Gransfors Bruks, Mora, Helle &...

[AStone]

... what ever other blade maker you want to discuss.

But we start with those makers.

Pics are welcome. Politics are not.

Let me repeat that last part, just to be clear:
politics are not welcome here.

__________

Blades are the topic.

I'll post pics later.

For now, this will hopefully do.

Yo?

 

[AStone]

My blade kit.

 

[AStone]

Oh, there's one more: a Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet.

It's in my home state. I'll pick it up next month ..

 

[Mp7]

Astone .... Mora Companion and Bruks hatchet.

Add a coldsteel pocket Bushman and it`s my setup.

 

[hso]

I have a Bruks small forest axe and keep some Moras and Opinels scattered about where inexpensive (vs. cheap) knives are warranted.

 

[glistam]

I was introduced to Moras by this forum. Got a carbon steel Clipper and a stainless Forest. I remember when I had to dispose of a full size plastic garbage can. Took the Clipper and a pair of gloves and demolished that thing down to a stack of 12"x12" sheets. This was blatantly abusive to do to a knife, but after a wash-up and sharpening, it was totally fine. I'm hoping to get one of those Gransfors Bruks hand axes and also had my eye on Fallkniven folders.

 

[redneck]

I bought a set of 3 frosts/mora carving knives from woodcraft about 20 years ago. May have been the first knives I ever actually bought.
I can't find the set anymore, but the smallest in the set is basically the woodcarver model 106
http://www.moraofsweden.se/craft/slojdkniv-106

The large knife is a classic original, or at least very close to it:
http://www.moraofsweden.se/construction/classic-original-1

And the middle knife I can't seem to find but it has the same blade shape as the classic but is about an inch shorter.

All have plain birchwood handles and laminated blades, and I believe at the time I got all 3 with PVC sheaths, for under $30.

The carver is a good whittling knife, not too big and not too small. I have taken it to horse shows and stuff where I had time to kill. Its good for carving/whittling if you are only going to take one tool. Takes a very good edge and holds it reasonably well.

The mid sized knife is a great general purpose knife in the shop. I keep it very sharp and use it for general purpose stuff. The blade is a little wide for general carving but its good for cutting leather, opening things and a little woodwork here and there.

I never found much use for the full sized companion. It just doesn't have much handle for me to like it for camp/hunting tasks, and the blade is a little long and wide for most carving.

None of the knives is all that interesting or flashy, but I suppose when you figure how many knives I made or bought over the years, the fact that these 3 are still in service regularly says a lot about them. The quality you get for the price is amazing, and they really are very functional.

The PVC sheaths leave a lot to be desired but as far as the knives go, I think they are all the average person would ever need, they just are a little boring compared to other stuff on the market.



As for Gransfor Bruks I have alway wanted one (or all ) of their axes but have never justified it to myself to buy one. I have a very good plumb brand carpenters hatchet I inherited from my grandpa that I cleaned up, re-handled, and made a leather sheath for. I take it with me when I want a hatchet. It does everything I need really well. I also have an estwing 26 inch camp axe and I am not nearly as happy with it but its does its job and only gets used around camp. Its really is a pretty good axe for cutting, but the sweep of the edge makes it pretty poor for splitting.

 

[AStone]

Nice start. Thanks all.

Glitsan, I too was intro'd to Moras here. In fact, it was Hso who repeatedly encouraged me to get one, and finally succeeded. Great knives for the money. (For that matter, great knives period.)

Redneck, that little carver looks fantastic. I need one of those. Over the last few years, I've been inching into (then back out of due to a busy life) carving, or whittling. I love it. But it's just not as easy (or fun) for me with full sized blade.

I actually have a pretty nice little 'whittler' in the form of a Mora 2/0. I'll see if I can dig up a pic -- it's not in my kit photo above (though probably should be).

http://www.moraofsweden.se/construction/classic-20

It's quite tiny, thus good for details (like faces on the little wooden statuettes I sometimes experiment with), but too small for serious whittling.

 

[Elkins45]

I bought my first Mora on the recommendation of the late James Mattis from back in the days of rec.knives on Usenet. It was used as a roofing knife to trim shingles--talk about abusive duty!

I still have it and it's still my #1 garage knife.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I have had one of those Mora carving general purpose knives for over 30 years. Got it for woodcarving and I still use it .

 

[AStone]

Part of what I'm curious to learn something about is how the makers listed in my subject line compare (and contrast) with American makers. All that I listed are Scandinavian. There are of course, others. I've been kind of fascinated with the Scandinavian blade makers, especially Gransfors Bruks. I see them as a model company.

Nothing serious here, and I don't know that any major differences exist. But just a mild curiosity.

So far, I'm not reading any complaints in this thread; nothing but good.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Though I'm generally not a fan of the "Mora" style...

I've backed into a few and find them rather pleasing.

One addresses my greatest concern with "Moras" and that is the usual lack of any form of hilt.

The hilted one here represents a company that I have a weird soft spot for; GCCo - Gutman Cutlery Commpany and it is a proper imported Mora.

The pretty one on the left is a David Anderson (silversmith) "Bunad" knife from Norway.

The black handled one is a Robert Parrish take on the knives - the beast of the lot.


The furthest right is a Swedish Eskilstuna knife by Erik Anton Berg... I think of this one as a fisherman's knife. It comes with the sweet fitted sheath with a locating peg in the belt loop.


Todd.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I forgot to mention my small Mora draw knife that I use for making selfbows.
The thing, for me, about the Mora/Swedish knives has always been the simplicity, durability, ease of sharpening and how well they keep an edge . The fact that they have been so affordable over the years is an added plus.

 

[BullRunBear]

Don't have any photos but I have a bunch of Mora knives. They get used for everything from crap work in the garden and garage to whittling, basically any time I want to use a fixed blade knife. They are simple, inexpensive and easy to maintain. Love 'em. I also have a Bruks hatchet. The short handle is great for control when roughing out pieces for wood carving or careful shaping. The hatchet wasn't cheap but was worth the price. If I spent time in the woods, it would be on my belt all the time.

Keeping with the Swedish motif, most of my wood carving knives are made by Del Stubbs of Pinewood Forge. He studied in Sweden before designing his knives and incorporates many of their techniques.

Jeff

 

[Water-Man]

I have the Gransfors Bruk Small Hatchet and Hunters Axe.

Excellent equipment. Both have gotten alot of use over the past ten years without any problems.

Highly recommend.

 

[Speedo66]

I have a Mora Fishing Classic #54, bought in Sweden in the early 70's to use there as a fishing/camping knife. It was less than $7 at the time, and I had no idea about Mora, etc.

I was impressed at the time not only with how sharp it was, but also how it retained it's edge. It had a full sized wooden handle, leather sheath, and 5" blade.

Fast forward many years and I'm still using the knife, now on my boat on the brackish waters of the Hudson. Other knives I'd used dissolved from the salt, figured I'd try the old knife. Worked great over many years, zero rust. The leather sheath finally gave up from the moisture, but not the knife. The wood handle got faded out from the salt and sun, but didn't crack.

A few months ago I was refinishing a stock with Tru-Oil and decided to give the old girl a face lift with the leftovers. Sanded the wood, and applied several coats of the Tru-Oil.

She now looks better than any decades old hard used/abused tool has a right to. Made a homemade utility sheath from heated and pressed PVC pipe, and looking forward to many more years of use.

New ones are a little pricey now, $51 from Ragnar's, but if you amortize the cost over 40+ years, it costs nothing.

Can't add of photo of mine, but here's a photo of a new one, still looks the same, from Ragnar's: http://www.ragweedforge.com/54.jpg

 

[Chuck R.]

My "Nessmuk Trio":

Gransfors Wildlife Hatchet
Bark River Highland Special
Northwoods Custom "Gunstock"



Chuck

 

[AStone]

Wow, this thread is turning out even better than I expected.

Some fine stories and testimonials. Thanks.

 

[AStone]

There has been much praise here so far for Mora and Gransfors Bruks.

Both companies deserve that praise, even if for different reasons.
(Video of the CEO of GB coming at a later time to explain why.)

But I want to seed in some equal praise for another one: Helle.

My first was their Nying, a gift. Still my favorite short blade by far,
even over my valued Izula.

http://www.helle.no/products/knives/nying/

My second -- and probably my favorite knife of flavor 'bushcraft' is their Fossekallen.

http://www.helle.no/products/knives/fossekallen/

3.5" scandi ( my preference for grind,
even over flat -- hey, I carve wood )
with a ( curly ) birch handle.

Rad, even if by Scandinavian standards.

They're the bottom two in this photo from post #2.

 

[redneck]

The carver is an excellent all around whittling knife. It has a much more substantial handle than the companion knives. If the companion had the same handle I might use it more.

As far as comparing the swedish knives to american knives, I don't have many factory knives to compare. I can show you what I have made and why I prefer it to the scandi knives though.

This hunter is made with 3/16" O1 steel with a micarta handle. It is my favorite hunting/camping knife I have. I have used it on a half dozen deer, field dressing and processing, it also has gone on lots of camping trips and was used for starting fires, whittling and general camp chores. As you can see, the blade shape is similar to a mora companion, but the proportions are different.


First off, this knife has a much more substantial handle. Its about 5 inches long and has a very slight palm swell to it on top of the natural sweep that keeps your hand from sliding forward. You can almost get as close a grip to the cutting edge as you can with the mora knives for detail work, but I never worry about slipping my hand up onto the blade when doing heavier cutting chores.

2nd, the blade is a little bit thicker, but much wider. I think this is a better slicer than the scandi grind knives without giving up any strength. The tip is still a fine enough point for detail work. I have even carved spoons with it, you just have to choke up and use a pinch grip at the tip when you are hollowing the bowl out. The only thing the moras may have over this is they are more likely to bend instead of break since this is a fully hardened blade of O1.

I have experimented with some other designs and have a slightly larger knife that works better for batoning and minor chopping but it gives up a lot in the detail work. Overall I think the above knife is just about the perfect all around knife for my uses. It isn't a huge departure from the swedish knives, but has some major improvements (in my opinion). You will never find a knife like it for the price of a Mora though. The value is what makes the Moras so great. They will do everything the average person needs, at a much lower price point than just about anything else.

 

[AStone]

^ nice looking knife.

Still unclear about the maker/model.

Any link?

 

[hso]

redneck,

Who made it? Is it hollow ground? What is the overall length and what is the blade length?

 

[redneck]

I made it myself.

Blade is 4-1/8" long, 3/16" thick O1.OAL is 8-7/8". Handle slabs are 1/4" thick black linen micarta. Hollow ground on a 10 inch wheel. I have grown to prefer flat grinds but mainly for finishing purposes, no complaints on how this thing cuts.

 

[JShirley]

If this is just about those makers, I don't have any.

If this is an axe thread, I can post some pics.

No idea why you brought politics into the thread, though, not that I can think of any especial reason why Scandinavian tool makers would generate any heat...

John

 

[kBob]

John,

I am guessing he did not want the whole "Made in the USA" argument to come up, yet again.

Speaking of Swede blades and idea how those hollow handle bayonets were made?

-kBob