BPS knives - all that Condor and Mora should strive to achieve

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LostCause

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After glowing reviews and also IRL friends getting them and reccomending - I too pulled the trigger and ordered BPS knife.

HK4 in D2 steel.

But why am I saying this?
It has better fit and finish than Condor.
It is hand made.
It performs better than Condor.
It is cheaper than Condor and it's unlike most Mora offerings - mainly made out of natural materials, and kydex sheath and plastic handle models - have better sheath and handles than Moras. And comparing to Mora Ashwood collection which is supposedly all natural too - yup, it blows them out of water when it comes to the price.

1066, 5Cr18 and D2 are nothing to write home about, but with very good HT they just work. And the price is extremely affordable too. And on the other hand - 1075 that Condor uses is nothing special either.

What are your opinons?
 
No experience with BPS or Condor. I’ve had a few Mora knives. For the money, Mora is hard to beat. They cut well, are durable, comfortable to use, made with decent materials, dependable with consistency of manufacture, and inexpensive. With that said, none of these three brands offer anything of much interest to me. If I want to buy a dependable, budget conscious, fixed blade, I will go with something else.
 
I bought a BPS knife in 1066 steel a few months ago, it was an impulse buy because of the low price.
It's definitely a bargain, just don't expect heirloom quality.

On the other hand, it's a great working knife and I would buy more of them.
It cost about $30.

bps.jpg
 
Well I have and use quite a few Mora models. They are excellent especially for the money. I have seen these at my local knife shop. Haven't bought one yet but I may do that to check them out.
 
JPD1998 said:
I bought a BPS knife in 1066 steel a few months ago, it was an impulse buy because of the low price.
It's definitely a bargain, just don't expect heirloom quality.

On the other hand, it's a great working knife and I would buy more of them.
It cost about $30.

View attachment 2260233
Click to expand...
why's the bevel so short, is the stock just super thin?
 
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I have the HK1 from BPS, before they were known and was an "Amazon brand", and Mora.

In term of economy, mora doesn't need to, or even couldn't, achieve. Being affordable depends on many factors.

I wrote this over and over, the cost of living is not the same in every country. The cost of living can dramatically raise the price of products. Ukraine, despite in war, doesn't have high living as like the Scandinavian countries.

Mora is an exception from the group with the ability to produce cheaper knives than others in their land. Other manufacturers from there are at least twice the price that Mora offer for about the same quality.

The BPS carbon, rust easily even in stored condition. The SAE 1066, also known as 65Mn or 65G, is great for big blade and machete, but in small knives like what BPS offers, something with higher carbon for more cutting is preferable.
The bulk cost difference of plain carbon or low alloy steels is not that significant since they are all mass produced for other applications than just knife making.
BPS stainless 5Cr14Mov (not 5Cr18), is fine. It match the composition of 1.4116. Nevertheless, every time people heard of 1.4116, they see it as super poor steel, especially from Larrin's chart, and barely comparable to 12C27.

The handle finish is very rough and uneven, clearly handmade, which is not always a feature or compliment for me. Though, I have to give it to them for that mirror finish. Btw, BPS no longer "handmade" as they have tools and machinery to mass produce knives.

IMG_20230722_202319.jpg

Excuse me for the pristine look, I don't chop with it, only cut. The bottom knife is a Vangedal from Denmark, 1.4116, same blade thickness (3mm) and full length and width tang. So about equivalent to BPS stainless, but full slight convex instead of low V grind, better for cutting. Much better finish than the BPS.
It is only about 45 CAD for model with base sheath, same type as the BPS. The upgraded sheath + that German made sharpening rod make it 55 CAD. I find it better value than BPS, except that BPS is available on Amazon Canada.
 
I doubt basic Mora's will ever be beat in terms of value and utility.

With a few tweaks like steel and better designs BPS could be up there.
 
LostCause said:
After glowing reviews and also IRL friends getting them and reccomending - I too pulled the trigger and ordered BPS knife.

HK4 in D2 steel.

But why am I saying this?
It has better fit and finish than Condor.
It is hand made.
It performs better than Condor.
It is cheaper than Condor and it's unlike most Mora offerings - mainly made out of natural materials, and kydex sheath and plastic handle models - have better sheath and handles than Moras. And comparing to Mora Ashwood collection which is supposedly all natural too - yup, it blows them out of water when it comes to the price.

1066, 5Cr18 and D2 are nothing to write home about, but with very good HT they just work. And the price is extremely affordable too. And on the other hand - 1075 that Condor uses is nothing special either.

What are your opinons?
Click to expand...
What have you used it for?

Examples of the 'how' and 'why' that formulated your opinions.

Otherwise, it's a sales pitch.
 
Deino said:
The SAE 1066, also known as 65Mn or 65G, is great for big blade and machete, but in small knives like what BPS offers, something with higher carbon for more cutting is preferable.
Click to expand...
That's why I went with HK4 D2. Full flat grind and D2 steel, that's a cutter.
 
Delgadonine said:
What have you used it for?

Examples of the 'how' and 'why' that formulated your opinions.

Otherwise, it's a sales pitch.
Click to expand...


About friend's knife - we batonned that thing through knots, batonned against the grain, later carved with it. It's not the best carver or batoner ever, but it's so thin and yet we still couldn't break it. It's light for it's size and You're unlikely to damage it. He uses it like he hates it, and it's still kicking.

About D2 knife I took, it's yet to arrive here, but I'll post review once it arrives.
 
I'm with you on condor. In my experience their heat treat has been anything but reliable, and something about their big bold branding on everything just puts me off.

They used to be a budget option but now... not so much. I've yet to try one of their machetes though.
 
SwissHeritageCo said:
I'm with you on condor. In my experience their heat treat has been anything but reliable, and something about their big bold branding on everything just puts me off.

They used to be a budget option but now... not so much. I've yet to try one of their machetes though.
Click to expand...
Condor has pretty high prices for the materials they use. One could hope they at least have their HT in order... but that's sadly not the case.

About machetes... could be good. But with Cold Steel and Ontario machetes being priced as they are... I doubt Condor would be my option.
 
LostCause said:
About friend's knife - we batonned that thing through knots, batonned against the grain, later carved with it. It's not the best carver or batoner ever, but it's so thin and yet we still couldn't break it. It's light for it's size and You're unlikely to damage it. He uses it like he hates it, and it's still kicking.

About D2 knife I took, it's yet to arrive here, but I'll post review once it arrives.
Click to expand...
Would be interesting to see. They advertise their D2 in the 61-63 range, which is good for D2. Nevertheless, I don't see many mass produced blades at the price range have that hardness, usually more at 59-61. D2 is known to react badly with poor HT at high hardness. I see see such with custom or expensive knives, but BPS might be that good.
 
Deino said:
Would be interesting to see. They advertise their D2 in the 61-63 range, which is good for D2. Nevertheless, I don't see many mass produced blades at the price range have that hardness, usually more at 59-61. D2 is known to react badly with poor HT at high hardness. I see see such with custom or expensive knives, but BPS might be that good.
Click to expand...
Yeah, their D2 heat treat will show a lot. And 61-63 is ideal for D2 so I really hope they can pull off good HT and grain structure on D2 at that hardness.

In DBK testing - 1066 BPS held the edge better than Condor Terrasur, which is 1095 steel.
And my friend also swears he noticed it holding edge better than his ESEE4 which is also 1095.
I think that could be due to hardness, as BPS 1066 knives are advertised at 57-59 HRC while ESEE 1095 is advertised at 55-57 HRC.
If you get for example, a 58 HRC 1066 knife, it's likely to hold it's edge longer than 56 HRC 1095. And if we go in extreme - 55 HRC for 1095 and 59 HRC for 1066, then that is obvious.

Anyways, full flat grind and D2 steel at 61-63 HRC hardness - that should be a real cutter. I really hope their HT on that one is as good as their HT on 1066 is.
 
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