Anybody know about this vintage Mora?

TheWambo

TheWambo

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I recently received a few knives from my grandfather, most of them common US made knives (buck, case, etc.), and in with this box of old knives (most of them from the 70's to late 80's) I found this little scandi knife marked G.C.&Co., 500, Mora Sweden. The sheath is similarly marked "Made in Sweden" with a small crest with "Mora" stamped underneath.
Now I know that Mora style knives have been made for a very long time under many manufacturer's but I was just wondering if someone had some more knowledge on this particular knife, when It was made, and how common they were in the US
 
Can't say as I'm very familiar with the specific maker, but Mora knives were about as common in the US in the 70's/80's as they are now from what I've gathered. My first knife was a laminated Mora with a double guard and steel pommel cap. In kindergarten. :p
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Can't say as I'm very familiar with the specific maker, but Mora knives were about as common in the US in the 70's/80's as they are now from what I've gathered. My first knife was a laminated Mora with a double guard and steel pommel cap. In kindergarten. :p
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thanks for the reply, for some reason I thought of Moras as more of a modern trending thing in the US
 
The plastic ones are more trending, but the industry as a whole seems to have lowered their offerings into the "budget" range only. There used to be a lot of very nice premium models available from a range of different manufacturers in Mora. But no longer.
 
It is a Mora from Sweden. (I know, that is obvious). Mora is actually the town where it is made. There have been several companies that make similar knives there. They have been making them like that with the wooden handles for a long time. GC&Co is the distributor here in the US. Or it was way back when. Think of it as the Swedish equivalent of a boy scout knife. It is based on a puukko. The guard can be removed when the kid (or adult) doesn't need it any more. I normally leave it on because I am a monkey, but I like being able to count to 10 on my fingers. Some of these have laminated blades, some do not. Some of the more recent ones have stainless blades. Most of the ones I have seen have high carbon steel blades. I picked up a smaller version of these for my 10 year old daughter's first hunting knife. I use one some of the time as well. I like these older versions better than the newer plastic handled versions. The steel on all of them is very good. You can put an edge on it with a simple stone, and it will hold that edge through dressing a large hog. They don't normally cost more that $10-15 on eBay. I pick up one or two every so often because they are just good knives.

-Mb

-Mb
 
The whole "remove the guard when you don't need it anymore" thing is a bit of a myth from the bushcraft community as far as I've seen. While my first Mora had a double guard and a threaded pommel, most Moras with double guards are not made in a way that facilitates disassembly and removal of the guard. They were made that way for safety. If you didn't want a guard you just bought a knife without one. Most sporting/hunting models of Mora knives I've seen had at least a forward guard.
 
I've got a brand new, stainless one just like it. My guard is a bit smaller and lighter and doesn't S-curve like that one. The sheath is even almost the same.
 
Thanks for the info guys, most of my knowledge about knives stops with the US border, I only have one other mora (Bushcraft force, love it btw) so a little more info on the origins of mora knives helped. Know I know and knowing is half the battle...(and more questions about why a GI Joe tagline popped into my head arise) thanks everybody
 
I have two similar Mora's I got in the late 60s. Looks exactly like yours with the exception on the logo. They cost $1.50 at the time, just for a reality check, minimum wage in 1968 was about $1.60/hour.

Ric
 
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