Any Difference in Various Scandinavian Knives??

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Nalapombu

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Oct 26, 2001
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Hey all,

I am going to pick up a new hunting knife and I have had a lot of people tell me to check out the MORA knives. I have also noticed that the HELLE knives and blades are very popular on the TRAD Bowhunting sites. So I decided to check out these blades and see what they were like.

I went to a site that sells nothing but knives from Scandinavia, Helle, More and others. One other that I also noticed was the Marttiini brand. All of these brands look like they would make great general use knives. The MORA and Marttiini knives were similar in price and pretty inexpensive. The HELLE knives were MUCH higher priced with some being right at $100.

Seeing all these knives got me curious. Is there that much of a difference in these brands? Are MORA knives just as good as the HELLE? What about the Marttiini brand? How does it stack up?

I'd like to hear your thoughts on these brands as well as other Scandinavian knives. Is one just as good as the other or are some better than others?

Thanks for your help.

Nala
 
I have several Erikson knives in stainless & carbon. I prefer the carbon as it cuts a little longer. The Martini knives I have are all stainless but, are good knives as well. I do not think you can go too wrong here. I read somewhere that the Rossi blades were even better at edge holding if that whats your looking for. Everything else is fit & finish price wise IMHO.
 
I have had a lot of experience with different Mora knives, and all of them have served really well. I have a few that are over 10 years old.

Another brand that I have tried is Brusletto. There is really no difference in performance between Mora and Brusletto other than the attention to ergonomics. The handle on my Brusletto is the perfect shape for my average sized hand.

As for the other makers I can’t comment too much because I have barely handled them.

Mora has a lot of different options in handles, sheaths, blades, and steels. They are also very inexpensive. I have been told that they spend all of their money improving the blades and the steel and that they put as little as possible into the handle and sheath. It is a good tactic, if you ask me, since it makes all of their knives affordable. Their laminated steel is awesome if you can find it.
 
I have used three or four different brands, like any other knife, the steel used is what makes the difference, at least some of the difference. The Mora steel seems to be darn good quality, Helle has nicer handles but any of them will work well for a hunting knife. I use a SS clipper and a Carbon Clipper plus the older Laminated No. One the most. I love the handle on the Carbon Clipper.
 
Nalapombu said:
Is there that much of a difference in these brands? Are MORA knives just as good as the HELLE? What about the Marttiini brand? How does it stack up?

Is one just as good as the other or are some better than others?
Click to expand...
Yes and no. Almost all of them use the same steel in connection to their general line of SS knives (Sandvik 12C27). Marttiini is the exception. They use a chinese 420J2 (HRC 54-55).

The biggest difference between all these brands is the level of attention to details and the choice of handle materials.

IMO, the most priceworthy brand is Frosts of Sweden, despite the fact that it's subsidiary to Mora of Sweden.

~Paul~
 
I recently bought two Mora knives, both with a classic look and wooden handles. A small one with a length of 19 cm (blade is 9 cm) and a bigger one with a length of 22 cm (blade is 11 cm). They are great knives, I used them this year when camping. I know not much about steel, but I do know that they served me well when preparing food, preparing wood for fire or make wooden equipment, and other things. When buying them, I was really surprised that these knives cost about 5 euro each; I bought them when visiting the city of Mora.

Two other Scandinavian knives that I have are folding knives from EKA Knivar. A Swede 60 and a Swede 88. The Swede 60 is a strong knife with a plastic handle, its blade is 4 mm thick on top and has a length of 9 cm. It is a good working knife. The Swede 88 is a smaller knife, with a wooden handle and its blade has a length of 7 cm. Both folders have a back lock mechanism that works quite well.
 
All useful comments. I will add my recommendation: Roselli. Excellent carbon-steel knives, lovely in their simplicity. They have a special very hard (RC 64 or so) UHC series as well - these are the ones with the uniform grey blade in the below 3 pics; the bottom pic is the normal series.

Roselli_Erapuukko_UHC.jpg


roselliuhc-series.jpg


roselli-uhc-series.jpg


roselli-forgedx5.jpg
 
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I'm one of the trad bowhunters who has been using the Helle knives for about 15 years. Paul Brunner started spreading the word on them as a tremendous dolllar-for-dollar value.

As stainless steel knives go, they are my favorites. The laminated 12c27 works well. It holds an edge extremely well. The flat grind is easy to sharpen when you do need a touch-up.

I started with the Veidemann, then acquired the Harding, Polar, Opel, Brakar, Fjellkniven, and several Steinbits. I've also given several as gifts and the recipients--hard core hunters and fishermen--have opted not to use them because they are too beautiful. They just hold them and marvel. The handles are arctic birch which is stunning. It is one of the most beautiful woods around. It is also extremely dense and strong. I use all my Helle knives and other than washing the blood off them and once-a-year wax polishing, they require little or no care.

The Helle sheaths are above average, more than merely adequate. I've never gotten irritated with them anyway.

The price has gone up on all the Helle knives quite a bit as the years have passed. I think I paid about $43 for my first Veidemann and it is going for about twice that now.

At various knife/gun shows I've examined the other Scandies. They all look like they'd work just fine, but I prefer the Helle brand over them all.

My purchases have come through Ragnar and from Mike Westvang. They are both great guys to deal with. Their prices are traditionally about the same but from time to time one will have a better deal than the other. They both have web sites.

You can also just buy the blades if you want to use your own handles. Ragnar even offers a kit. I've made several using cocobolo or osage or deer antler. All you need is a drill and some epoxy.
 
The absolutely premium and best scandinavian knives come from best knife smith's. Helle is one of the best makers of traditional knives in massproduction. If you want best:
http://www.kainuunpuukko.com/ Person making these Tommi Knives is multiple champion of knifemaking World Competition.

But these have premium price but quality is outstanding. I know peoples who have had these Tommi's for decades now and they've been using that same knife from years and years. They stay sharp even you skin and treat deer or moose or two.

But each knife is handmade and thus custom, so their price is 143 €'s and up.

You can get twoHelle's or Roselli's in price of one of these custom Tommi's but they are handmade one of the best knife maker and knivesmith's in Nordic. There are few other's who have wan several series of knife making contests during past 14 years. But 143 to 250 €'s is quite expensive though you get one of the best knives handmade if you like nordic style knives.
 
Thanks all.

When nosing around the MORA offerings I noticed that some of them are NOT laminated blades. If I were to buy one of the MORA's, or any other of these Scandie blades, would you say that the extra money for the laminated blades is worth it or should I just get the standard blades that are less expensive?

Thanks everyone

Nala
 
I've used Moras, carbon and stainless. The carbon ones hold an edge longer. Have a Marttiini with a carbon blade and it holds an edge just as good as a Mora.
 
I can't see much difference in the Laminated or the other steels that they use. They Laminated ones are supposed to be a little more flexable, but they are all good.
 
I have an OK Tommi Moose Puukko that I bought from Kellam several years ago.I paid $600 and change for it.It is the finest Puukko that I have ever held and used.Kellam knives carry many different makes of Skandi knives,with varied price points,check them out.
 
There is also EKA knives from Sweden. I have been looking at them for awhile but haven't tried one yet so can't say what they are like. Most of their knives that I've seen are 12c27 Sandvik stainless @ 58-59HRC, although some of their folders are AUS8. I haven't seen them listed yet, but apparently they have black coated carbon steel offerings as well.

Fallkniven as well has excellent knives. I have and use several and really like them. Much pricier than other offerings but feature laminated blades in VG10 or SGPS. Fallkniven are researched, designed, and distributed out of Sweden, but their knives are manufactured in Japan.

Kevin
 
I've used a Helle with a laminated blade for a year now and it holds a wicked edge. The more plain handled knives are cheaper than the fancy handles. I prefer the laminated blades to the 12c27...better edge retention. They are very lite! Hard not to like.
 
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