Whats your choice of knife and why?

[stephenjames213]

My choice and why?

The Mora

Morakniv (Mora knife) It's a very notable knife and highly recommended buy (my self) ,Ray Mears,Cody lundin
and Mors Kochanski. The mora is a very popular belt-knife and manufactured by Cutleries in the town of mora which is placed in Dalarna of sweden. In sweden these knives are used for every-day knives and in skandinavia also .The knife is a particular favorite with all in the Bushcraft comunity on the basis of a low price-tag, has a versatility of uses, and has a very robust construction. 90% of mora knives are very similar to the finnish knives(Puukkos.)
you can trace a mora knife back to the medieval times when real swords and knives where made by swordsmiths.
The mora is made up of two kinds of steel, tradition has always been Crucible steel of a very tough and the best quality,the rest of the blade is made up from a softer steel. Which intern holds a very sharp edgr for a long time and can even cut soft metals like ,soft steel and wrought iron.....

my mora with a little mod

 

[Shady]

i use the mora... but i have just done a quick kit check and found it has walked off somewhere and cannot be found, so now i have to order another in the hope it arrives before the end of the month!!

 

[SAVAGE HMR]

I use Opinel knives, I do a lot of hunting and shooting.
Perfect little folder that hols a good edge, UK legal carry too!

 

[kwakamonkey]

always used a swiss army or my mauser swiss army type knife . i know have a mora and one of these http://www.heinnie.com/uploads/images_products_large/4204.jpg an eka swede 90 that i got in a kit when i worked at silva uk . it came with a small compass that folded up . not got the compass now but still have the knife. i take it shooting too .

i used to take a us issue m9 bayonet shooting too lol. used it for chopping tree branches to build a hide . i ended up getting a folding saw as the m9 was a bit big and heavy to carry

 

[HillBill]

They are legal yes, but not as every day carry due to them locking. If you have a good reason to have it, ie out shooting at the time, your ok.

I carry a No8 when im out and about. Great knives and unbeatable for the price.

My main user is a Mora atm, every time i make myself a knife, someone makes me an offer on it and i always sell them, thinking i can make another later.

I use Opinel knives, I do a lot of hunting and shooting.
Perfect little folder that hols a good edge, UK legal carry too!

 

[Shady]

how much is a opinel?? i imagine they are more expensive than the Moras?

 

[HillBill]

Between £5 and £10 for the standard range.

how much is a opinel?? i imagine they are more expensive than the Moras?

 

[SAVAGE HMR]

They are legal yes, but not as every day carry due to them locking. If you have a good reason to have it, ie out shooting at the time, your ok.

I carry a No8 when im out and about. Great knives and unbeatable for the price.

My main user is a Mora atm, every time i make myself a knife, someone makes me an offer on it and i always sell them, thinking i can make another later.

Hi again mate, the one I carry doesn't lock.
I think the two smallest knives that Opinel make don't have the locking ring.
I carry the second smallest one, I think the blade is about two or 3 inches.

 

[HillBill]

Ah, fair enough. Carry away

Hi again mate, the one I carry doesn't lock.
I think the two smallest knives that Opinel make don't have the locking ring.
I carry the second smallest one, I think the blade is about two or 3 inches.

 

[Ark79]

A1 from falkniven, Swiss army also

 

[Matt]

A1 from falkniven, Swiss army also

yes but why have you chosen them @Ark79

 

[Ark79]

yes but why have you chosen them @Ark79

Good question matt , the A1 is for them special Rambo moments of bushcraft where I need something substantial and easy to sharpen in the field and the quality is amazing, the Swiss is for convenience when I want something in my pocket for the lighter use , say a toggle for the tarp or a more delicate cut

 

[Ystranc]

What is my choice of knife? Big question but the answer is that I have no idea….whatever is to hand and suits the situation. SAK or one of my vintage knives for legal carry.

 

[GaryHW]

This is a bit of a piece of string question.

Generally, I use a SAK camper as my EDC, because it's a legal UK carry and its handy for all those little bits and pieces you find you need one for. It is also a great whittling tool.

If I'm going overnighting I generally carry a Opinel no8 and a Opinel no12 Saw, these seem to do everything I need "bush" side especially if I have a hatchet with me. I also have a kind of sentimental attachment to them as I've whittled the handles and it assumes me to have them, or maybe it's a more sentimental attachment as I've personalized them.

More often than not I also add a Mora clipper (carbon) especially if I'm axe-less as this gives me a batoning option etc.

Oddly, I was overnighting the weekend and while out I was pondering the knife question.

Like most of us I have a few cutting tools knocking about, and like many of us I've spent a fair old whack on some of them, I've even designed and commissioned a couple, so my line of thought as I sat beside my campfire went along the lines of questioning the myth of the bushcraft knife. Like many of us I was brought up pre-Ray Mears playing in the woods because I didn't know I was bushcrafting and because I didn't know I was a bushcrafter I didn't know I needed a special knife for bushcraft. Back then I have a swiss army hunters knife, and a Mora 511, no saw and no axe. The SAK I bought to replace a old army jack knife I'd had since a kid, the Mora I was given as a gift when I subscribed to a "club" run by David Hay Jones called the "outdoors society" or similar, where for a monthly subscription members got a new letter (yes these are pre computer days) and for about 10 years these were the only tools I had for my hobby. Then around 1991 I bought a book by a chap called Raymond Mears called the Survival Handbook. It was a great and inspiring read and one thing it did was explain how the author had a big camp knife (which was a moded MOD Survival knife) and also a small carbon steel sheath knife and a folding knife (opinel no7) fortunately I was a squaddy at the time and I blagged a buckshee survival knife of the QM's storeman and bought myself a Opinel No7 and I was happy as the preverbal pig in pooh. Then came Ray Mears and TRACKS, then the other tv series and books and suddenly the cutting tool world (and the newly born bushcraft industry) went crazy. Suddenly people brought out all sorts of perfect bushcraft knives, puukko's and Leuku's appeared on the scene in droves, custom makers appeared and prices went sky high, and I like so many other weak minded people bought into it. Now, I know a few collectors who like knives for knives sakes and have no problem with draw queens but for serious users things got and have remained silly.

So as I sat there with my opinel and my Mora whittling a crane for my billy can I thought back to how much money I had actually wasted on knives in my life time and I felt a bit stupid as I asked myself why had I wasted so much money when now, nearly 40 years down the line I was actually back to using the knives I had actually started out with all those years ago?

Reason I mention this is as a warning to all those newbies out there .... don't be sucked in and save your cash for more important things - the perfect bushcraft cutting tool combo isnt expensive, it just takes practice. Skills are more important, the most expensive bushcraft knife wont make a blind bit of difference if you lack the knowledge to use it.

 

[Ystranc]

This is a bit of a piece of string question.
I asked myself why had I wasted so much money when now, nearly 40 years down the line I was actually back to using the knives I had actually started out with all those years ago?

Reason I mention this is as a warning to all those newbies out there .... don't be sucked in and save your cash for more important things - the perfect bushcraft cutting tool combo isnt expensive, it just takes practice. Skills are more important, the most expensive bushcraft knife wont make a blind bit of difference if you lack the knowledge to use it.

….and sharpen it.

 

[peteff]

Most I've ever spent on a knife is £12 for a Mora spoon carver years ago. I paid a bit more for a Golok but that's not a knife really. I carry a little sheepsfoot knife everywhere because it's non threatening and cuts anything I am likely to come up against in daily circumstances.

 

[Paul N]

This is a bit of a piece of string question.

Generally, I use a SAK camper as my EDC, because it's a legal UK carry and its handy for all those little bits and pieces you find you need one for. It is also a great whittling tool.

If I'm going overnighting I generally carry a Opinel no8 and a Opinel no12 Saw, these seem to do everything I need "bush" side especially if I have a hatchet with me. I also have a kind of sentimental attachment to them as I've whittled the handles and it assumes me to have them, or maybe it's a more sentimental attachment as I've personalized them.

More often than not I also add a Mora clipper (carbon) especially if I'm axe-less as this gives me a batoning option etc.

Oddly, I was overnighting the weekend and while out I was pondering the knife question.

Like most of us I have a few cutting tools knocking about, and like many of us I've spent a fair old whack on some of them, I've even designed and commissioned a couple, so my line of thought as I sat beside my campfire went along the lines of questioning the myth of the bushcraft knife. Like many of us I was brought up pre-Ray Mears playing in the woods because I didn't know I was bushcrafting and because I didn't know I was a bushcrafter I didn't know I needed a special knife for bushcraft. Back then I have a swiss army hunters knife, and a Mora 511, no saw and no axe. The SAK I bought to replace a old army jack knife I'd had since a kid, the Mora I was given as a gift when I subscribed to a "club" run by David Hay Jones called the "outdoors society" or similar, where for a monthly subscription members got a new letter (yes these are pre computer days) and for about 10 years these were the only tools I had for my hobby. Then around 1991 I bought a book by a chap called Raymond Mears called the Survival Handbook. It was a great and inspiring read and one thing it did was explain how the author had a big camp knife (which was a moded MOD Survival knife) and also a small carbon steel sheath knife and a folding knife (opinel no7) fortunately I was a squaddy at the time and I blagged a buckshee survival knife of the QM's storeman and bought myself a Opinel No7 and I was happy as the preverbal pig in pooh. Then came Ray Mears and TRACKS, then the other tv series and books and suddenly the cutting tool world (and the newly born bushcraft industry) went crazy. Suddenly people brought out all sorts of perfect bushcraft knives, puukko's and Leuku's appeared on the scene in droves, custom makers appeared and prices went sky high, and I like so many other weak minded people bought into it. Now, I know a few collectors who like knives for knives sakes and have no problem with draw queens but for serious users things got and have remained silly.

So as I sat there with my opinel and my Mora whittling a crane for my billy can I thought back to how much money I had actually wasted on knives in my life time and I felt a bit stupid as I asked myself why had I wasted so much money when now, nearly 40 years down the line I was actually back to using the knives I had actually started out with all those years ago?

Reason I mention this is as a warning to all those newbies out there .... don't be sucked in and save your cash for more important things - the perfect bushcraft cutting tool combo isnt expensive, it just takes practice. Skills are more important, the most expensive bushcraft knife wont make a blind bit of difference if you lack the knowledge to use it.

So many things you said there made me think 'Yeah, yeah, just like I did'!