Mora #2/0 vs. Mora #1?

For most things I actually prefer a smaller blade. It sounds like you're not planning on doing things that require a big blade, so I would just get the smaller one. I wouldn't worry too much about the handle size. The handle is likely bigger than what your old folder used to have, so you're already upgrading. And besides, for the light duty chores you're describing you don't really need a big handle.

One thing I would pay some attention to is the blade material. If I'm not mistaken the #1 is made of stainless steel and the #2/0 is made of carbon steel. A stainless steel blade obviously doesn't rust as fast, but a carbon steel blade can hold a much sharper edge. If you're planning on doing some fine woodcarving I would recommend a carbon blade. Mora also makes some very nice laminated blades with a carbon steel core and edge and stainless steel sides. Those blades pretty much combine the best of both worlds.

I like carbon steel in spite of it needing more maintenance. Keep in mind that if you go this route and plan on using the knife for food preparation, that you'll want to buy a food-grade mineral oil for the knife.

I haven't owned either of those two Moras but a Opinel knife is worth considering as well.

It looks like the Light My Fire knife with the firesteel in the handle is the #1 blade? If so I find that to be about the right size- it can even do light batoning. But if you don't think you'd ever need to do that (and it doesn't sound like it) then I'm sure that the #2 will do any other knife chore quite well.

This doesn't answer your original question on #1 vs #2 but you mentioned grip safety so you may want to take a look at the Mora Craftline Q. It is a nice size/weight, carbon steel blade, and has a nice finger guard.

Mora Classic No2 in carbon. I take along a small 4" long arkansas rod and a small piece of leather loaded with compound.

Both of the moras are carbon steel.
I have the #1 and imo it's too long proportionate to it's thickness. Probably useful if you want to fillet fish. The #2 hits the sweet spot for length, the handle isn't too small.

I am using 2/0 in laminated steel,full tang and with a better sheath than the regular version. The handle is big enough IMO.Very happy with it.

I have a Mora 2/0 and a #1 and prefer the 2/0. A little smaller, but the size is perfect for UL, IMO. Very lightweight. The plastic sheath that comes with it isn't very good (the blade falls out) but it gave me an excuse to make a leather sheath for it that was more secure.

I have a laminated carbon steel version of the # 1.
I use it for butchering animals and woodcraft, not backpacking.

If I'm bothering to carry a sheath knife I don't think I'd want anything much smaller.
The concern about the lack of a guard is a real point though.

When you feel the handle of the knife as it rides in the sheath, you can't tell which side is sharp and which is the back of the blade. In the dark, cutting the lines of a tarp that blew down or tangled lines on a swamped canoe or defending yerself from a bear or what-not in an emergency, or even just absentmindedly reaching beside you for a knife you just put down to slice more sausage, it's nice to know which side of the dang knife is sharp when yer hand first grabs it up!

And a knife handle with no guard, greasy from dressing game or cutting sausage can lead to a nasty accident!

Also, if that thing comes out of the sheath while its inside yer pack, you may be in for some damaged gear!

It's a tad over 3 ounces with sheath but maybe the Mora 440 or one of the craftline would be a better bet.

Edit – Also, stainless steel would be a much better bet.
Slice an apple with a carbon Mora, wipe the blade off on yer jeans and sheath it – Draw it again at the end of the day and it will be covered with rust! Adds an interesting flavor to yer sausage.

I don't care for the traditional barrel shaped Mora handles. There is no choil, let alone a finger guard so the sharp edge runs right up to the edge and leaving little room for error. They are light and compact.

The 440 Mora makes for a light inexpensive stainless knife with a ambidextrous sheath and plenty of hand protection. I prefer something like the Companion MG, Craftline Allround stainess, or the newer Bushcraft stainless model. The Bushcraft published weigh is 4.2oz. I wish they had ambidextrous sheaths— I'm about to become a Kydex hobbyist just for that reason!

You can get a Companion for $12-$13 on eBay. I've had an old Mora Clipper stainless for over 20 years and subjected it all kinds of abuse sea kayaking and then home remodeling. It still hangs on my tool board and is used often.

I ended up purchasing the Mora #2/0. It was $17 with free shipping on Amazon so I just decided to pull the trigger (I can only mull over a sub-$20 purchase for so long before it becomes counterproductive with my time).

Anyway, the knife arrived today and I think it will be a good fit for me. I have average sized hands and I find the handle to be big enough to comfortably grasp. The blade is just about the perfect length for me, and the knife seems compact and light enough to justify taking it backpacking with me.

It's also so sharp that it's a little scary. I've never owned a carbon steel blade before but this thing is like a scalpel. I used it to cut a piece of meat up for lunch today and I felt like a surgeon. I've never cut meat with so little effort before, so that was a cool feeling. I look forward to keeping it sharp!

I'd heard a lot of people saying that the sheath won't hold the knife very securely, but I don't find this to be the case. I simply make a point to press the knife in the sheath firmly with my thumb and everything stays put after that.

Anyway, we'll see how it holds up to backpacking use, especially in terms corrosion due to moisture…

It's hard to have buyers remorse at $17. Some carbon steel knife owners will pickle the blade. You can use mild acids like lemon juice or cold blueing made for firearms. I'm sure you can find a YouTube or other resources on the web. Keep it dry and oil it with some food grade mineral oil if you are using it on food.

Moras are like potato chips, you can't have just one :)

You can do what dale says what is called a Forced Patina. you basically put a protective type rust onto the blade and it prevents the nasty red rust from getting to the steel. though obviously if you get it soaked then dry it and sheath out fully after.

I used horse radish on one of my knives and mustard on my Opinel. If you want a darker color go with horseradish.. if lighter then the mustard is pretty light.

Opinel

> It's also so sharp that it's a little scary. I've never owned a carbon steel
> blade before but this thing is like a scalpel.

I understand that one advantage of carbon steel is that it can be sharpened easily. I presume it looses it's edge easily too? Is this correct?

I'm kinda looking for simple, full tang knife too and this looks about right.

The thing with the moras is they have a very even, factory ground scani grind. This makes the edges fragile. It's worth giving the edge a slight convexity to prevent the edge chipping out. Just that little bit of convexity or a secondary bevel will increase the edge strength.

@Richard May:
Stainless steel is usually softer than carbon steel. Because carbon steel is harder it can keep a sharper edge than stainless steel. Carbon steel will also keep it's edge longer than stainless steel. However, it will also take a little more time to get it as sharp as it can be. Stainless steel is easier to get somewhat sharp, but it's harder to get razorsharp.

@Justin Baker:
I actually prefer an even scandi grind. Yes, it's a bit more fragile than a secondary bevel or a convex grind. However, a scandi grind is also sharper, easier to sharpen and unless you use your knife for chopping instead of cutting it should be strong enough.

I'm not talking about a noticeable convexity. You get a slight convexity to the edge when hand sharpening, it's really unavoidable. It's not even visible That's why you can chip a mora out of the box and it won't chip again after sharpening it.

Scott,
This knife won't be going on any belts for me. I'm going to make it a neck knife by modifying the sheath a bit and attaching to a really lightweight lanyard that I've made to carry all my "in-camp" tools. On this lanyard I can carry my Nitcore Senz AA flashlight, mini-bic lighter, knife, and I've even custom made a spring clip that grabs my spoon. I find the lanyard really handy since the running shorts that I backpack in don't have side pockets.

Dale and Jake,
I actually put a light patina on this knife earlier tonight using white vinegar. I assume the resulting patina is Iron Acetate. I actually submerged the whole knife so that the rat tail tang would also get a patina inside the handle. Since the tang is friction fit to the handle, it's not really sealed off like it is in many other knives, so water is inevitably going to get in there when I wash the knife off. Because of this I wanted to do all I could to prevent rusting in there, although I know it's going to happen to some extent no matter what.

I'm interested to see how easy or difficult it will be to keep this knife rust free in the field. Only time will tell.

Richard,
What Mark told you is certainly correct for some stainless steels and carbon steels.

Unfortunately, from what I have been able to gather, the world of knife blade metallurgy is extremely complicated.

There is no one stainless steel or carbon steel, there are thousands of different varieties of each, and each of those different varieties has different characteristics.

To add further complexity to the issue, there are also various metallurgic heat treatment processes which can further change the properties of a given metal.

Because of all of this, you can have stainless steels (which are defined as having at least 13% chromium content) which are harder or softer than carbon steels, having more or less carbon content than carbon steels, and being more or less brittle than carbon steels. It's sort of a nightmare to compare the two with any general terms actually.

It should also be noted that the term "carbon steel" is really a catch-all term for any steel that is not stainless steel (so it doesn't have at least 13% chromium content). So carbon steel can refer to all sorts of alloys.

It's usually more important to find out exactly what kind of steel a given knife is using and see if that fits for your needs.

From what I understand, these Mora "carbon steel" blades are made with 1095 steel heat-treated to a Rockwell Hardness of 59 or so. This steel is about 99% iron and 1% carbon with no other major constituents, and is an extremely popular "carbon steel" for knives. It is not very corrosion resistant but it's very tough and extremely easy to sharpen. From what I gather, it's easy to sharpen in part because it has only very small and diffuse iron carbide (cementite) inclusions, in contrast to many stainless steels.

So that should basically clear everything up right? No? Well, I'm still confused too, don't worry :)

LOL well, it's the long version of what I'd heard.

I understand Mora's are highly respected and was willing to go on that. Might as well start somewhere, right?

In summary the knife is: easy to sharpen but will require a little extra care. I can dig that.

"I'm interested to see how easy or difficult it will be to keep this knife rust free in the field. Only time will tell."

In my experience, keeping a knife rust free isn't a priority. As long as it doesn't start to corrode near the edge then it's fine.