The history of Mora knives. From classic to modern knives

Mora, one of the world's largest knife manufacturers, has come a long way in its development. The beginning of its history dates back to 1891, when master Eric Frost founded his knife factory. This is how the largest knife company in Mora - Frost Knivfabrik - was born. In 1912 two other masters from the same city: Lock Anders Mattsson and Krang-Johan Eriksson, founded Eriksson&Mattssons Knivfabrik. Both companies: KJ Eriksson and Frost Knivfabrik ran in parallel all the year and were competitors. In the early 2000s, the shares of Frost Knivfabrik were bought out by KJ Eriksson, and in 2005 the two companies merged completely. And there was a single company Morakniv, a large, powerful enterprise with conveyor production of knives. 

For almost a hundred years, knife makers from the city of Mora produced classic Swedish knives made of carbon steel, with a "Scandinavian" blade geometry and a wooden handle. They were mostly working and craft knives. The company Frost Knivfabrik also produced a large number of kitchen knives. And K. J. Eriksson has been producing survival knives for Swedish air force pilots for several decades. The knife had a classic design, with a carbon steel blade and a wooden handle made of birch. The blade was 10 cm long and 2.4 mm thick. The knife was equipped with a leather sheath with a short suspension, had a developed guard and a slinger on the spine. It was not intended for use in combat, but for the survival of a pilot in an accident. In 1995, the knife was removed from the air force and replaced with the legendary Fallkniven F1 survival knife.

Today, the company Morakniv produces a very large range of products. Among them are tourist, kitchen, work, garden, craft knives and fishing knives. In addition, they produce axes, flint and steel, diamond and ceramic sharpening stones. There is an opportunity for the buyer to purchase individual blades, and from a variety of steels: carbon, laminated or stainless. It is not possible to describe the full number of Mora models, but you can select some. 

Classic models are not a thing of the past, they are still produced and in demand. These knives have a wooden handle made of Scandinavian birch. Steel blades on these knives - classic carbon, with a hardness of about 58 HRC. In addition, laminated steel blades are also produced. The geometry of the blade on these models - drop-point, Scandinavian slopes reduced to zero, the angle of bevels is about 20-23 degrees. Carbon steel on Mora knives is of good quality, is not prone to jams, keeps sharpening well and is very easy to correct with any tool from ceramic to diamond. However, it is very actively rusting and requires care. You can solve this problem by etching the blade in various substances, usually citric acid, vinegar, etc. is used for this purpose. They create a fairly stable layer on the surface of the blade that protects it from corrosion. Examples of a classic knife of this company are models without a guard: Mora Classic №1, 2, 3, as well as knives with a guard: Mora Classic 611 and Classic 612.


 

In 1976, KJ Eriksson started manufacturing the 510 knife model with a plastic handle without a guard, and later the 511 models with a guard. These knives were a utilitarian tool designed for heavy work, construction, and various industrial needs. Knives were very cheap and produced in huge quantities. Initially, they had a blade made only of carbon steel, but since the 90s they began to use stainless steel Sandvik 12C27. This is a rolled steel of good quality, the main advantage of which is a high strength, which it shows even in conditions of severe frost. When the Scandinavian slopes "to zero" on very hardwood, this steel can be jammed, but there are ways to strengthen it: creating a micro bevel or microlens. In the 2000s, the 510 models were upgraded to the Craftline HighQ Allround model, which had a rubber coating on the plastic handle and a sheath with a plastic clip, which was very convenient to wear on the belt, even without a belt. And around 2015, this line of knives has undergone changes, turning into a knife Mora Basic 511, Mora Basic 546 and similar models. The sheath to these knives received an additional mount that allows you to "double" the knives in a kind of spark, which can be useful primarily for construction and installation work. The handle of the working knife has changed a little, it has acquired an additional emphasis on the side of the pommel, for more rigid fixation of the wrist. 

The most versatile model of the Mora knife over the past 20 years is the Companion model. It became a continuation of the popular line of knives Moga Clipper. This model is made of carbon and stainless steel. The knife has a very large number of colors, almost for every taste. It is medium-sized, lightweight, with a convenient and reliable plastic sheath. The knife is suitable for household work, construction, and hiking. 

Created in 1991 Mora 2000 or as it was then called K. J. Eriksson Mora 2000, almost 10 years later became the most popular outdoor knife in Russia. Fishermen, hunters and tourists bought this knife in droves. What was the reason for such popularity? Obviously, the success factors of this model were: price, quality and availability for purchase - knives were sold in almost every hunting store. The Mora 2000 knife is light, with a convenient submerged sheath, a grasping handle made of plastic and rubber, with a blade of interesting, original shape. Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel blade. In 2015, the 2000th model was continued in the form of the Mora Kansbol knife. The blade has not changed in geometry, but instead of polishing, it has acquired a stonewash treatment. A hole appeared on the handle of the knife for a lanyard. Mora Kansbol, in addition to the usual sheath, is equipped with an additional multi-mount suspension. This suspension can be attached to the Molli slings or to the straps of a backpack, which makes the movement of tourists in boats or on mountain slopes more convenient.


 

In 2012, the company Mora together with the famous Swedish manufacturer of flint - the company Light My Fire, produced a new knife for tourism. It was a hybrid of the Craftline HighQ Allround model, with a blade similar in geometry to the Mora 2000 knife, and a special notch in the top of the knife, with a FireSteel flint embedded there. The knife found its buyer and over time Mora decided to independently produce such knives. This model is now called the Mora Companion Spark, it has a blade from Mora Companion, a plastic sheath with a clip-on suspension, and a flint in the handle. Flint of good quality, allows you to reliably carve a fairly dense sheaf of sparks and set fire to dry and prepared materials for kindling: cotton wool, tinder, small shavings, etc. The model turned out to be very successful, easy to use, light, and multifunctional.