The little gauge on the hot spot said 3.75 last time I looked so on a starvation diet of the Internet, being very careful to turn the damned thing off when you’re not using it, one can get by with .1 “gig” per day. That would be enough for forty days per month, and most months aren’t that long. So I should be okay once it renews at the turn of the month. To show you how schizophrenic I can be about this, I was surfing knife ads on Amazon earlier this morning, but now I’m typing this post off-line. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little clichés, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and one-legged hermits.
But it’s clear I’m screwed for this coming week unless I want to find out what happens when you exceed the 4 “gig” limit. I don’t especially want to learn that, so I’m shutting down the blog until October 1 or whenever Verizon says I can start it up again, whichever comes first.
In the meantime, discuss: Mora knives – why so many great reviews for such consistently inexpensive knives? What’s the difference between a mora and a puukko? And does anybody make a combination of a Mora with a first-rate blade and a decent sheath? I’ve been carrying an old Schrade LB7 for the past couple of years because it keeps the best edge of any knife I own except (strangely, because I’m not generally impressed with Cold Steel knives) my CS UWK, which is too stupid big for everyday carry. But I’d really like to go back to a fixed blade.
See ya – I’m not going away, I’m just stepping out of the room for a moment.
The fundamental difference between a Mora and a puuko is that Mora is actually the name of a town, and puuko is a Finnish word describing a type of knife. Mora, then, is a knife manufacturing town, similar to Sheffield, Solingen or Toledo.
All three of the northern Scandi countries – – Norway, Sweden and Finland – – make very similar sheath knives, 3″-4″ blades with a shape like a kitchen paring knife, and usually with no guard or a very vestigial one. Sheaths, whether leather or plastic, tend to be of the dangler style and attach to the belt or clothing with a button, although this style is less common than it once was, and sheaths that slide onto the belt itself, as western knives do, are now quite common.
The Scandis are quite pragmatic about their working knives. Good steel, proper heat treating, and a razor-sharp edge directly from the factory are the attributes of a Scandi blade. They typically economize by using injection-molded plastic handles or handles of plentiful native birch. The sheaths, too, are usually made as cheaply as possible. So: good blade with acceptable handle and less-than-acceptable sheath. The secret of the inexpensive Scandi knife, Mora or otherwise.
(end part one of a two-part comment; the “post comment” button vanishes if the comment is too long, for some reason.
(part two of my comment)
Mora has finally realized that they can, with a little effort, make a better knife/sheath combo, which is why their new knives for 2016 all have improved sheaths, better handles, and, in the case of the Garberg, a full-tang blade rather than the usual Mora stick tang. I particularly like the look of the little Eldris, which is a pretty good size for game up to the size of deer, and as a bonus would be a good knife for processing shellfish – – oysters, clams and such. Both the Eldris and the Garberg can be acquired with leather flap pouches, a great improvement on the typical flimsy plastic Mora sheath. The new knives, though, are not as cheap as the typical Mora, though.
http://www.industrialrev.com/morakniv/
I’ve got one Mora and should have more. My Blakadler (Swedish made) work pants even have a nifty button for the sheath to clip on to.
The selling point for Mora Knives is the price. Biggest complaint I hear is they have a tendency to break. I am very partial to the puuko style knife of which Mora is one. I prefer Martiini branded knives to Mora. Not as cheap, but I think better and normally come with a decent sheath. The CS equivalent is the Finn Bear. Sheath is ho-hum but the blade takes and holds an edge and it is cheap. My daughter keeps one in her possibles bag. My current favorite although not a Mora species, is the Rough Rider Drop Point Hunter. Steel is excellent, wood handle scales, great price. Sheath is functional. Lately I have taken to making my own sheaths from leather so don’t worry about the issue sheath. Smoky Mountain Knife Works stocks all the above mentioned knives.
Scandinavian style knives are a particular favorite for me. Robert explained it fairly well above, but for even more detail, go to Ragnar’s page here:https://www.ragweedforge.com
He waxes philosophical about knives Scandinavian, and the minutiae of their details. Sells them, too. I searched for a similar answer myself years ago, and finally bought a bunch of blades from him, and made my own hilts and sheathes. The entire process can be done without power tools, but a drill press and belt sander significantly speed up the process. Knife instructions: http://www.thompsonsknives.com/knife_instructions.html
Sheathe instructions: http://www.thompsonsknives.com/nordic_sheath_instructions.html
It is addictive.
My answer to the mora predicament (great knife, shitty sheath) is to build or buy a sheath from a custom maker. Another $30 or so, and an awesome knife to go with it. Or just use the sheath it came with and suck it up.
They are nice knives, the reviews are inflated because the knives are cheap and a bargin at the price. If they cost $40 more the reviews would be lower because of the poor sheath, if they cost $100 more the reviews would be awesome because people have to defend their bigger purchases (if even only to themselves).
I have the light my fire version because I could buy it local, it was sub $30, and its a decent enough knife. An extra fire steel is a nice add on for free at that point. It rides in my hunting bag and is awesome for tearing down fish and game.
Joel,
If your Verizon hotspot plan is the same as the standard one on their site, going over your limit causes you to be charged an additional $15 / GB. Not sure what degree of contract lock in you have right now, or how vital it is to be on Verizon’s network where you are, but it might be worth looking into some of the more “reasonable” providers for your options. For example, Straight Talk (prepaid company available at Walmart, I think uses Verizon for their network) is about $10 / month cheaper if you use the 4GB every month, but cuts you off instead of charging overages when you hit your limit. Always eligible to buy more service time.
Alternately, if sprint covers you, they have plans (although you need to make sure you’re asking for the right one) that give you limited high speed and unlimited 2g data access. While 2g is slow and painful, it would at least mean you’re not cut off from the net either if you need it.
And there are other options too, but you have to make sure you’re looking for the unlimited / fall-back type plans. Of course all this is moot if you have a contract you have to term out but if not, figured I might put the idea in your head. After all, us fans might start going through withdrawl if you start dropping off every 3 weeks.
Everyone else covered the Mora pretty well so, this is just my IMO. I have had a mora on my hip daily for the last 4 years. China syndrome gifted me with a stainless version then. The Mora stainless is actually pretty nice, easy to sharpen and holds an edge better than cap 440 stuff. But the real hum gingers are the carbon blades. Hooboy, I fell in love. Big enough to do some real work, yet small enough to not get in its own way, and with all the classic reasons why carbon steel knives are sought after. Plus, I can buy 5 moras for the price of ONE of the bigboys.
Getcha one if ya can. Worth every penny and then some.