In this edition of Not All Good Things Are Stupid Expensive Just Ask Your Mom, we bring you some of the best cheap knives Morakniv reviews. These guys make what are likely the best cheap knives on the planet. We have a Morakniv Companion review, a comparison of the Morakniv Basic and Pro, and some insight into the Morakniv Kansobol. There will probably be other things we’ll list here in the opening paragraph, as much to let you know what to expect as to placate and appease the $E0 G0ds and G00gl& algorithms! Read on. The Mad Duo
Morakniv Knives: Improbably Budget Friendly
I was planning a long canoe trip on the Buffalo River in Arkansas a few years back. My wife needed a knife for the trip. Unfortunately, like many wives – as baffling as it sounds – she didn’t have a go-to sheath knife suitable for a wet week in the wilderness.
When I asked what she intended to carry, her attitude suggested that the decision was relatively inconsequential, so I started searching for the most functional and affordable knife available, i.e., the best cheap knives weren’t cheap.
I landed on the Morakniv Basic. That, of course, took me to the Morakniv Pro, then to the Morakniv Companion, and then to some of their other tools. And that is why several Morakniv reviews are laid out in the comparison below.
Grunts: thence
Best Cheap Knives Morakniv Reviews
Cheap is a relative term.
The first thing we have to address is terminology. When we say cheap knives, we don’t mean that in a derogatory way. Not at all. These are inexpensive knives, and they’re well worth the money you’ll spend.
The Morakniv Basic didn’t look like much online, but it was built for a week on the water—plastic handle, plastic sheath, and single-digit price tag. What more could you ask for?
That was a rhetorical question, but I know the answers.
Many of us – myself included – want fancy handle materials around boutique blade steels that have to be explained engineering by the alchemist offspring of NASA scientists. That’s so we can overvalue our precious tactical investments and leave them in the safe. Hell – I own several knives that are more expensive than most guns, but I am (admittedly) too attached to them to ever use and abuse them like they were meant to be used and abused…
Much less risk of losing them in the river.
Best Cheap Knives Morakniv Reviews: Not a household name
Morakniv is a Swedish company headquartered in Mora, Sweden. Their knives are reminiscent of the Puukko and other traditional knives from that part of Europe. The blades are no-nonsense and rarely fancy. The handle materials and sheaths are designed to take the abuse of the elements. They’re rugged but not overbuilt, and they’re priced incredibly low.
Knives from this region have been in production for over four centuries, but this company has been under a series of evolving names since 1891.
During that time, the blade shape remained consistent. Handle materials, though, continue to evolve.
Best Cheap Knives Morakniv Reviews: Our Featured Five
• Morakniv Floating Fish Knife Review
Don’t go looking for hatchet-thick fixed-blade knives. If someone like Ethan Becker designs your go-to bushcraft knife, the Morakniv lines will feel perilously thin. Some of these blades come in under 1/10th of an inch.
Is that an issue? Might be. It hasn’t ever been for me. These blades are short. The blade grinds on most of them, leaving the bulk of its steel in place, adding some strength.
Speaking of those grinds—these are all Scandi grinds—at least the ones I’m looking at here. A Scandi grind uses a single bevel to build the knife’s cutting edge. Once you know your way around a Scandi grind, they are easy to maintain and keep sharp. The learning curve is steep for some of us, but the reward is worth it.
Morakniv Basic Review
If you need a decent knife to drop in the toolbox, leave in the truck, or dedicate to the workbench…, the Basic can do the job. The Basic knives have narrow blades that come close to the three-and-a-half-inch mark (slightly smaller than the Morakniv Pro). There are two versions—one that’s high carbon steel and another that’s stainless.
The Basic’s handle is plastic, but the plastic has a solid texture that makes them easy enough to hold onto. The tang narrows down from the blade into a long stick that extends almost to the end of the handle.
And as I mentioned—the price. These are selling for less than $10. They may not even appear in packaging—just a knife shoved into a shipping envelope, and Morakniv earns my unending respect. Packaging costs money, wastes resources, and I throw it away.
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The Best Cheap Knives Morakniv Pro Review
The Morakniv Pro looks much like a Basic, but the blade is slightly wider. The extra width of the Pro provides more heft and strength to the blade.
The handle on this one is TPE rubber. It will stick to your hand a bit more than the handle of the Basic. The rubber and the extra steel in the blade of the Morakniv Pro will bump the price up a buck or two. The Morankiv Pro is usually available between $13 and $15.
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The Morakniv Companion – has slightly more heft and length. This is an excellent choice for bushcraft.
Morakniv Companion Review
As the price of Morakniv knives increases, the blades tend to get more robust. While the Basic and Pro have blades that are .08”, the Morakniv Companion adds length and bumps the width to .11”. And the Morakniv Companion adds a half inch to the blade length and more material to the tang.
The Companion, with its rubber handle and slightly improved sheath, still sells for under $20.
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Morakniv Fish Knife: It’s a Floater
I can’t be the only one who has lost a knife to the insatiable appetite of the ocean. And the lake. And a couple of rivers. Maybe it is me. I’ve sunk some knives, a couple of watches, and a few fishing poles.
I was planning a float trip in Manitoba this summer and looked for a floating fillet knife. Truth be told, that’s what kicked off this article. I’d been sitting on that old Basic, thinking I might take it, when I found the Floating Fishing Knife (as well as the Pro in stainless and the Companion), and I decided I’d put them all through their paces.
The Floating Fishing Knife is reasonably self-explanatory. The handle is made of cork which provides excellent buoyancy and a surprisingly comfortable grip. And best of all, the knife will bob when I drop it in the drink.
Morakniv has taken an extra precaution for chuckle-heads like me and made the knife and its sheath very easy to see. These sell for under $30.
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Best Cheap Knives Morakniv Reviews: Kansbol
When you thought the entire line would be self-explanatory, along comes the Morakniv Kansbol. Unfortunately, this one is more challenging to wrap your head around.
The rear portion of the blade is thicker–.11”. This gives the blade its heft. The front of the blade has been thinned down significantly on both sides, making for a thinner, much more flexible section. The tang, too, is broader and runs the length of the handle.
The Kansbol takes the utilitarian versatility of these other blades to the next level of performance by using Sandvik 12C27 steel—appropriate for a Swedish knife. Sandvik 12C27 has a high chromium content, making it easy to maintain, but it holds an edge better than some stainless steels.
The Kansbol can do it all. The blade is thick enough to baton. The thin front half is suitable for slicing and filleting, and—like the others, the spine’s back is ideal for running down a Ferro rod.
The price of the Kansbol is usually around $35.
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A Morakniv Sheath Note
To wrap this up, I’d like to call out the no-frills nature of the Morakniv sheaths. They’re plastic, yes, but they hold up well.
Fire starters can be added to the sheath if you’re into that. And some sheaths have built-in belt clips while others use a loop, also reminiscent of the Scandinavian knives and how they hang from belts.
But that Morakniv price!
I’m still hung up on that. These jokers are functional, incredibly easy to maintain, well thought out, and anything but precious. The sheaths have drain holes built in. The belt clips have angled claws to catch and hold a belt; just about every detail seems refined and intentional.
That isn’t something I can say about the many knives I own.
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