What's up with Morakniv??

D

dirc

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Jan 31, 2018
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Morakniv is a great value knife company. They use some the best price/performance steels, I'm a fan of the garberg which uses 14c28n, excellent stuff.

Many of their others use 12c27 - which is also excellent stuff, but 'older gen' steel, no nitrogen etc, but otherwise one of the better stainless steels. I prefer it over most 440c/b/a class steels.

My gripe with the company is increasingly not labelling the steel, at all.
it's either 'carbon steel', or 'stainless steel', like this 'forest' ... even in bladehq, kc etc, there are no steel specs??

what gives? are they using some new cheap stainless? did they stop using 12c27 as their default stainless?

bushcraft-forest-produkt.png
 
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I've got a few older Moras and none of them have the steel type anywhere on the blade. Just how they are.
 
Alberta Ed said:
Check their website. Usually pretty informative. Those Swedes know their steel.
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I have done that, and I've also searched on many top quality knife sales sites (most of which are bf supporters)

They all list garberg as 14c28n
They all list eldris and kansbol as 12c27
They also all list companion and forest as 'stainless'... so why the difference?

(the bushcraft and 711 are listed as 'carbon' steel, for what its worth, but I read on another thread its good Swedish c75 or c70 type steel)

my overall point is... If it's stainless, but not 12c27, and not 14c28n, then what is it? Sandvik does make junk stainless, aka 6c27 which is only about 0.3% carbon http://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/6c27.shtml
 
If they are using something other than the C70? ( carbon ), 12C27 , or 14C28N , it's news to me.
AFAIK , all the stainless companions are 12C27 , as well as the Eldris.
Also , the Bushcraft Orange.
 
dirc said:
If it's stainless, but not 12c27, and not 14c28n, then what is it? Sandvik does make junk stainless, aka 6c27 which is only about 0.3% carbon
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Morakniv doesn't make junk knives, so I doubt that they use junk stainless steel. Instead of looking for a steel name stamped on the tang, I just cut things with my Moras, which is something that they do very well.
 
That company has been making knives long before the whole knife steel craze started. I’m guessing they just haven’t yet picked up the habit of having the exact steel printed on the blade.
 
Dr Heelhook said:
That company has been making knives long before the whole knife steel craze started. I’m guessing they just haven’t yet picked up the habit of having the exact steel printed on the blade.
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^This. Plus the reality may be that the majority of their customer base are not "enthusiasts" and don't really care what the steel they use.
 
They've never listed anything on the blades themselves besides "carbon" or "stainless" because to laypersons (their primary market) that's all they really need or care to know. For those who like knowing the specific steel grade, they clearly state both the grade and hardness on their website.
 
"They have never done it before" is not a valid reason to not adapt.

Their customers who don't care will probably still not care. Then again, they may wonder what it means, look it up and become enthusiasts.

Meanwhile, us enthusiasts will be happier.

My guesses as to why they dont do it:

1. Tooling changes to stamp/etch the blades differently cost money, which would in turn raise the cost of the knives. They dont want to do this.

2. Not having them stamped allows them to switch steels quickly, in case of supply issues. They may alternate between suppliers fairly often on their high volume knives.
 
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Honestly, "carbon" and "stainless" is about all most laypersons are likely to understand. There is no need to stamp the steel on the blade. If you want to know the specific kind, it's easily looked up on their website. And then you know, and don't need the constant reminder of the specific grade. When informed of the steel they use, "carbon" will translate in your mind to UHB 20C (1095 equivalent) and "stainless" to 13C26. The designations are likely to confuse most folks, though. From a marketing standpoint, the current approach provides the best balance between providing enough information vs. too much information.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Honestly, "carbon" and "stainless" is about all most laypersons are likely to understand. There is no need to stamp the steel on the blade. If you want to know the specific kind, it's easily looked up on their website. And then you know, and don't need the constant reminder of the specific grade. When informed of the steel they use, "carbon" will translate in your mind to UHB 20C (1095 equivalent) and "stainless" to 13C26. The designations are likely to confuse most folks, though. From a marketing standpoint, the current approach provides the best balance between providing enough information vs. too much information.
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Kinda goes back to my earlier point, that, until BF gets full of reports from folks that their new Moras are rolling or chipping or crumbling into dust or exploding...I don't really care what the steel is. I know it's functional, inexpensive, and there Moras are widely accepted as the best bang for the buck out there.

There are a million options to spend $400 on some sexy new supersteel...but that's not what Moras are about for the layperson or the knife junkie.
 
I think some people are more interested in what’s on paper than actually using these things. I bought a Mora in carbon steel years ago. No idea what type of steel it is, and I can’t be arsed to look it up, because it bloody works. Easy as snap your fingers to sharpen and is still going strong. I’ve made and lit many fires using that knife, the spine being a sharp 90°, and I still take it out on overnight solo camps. It’s a damn good knife. End of story.
 
Pilsner said:
I think some people are more interested in what’s on paper than actually using these things. I bought a Mora in carbon steel years ago. No idea what type of steel it is, and I can’t be arsed to look it up, because it bloody works. Easy as snap your fingers to sharpen and is still going strong. I’ve made and lit many fires using that knife, the spine being a sharp 90°, and I still take it out on overnight solo camps. It’s a damn good knife. End of story.
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Agreed! That is precisely what a Mora is. You take the same design, tolerances, and qc of a Mora, but now make it out of some super steel and charge $350 for it....then nobody cares about it. Turns into "overpriced" and "ordinary."

To me, if Moras are still functioning like they do, and one is worried about what steel is in a them, then one is missing the point.
 
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