Mora Companion for general kitchen use?

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dpsk

Joined
Nov 7, 2019
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I received my first Mora knife (stainless Companion) today and thought I'd let my Wife use it for some food prep for dinner. Well, since our old kitchen cutlery is rather worn out, maybe the Mora seemed better for this task than it actually is. However, it sliced through stuff like hot butter. Just made me wonder if there's any specific Mora knife that would be a good dual purpose kitchen/camp utility knife? Any thoughts...
PS: The Companion is a nice little knife for a flippin' fantastic price.
 
They all handle about the same. If you want a longer blade that will cut like the companion, they make them.

I will say, my companion even as hard used as it is still cuts circles around most of my kitchen knives.
 
Mora makes culinary knives, and they put full flat grinds on those knives for a reason. If the Companion is cutting better than your dedicated kitchen knives then either those knives are thick in their grinds, dull, a thick edge angle, or some combination of the three. Well-executed culinary designs should outperform a Companion in the kitchen by a wide margin. :)

The factory edge angle of the Companion is 13.5° per side, while common American factory knife edges are around 20° per side, so a lot of people who are amazed by the cutting ability of the Companion are unfamiliar with the performance a low-angle edge can provide. However, the so-called "scandi" grind is literally the thickest geometry you can have for a given edge angle and stock thickness, and so for their edge angle they have poor performance. A full flat ground knife of equal profile, spine thickness, and edge angle would be a higher performer. Most culinary knives featuring full flat grinds will outperform a Companion if you put a similarly low edge angle on it. Given that most of Mora's non-culinary knives are made as hard use construction/trade/crafting knives (only recently having gone seriously after the camping/outdoor recreation market despite their common use in that space for decades) their geometry allows for a low edge angle with a stout supporting geometry that makes them very durable. But that is a very different context of use from culinary applications!
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Mora makes culinary knives, and they put full flat grinds on those knives for a reason. If the Companion is cutting better than your dedicated kitchen knives then either those knives are thick in their grinds, dull, a thick edge angle, or some combination of the three. Well-executed culinary designs should outperform a Companion in the kitchen by a wide margin. :)

The factory edge angle of the Companion is 13.5° per side, while common American factory knife edges are around 20° per side, so a lot of people who are amazed by the cutting ability of the Companion are unfamiliar with the performance a low-angle edge can provide. However, the so-called "scandi" grind is literally the thickest geometry you can have for a given edge angle and stock thickness, and so for their edge angle they have poor performance. A full flat ground knife of equal profile, spine thickness, and edge angle would be a higher performer. Most culinary knives featuring full flat grinds will outperform a Companion if you put a similarly low edge angle on it. Given that most of Mora's non-culinary knives are made as hard use construction/trade/crafting knives (only recently having gone seriously after the camping/outdoor recreation market despite their common use in that space for decades) their geometry allows for a low edge angle with a stout supporting geometry that makes them very durable. But that is a very different context of use from culinary applications!
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There is no doubt that our old kitchen knives have seen better days. Most of them are from when we were married - almost 27 years ago now.

Thanks for the detailed response!
 
I love Moras dearly for their value and utility. But I do see a lot of folks like yourself who are impressed by the performance of their utility knives in a culinary setting, and they often conflate that performance with them being a good design for the task when it's really as simple as the combination of a nicely polished factory edge with a thin angle on it. :D
 
Tried it and found the blade and grind a bit too thick, but I don't really like the scandi grind in general.
 
the companion is a sub-optimal choice for the kitchen, if you think that is good, just wait till you get the 3.5" fishing fillet - model 090

the stock is much thinner, almost like a full flat grind
it's a laser ; ) my wife loves it
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Using a camp or field knife as a kitchen knife always intrigues me.

I often reach for a Benchmade or Kershaw folder while I am cooking for the homeless in my area.
 
A Companion has always worked pretty well for me. Of course, it is kept a lot sharper than my kitchen knives. The Mora Flex has a full flat grind and works even better as a slicer.

Don’t overlook the “American Moras” from Old Hickory and Dexter-Russell. The Green River 5” Fish Knife in particular has a flat grind. Prices are creeping up, but you can find them priced about like the Moras.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Mora makes culinary knives, and they put full flat grinds on those knives for a reason. If the Companion is cutting better than your dedicated kitchen knives then either those knives are thick in their grinds, dull, a thick edge angle, or some combination of the three. Well-executed culinary designs should outperform a Companion in the kitchen by a wide margin. :)
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This. I enjoy scandi grinds for working on wood, but I think they are the worst grind in the kitchen. Given, a sharp knife is better than an unsharp knife. My cheap oxo good grips pairing knife will outperform the mora companion in the kitchen for pretty much everything, simply because it's thinner blade steel so it slides the material a lot better once you hit the bevel's cheeks.

If you're looking for something similar to the companion that will handle kitchen duty a little better, the kansbol, with the thinly ground front half, would be better. However, a proper kitchen knife will still outperform it. I think my boker colorcut knives, which were like $70 for 5 knives, still performs quite well for me. Not the best steel and the grips are a small on the smaller knives of the set, but it still performs well because they are full flat ground on thin blade stock. I have some HJ Henkel knives that are far too thick that I go as a wedding gift, and they largely just sit around. I've taken to regrinding a couple of the blades in the set to thin them out and that has helped. Gives me a little practice modding primary grinds on knives I don't like. I do like the handles on the Henkels, but they are as thick as hunting knives in the steel.

Henry Beige Henry Beige just made a good recommendation on the Dexter-Russell and Old Hickory. If you go to Baryonyx's website, I would encourage you to look up the Dexter-Russell knives in particular as they are reasonably well done flat grinds on thin stock. I had a Sheffield Green River knife which is nearly a Kephart-like design that really impressed me for a slicer for a $25-$30 knife. It needed a little sanding of the handle and sharpening of the edge, but that thing was a slicing machine. One of the best knives I've ever used on cardboard. I like to recommend it to people looking for an inexpensive bushcraft knife if scandi grinds aren't their thing, which was me when I was still trying out new things a few years ago to learn what I really gravitated towards.
 
I found the angle of the Mora's scandi grind to be a bit too wide for certain culinary tasks. Worked well for meat, though. Not so great for things like slicing slabs off an onion or an apple. My Mini Skrama has a higher grind and is better at the onion or apple. But my larger Opinels are the ones I use most in the kitchen (I have decent and sharp kitchen knives, but sometimes I feel like using something else). I mean, if you need to cut something in the kitchen a Mora is going to get the job done. But I don't think any of my personal (not kitchen) knives are better in the kitchen than my No. 10 or No. 12.
 
Mora frosts kitchen knives are very good,flat ground and with nice steel.Victorin9x knives too are excellent for money.These geometries cut way better than outdoor mora knives,thats why i regrind all thick moras to something more suitable for pure cutting.
 
dpsk said:
I received my first Mora knife (stainless Companion) today and thought I'd let my Wife use it for some food prep for dinner.
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Well isn't that nice of you o_O

How did you feel when you used it?

As a dedicated kitchen knife, the mora companion will be bested by most other like priced kitchen knives available, even those super cheap no name ones you can buy at the grocery store.

As a camp utility blade that flexes into limited food prep, it will do well.

It is no replacement for a sharp chef's type knife in the kitchen though. It's not particularly close IMO.
 
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