Companion (C)

I'm a bit a bit of a knife snob. A good knife, I assumed, started somewhere north of $100. But having seen these knives on Amazon on quite a few occasions got my curiosity up. I have always believed that a strong fixed blade knife design is my first choice for nearly all purposes, and with the rave reviews posted, decided to give this knife a full hunting season of use. As of yesterday, my hunting season ended with a young cow elk which was quartered for packing out. This brought the total of work for this knife, this season, to: 3 bull elk, 7 cow elk, 4 buck mule deer, 150+ pheasants, 23 chukar, and a lost count of waterfowl. Oh, and fish galore. Yes, I am actively involved in the outdoors and hunting, and the assisting of others in the same pursuits. I think that I can say that I put this knife through more use to this point in time than most will ever see. This knife is just flat incredible. Anytime you are cleaning and processing game, your knife is going to become wet and/or bloody in some way. The ergonomics of a knife will either shine positively, or fail miserably. In all conditions, this has been the most comfortable knife that I have used. Ever. Never was an unsure grip a problem. The rubber/plastic grip material always retained a grippy feel to it, offering great purchase, even in cold freezing conditions. The blade itself is maybe the most amazing part of this knife. It is made of a 1095 steel, suitably hardened to a level that I am not aware of, that holds an edge, in my experience, fantastically well. Knowing that this was a carbon steel blade, and would therefore rust if not cared for, I was curious to see the appearance of the blade after some use. Arriving with a signal mirror finish, after several head of game use, the blade showed no signs of rusting, but did show some staining from blood being left on the blade intentionally to see the results. Afterward the blade was buffed with steel wool, and given the boiling vinegar treatment to force a patina to the metal, resulting in a blade that hasn't stained since with the same treatment, and has not ever rusted. Upon arrival, the blade was nice and sharp, almost shaving so. I then stropped the blade with green compound which brought it up to shaving quality (arm hair). The knife was used on two successive elk, and one deer, before any re-sharpening was done. This involved gutting, quartering, and boning out meat from these animals. I would normally strop a blade between animals to retain a shaving edge, but went three to determine at what point the edge became dull enough to make work difficult. It didn't. While it did lose it's shaving quality edge, the edge never dulled to a degree to render it unusable, or dangerous. Sharpening this blade has never required more than stropping with grey and green compounds from Bark River knives. Again, this blade has never once seen a stone or other sharpening device other than a stropping board, with the above mentioned compounds. That, ladies and gentlemen, denotes a blade steel of outstanding quality! This knife has far outperformed almost every knife that I own. I don't own a knife with a more comfortable grip for all-conditions use. I certainly own more expensive knives made with blade steels that perform no better, and worse, than this blade. At the absurdly inexpensive price point of this knife, I have not come across a better value, and am happy to make it known to friends, clients, and all others, that they really should own this knife! If you are a user of knives, you really have no good excuse not to.

Companion HD Military Green Have had this 4"+ blade for 7 months and used in several outings in Wyoming and Colorado. Great knife that punches way above it's weight despite a rat tail tang. With a 3.2 mm thickness you can still baton with it if carefull and it's quite comfy in the hand. Darn good for carving and detail work. Yet there are some very slick modifications that can be applied to the Companion to make it even better. For example, if you file the top of the spine you can obtain a sharp 90 degree edge. There's a video on YTube at: Ranger Survival and Field Craft - Bushcraft Knife Skills! showing the step by step details. It's easy to keep sharp with just a few strokes on a leather strop now and again. And in terms of value, bang for the buck, can't be beat.

I have used Mora knives for more than 48 years and they have always been a part of my outdoor life. The price is unbeatable for the quality you get. Mora knives are made to work in the wilderness, around the camp, at the fishing hole, in the yard and around the kitchen! I have many models stashed here and there and this one is becoming my regular side kick when I venture down a trail or emark on any outdoor adventure. These tough synthetic handles with rubber coatings provide a comfortable non slip grip . I have always used the wood handle models in the past, and made new handles when some of the wooden ones just gave out for one reason or another after severe use. Now I am preferring this newer style grip and material that I have found to be very tough and longer lasting. I won't say indestructible but it will make you wonder if you test put a Mora knife thru some brutal tests as I do! I have always taken them as a backup or extra knife that was stashed away in a pack, tool box or under the seat of the truck. After all these years they are taking a front row seat and perform well. Another favorite is the Companion MG, a lighter version of this knife with a tad bit thinner blade and I can't see any difference in performace when compared. It too is amazing so I equipped all packs emergency bags with these knives, orange, red, etc. For the tackle box, baiting cutting, cleaning fish, etc., I chose a stainless steel blade for obvious reasons! Moras are lightweight, razor sharp out of the box and perform well at any chore that needs a knife! For hunting, camping, fishing, or bushcrafting etc. it is an excellent choice. For the price there is not much room for a legitimate complaint as it excels far beyond the Chinese crap on the market. Not many knives in this price range come with a warranty! It does what a knife is suppose to do!

Just received my Mora Companion heavy duty....after reading many reviews I decided to take the plunge on this "cheap" knife and see what all the smoke was about. Let me preface my review by saying I restore old hand planes and am familiar with both carbon steel blades and the much harder and modern A 2 steel blades. I sharpen both regularly to hair popping sharpness and know what a good piece of steel feels like and how it responds to being sharpened. I am quite frankly, at a loss as to how Mora can sell this kind of quality for so little money. Out of the box it was shaving sharp - no exaggeration here. The heft and stability of the blade are quite impressive for a knife of any price much less for one that costs about 16 bucks. I took it down to my shop and ran it over an 8000 grit polishing stone and it did improve the smoothness of the edge a bit but not that much. It was already very sharp out of the box. I would give this more stars if I could - it's a ridiculous bargain given the price - I will be ordering more for my garden, the woods and work - why not? I have paid 2 to 3 times as much for knives that went belly up after a few months of use. I have not beat on it yet but I am sure that it will be just fine. As a piece of advice - I have read several reviews which stated that some people were disappointed the carbon steel knives rusted or pitted - listen, carbon steel is a wonderful metal - it is used in the finest Japanese hand plane blades / but it is not stainless - you must oil and clean the blade after use. It's the price you pay for enjoying this type of metal. There is nothing I do not like about this knife. The scabbard is utilitarian but totally functional. The blade is thick and SHARP. I know the carbon steel will hold an edge very well and be very easy to sharpen, especially with the scandi grind - it's fool proof. If you need a quality piece of steel for work or play at an insane price - buy one - or as I plan to do - buy several and ENJOY! Highly recommend as I am HIGHLY surprised by the quality of this knife at this or any other price. And guys - do yourself a favor and get off of the bigger is better thing - you don't need a foot long knife to get the job done. Relax <G>

If you're into camping or find yourself just needing a really awesome knife you should definitely purchase this. I bought this knife for my bug out bag and I immediately fell in love with it. It fits perfectly in its case without any type of rattle whatsoever. For the price of this knife you are getting a lot for your money. Why you should: Extremely durable, well-made carbon steel knife. Craftsmanship is on point and so is the value for money! This brand in particular makes very high quality knives at excellent price points. I would not only recommend this knife but any knife in their line of products. This thing is beefy for the size, extremely durable and will last you a lifetime. I am extremely happy with the case that it came with. This knife pops in and out of it with a really great snap, it sits well on your belt or bag, does not rattle at all and there's no chance that it's going to slip out of its place in your belt unless you physically want it to. Why you shouldn't: Carbon steel in general does it necessarily hold an edge for long. This knife is no exception. You will be sharpening this knife as much as you will be using it. While extremely sharp It does not hold an edge for long so I recommend purchasing an on-the-go sharpening kit. All in all this knife is a fantastic purchase and I highly recommend that you look into it! It is strong, dependable, very well made and ergonomic. While it does not hold an edge for too long I would not blame the knife because all carbon steel is very similar. Buy a mobile sharpening kit and you will be good to go!

(My thoughts on the Mora Heavy Duty Carbon Steel Companion Knife and about putting a patina on the blade) Don't let the price fool you this is NOT a cheap knife, it’s just very inexpensive. If I hadn’t read so many good reviews about it, I would never be interested in a knife that costs less than $20 because usually you get what you pay for. Swedish products do have a reputation for substantial quality though. I classify knives in terms of quality by the material the blade is made out of. What makes this such a good knife is the blade is forged from tool grade carbon steel which makes it hard enough to hold a REALLY sharp edge and tough enough not to break when you push it. It's not often that you find a carbon steel knife at this price point and like many other people, I feel like I got way more than I paid for. I'm probably never going to push this knife to its extreme limits in a survival situation, but it’s nice to know that if I ever have to, it can take it. I picked this knife first, because of the hordes of good reviews and the price being a close second. I know Mora make stainless steel knives too, I’ve heard the same good things about the quality of those. If you want to see how good the knife is, just go to youtube where you can find tons of reviews from people who show how the knife performs in practical situations. I was surprised to hear that the knife is not full tang because you would never know it. Its only ¾ tang but it’s as solid as can be. The way it is manufactured into the handle will ensure that it won’t ever come apart. This knife comes really, really sharp out of the box and what’s scary is that you can even make it sharper if you want to, one of the benefits of carbon steel. The handle is very comfortable and the whole knife has a really solid feel. I really like the sheath too, you can wear it on a belt or just clip it on your pants with no belt. It has a nicely designed catch that prevents it from slipping off your pants. One problem you have with carbon steel over stainless, is that carbon steel will rust if you don’t take care of it. I think the benefits are worth a little extra effort to take care of the blade, like keeping it cleaned and oiled. I’ve seen a lot chatter about people putting a patina on the blade because it’s supposed to protect the blade from rust. It’s a dark coating that you get from a chemical reaction by soaking the blade in boiling vinegar. I tried it and one thing I found out is the plastic handle stands up to boiling temperatures with no problem at all. After doing it, I guess I wouldn’t recommend the patina, because you are actually eroding the steel on the blade away. The video I was watching said to do the process 5 times. When I was done I had a nice dark satin finish on the blade, it looked pretty cool but there were a few splotches, so I tried to scrub it a little to blend them in. Nothing seemed to make a difference until I tried an SOS pad and some dish soap. That’s when I found out that the patina finish is not permanent, it can rub off. I also noticed that the etching on the blade was gone. There had to be quite a bit of erosion to take it down far enough to erase the deep etched logo and text that were there before I started. The knife is still good and I will be able to use it fine, it’s just the erosion makes it look like it’s been heavily used for many years and I just got it yesterday. I didn’t think the patina thing was worth the time and trouble especially since it damages the surface of the blade and it’s not even permanent. I ended up buying a second knife because they are so affordable. Now I’ll have a nice new looking one and another I can beat on without feeling too guilty. I would recommend this for anyone, especially outdoorsmen. I think people who don’t know about them would be pleasantly surprised but the quality of such an inexpensive knife.

I have used several Mora Companion knives in the field over the years (including the Mora Spark). Every one of them has performed excellently. I recently purchased the Mora Companion heavy duty (HD) carbon steel and decided to put it through the paces as well. Like every other Mora I've ever had, it did it's job to (near) perfection. The thicker blade works well for heavier tasks (light batoning, general cutting chores, and overall camp prep). The handle seems slightly beefier as well (which is a plus). The sheaths on all Mora's are fairly basic and do the job, not exceptional, but for the money more than you should expect. My only critique (that can be easily remedied) is the spine of the blade. It is slightly rounded on the edges which effectively prevents you from using it for scraping purposes and more importantly, fire starting with a ferro rod. The remedy is to take the spine to a grinder or sanding belt (or go old school with a fine file) and flatten it to create 90% edges to the spine. Why Mora hasn't figured this out is beyond me. The Mora Spark has a flat spine, so at least they got that right. Aside from that one issue, I can find no fault with the Mora Companion HD. It is light enough to carry all day, it holds a good edge, and is built to last. And, for a blade that costs under $25 USD, you couldn't ask for anything more. I highly recommend this knife.

If you could only leave home with one knife for the rest of your life, which knife would it be? Well, the Morakniv Companion Heavy Duty might be one worth considering, for pretty much anyone, but especially if you are on any kind of budget. True, not a full tang fixed blade, but a grippy, sturdy, comfortably inviting handle ready for any kind of reasonable use in a camp setting. Maybe not the best food prep knife, but it will get the job done in a pinch AND reliably break down an elk, feather wood for burning, and should even serve reasonably well in a self defense role, should it come to that. The Scandinavian grind makes it ridiculously easy to sharpen with any reasonably flat stone or diamond sharpener. Takes a fine edge, hangs onto it reasonably well, resists damage admirably. Sturdy, no-nonsense plastic sheath with integrated belt loop is easy to wear, to forget about while wearing it, and to rig for different methods of carry. If there was any complaining to do, it might be done about the carbon steel blade. But is anyone going to complain about that carbon steel being 0.125" (3.2mm) thick? I doubt it. Any problems which might arise from corrosion are easy to mitigate with regular maintenance and/or the ever-popular preventative maintenance of a boiling vinegar patina, followed by a good beeswax. Out of that, you'll not only get a blade better protected from the environment, but also the coolest-looking Companion HD on your block, guaranteed. Double points if you bought the OD Green one. Another minor area of contention might be that the sheath is not made to carry on the left side of the body. A minor inconvenience for ~10% of the population (myself included). If that is important to you, the Kansbol, Garberg, or Mora 2000 models might be more what you're looking for. At any rate, any person reasonably knowledgeable in bushcraft/survival will find your choice difficult not to respect. That's hard to ask from any ~$20 product (at the time of this writing) these days, but Morakniv manages it here. To sum it up as succinctly as possible, the Companion HD is just about everything you need and nothing you don't in an outdoor knife. If you don't yet own a Morakniv, this is a great one (maybe the best one) to start with, and could easily be the last knife you ever buy. Though if you're anything like me, it won't be. It's difficult not to want to support a company that makes such high-value, affordable products.

Exatamente o que eu esperava.

Wenn ich mal den Jungle muss, und ich darf nur ein Ding mitnehmen, dann nehm ich dieses Messer mit. Verwende es seit 3 Jahren für das übliche das man im Wald zum Übernachten braucht. Allgemeine Camping Aufgaben, Batoning, usw. geschliffen habe ich es bisher noch nie. Große Sorgfalt gegenüber dem Messer wird nicht aufgebracht, es muss einfach seinen Arbeit leisten, Punkt. Und da hat mich dieses Messer noch nie enttäuscht. Eingeölt zum ersten mal diese Woche (nach 3 Jahren), wohl mal aus schlechtem Gewissen weil ich das noch nie gemacht habe und weil ich mir gerade das Messer in zweiter Ausgabe bestellt habe (sollte ich das erste mal verlieren und billiger werden sie wohl nicht). Es ist wunderbar schnitthaltig (immer noch hammerscharf), wie gesagt, es hält es über Jahre (Schleiffreaks hätten es sicher schon ein paar mal geschärft, aber mir ist das zu blöd, ich schärfe Messer nur, wenn sie wirklich stumpf sind, und da sind wir noch weit davon entfernt). Meines hatte nach 3 Jahren minmalen Flugrost an einer kleinen Stelle (ich bin halt auch bei Regen draußen), aber wenn man es nicht bei Meeresluft einsetzt, überhaupt kein Problem. Es hat eine ausreichend lange Klinge die auf Grund der Dicke sehr robust ist. Und, was viel wichtiger ist, einen Super Griff (Ich habe z.B. ein Mora Eldris als Backup im Rucksack, aber ich kann mich einfach nicht mit dem Griff anfreunden, viel zu klein...). Für Anfänger: Legt das Hauptaugenmerk auf den Griff, das wird so massiv unterschätzt, die meisten Messer haben eine Klinge die von der Länge her mehr als ausreichend sind, aber die Klinge ist entweder zu dünn oder was noch öfter der Fall ist der Griff liegt nicht gut in der Hand. Nicht so dieses Mora. Robustheit der Klinge und Griff sind meiner Meinung nach nahe Perfektion, besonders bei diesem Preis. Noch ein Wort zum Stahl. Vereinfacht gesagt: Rostträger (rostfrei gibts nicht) Stahl ist fürs Mulittool (das will ich schon gar nicht pflegen; ich pflege keine Zange...), das Hauptmesser muss aus Carbonstahl sein (bei vernüftigen Preisen; richtig teure Edelstähle kommen den guten preiswerten Carbonstählen sehr nahe und rosten weniger, in der Praxis ist das Rosten aber meiner Meinung nach kaum ein Problem; die teuren Messer sind es einfach nicht wert sie zu verlieren) Zuminstest in mitteleurpäischen Breiten ist das Rosten von Carbonstahl nicht wirklich ein Thema und die Schnitthaltigkeit ist einfach ein anderes Level als bei (preis-realistischen) rostträgen Stählen. Wenn ihr etwas Ballistol daraufgebt, dann ist Rost sowieso kein Problem. Wenn man das nicht tut muss man sich halt vielleicht alle 20 Jahre mal ein neues Mora kaufen (ich habe ein 15 Jahre altes Carbon Mora das immer noch top aussieht auch wenn selten verwendet; die alte Garde der Moras hatte eine zu lange und zu dünne Klinge). Im Vergleich zum Rest der Ausrüstung sind die Kosten für dieses wichtige Werkzeug aber wohl vernachlässigbar. Schleifen muss ich es vielleicht alle 5 Jahre. Und das von jemanden der in den Frühlings bis Herbstmonaten einmal im Monat ein Wochenende im Wald verbringt, mit genau diesem Mora als Hauptwerkzeug.

Love my mora, grinded off the spine to use it with a firestarter. Can definitely take a thorough beating, e.g. to split wood.

So sharp. Almost had to attack a cow with it (the cow was attacking us) and I felt safe knowing I had this knife with me. Also great for general camping use. PS I did not end up needing to defend myself against the cow. We just had to pack up and head home instead.

Es Bueno Bonito y Barato. Así, sin más. Si sólo quieres tener uno y que sirva para todo, este es el tuyo.