Mora Durability
I have, in a toolbox in the garage, an old Mora knife.
In 1973, at Christmas, I sailed as part of a skeleton crew on an old steam powered ship from Stockholm (where the ship had basically been mothballed) to Copenhagen. When we arrived in Copenhagen, I drew engine room duty for the next month or so. While working in the ER, I found a well used (somewhat abused, actually) birch-handled Mora knife, in carbon steel.
Nobody else wanted it (hey, it was a three-dollar knife), so it became part of my kit, where it has been for the ensuing 37 years.
I should probably put a new handle on it, or at least sand down the old one and refinish it.
Over the years I've let it rattle around in the toolbox, using it occasionally to handle boxes, rope, sheets of plastic, or whatever was at hand. Every time I've picked it up, it's just as sharp as I left it. I've worked the edge over the years to smooth out the nicks in the edge from its former life, but it's always been sharp, and never failed under hard use.
Today's Mora knifes are basically that same steel, except they now also use Sandvik stainless (12c27 and the like). It's a fine steel, takes a good edge, holds an edge well in use, resists the elements well.
Mora also uses something called "Triflex," which is a tougher, hard use steel.
Now, while Eskilstuna isn't Mora, the knives made there by EKA uphold the same traditions.
If you like a good, solid 4+ inch knife, the ones I mentioned earlier (the EKA W11 at 4 3/8 in, A-10 at 4+ in, along with the Mora #345 at 5 in) would be good candidates. The two EKA pieces mentioned above are full-tang and quite robust while being sharp as the dickens.
You know, you can actually call Ragnar (phone number is on his site) and talk to him about them. He's a good guy, and well regarded in the knife community.
Among my Finnish knives, I have a few
Leuku knives (for example, like this,
the Leuku being the larger of the two)
|
| I mentioned earlier having "this set" in stainless;
this is that set. |
I have them in both carbon steel and
stainless, and in lengths from four inches
to seven. |
| At least two of mine are convex ground, and absurdly
sharp. I'm not sure whether they're all ground convex
though. With practice, it's easy enough to maintain that
edge out in the field. |
A Leuku in a length of five or six inches would be a serious utility knife. My only hesitation in recommending it is the lack of any guard on the traditional handle. The Scandinavians don't have a problem with this, as it is well understood that it's to be used with a pull or drawing stroke (well, that and chopping), and that it's not suited to pushing or stabbing. The absence of a guard is a plus in my book. It lets you get right down on the work without this little stub protruding into things. However, you'll notice that some of the newer offerings have the handle shaped to help keep the pinkies from becoming reddies.
Or, you know, you could get the two-knife set (they share a scabbard), and then you'd have lengths that cover the whole range.
I know what you mean about buying a knife you haven't had a chance to hold and fondle. I have that same pattern.
One of the reasons I have so darned many knives (or at least many more than I meant to have) is that I'd go on eBay, find a candidate at a good price, buy it (or maybe two), and then try it out over days or weeks. I've got some that seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm pretty sure I'll never actually put them into service.
I can't promise that what feels good in my hand will work in yours.
However, if you buy a Mora below forty bucks, and you decide you don't like it, I'll buy it from you. I have used and tested enough of them that I'm not the least bit worried that it won't work for me.