First week with a Mora

P

PDE

Joined
Nov 7, 2010
Messages
595
Well, I finally decided to purchase a Mora, the 511 model.
This was about a week ago, and since then I have done several mods
to it, all in comforts sake. I ground the guard off, made a kydex sheath for it,
and have used it a good bit, including using it for carving a spoon.
I loved the knife, it came sharp and performed flawlessly, rivaling knives
costing ten times as much.

So today I had it on me. I was using it to split some oak for another spoon,
being as gentle as possible with the thin blade, scandi grind and stick tang.
Into literally a minute of use, it catastrophically failed, sending half of the blade one way,
while the other half bent back and shot a piece of the handle off.
Another tiny shard came off of the second part of the blade, rocketing through
the air and finally bouncing off my eyebrow, I am extremely lucky it did not hit
any lower or get imbedded, it just left a scratch.:eek:

Overall it was a great knife, I am not upset that it failed, probably my fault
somehow, but it could have been a fault in QC.

However, I am pissed after the hour I spent perfecting the handle, making
sure it fit just right. And, when I get another one, the kydex sheath I made
for it will not fit the new knife, even after trimming the handle.

Oh well. I do have a question for you guys, have you ever had a mora
break on you and/or did I go too hard on the knife?

By the way, this is what it looks like:p.
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Thanks for looking guys!:D
 
First off, glad you're ok and didn't end up with any shrapnel in your eyes.

I can honestly say that I've never had that happen with a Mora. My favorite is the Clipper and it's just barely a half tang. I've beat the snot of them with no issues.

What was the thickness on the wood you were batoning? The broken part of the handle looks like it's from a baton striking it and causing it to chip off.
 
Look at the bright side. At least you now know the stick tang is stronger than the blade and the handle.
 
I wouldn't baton through oak with any ten dollar knife.just sayin'

Glad you're OK
 
cramsey3006 said:
First off, glad you're ok and didn't end up with any shrapnel in your eyes.

I can honestly say that I've never had that happen with a Mora. My favorite is the Clipper and it's just barely a half tang. I've beat the snot of them with no issues.

What was the thickness on the wood you were batoning? The broken part of the handle looks like it's from a baton striking it and causing it to chip off.
Click to expand...

The wood was about three inches, I was just squaring it off for a spoon.
I thought I might of hit the handle, but how would that have lead to the blade
breaking? I think it was from the blade flexing and the hard brittle plastic
was not as willing to bend.
 
JTR357 said:
I wouldn't baton through oak with any ten dollar knife.just sayin'

Glad you're OK
Click to expand...

Actually, it was eight dollars.:D

I know what you mean, but it should have been able to square off a foot
long section of wood several inches thick for a spoon, the fact that it was oak does not exempt it from this. Remember this was for a spoon, so I tried to pick
a piece of wood with the straightest grain possible, there was not a single knot
in sight.
 
You mora-less got what you paid for.... Ha!... couldn't resist. Glad you weren't hurt, bud. I've seen a video with IAwoodsman batoning the handle of a mora cross-grain to down a 3" tree. Perhaps it was a factory defect.


Rick
 
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That sucks !

FYI Mark Wohlwend is gonna be making some fixed blade versions of the Mora very soon !
 
Mora or not, every knife has a failing point.
Not sure what happen' there. Was there any lateral stress?
Mora is still my #1 choice for wood carving.
 
Those who know me know I hate Mora's just about as much as Rick. However, I have used them and found them to be quite up to the task.

A couple of weeks ago I took Rescue Riley's favorite Mora and set out to break it. After literaly hours of battoning with grain and across grain though nasty pieces of frozen seasoned Red Oak, all I accomplished was a cracked handle and a bent blade. I gave Riley 10 bucks for his Mora, and have a new found respect for it.

I am glad you weren't hurt, but I would guess what happened to you was a fluke.
 
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pitdog said:
That sucks !

FYI Mark Wohlwend is gonna be making some fixed blade versions of the Mora very soon !
Click to expand...

Yea, those were looking pretty good last time I stopped by his section.
Cannot wait for them!
 
tek77 said:
Mora or not, every knife has a failing point.
Not sure what happen' there. Was there any lateral stress?
Mora is still my #1 choice for wood carving.
Click to expand...

I don't think I created any lateral stress on the blade, but then again
breaking a knife takes about three seconds. Honestly there probably was
some minuet amount, maybe it got caught a funny way as it passed through
the wood, causing it to bend more than usual.

I recently got a crook knife and half curve knife from Frosts Mora and
they work decently enough for the money, but they just came in rough shape,
one was not fitted correctly and looked a little crooked on the handle,
the other's handle was too big and the wood was pushed up around where
the blade had been attached. The handles were rough, took a bit of sanding
to get rid of the splinters.
 
PDE said:
when I get another one, the kydex sheath I made
for it will not fit the new knife, even after trimming the handle.
Click to expand...

If you get the same model, and make the same mods, the old kydex sheath should mostly fit. Hit it with a heat gun to soften it, and then remold it between foam or even with your glove-covered hands.
 
Learn to baton properly ! Then don't do it. Obviously you put a large sideways force on the blade since you broke out a bit of handle .

Hey ! that's carbon steel , that's not suposed to be brittle !!
 
I have beat on several moras through a lot of wood while batoning, and none have failed me yet. Not sure what the issue was, but it isn't common.

Glad you're Ok, though.
 
Ive never had any problem like that with my mora. At least you only lost $8 and not an eye.

btw, nice sheath :thumbup:
 
Perhaps send it to whomever you bought it off, or back to Mora, as I'm pretty sure that they'd like to have the chance to examine it.
 
hello
glad your OK!
Sorry I am not clear, were you battoning cross grain (truncating) or prying?
be safe... Ted
 
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