This will probably be one of the cheapest knives I ever review coming in at just under $20.00 USD ($19.11). This knife like the SCHF 38 (
Review Here- LINK) needs a little modification to make it usable in the woods for self-reliance. The knife has a rounded spine so it will need to be ground flat so that it can be used to scrap a ferro rod, trees to create tinder, hides to remove flesh and much more. Below is a link to Amazon where like I said above you can get the knife for $19.11. So without further introductory information let's dig into this knife review!
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Using Your Knife As A Spoke Shave
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The knife offers the following basic specifications: 5.8" blade length, 10.2" overall length, 5.6 oz, plastic sheath with leather belt loop, rubber handle, 0.1"
blade thickness. The blade thickness is a little thin for my
requirements but it has proved to be quite effective for my buddy Jeremy
over the last year or so but he doesn't baton wood anywhere as near as I
do. So as you can see out of the box it misses my needed specifications out of the box by two (90 degree spine and blade thickness). Here is a link to the article I wrote explaining these 10 requirements entitled "
What to Look For In A Survival Knife
(LINK)".
Fits hand Comfortably In All Positions: All Morakniv
knives have handles that seem to fit my had like a glove! It seems that no matter the task you put before these knives they will always be comfortable on your hand. Now.... if you don't grind the spine correctly be prepared to not have the world most comfortable thumb placement on the spine.
Manageable Blade Length- 4.3"-6.75": This knife features a
5.8" length which is great for processing large game and fish but a
little more difficult to process small game. This doesn't effect the
knives performance as a survival knife as it is still quite capable of
fine carving, feather sticking, making traps and even batoning if
needed. While there may be a little flex in seasoned hard woods when
splitting them it will not bend or break the knife (atleast it hasn't in the last year). Below for you comparison left-right (PLSK2, PLSK1, Mora Bushcraft Black, Mora Bushcraft Pathfinder, Mora Multi-Purpose)
Solid/Flat Pommel: I seem to have forgot my traditional
picture of using the knife to pound in a tent stake but as you can see
here it has a flat pommel that can be used to pound on if needed (in the batoning process) or used as a striking tool (please leave it i the sheath for this activity) to crack nuts or drive shelter stakes.
One Cutting Edge w/ No Serrations: This knife is one of the sharpest knives (BHK knives come a little sharper) out of the box I have had the pleasure of using. The scandi grind makes this knife extremely easy to sharpen and it seems to keep an edge for quite awhile so long as you maintain it with a strop between uses.
90 Degree Spine: This is absolutely critical for using a
knife as a ferro rod scraper or spoke shave to avoid using the blade of
your knife (please don't waste your blade on this- find a piece of
broken glass or a sharp rock). ***NOTE this knife does come with a 90 degree spine and you must grind the rounded edge to make this knife usable for this purpose.*** Once the spine is ground to a 90 degree edge this knife will easily remove material from a ferro rod and act as a spoke shave as needed.
High Carbon Steel: An absolutely critical element of knife
design (assuming you are not planning to work in or around water a
great deal and don't live proximate to the sea) is a high carbon steel
construction and this knife is made from HC Stainless steel. Below I struck the
knife with a piece of flint and and was able to get several embers in my char cloth container.
Sharp/Spear Point: This knife has been used to filet many fish, start bow drill divots and other random camp tasks which require a spear point. The knife will work well to create a starter hole for a bow drill or as a
makeshift drill.
Heavy Duty Sheath w/ Ferro Rod Loop:This knife is the molded plastic you will find on most Mora knives but it comes with a leather belt loop unlike the others which come with plastic belt loops. This is another deviation from something that works well as I prefer the other style belt loop. This sheath also does not have a ferro rod loop but for quite awhile he utilized a paracord wrap to secure a fire kit and ferro rod before making this a secondary knife.
1/8" to 3/16" Blade Thickness: This knife features a 0.1" thick blade (1/8" =0.125") which is almost heavy-duty enough to withstand abuse and
batoning but thin enough to filet a fish, skin game or feather stick
tinder material. This knife is close enough to 1/8" that I would feel comfortable carrying it (as Jeremy has) in the woods for a long-term self reliance situation.
Full Tang Blade: This blade as you can see below is not full
tang but is quite sturdy for medium duty camp tasks. One of us has used just this
knife on several outings as a main knife and love how easy it works its
way through wood, how amazing it is at processing fish and to top it off extremely easy to sharpen.
Need A Survival Knife? Try One Of These:
Conclusions:
This is just another excellent knife in a long line of Mora knives
which has proven to be some of the highest quality and value knives I have tested. I know many dislike the term "good for the money" but this knife easily falls into that category. A Mora is never going to be a BHK or a Jeff White you just can't get hand made quality out of a production line. These knives are priced right for the budget and you can easily get one to stash in your pack or at your regular camp site. I would personally look at this knife as a back up knife and would say it is one of the best fishing knives I have had the pleasure of using. Will it work as a stand alone self-reliance tool? Of course it will as shown above but for me it can't beat out the PLSK1 or my Jeff White knives so it would stay in a secondary type of function.
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nice review! I have the hq. Is this about the same thickness as the hq?
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