Morakniv Kansbol?

S

Sid Post

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Oct 14, 1998
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How does this knife compare to other similar knives? Being a Mora fan, I'm curious about this one and its additional blade grind out front. How does this one work differently, better or worse, than something like a Garberg, Companion or, Bushcrafter?

Or put another way, talk me into, or out of, getting one to add my other random Mora purchases! ;)

TIA,
Sid
 
I'm curious too but haven't tried it.

My understanding is that it puts the Scandi grind close to grip for wood working and the full flat grind out front for better slicing with food. Scandi grinds stink for cutting potatoes.
 
I had a couple of them and I liked them OK. However, Mora's stainless does not have super great edge retention. I much prefer their carbon models - which is why I just bought a pair of Carbon Garbergs. After sharpening them (they kinda sucked right out of the box) their performance is superb!

However, the Kansbol is a great all around knife - that compound grind does give it a wider range of capabilities. The FFG at the tip cuts meat, fruit and veggies way better than a scandi.

If I wanted a general purpose light duty fixed blade, I would probably buy another one. As it is, I use the combination of a Fallkniven F1, a Carbon Garberg and a stainless # 9 Opinel. But, if I was super careful and did not baton with it, I'd say that I could get away with just a Kansbol.
 
My opinion, there are no "similar" knives to Kansbol other than the preceding Mora 2000. I have a Kansbol. It's a great all-around camp knife. It'll carve and whittle, do all the things a Companion will do, but the differential grind out front allows it to do food prep and finer tasks that the regular blade shapes and grinds start faltering at.

For the $30 it costs, I think it's a great knife to own. Extremely light weight AND has an ambidextrous sheath design as well that is Molle compatible.

A carbon steel Kansbol would be the sh!t.
 
Thanks for taking time to post opinions.. :thumbsup:I keep looking at this knife!! Guess its time to stop and shop!!!:D John
 
jmh33 jmh33

The Kansbol will serve you well.
This is a post I didnthis spring for another thread on another forum, but it should help.

I have to say. It's really hard not to like this knife.
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This is a seriously underrated blade. Camp yes, kitchen work sure thing. Light on the belt. Decent sheath. Low maintenance stainless. Just a little no drama workhorse!
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Perhaps the most underrated in all of Knifedom.
I just think it falls between the cracks. Too expensive for for the cheap Mora crowd, and too cheap for the expensive Mora crowd. And not taken seriously by anyone one else.
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Even myself somewhat. I have owned and liked this knife since it was released. And a 2000 before that. But until this weekend, I had never even snapped a picture of it.

We had no power and I needed to to a lot of knife type jobs. My pack was sitting on the kitchen table. Because I needed candles, flashlights and other assorted pack stuff. The Kansbol was in there. So I strapped it on.

Kitchen work was first.
I had some frozen meat half thawed, that I needed to deal with. And some fresh stuff that needed to be froze when the power came back on. We sliced and trimmed chicken breasts, pork roasts and a London Broil. All done with butcher like precision by the Kansbol.

Then came a round of peppers and onions. Sliced and diced no problems.

Later it was decided a steak in the coals was a good idea for dinner. Breaking down some kindling and tinder for a fire is a breeze with this one. The squared spine shaves tinder nicely. It would certainly throw sparks from a ferro rod if you chose to.

I needed some snow to fill a few coolers and canning pots for the fridge and freezer. I needed to break through the crust and get to some good clean snow. Not wanting to stomp on it with my dirty boots. I used the Kansbol to open up a hole.
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On the way back down from the snow. I spotted a Poplar tree that had snapped off in the wind that took our power. So we stopped and harvested some inner bark tinder.
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With all the domestic stuff sorted.
It was time for a fire. Funny thing about fires. They work, grid up or grid down. I'm sure there is a lesson in there somewhere.
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The wind storm had left us dry kindling everywhere. Add in a slight breeze and this took off like gang busters.
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Not all that snow went into the fridge.
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I mean fire and beer seem made for each other,
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I just decided this unsung hero deserved some praise.
It truly is a great little tool. It just does what needs doing without ever whimpering.
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It derserves some respect.
 
Thank You LV for this!!:thumbsup: I appreciate you taking time to post your experiences!! With the man in the red suit day in a few months this is going onto to my naughty/nice list!!:D Thanks again!!!:thumbsup: John
 
jmh33 said:
Thank You LV for this!!:thumbsup: I appreciate you taking time to post your experiences!! With the man in the red suit day in a few months this is going onto to my naughty/nice list!!:D Thanks again!!!:thumbsup: John
Click to expand...

No worries, I hope it helped.

The Kansbol even knows how to bake bread,



***From the original thread,
I have been selling and trading some knives. So I have been playing with more expensive knives lately.

Yesterday, I needed to section up a chicken for soup stock. As I pawed through the draw. I grabbed the Kansbol the minute I saw it. Chicken soup on the way.

Today was baking day.
First some rye rolls in the kitchen.
Then later some wood fired rye rolls out outside on a rock. The Kansbol rocks folks!

These were baked this afternoon on a rock,
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I flipped a chicken fryer over to form the oven,
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A good showing for a wood fired rock,
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Couldn't have done it without the Kansbol!
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The original Mora 2000, which has the same blade profile is still used as the primary "survival" knife with the Swedish "Ranger" school. The last Swedish rotation here in Afghanistan included a very experienced NCO who is an instructor at their Ranger school (more special forces than our typical Army Rangers). He knew I was a knife guy and gifted me a Mora 2000 and we talked about how they've held up in school. They abuse the poop out of them and they hold up quite well and are very under-estimated as a serious outdoors survival tool. He couldn't give me the reason for the blade design, but said it was a good slicer without sacrificing strength.

ROCK6
 
ROCK6 ROCK6

The 2000 is just a cool as the Kansbol, if you can get by the Kermit the Frog color.

Here is mine schooling my Canadian Forest Knife on feather sticks, this shot gives a good view of the blade profile.
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They really are the sleepers of the knife world.

I think the sheath on the Kansbol is a bit better. But for $17.00 or whatever they cost these days. The 2000 may be the best value in knife world.
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Also of note for those interested. The 2000 can be had in Blaze Orange.

And Mora makes a variation of the 2000 called the Forest Knife. It has the handle of the Bushcraft Black and blade of the 2000.
For those that like the Bushcraft Black style handle.
 
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LostViking said:
ROCK6 ROCK6

The 2000 is just a cool as the Kansbol, if you can get by the Kermit the Frog color.

...

They really are the sleepers of the knife world.

I think the sheath on the Kansbol is a bit better. But for $17.00 or whatever they cost these days. The 2000 may be the best value in knife world.

Also of note for those interested. The 2000 can be had in Blaze Orange.

And Mora makes a variation of the 2000 called the Forest Knife. It has the handle of the Bushcraft Black and blade of the 2000. For those that like the Bushcraft Black style handle.
Click to expand...

How do the Kansbol and '2000' differ from each other? Is it just the handle color and sheath? And the Forest knife, any pictures of it compared to the other two? How is it different other than color?

And thanks again for your very helpful and detailed posts in this thread!
 
The handles and sheaths are different, but the blade design is essentially the same. Having had both, the only other thing that I can add is that the 2000 had a much more polished blade with a rounded spine and came screamin' sharp. All three of my Kansbols had a lessor finish and were not as sharp out of the box, but they all had a perfectly squared off spine and sharpened up well. I don't see how you could go wrong with either. It would really come down to whether you wanted a squared spine (without having to DIY) and which handle you preferred.

ETA: I have not owned a Forest knife, but the blade is basically the same as the Kansbol and 2000, with the handle of the Bushcraft (which I do own). It is a super comfy handle.
 
https://morakniv.se/en/product/bushcraft-forest/

After a bunch of bad Google links, I found it! The bigger guard and finger notch are a turn off for me though.

The 2000 apparently has a better grip for cold weather work but, I don't personally see much need for that in my life so, the better sheath of the Kansbol seems to be the deciding factor for me. It may be a few bucks more but, it is still a bargain IMHO! Plus, they are good enough for Swedish soldiers so, they are going to exceed what most of us part-timers, weekend warriors, etc. really need which frees up money for more trips to the great outdoors. :thumbsup: :) :thumbsup:
 
S Sid Post

You will find the Kansbol plenty grippy for winter use.

B Brommeland nailed it with the differences.
2000 = Blade more polished, rounded spine. Pea soup color. Sheath not as good as the Kansbol. But workable.

Kansbol = More of a rough finish, rough satin maybe. Sharp spine, mine was one of the first, and the grinds could have been better. But it only affects you when your looking for faults.
The 2000 grinds are spot on.
Better sheath with more options. My Kansbol arrived screaming sharp!

As you figured out the Forest has an entirely different handle,

If you're not one to baton through vintage Power Wagons, the Kansbol should serve you fine.
 
LV, I would be interested to learn more about the interesting fire lay in the pictures above.
 
I ended up getting a Kansbol from Cabela's for $30 (surprised to see it there and at a good price too!). The sheath is a little sub-par IMHO upon initial inspection. The knife itself appears to be a great purchase. The thin tip and thicker blade section seem like a good match for a "car" knife where I might be in a hotel slicing a meat stick or cheese or, out at a campsite somewhere taking small branches or making tinder. Best of all, it's like two knives in one so only one knife to carry around.

Thanks again for all the comments and posts in this thread!

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pinnah said:
LV, I would be interested to learn more about the interesting fire lay in the pictures above.
Click to expand...

P pinnah

It was kind of a failed experiment that turned out pretty well. We didn't have any power and I was bored. So I built myself an upside down fire on top of four rounds. The rounds were not overly dry. For that matter neither was the wood on top. It burned decently and was working its way down. We got a little rain and I was trying to keep things going. It basically burned out the center and left the outsides of the rounds untouched.

So I stuffed four drier, smaller rounds down in the hole left in the middle. It took off from there.


Here is one I took more seriously from earlier in the spring. Smaller rounds on the bottom. 3 rows of 3. And an upside down fire on top. This burned for almost 24 hours. Note the wire holding the rounds together. The knife gives you an idea of wood size.
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These really get rocking with dry wood. And they are fairly wood efficient.
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This is what I had left in the morning. You can't see it but there was a ton of heat and coals in the middle.
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I tipped the remaining wood over and got it ripping again. Made for a nice breakfast fire.
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Bacon, eggs, and cheddar cheese,
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Nothing beats breakfast on a wood fire!
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I still had some coals and flames when beverage time rolled around.
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