secure there than the old knife as well. I will still use the paracord backup loop but I doubt this knife will fall out of its sheath in the manner my old one did.I love these knives because they are cheap enough that I am not worried about ruining them. They are the most useful outdoor knives I've had. I'd rather have one sharp knife than a dull swiss army knife even if the army knife has other little doodads on them. Thumbs up!EDITED to ADD: I was able to go back and find my original Frost Clipper knife laying in the woods right where I had suspected. Comparing the Frost knife to this Morakniv one there is little difference. They both weigh 77 grams. They look identical in shape as far as I can tell. The handle of the Frost has a small checkerboard pattern which the Morakniv does not, which makes it feel slightly different in the hand. The main difference to me is the sheath. It is a very slight difference but welcome as the sheath on the Morakniv holds the knife (either knife) much more tightly than the sheath that came with the Frost Clipper. It is slightly heavier, just a few grams more. Also the spine on my Frost was rougher which made it easier to make a spark with the firesteel. The Morakniv has some rough spots on the spine but not as many as on the Frost. I like both knives. I love the Morakniv sheath improvement as I was always a little unhappy with my Frost's.

23.4.2014

A friend and I found ourselves on the northern face of Mt Katahdin in the unforgiving winter. I made the poor choice of taking a more dangerous route up the mountain where reaching the summit required a dangerous traverse across a steep ice section. Without an ice axe, I found two pine sticks nearby that looked sturdy enough to be ice picks. My microspikes seemed to hold well enough so I shuffled along. It was sketchy but seemed to work. Then about half way through, the microspikes came off of the left shoe and was too far down to safely reach and fix it. At that point I was right above a cliff and if I slipped I would surely die. It was time to turn back, but it became clear my weight couldn't be supported by the sticks alone.

6.12.2016

Just got this in the mail today and am very happy with my purchase.Lets start with the initial presentation. The knife was modestly presented in a small plastic bag. No hang tags, no brochure, no manual, no red velvet lined box, a box in another box or micro fiber bag. No expensive fluff that you feel compelled to store. Every penny went into the knife. IMHO, a smart choice. The unspoken message, this knife is about intelligent utility, not fluff.For a minute I thought they shipped the wrong knife. It is stamped "carbon" on the blade, but the sides of the blade look polished to a degree I did not expect. In contrast, the spine of the knife has a rounded, unpolished rough "mill" texture that would not strike sparks off a ferro rod.

30.1.2013

I have been a fan of Mora knives for several years now ever since a friend turned me on to them. At the time I was upset because a few of my favorite knife manufacturers had moved production overseas or started to use inferior materials.When I got my first 2 Mora knives, a Clipper and a 511, I could not believe the quality of such an "inexpensive" knife. Sure the back of the blade is unfinished, there are a few irregularities in the plastic, and it only has a 3/4 length tang. IN MY EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD NONE OF THAT MAKES THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF DIFFERENCE. All I care about is how well it works and will it hold up. It works better than many of my MUCH more expensive knives and the steel is AMAZING.

28.10.2019

I have to admit,very slightly disappointed with this Mora compared to my previous one,the blade was very slightly chipped (photo might show it), and due to my stupidity, didn't check the specs and ended up with the thinner bladed version of this knife, which is available elsewhere, much cheaper...But, even though I overpaid, even though the blade is flawed,this is still worth every penny,so I won't be returning it, even if the chips were not going to be stropped/ground out over the next 5-10 years of use, (which they will be), it would still be worth every penny, why?...It is a TOOL!,a good quality one for the price too, not a pretty trinket, it is made to cut stuff, be sharpened, cut stuff again,

29.11.2012

Ok... I own a few knives. Well, a lot of knives. I own knives ranging from $4 to $200 and even a couple of knives that I made myself.After browsing Amazon and looking for something fun and cool for under $20 I randomly came across this blade. I was astounded to see that it had over 170 reviews with over 140 being 5 stars!!! I must have read about 40-50 reviews with nothing but glowing things being said. The most negative was about the sheath not holding the knife well enough. I do NOT have that problem at all.First thing I did when I opened the knife was test the edge by trying to shave the back of my hand (In the past I have had this happen out of the box only once and knife cost me almost $200)

29.1.2016

I love going outdoors and building fires and since I'm a teenager I'm on an extremely tight budget, but I still wanted a relatively reliable and capable knife to beat on and not worry about.And boy did Mora deliver, this knife is an absolute steal for the price and I'd have guessed by the construction that it was worth at least $40, with the only thing that slightly gives the price away being the spine of the blade, it seems unfinished but I'm positive a couple minutes on the grinding wheel will fix the problem. The sheath it comes with although plastic is still rugged enough to take a beating, the only thing that draws concern is the clip seems a little flimsy and may be prone to wear,

18.2.2018

A fourteen dollar knife that holds up as good as ones multiple times it's price. This isn't your knife of the same price that you grab on impulse at the front counter at any given truck stop or hardware store, it's better. My original intent was a knife that I could put through the wringer at work and not be too heartbroken if it were to get lost or broken. But this baby has held up better than the more expensive ones I used to carry. The plastic molded sheath has a good clip. Having long arms and a shorter torso, I clip it to the pocket of my work pants and it's low enough for easy reach to use, and just drop back into it's sheath with a tap of the palm to snap it back into place.I'm a firm believer in a tool for every purpose,

30.8.2019

I originally bought this knife for fishing, not noticing that it was carbon steel and not stainless. Needless to say, after the first usage of the knife, it had some superficial rust on it. I cleaned the rust off with a dremel wire wheel and it looked good as new.To get some better corrosion resistance, I decided to force a patina on my knife. It's very easy to do and results in a sleek, matte-black finish. If you'd like to do the same, here are some directions:1. Get some distilled white vinegar. If you have access to more concentrated acetic acid, you can use that and it won't take as long, but it will require closer attention to ensure you do not damage the blade.3. Clean the knife.

27.2.2016

I love this knife. It's my go-to fixed-blade camping and backpacking knife, and it's good for projects around the house as well.The steel is excellent. It holds an edge for a long time and is easy to sharpen, especially with the Scandinavian grind. The blade itself is great for all kinds of tasks. It's especially great for woodworking tasks like carving, and I've even split firewood up to 3 inches across with it. It's decent for food prep and slicing, but some slicing tasks are better suited for a thinner blade (I would pair it with a folder). I've opened boxes with it before, but obviously if you are going to be cutting a lot of paper or cardboard a boxcutter is a better tool.

9.5.2013

****************Update. This knife will rust really fast if not oiled to keep it from oxidizing. For those that love a knife that you can sharpen easily, you already know that this steel will rust without proper storage preparation, but for those that thought this was a stainless steel knife; keep it oiled or it will rust! For the ease that it rust, even when stored dry and not wet, I am removing one star from my rating.****************When I ordered the knife, I wasn't expecting much because of: the price; plastic handle; plastic sheave. Upon receiving it today and giving it a good once over, it seems to be of very good quality. The blade was a bit smaller than I thought,

10.5.2013

My first experience with Mora knives came in the mid to late 80's when I found their wood handled blades at a local hardware store for $5-6. I bought a few and actually used them as throwing knives, lol. This was before I knew anything about knives.I do remember the steel on those blades and the edge they kept. Short of physically damaging the blade, the edge took every bit of abuse I could throw at it (or throw it at). Sure I chipped a few tips off and nicked a couple edges during my attempts to learn how to throw, but the steel took it in stride. The undamaged parts of the blade remained razor sharp for months of abuse.I don't know what happened to those old blades of mine,

Mora Companion MG - Reviews

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