One thing about the tip bend: it has a significantly thinner profile on the grind. I have owned a couple of puukkos that had the same grind, and they will bend slightly if put under the same stress as the Ganzo. Dave Baker said it best: a bent blade can be fixed. A broken one cannot. For the price, having one as a backup, or even an expendable primary for some cases may not be a bad thing.
@@gideonstactical first: been a subscriber for years. Thanks for all the videos. You put out honest, no-nonsense reviews and I take your advice to heart. Second, I’ve owned knives from 15-500$ and a lot of Moraknivs. Sometimes you find a jewel like this one and in the least place you’d expect. It may be a new addition to the expendable group that I use and not worry about losing or abusing.
@@sportsonwheelss what? No, he’s not. He showed the pros and cons. And actually said it isn’t a bad knife. Watch the video again, and pay attention this time. Troll.
I got a Mora as a little kid, some 60+ years ago. I thought it was scary sharp then, and I still think that. I don't use a belt knife very often and don't like to have it dangling at my waist, but I would guess that it is as good as anything out there. There are many fancier, cooler knives around, but for something you can just use without treating it like a holy object, and maybe replace if you have to, Mora knives are damn good.
totally agree with you, many expensive knifes are what I call idol knives that are too nice to think about using them. But the Mora is a no frills cutting machine, at a cheap price.
Mora are scandi grind and 60 HRC in either 12C27 or 1090 equivalent, this is a flat grind with a more acute tip and ~56 HRC in 8Cr14Mov. I've both the Companion and this Ganzo and they both excel at different tasks, I use the Mora Companion mainly for bushcraft and the Ganzo for a camp food prep knife with the occasional bushcraft. That's the roles they're most suitable for. So they aren't really competing in roles but in price...
I see these as two completely different knives. I do like my Mora Companion HD as a general use camping / bushcrafting knife and it stays on my belt. What I do not like is the Scandi grind as a camp kitchen knife. I keep a Opinel in my camp kitchen kit. The Opinel with its flat ground blade is just so much better as a camp kitchen knife. I see the Ganzo as a fixed blade replacement for the Opinel.
Agree. Opinel for food prep, Mora for wood work. It’s not that the Opinel can’t do wood work. I also have the Cold Steel Fin Bear for kitchen duties. ✌️
Devil's advocate. I've used the Ganzo to cut lots of stuff and done plenty of work with it and it has held up fine. I didnt jam it into a log and fold it over but I didnt get it to pry stumps. I got it to cut. I'm not saying its better or worse than the Mora. I'm just saying that for standard utility it has served me well. If you like the design i think its still its a lot of knife for the price.
Two different steels, two different primary grinds, two different makers, two different heat treat recipes, two different blade shapes. That’s all we know. Just because the Ganzo bent and the Mora didn’t in this sample size of one, doesn’t mean the Ganzo is crap and the Mora is a rock star. This also doesn’t excuse all the Chinese made knives from US brands either. Don’t see CRKT, Kershaw and a dozen others taking hate for producing knives in Asia.
Thanks for the much needed data, Aaron. I'm not sure the comparison is completely fair, though. In fact, I would argue that if it was GANZO's intention to go after the Mora Companion, THEY don't understand knives. I actually think (and hope) they were trying to accomplish something slightly different. 1) The higher flat grind was never going to carve as well as a Scandi, even if it were Mora making it. A Scandi is made FOR that and will ALWAYS carve wood more efficiently than a high flat or full flat ground knife. 2) The geometry with the tip was never going to hold up to that tip test, even if it were Mora making the knife. It's a higher grind, which means it's thinner at the tip, AND it tapers, which a simple Scandi knife doesn't. I think it would be more apt to compare this GANZO to a Kansbol, which I would NEVER tip test like that, because physics. 3) I think GANZO was trying to do something very clever - create a Mora-esque knife with a higher flat grind, because Scandi ground knives are great for wood carving, but less efficient at other camp tasks, like food prep. If you test the two knives in the kitchen, especially if you're cutting up things like potatoes and apples, The GANZO is going to win that contest. I think that was their target - to create a companion to the Companion - a Mora-like knife that is for camp kitchen and general use tasks, to pair with a Mora for wood work. That's how I would use these. 4) The big knock, in my view, is the too-soft heat treatment that showed up in the cutting of abrasives. If they tighten that up, just a smidge, I think they fill a nice gap in the budget camping/hiking knife market.
G'day Charles, points 1) & 2) .... Yep for sure. 3) Astute observation Charles, I reckon you're spot on and must admit it did somewhat appeal to me for that very reason, though for food prep out in the sticks, hard to beat an Opinel No.10 in Inox steel IMO, certainly it's no HD tool, but also excellent as a ferro rod striker, cordage cutter, whittler/carver etc.......... and for bugger all size/weight, ...or expense for that matter. Often comes with me as a 3rd stringer on top of far more robust, (obviously), primary and secondary blades. 4) Cant say I've had good experiences with the couple of 8Cr folders I have, and yes very likely HT is the major culprit in letting them down. Be that as it may, I do think there's other, lets say, ... more "trustworthy" budget SSs to hone in on, ... pardon the pun. Incidentally, I reckon the 9Cr family is a significant upgrade to start with, the couple I have in slightly different flavors have been excellent troopers, the Steel Will Sentence 102 in 9Cr18Mov in particular, and even the ol' BG Ult Pro in 9Cr19Mov, (regardless of the propaganda, lol) ... I can only take it as I find it. I've said before, and I'll say again; it's still the best knife "package" for the dough, ever sold. I paid 70 odd nicker AUD, (40-ish USD), and I'm 99.9 % sure you couldn't make up your own equivalent, (and it's more than decent), capability, for the same, or indeed more, outlay, .... though of course the line will kick in at some point ........ anyway, I digress, ..... moving on, lol. Hope all is good, or at least not too bad, in your part of the world mate. Cheers Duke.
@@eyeofthetiger4184 Hey Duke! All is well here, as I hope it is with you. I completely concur about 9Cr steels, and especially 9Cr18MoV. That has held up really well in my environment, including on some fixed blades. As best I understand, it's equivalent to 440C, which is old school, not fancy, but very solid stuff. I've also found that Steel Will does VERY good work with their heat treatments of not-so-super steels, including AUS-8, which is pretty much the same stufff as 8Cr13MoV.
@@charlescollier7217 Glad to hear you're traveling well mate, no drama here either, gotta take the positives when you can I reckon. Yep dont mind the ol' 440C. I have a Ganzo 720, a really solid folder, and performs/behaves the same as 9Cr, I cant tell the difference in use or sharpening anyway. Better again is Steel Will's Darkangel 900 in N690Co, manufactured in Italy, and probably the best "tactical" 6 incher I have and excellent as a crossover "bushcrafter" out in the sticks also. I was interested in giving their Argonaut in AUS-8 a crack too, it's actually very, very similar to the dive knife I had back in the day, but I believe they went out of business, did you hear that ?
@@eyeofthetiger4184 I didn't know they folded, but I'm not surprised. They really pulled back on production of, well, everything. They retired a bunch of designs that were VERY good, while they were still in VERY high demand, and they stopped bringing new designs to market. They just seemed to be getting rid of inventory. Unfortunate, but the signs were there. I have both the Argonaut 800 and the Argonaut 810, and I definitely recommend either or both, if you can find them. They use the same basic formula - AUS-8, .18" (4.6mm) thick bade, around 6" long, good-sized overmolded rubberized handles, (good ergos), with a themoplastic sheath with good retention, and tough as nails. There are some important differences between the blades, though. The 800 is more of a traditional field knife - saber grind, straight robust clip point - good general use, good for poking things, and you can make the edge VERY keen. It's even usable in the kitchen. The 810 I like even better - it's more of a hunter - higher grind, more belly, a litle bit of recurve, a longer clip, and it has enough of a choil for me to choke up on it (unlike the 800). It's slicier and more versatile, in my view. Now I'm thinking I need to snag the 820, if I can, just to catch 'em all, like Pokemon! 😅 It's more of a spear point, almost dagger version, and it's the longest of the lot.
@@charlescollier7217 Yes, some very odd business decisions going on, more so as time passed. A bloody shame after all the great work they did to break into, fair to say, a tough and already flooded market. That's very interesting on the Argo mate, I do remember the 800 designation, now you mention it, but I dont remember there being all those variants, many thanks for the info and indeed the benefit of your experience. I guess all we can do is hunt around for any remaining stock out there. Good luck, it would be nice to complete the set, .... gotta be easier .... and cheaper... than Pokemon ......surely, lol.
My first fixed blade was a Buck 119. It's about 50 years old now. I replaced it in my camping kit with a Mora Companion Spark. Still love my Buck but the Mora is the one that goes camping with me.
Would have liked to see real world edge retention test after both had been sharpened. You can't guarantee that the factory edge is optimal. I also think a direct comparison is a little unfair due to the geometry being so different between the two,
On the one hand, a direct comparison isn't so hot, for the reasons you mentioned. On the other hand, the question is "$15 knife vs. $15 knife, does the Ganzo stack up?" The choices they made on steel type and edge geometry are part of those considerations, so if the mora beats the Ganzo, regardless of why, then we have our answer - $15 is better spent on this knife.
These were on Amazon about a month before this video came out for only $10.99. I got one because i was so happy with the ganzo firebird (spyderco delica knockoff) and ive been pleased so far.
I agree it looks like a Benchmade puuko copy. It seems that Ganzo likes to copy the more expensive knives. I have one of their Lionsteel copies, the G720. I also think that ganzo’s choice to copy the axis lock provides an extra benefit for their knives, in that it allows for more steel to be left on the blade at the area of the pivot pin. I have always been skeptical of some folding knives having the blade cut too close to the pivot pin because it appears to create a weak spot.
As a swede that actually works for Sandvik I'm going to explain one thing for you all. When it comes to steel we probably make the best steel in the world. We are famous for our high quality swedish steel. Why? Well, we have the highest iron ore content in the world in our iron ore. It's around 70% and sometimes even more. Because of this fact we out competed all countries in Europe within the iron ore/steel industry. Around 90% of all iron ore that is mined in Europe today is mined in the northern part of Sweden. But how could we do this? Well, if you have a high iron ore content in your ore then it's much cheaper to make steel because you don't need as much energy to refine it and make it clean. To melt iron ore consumes a lot of energy. If you only have 10-15% iron ore content in your ore it will take so much more energy to refine it, which in turn will lead to very high prices of the steel you are going to sell. But we also have another huge competetive advantage and that is basically free energy. We have many hydro power plants in the north of Sweden. We are one of the countries in the world with the most hydro power plants. Norway beats us, but they don't have the iron ore instead. This has been a huge advantage since as I said earlier it requires a lot of energy to refine iron ore. In the rest of Europe they had to burn coal, which took a lot more effort and it was far more expensive. But this is not the only reasons to our competetive advantages. You also get much cleaner steel if you start from ore with higher iron ore content and with much less impurities. That in turn means less corrosion and better quality of the steel. So, we had this going for us and because of these great resources that we had, we started many companies to make stuff out of our iron resource. The Mora knife is one such product that is made of superior steel. So this is a big reason why it outperforms chinese knifes. But also, we have hundreds of years of evolution of making greate iron/steel products. We have secret recipes and stuff for making the best steel. The chinese lack that experience. They simply havn't had enough time to gain that knowledge. It's actually much more complex to make good quality steel than you think.
Well, did you ever recherche about Chinese history? You know their culture streches about 4000 years? They produced iron swords when Rome was still suckling a wolve tits. And since 600 CE they had steel swords with chrome alloy, which they used bevor with their bronce swords to make a much more resistant edge. Yes they needed a time to come back with industrializing after being colonizes by the west, but their knowledge wasn't lost, like the antique knowledge in the west, because every Chinese can still read and understand texts which where written 3000 years ago. Pictograms change they way they are spoken, but not their meaning. So, yes, China CAN produce superior steel, the quality is not a question of knowledge or "better iron", but the price you are willing to pay. China isn't a 3 world country anymore, they can't produce that cheap as they did twenty years ago. So if you want a knife for 15 buck you can't expect the world best steel. You get what you pay for, and it's still a good quality for that price tag.
Sandvik / Alleima does make GREAT steel. But: 1. The density of the ore in the ground means nothing, it is how clean it is at the end of processing. ALL the ore in the ground has impurities, even in Sweden. Basically you are saying no other country knows how to process steel better than any other country. Countries don't purify steel, companies do, and there are some great steel companies who also know how to purify steel - in USA and Canada and many other countries too. If they know how to get impurities out then they know how to get impurities out regardless if it's 5% or 50%. Sandvik / Alleima is indeed a top tier steel company, I am not saying anything negative about them, I'm saying that there are other steel manufacturing companies that are also top tier in other countries. I am not saying China has top tier steel manufacturing. 2. The cost of electricity isn't a genuine factor, even if energy is inexpensive no steel mill will use more energy then they need to use, it's wasteful. (I though Swedes weren't wasteful people.) Being able to make steel for less money does indeed give a competitive advantage but it doesn't inherently make the steel any better. 3. The two knives in this video are not really comparable. The Mora was driven into the wood to the full thickness of the spine and didn't bend, but the Ganzo was driven in deeper and yet the steel that was in the wood was much thinner at that point. Anyone knows that even if the Ganzo steel was a little superior it would bend more easily because it is thinner at the point it bent. Thin steel bends more easily than thicker steel. It's that simple. 4. How long a country has made steel is meaningless in this debate, it is how WELL their steel is made now that counts. Sandvik / Alleima (not Sweden - Sweden doesn't make steel AFAIK) makes GREAT steel. Chinese companies make some great steel too, and they also make some low quality steel as well. The steel Ganzo uses is very unlikely to be the best steel from any Chinese company. 5. In case someone missed it - I agree that Sandvik / Alleima makes better steel than the steel used by Ganzo. I agree with that, but the arguments of WHY in the above post are not the reasons why. Steel manufacturing is well known China, they copy and reverse engineer everything. Their steel might be a lower quality on average but it's a matter of a few percentage places, not by a huge degree. Just check out AR-RPM9, and you will find out that Ahonest Changjiang (Chinese company) makes some steel that is easily a fair bit better than the standard steel (12C27) that Mora uses.
@@CanadianCuttingEdgeI was talking about history. Because today all the steel that Sandvik / Alleima melts doesn't even come from iron ore anymore. It comes from scrap steel that they recyckle and that has already been refined. In the past there were not as much iron that could be recyckled since it hadn't been dug up yet. But when the industrial revolution started from the very beginning it was mostly iron ore that they had to use and then it mattered a lot how pure the iron ore was. Let's go back 100 years and produce 1 ton of pure iron. If you have 70% iron ore content in your ore, then you only need to process 1,43 ton of ore. If you instead have iron ore with 15% iron content then you have to process 6,67 ton of ore to get 1 ton of pure iron. Of course that takes more energy and more effort, because the ore is of much greater volume and hence it will take much more space and energy to heat up the owens. It will require bigger ownes and more energy. But it will aslo require a lot more digging because you have to digg more ore. Therefore you will conusme a lot more energy with your machines, which run on diesel or whatever. Both for tranporting and digging. But I don't argue that the competetive advantage is that big today, just that it was bigger through out history when it all started.
I would always prefer a full flat grind knives. I had a few Moras and they are good knives , the limitations are in food preparations and other tasks when small knives are used. Tis is my experience and my thoughts. I can be wrong...
I had in 2 of the same Ganzo's also, both tips snapped straight off in the tip test. So I think there might be a variation in their heat treatment. Ideally one wouldn't want either a snapped or a bent tip, since it's fatiguing the steel.
I think it also depends what you're going to use the knife for. You might be just harvesting food in your garden or cutting some other type of material
I have used a Mora for many years and many, many deer. That carbon steel holds an edge like nothing else. The only things I have done is blue the blades and drill a hole in the back of the handle for a paracord lanyard.
Thank You. Haven't heard of this knife. I really like the belt clip. It would probably be better around the fishing arena. Ive cleaned a lotta fish with a Mora , but didn't really like the grind for that purpose. Being it bent at the tip isn't a bad thing, probably a better thing. Because of its grind it set in deeper in the endgrain , so it would have had to break , or bend. I gritted my teeth while you done that test. The pallet bend test said to me that its a decent heat treatment. But edge retention is a must.
I have used this to clean fish. 8Cr14Mov at 55-56 HRC won't hold an edge as well as 12C27 at 60 HRC but it beats the Moras at food prep, cleaning fish, breaking down small game etc due to the grind. I have both the Companion and the Ganzo and use them in those tasks, Companion for bushcraft and woodworking, Ganzo for meat processing and food prep. 🙂
The ganzo's tip bent on the first tip test. Softer steel, so it'll be easier to sharpen, which you will be doing a lot of sharpening on the ganzo. Morakniv really knows what they are doing with the heat treatment. Even if the steel is identical, Morakniv will outperform others.
lol, I like my companions but they aren't a godsend or anything..... the garberg sucks. I own one and it dulls incredibly fast even through straight-grain wood
Moras are just it. I have four. I’m also a fan of the Scandi grind. It’s not the best for food prep, but it can be done. Ganzo makes goog knives. I have three folders, but I’ll stick with the Moras all the way for outdoors.🔪🎸🇳🇴
i have a Mora as my EDC. I do handyman work, and a fair amount is carpentry. The scandi grind is the thing that makes it work well for me. I watch a lot of videos, and noticed that people in the Scandinavian countries use this grind a LOT for carpentry.
I’d say always instead of “a lot”. Go outside here and every handyman, carpenter and heavy duty worker carries a Mora or similar. Scandi grinds ALL the way. Hunter or bushcraft knives might use other grinds, but you ask a Swede (or Norwegian/Finn) if they know what a scandi grind is they won’t know. It’s just a default knife construction.
Good video, from your testing I will still recommend the Mora for those starting out, and will still gift Mora knives as the grand kids come of age. Just wish the old style Mora Scout with wood handles, metal guard, and leather sheath was easier to find.
Interesting observation in this video regarding the hardness of the Ganzo blade. Matches my experiences with Ganzo knives. I purchased two: one with a "D2" blade, the other with a "440C" blade. Both blades were much softer than expected. I've seen so many people saying good things about Ganzo knives I thought maybe I was just very unlucky. Can anybody else post their experiences with Ganzo blades?
I've been carrying a ganzo folding knife for 7 years and I don't have any problems, yes I also noticed that the steel is a little softer than would be optimal for that type of steel, but on the other hand, the performance is better than the victorionox and latherman 420hc knives I own
I've not had issues with any Ganzo in 440C and I've used maybe a dozen they're around 58 HRC which is slightly softer than optimal, would prefer 60 HRC but stand up to a lot of abuse, hold a pretty good edge for the steel, and aren't difficult to resharpen, so for the price they're hard to beat. Around 7-8 years back their 440C wasn't heat treated very well and some models were known to have issues. That's not the case anymore. Both the 440C and D2 have been verified by independent testing and their heat treat is pretty good these days (albeit still on the softer side of about 58 HRC, when I would want 60-61 for both steels).
@@adrianjagmag Thanks for the info. Just for reference, the 440C blade was a F7611, the D2 blade a FH51. Both were purchased in the first half of 2020.
Well it is a very affordable option of having knives at multiple spots , as go home bag , camp secondary tool, hiking light back pack etc. For sure Mora is a tool you can trust with out questions , but scandi is mostly for bushcraft tasks. I have some Moras and very glad i do, but also a Ganzo axe , the twin brother of Fiskars X7 , made in the same production line , same matterials , same performance , but a bit cheaper. Also a folder , the G720 with 440C blade , and it is a beast. Check it out Aaron, here in Europe is a top seller.
G'day mate, I have the X7 and it's the best bang for buck hatchet I've ever owned, and my fav to use, (could do with a little taller edge IMO, but hey, it does the business as is. Didn't know there was a Ganzo branded equivalent cheaper again, good on ya for putting that out there, great tip, especially for those starting out. Yep the G720 is probably the best bang for buck folder I've ever purchased too and a good 440C still holds up to this day IMO. Cheers Duke.
I think buying 10 of the Ganzo and holding them in your depot for use as post apocalypse trade goods is a good idea. Maybe use up one or two while you wait. At $15 each, why not?
You know Spyderco has proven that you can make 8cr13 Steel into an amazing Knife Blade so Ganzo should be able to also you would think. Great review my Friend
I don't understand why people want to compare a flat grind knife with a scandi grind knife, they are designed for some very different purposes. It must be just because the two knives use a similar construction and price point, which does indeed have some comparison, but not in the key aspect of the knives. If you pause the video for the tip test you will see that the Mora only was driven in about half the way the Ganzo was - which makes sense because the same amount of pressure will stop the THICKER Mora tip prematurely and the thin Ganzo will be driven deeper. It's a comparison between a Scandi and a flat grind, OF COURSE the thinner blade will bend more easily. It's not a like-for-like comparison. The Mora gets an automated sharpening at the factory which is consistent from one blade to the other whereas the Ganzo might be sharpened well or it might be sharpened very poorly, it just depends on which one you get. Way too many knife reviewers don't closely investigate how well a knife has been sharpened - especially when the knife is a very low cost knife. Certainly, Ganzo needs to do better factory sharpening!! as does at least 99% of the knife brands that produce low budget knives out there. Mora is the only brand I know that uses automated sharpening and their edges are consistent as a result. Why do some people insist on calling it GONZO? A doesn't say "OH". Must be an educational defect somewhere.
Just my worthless opinion but I think the Kansbol would work circles around that ganzo . The combo grind gives the performance of both a flat grind and a scandi .
I don't know if you have seen these or know anything about them but Amazon has a knife made by CuCut knife company in China. They are a Mora style knife also. A 2 pack sells for $12. You may want to look into those also.
a Mora Companion is one of two blades I religiously carry around in the local bush or jungle … the other one being a cheap 12 inch high carbon spring steel local parang … best wishes …
Could you do a comparison of the new Flissa 9" D2 steel knife? It looks interesting for $20 (full tang, wood handle). Around $26 for micarta handle, $23 for G10 handle. 🤔
For the price the Ganzo folders I have are pretty good, I have always felt the scandi grind on my Moras where the big attraction and what made them special to me.
No experience, but plenty of speculation. How about a Mora for the bushy stuff and a Ganzo for the camp kitchen prep? Unless you run into some really resistant tomatoes. Just thinking out loud. I mean, the two knives would run you less than $40. And you'd be covered. Besides the Ganzo is pretty good-looking. Right?
G'day Aaron, since I'm not a huge fan of a scandi for "do everything" applications, ...(though I do, .... do just about anything with them, lol), I really wanted to like the Ganzo for its sabre grind, but I did shudder as soon as you mentioned 8Cr; its fine for string, (perhaps not rope), cutting and the like, ...... but don't get it anywhere near timber IMO, especially fruitwoods and other hardwoods ..... unless you like sharpening more than using. I assume its the HT on Mora's 12C, but what ever it is, it certainly punches above its weight. Incidentally the same can be said for the AUS-8A used on the CS Finnwolf. Btw; a sabre/reciprocating saw ...... is certainly one way to reveal a hidden tang, lol. A lotta good features on the Ganzo, I like the grip in particular, but at the end of the day, for me, not worth the purchase, even at the price. Thanks for showing it though mate, interesting, enjoyed the vid as always and proud to be a sponsor. Cheers Duke.
Thank you for this video! The new Ganzo seems like it would be a great cam knife. A knife grind lesson for me. I understood the Scandi, sabre , and flat grinds as three different types of grinds, with the sabre grind being something between a Scandi and flat. In this video you use sabre and flat grind interchangeably. I notice the Ganzo grind appears to be one that really isn’t a sabre or a flat, but something actually between those two. Do I need reset/correct my understanding of knife grinds? Thanks!
Yeah, a saber grind is a flat grind that doesn't go all the way to the top of the blade. If it does, it's considered a "full" flat grind. Saber grind is a type of flat grind.
If I had no or very few knives and not so much money the Ganzo might be a good potential option for a bit of an all rounder, probably better than many of the other Ozark Trail level options out there though if you shop around you can get a Mora 2000 or Bushcraft Forest for a few dollars more that would be a better option. I love my cheap and cheerful fixed blades, Mora, Hultafors, Marttinni, Buck Light Max, my more expensive knives can be left gathering dust and i don't see the Ganzo as a future purchase.
I bought a Ganzo folder a few years ago, the tip bent on that, although the edge was decent on it. It made me laugh though because as we know, Ganzo clone a lot of knives, but they cloned two knives in one for a best of both worlds option. It looked identical to a Spyderco Paramilitary 2, except they'd then also added Benchmades axis lock to it. It feels just like a Paramilitary 2, sure the quality is not as good but the Para 2 was more than ten times the cost. For quality at a budget price though, it's hard to beat Mora.
I have seven moras ….I know it’s a sickness 😂😂😂 my favourite is the humble companion. I have it in carbon and stainless steel. There is a very good reason for this..I do a lot of beach side camping where the stainless is right at home. I have owned Moras now for 51years and I have to say they are a magnificent tool I actually cried like a baby when I lost my original old mora it was a great carving knife and it got better with age. I finally bought a new 511 recently after just destroying my old one but with a little love and a new handle it still stays in my collection. Now I must point out I make my own knives which I sell on a limited basis. I have a great deal of knives all based around bushcraft and camping tasks. I do make and sell a couple of hunting knives and do a ‘Bowie’ style knife for hunters. In other words I have a lifetime of experience but I am still a student . Knifes are the most useful tool man ever invented and steel and treatment is man style witchcraft 😂😂😂. I have been a fan of your channel a very very long time my friend and I thank you for your insight. To all reading this enjoy yourself and peace.
Can you drill a small hole in a Mora handle to add a Lanyard? I just got my first Mora and I really like these but red and black and I’d like to add a bright 550 Lanyard. Thank you my friend
No idea about elsewhere in the world, but here in the uk the Ganzo models are about twice the price of the Mora ! if you shop around...........so Mora any day of the week for me, i have at least half a dozen moras
Personally, I would take the mora if I were to just have one. However Chinese knives are a great disposable option if you are able to get them high quality at Chinese direct from manufacturer prices.
Due to the fact that i live very close to the factory of Morakniv and the store with heavily reduced prices, and i could not stress this enough, the local patriotism i would chose Mora.
Morakniv offers great value and history at attainable prices, just like Victorinox. I don't think that anything else is worth the effort of considering if it's a real replacement. I mean, why worry if my Eldris or Swisschamp do the job?
Great review. Thanks Aaron. I'll hold on to my Mora for it's bushcraft ability. If I need a flat ground similar-sized fixed blade, I will look elsewhere than Ganzo.
I'm a fan of Morakniv knives, but I have to defend Ganzo here. The cut itself is more delicate than scandi, so the tip will be even more delicate. There's nothing like Scandi for wood, but for other tasks, a full flat one is much better. This Ganzo is something in between Mora and Opinel, which in my opinion form a complementary pair. An informed user will probably be as satisfied with this Ganzo as with Mora or Opinel.
I've used Mora knives since I was 6 years old (I'm 40 now, so that's 34 years of experience) so I can tell there's not many knives in that price point that can compare. The only complaint I have about Morakniv is that they're a way too conservative and when they try to be modern or tactical they just don't cut it. I wish they would dare to experiment more and put more energy into making knives that could compete in the premium market. Make some sheaths that work with both vertical or horizontal carry, try some premium steels and make some full tang G-10 knives already!
I always imagine mora seeing premium knives as a scam. Besides my froe is a better froe than a premium knife despite/because having a whole wooden handle.
Gave my 6 year old his first Mora the other week. 😊 He has the same model at his grandma as well (scout 39) which was used by me, his 3 cousins, and most likely will be used by his younger brother in a few years. And maybe some day, by their kids.
I'd just go with the Mora. They're well made and the quality will stay the same whereas the Chinese will alter the quality after a few months of selling their knives and make it as janky as they can while still selling units.
I like that it's ambidextrous I carry my knives left even though I write right I'm somewhat ambidextrous I use a left mouse/trackball says it's 8CR14 which isn't bad if heat treated well it's about the same $$ as Morakniv and the tip bends so I'll stick with Morakniv
Nothing better than a Mora. Whether stainless or Carbon I love them. I actually use all their wood carving knives as well and they kick butt. I took one of my carbon companions to the grinder and ground it to a full flat grind blade and let me tell you it is SLICEY! I actually cut the crap out of myself with it breaking down boxes. I think full flat ground knives are actually easier to sharpen than scandi knives which is why I modified the knife. They're cheap enough that I'm willing to experiment. Maybe give it a try and see what you think.
Hey Aaron great video I have the Maura companion great knife although Ganzo makes pretty good pocket knives and by the way what is that blacked out version watch you’re wearing on the channel keep up the good work man👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I would like to get my son a flipper style knife. It needs to be tought and be able to keep an edge. He works in a warehouse and opens and breaks down 100s of boxes a day..What do you recommend? .Thanks
Nice! The Duralock series from Kershaw has a few flippers with D2 steel SOG Tac might be good too. You want a high flat or a FFG grind to help with cardboard.
Mora for me. Every few years I buy a new one. Then i find one in an old truck or quad. They are the best cheap fixed blade knife there is.if you loose one, oh well.
I have two Ganzo folders, one is an automatic. I love them. They have done everything I needed them to do with no issues. They are a good alternative for testing feeatures due to the massive price difference with the originals. Have never picked up any of their fixed blades though.
I wish Mora would put a lanyard hole in their knives ! They can do it for their high range Garberg and Kansbol knives. Prior to the full amalgamation "Frosts" Mora knives had a great sunken lanyard hole on most of their knives.
My friend you are a true Renaissance Man when it comes to Knives. I have a small budget and would like your Opinion on an EDC, Field Dressing to slicing a Tomato Fixed Blade Knife and what you would recommend honestly.? I really like the Garberg and Kansbol to the BK14 lol and yes the RAT-3.. Semper Fidelis
Perhaps the Morakniv Pro Flex with the flat grind would have been a better knife to compare. The damaged tip was to be expected. Thank you for the very informative video🙏
![Are MORA Edges Terrible? - [ NEW MORA KANSBOL ]](/img/n.gif)
One thing about the tip bend: it has a significantly thinner profile on the grind. I have owned a couple of puukkos that had the same grind, and they will bend slightly if put under the same stress as the Ganzo. Dave Baker said it best: a bent blade can be fixed. A broken one cannot. For the price, having one as a backup, or even an expendable primary for some cases may not be a bad thing.
Ya I would prefer bent over broken and as I stated the tip is a thinner, more precise tool. 👍
@@gideonstactical first: been a subscriber for years. Thanks for all the videos. You put out honest, no-nonsense reviews and I take your advice to heart. Second, I’ve owned knives from 15-500$ and a lot of Moraknivs. Sometimes you find a jewel like this one and in the least place you’d expect. It may be a new addition to the expendable group that I use and not worry about losing or abusing.
@@thewanderingheathen thanks so much my friend. Really appreciate it!!
they guy is out to make the Chinese knife looks bad, not thing more.
@@sportsonwheelss what? No, he’s not. He showed the pros and cons. And actually said it isn’t a bad knife. Watch the video again, and pay attention this time. Troll.
My son in law gave me a Mora for Christmas a few years back. I love it. I've field dress many deer with it with no glitches at all.
What model of Mora is it?
@@daveyboy6985 my guess would be kansbol
That tip test was janky! The china blade was near twice as deep for the 2nd(bend) test.
I totally agree. The test was not honest at all.
I got a Mora as a little kid, some 60+ years ago. I thought it was scary sharp then, and I still think that. I don't use a belt knife very often and don't like to have it dangling at my waist, but I would guess that it is as good as anything out there. There are many fancier, cooler knives around, but for something you can just use without treating it like a holy object, and maybe replace if you have to, Mora knives are damn good.
totally agree with you, many expensive knifes are what I call idol knives that are too nice to think about using them.
But the Mora is a no frills cutting machine, at a cheap price.
You can buy a Mora Dangler no 10.
@@runerennemo6614yup I bought 3 their perfect
Mora are scandi grind and 60 HRC in either 12C27 or 1090 equivalent, this is a flat grind with a more acute tip and ~56 HRC in 8Cr14Mov. I've both the Companion and this Ganzo and they both excel at different tasks, I use the Mora Companion mainly for bushcraft and the Ganzo for a camp food prep knife with the occasional bushcraft. That's the roles they're most suitable for. So they aren't really competing in roles but in price...
I see these as two completely different knives. I do like my Mora Companion HD as a general use camping / bushcrafting knife and it stays on my belt. What I do not like is the Scandi grind as a camp kitchen knife. I keep a Opinel in my camp kitchen kit. The Opinel with its flat ground blade is just so much better as a camp kitchen knife. I see the Ganzo as a fixed blade replacement for the Opinel.
Agree. Opinel for food prep, Mora for wood work. It’s not that the Opinel can’t do wood work. I also have the Cold Steel Fin Bear for kitchen duties. ✌️
Why Ganzo when uhv Opinel?
Weird, my Opinels have a convex grind..
Devil's advocate. I've used the Ganzo to cut lots of stuff and done plenty of work with it and it has held up fine. I didnt jam it into a log and fold it over but I didnt get it to pry stumps. I got it to cut. I'm not saying its better or worse than the Mora. I'm just saying that for standard utility it has served me well. If you like the design i think its still its a lot of knife for the price.
That Gonzo was bent after one stab on the tip test. They don't boast an expensive steel, and I still wonder if they're lying.
Its also just very thin tip because of the profile
Two different steels, two different primary grinds, two different makers, two different heat treat recipes, two different blade shapes. That’s all we know. Just because the Ganzo bent and the Mora didn’t in this sample size of one, doesn’t mean the Ganzo is crap and the Mora is a rock star.
This also doesn’t excuse all the Chinese made knives from US brands either. Don’t see CRKT, Kershaw and a dozen others taking hate for producing knives in Asia.
@@JohnSmith-gs4lw mora is a rock star, i've bought gonzo knifes in a past and i will never make that mistake again
@@saff3356 mora and ganzo are both trash lmao
It very clearly says GANZO on the knives. Not Gonzo. Keep up.
I Love the Mora Companion. I own several of them. At first I was open to the idea of it BUT the weak steel of the Gonzo has me sticking with the Mora
Thanks for the much needed data, Aaron. I'm not sure the comparison is completely fair, though. In fact, I would argue that if it was GANZO's intention to go after the Mora Companion, THEY don't understand knives. I actually think (and hope) they were trying to accomplish something slightly different.
1) The higher flat grind was never going to carve as well as a Scandi, even if it were Mora making it. A Scandi is made FOR that and will ALWAYS carve wood more efficiently than a high flat or full flat ground knife.
2) The geometry with the tip was never going to hold up to that tip test, even if it were Mora making the knife. It's a higher grind, which means it's thinner at the tip, AND it tapers, which a simple Scandi knife doesn't. I think it would be more apt to compare this GANZO to a Kansbol, which I would NEVER tip test like that, because physics.
3) I think GANZO was trying to do something very clever - create a Mora-esque knife with a higher flat grind, because Scandi ground knives are great for wood carving, but less efficient at other camp tasks, like food prep. If you test the two knives in the kitchen, especially if you're cutting up things like potatoes and apples, The GANZO is going to win that contest. I think that was their target - to create a companion to the Companion - a Mora-like knife that is for camp kitchen and general use tasks, to pair with a Mora for wood work. That's how I would use these.
4) The big knock, in my view, is the too-soft heat treatment that showed up in the cutting of abrasives. If they tighten that up, just a smidge, I think they fill a nice gap in the budget camping/hiking knife market.
G'day Charles, points 1) & 2) .... Yep for sure.
3) Astute observation Charles, I reckon you're spot on and must admit it did somewhat appeal to me for that very reason, though for food prep out in the sticks, hard to beat an Opinel No.10 in Inox steel IMO, certainly it's no HD tool, but also excellent as a ferro rod striker, cordage cutter, whittler/carver etc.......... and for bugger all size/weight, ...or expense for that matter. Often comes with me as a 3rd stringer on top of far more robust, (obviously), primary and secondary blades.
4) Cant say I've had good experiences with the couple of 8Cr folders I have, and yes very likely HT is the major culprit in letting them down. Be that as it may, I do think there's other, lets say, ... more "trustworthy" budget SSs to hone in on, ... pardon the pun.
Incidentally, I reckon the 9Cr family is a significant upgrade to start with, the couple I have in slightly different flavors have been excellent troopers, the Steel Will Sentence 102 in 9Cr18Mov in particular, and even the ol' BG Ult Pro in 9Cr19Mov, (regardless of the propaganda, lol) ... I can only take it as I find it. I've said before, and I'll say again; it's still the best knife "package" for the dough, ever sold. I paid 70 odd nicker AUD, (40-ish USD), and I'm 99.9 % sure you couldn't make up your own equivalent, (and it's more than decent), capability, for the same, or indeed more, outlay, .... though of course the line will kick in at some point ........ anyway, I digress, ..... moving on, lol.
Hope all is good, or at least not too bad, in your part of the world mate. Cheers Duke.
@@eyeofthetiger4184 Hey Duke! All is well here, as I hope it is with you. I completely concur about 9Cr steels, and especially 9Cr18MoV. That has held up really well in my environment, including on some fixed blades. As best I understand, it's equivalent to 440C, which is old school, not fancy, but very solid stuff. I've also found that Steel Will does VERY good work with their heat treatments of not-so-super steels, including AUS-8, which is pretty much the same stufff as 8Cr13MoV.
@@charlescollier7217 Glad to hear you're traveling well mate, no drama here either, gotta take the positives when you can I reckon. Yep dont mind the ol' 440C. I have a Ganzo 720, a really solid folder, and performs/behaves the same as 9Cr, I cant tell the difference in use or sharpening anyway. Better again is Steel Will's Darkangel 900 in N690Co, manufactured in Italy, and probably the best "tactical" 6 incher I have and excellent as a crossover "bushcrafter" out in the sticks also. I was interested in giving their Argonaut in AUS-8 a crack too, it's actually very, very similar to the dive knife I had back in the day, but I believe they went out of business, did you hear that ?
@@eyeofthetiger4184 I didn't know they folded, but I'm not surprised. They really pulled back on production of, well, everything. They retired a bunch of designs that were VERY good, while they were still in VERY high demand, and they stopped bringing new designs to market. They just seemed to be getting rid of inventory. Unfortunate, but the signs were there.
I have both the Argonaut 800 and the Argonaut 810, and I definitely recommend either or both, if you can find them. They use the same basic formula - AUS-8, .18" (4.6mm) thick bade, around 6" long, good-sized overmolded rubberized handles, (good ergos), with a themoplastic sheath with good retention, and tough as nails. There are some important differences between the blades, though.
The 800 is more of a traditional field knife - saber grind, straight robust clip point - good general use, good for poking things, and you can make the edge VERY keen. It's even usable in the kitchen.
The 810 I like even better - it's more of a hunter - higher grind, more belly, a litle bit of recurve, a longer clip, and it has enough of a choil for me to choke up on it (unlike the 800). It's slicier and more versatile, in my view. Now I'm thinking I need to snag the 820, if I can, just to catch 'em all, like Pokemon! 😅 It's more of a spear point, almost dagger version, and it's the longest of the lot.
@@charlescollier7217 Yes, some very odd business decisions going on, more so as time passed. A bloody shame after all the great work they did to break into, fair to say, a tough and already flooded market.
That's very interesting on the Argo mate, I do remember the 800 designation, now you mention it, but I dont remember there being all those variants, many thanks for the info and indeed the benefit of your experience.
I guess all we can do is hunt around for any remaining stock out there. Good luck, it would be nice to complete the set, .... gotta be easier .... and cheaper... than Pokemon ......surely, lol.
My first fixed blade was a Buck 119. It's about 50 years old now. I replaced it in my camping kit with a Mora Companion Spark. Still love my Buck but the Mora is the one that goes camping with me.
Would have liked to see real world edge retention test after both had been sharpened. You can't guarantee that the factory edge is optimal. I also think a direct comparison is a little unfair due to the geometry being so different between the two,
On the one hand, a direct comparison isn't so hot, for the reasons you mentioned. On the other hand, the question is "$15 knife vs. $15 knife, does the Ganzo stack up?" The choices they made on steel type and edge geometry are part of those considerations, so if the mora beats the Ganzo, regardless of why, then we have our answer - $15 is better spent on this knife.
for slicer & easy to sharp go for ganzo
These were on Amazon about a month before this video came out for only $10.99. I got one because i was so happy with the ganzo firebird (spyderco delica knockoff) and ive been pleased so far.
I think it looks more like a Benchmade Puukko clone, than a Mora.
In some ways but it’s same price, size, thickness, weight, sheath style and so on.
I agree it looks like a Benchmade puuko copy. It seems that Ganzo likes to copy the more expensive knives. I have one of their Lionsteel copies, the G720.
I also think that ganzo’s choice to copy the axis lock provides an extra benefit for their knives, in that it allows for more steel to be left on the blade at the area of the pivot pin. I have always been skeptical of some folding knives having the blade cut too close to the pivot pin because it appears to create a weak spot.
If look closely, it also resembles Boker Bronco
@@gideonstacticaljaki tani nóż do lasu i wytrzymały??
Jakie długość ostrza?
As a swede that actually works for Sandvik I'm going to explain one thing for you all. When it comes to steel we probably make the best steel in the world. We are famous for our high quality swedish steel. Why?
Well, we have the highest iron ore content in the world in our iron ore. It's around 70% and sometimes even more. Because of this fact we out competed all countries in Europe within the iron ore/steel industry. Around 90% of all iron ore that is mined in Europe today is mined in the northern part of Sweden.
But how could we do this? Well, if you have a high iron ore content in your ore then it's much cheaper to make steel because you don't need as much energy to refine it and make it clean. To melt iron ore consumes a lot of energy. If you only have 10-15% iron ore content in your ore it will take so much more energy to refine it, which in turn will lead to very high prices of the steel you are going to sell.
But we also have another huge competetive advantage and that is basically free energy. We have many hydro power plants in the north of Sweden. We are one of the countries in the world with the most hydro power plants. Norway beats us, but they don't have the iron ore instead. This has been a huge advantage since as I said earlier it requires a lot of energy to refine iron ore. In the rest of Europe they had to burn coal, which took a lot more effort and it was far more expensive.
But this is not the only reasons to our competetive advantages. You also get much cleaner steel if you start from ore with higher iron ore content and with much less impurities. That in turn means less corrosion and better quality of the steel.
So, we had this going for us and because of these great resources that we had, we started many companies to make stuff out of our iron resource.
The Mora knife is one such product that is made of superior steel. So this is a big reason why it outperforms chinese knifes.
But also, we have hundreds of years of evolution of making greate iron/steel products. We have secret recipes and stuff for making the best steel. The chinese lack that experience. They simply havn't had enough time to gain that knowledge. It's actually much more complex to make good quality steel than you think.
Well, did you ever recherche about Chinese history? You know their culture streches about 4000 years? They produced iron swords when Rome was still suckling a wolve tits. And since 600 CE they had steel swords with chrome alloy, which they used bevor with their bronce swords to make a much more resistant edge.
Yes they needed a time to come back with industrializing after being colonizes by the west, but their knowledge wasn't lost, like the antique knowledge in the west, because every Chinese can still read and understand texts which where written 3000 years ago. Pictograms change they way they are spoken, but not their meaning.
So, yes, China CAN produce superior steel, the quality is not a question of knowledge or "better iron", but the price you are willing to pay. China isn't a 3 world country anymore, they can't produce that cheap as they did twenty years ago. So if you want a knife for 15 buck you can't expect the world best steel. You get what you pay for, and it's still a good quality for that price tag.
Sandvik / Alleima does make GREAT steel. But:
1. The density of the ore in the ground means nothing, it is how clean it is at the end of processing. ALL the ore in the ground has impurities, even in Sweden. Basically you are saying no other country knows how to process steel better than any other country. Countries don't purify steel, companies do, and there are some great steel companies who also know how to purify steel - in USA and Canada and many other countries too. If they know how to get impurities out then they know how to get impurities out regardless if it's 5% or 50%. Sandvik / Alleima is indeed a top tier steel company, I am not saying anything negative about them, I'm saying that there are other steel manufacturing companies that are also top tier in other countries. I am not saying China has top tier steel manufacturing.
2. The cost of electricity isn't a genuine factor, even if energy is inexpensive no steel mill will use more energy then they need to use, it's wasteful. (I though Swedes weren't wasteful people.) Being able to make steel for less money does indeed give a competitive advantage but it doesn't inherently make the steel any better.
3. The two knives in this video are not really comparable. The Mora was driven into the wood to the full thickness of the spine and didn't bend, but the Ganzo was driven in deeper and yet the steel that was in the wood was much thinner at that point. Anyone knows that even if the Ganzo steel was a little superior it would bend more easily because it is thinner at the point it bent. Thin steel bends more easily than thicker steel. It's that simple.
4. How long a country has made steel is meaningless in this debate, it is how WELL their steel is made now that counts. Sandvik / Alleima (not Sweden - Sweden doesn't make steel AFAIK) makes GREAT steel. Chinese companies make some great steel too, and they also make some low quality steel as well. The steel Ganzo uses is very unlikely to be the best steel from any Chinese company.
5. In case someone missed it - I agree that Sandvik / Alleima makes better steel than the steel used by Ganzo. I agree with that, but the arguments of WHY in the above post are not the reasons why. Steel manufacturing is well known China, they copy and reverse engineer everything. Their steel might be a lower quality on average but it's a matter of a few percentage places, not by a huge degree. Just check out AR-RPM9, and you will find out that Ahonest Changjiang (Chinese company) makes some steel that is easily a fair bit better than the standard steel (12C27) that Mora uses.
@@CanadianCuttingEdgeI was talking about history. Because today all the steel that Sandvik / Alleima melts doesn't even come from iron ore anymore. It comes from scrap steel that they recyckle and that has already been refined.
In the past there were not as much iron that could be recyckled since it hadn't been dug up yet.
But when the industrial revolution started from the very beginning it was mostly iron ore that they had to use and then it mattered a lot how pure the iron ore was.
Let's go back 100 years and produce 1 ton of pure iron. If you have 70% iron ore content in your ore, then you only need to process 1,43 ton of ore.
If you instead have iron ore with 15% iron content then you have to process 6,67 ton of ore to get 1 ton of pure iron.
Of course that takes more energy and more effort, because the ore is of much greater volume and hence it will take much more space and energy to heat up the owens. It will require bigger ownes and more energy.
But it will aslo require a lot more digging because you have to digg more ore. Therefore you will conusme a lot more energy with your machines, which run on diesel or whatever. Both for tranporting and digging.
But I don't argue that the competetive advantage is that big today, just that it was bigger through out history when it all started.
Excellent 👍🏻
@@Hanna1968 sounds like you should move to china
I would always prefer a full flat grind knives. I had a few Moras and they are good knives , the limitations are in food preparations and other tasks when small knives are used. Tis is my experience and my thoughts. I can be wrong...
So we discovered a finer tip bends when a thicker one doesn't. Wow!
Crazy I know
You can just use a magnet to see how far the tang goes. You don't have to cut into it. Hope that helps.
I had in 2 of the same Ganzo's also, both tips snapped straight off in the tip test. So I think there might be a variation in their heat treatment. Ideally one wouldn't want either a snapped or a bent tip, since it's fatiguing the steel.
Ganzo i think shoots for high rockwell without minding the development of proper microstructure in a steel.
I think it also depends what you're going to use the knife for. You might be just harvesting food in your garden or cutting some other type of material
I have used a Mora for many years and many, many deer. That carbon steel holds an edge like nothing else. The only things I have done is blue the blades and drill a hole in the back of the handle for a paracord lanyard.
Very informative video. Thanks Aaron. Another great video.
Thanks so much Kenneth.
look at the tip geometry and taper its NOT meant for stabbing THEN bending sidways no matter how good the metal is.
Thank You. Haven't heard of this knife. I really like the belt clip. It would probably be better around the fishing arena. Ive cleaned a lotta fish with a Mora , but didn't really like the grind for that purpose. Being it bent at the tip isn't a bad thing, probably a better thing. Because of its grind it set in deeper in the endgrain , so it would have had to break , or bend. I gritted my teeth while you done that test. The pallet bend test said to me that its a decent heat treatment. But edge retention is a must.
Glad enjoyed the video Phil, ya I thought something like that would happen
I have used this to clean fish. 8Cr14Mov at 55-56 HRC won't hold an edge as well as 12C27 at 60 HRC but it beats the Moras at food prep, cleaning fish, breaking down small game etc due to the grind. I have both the Companion and the Ganzo and use them in those tasks, Companion for bushcraft and woodworking, Ganzo for meat processing and food prep. 🙂
The ganzo's tip bent on the first tip test. Softer steel, so it'll be easier to sharpen, which you will be doing a lot of sharpening on the ganzo. Morakniv really knows what they are doing with the heat treatment. Even if the steel is identical, Morakniv will outperform others.
lol, I like my companions but they aren't a godsend or anything.....
the garberg sucks. I own one and it dulls incredibly fast even through straight-grain wood
More to do with the grinds than the steel in this case.
Mora is thicker, so it is harder to bend and doesn't penetrate as deep in the wood
@@escapetherace1943 ya these fanbois are fucking hilarious. Imagine simping for a cheap company
That’s why I love my Mora’s! Their tuff as nails and performance is very good.
Moras are just it. I have four. I’m also a fan of the Scandi grind. It’s not the best for food prep, but it can be done. Ganzo makes goog knives. I have three folders, but I’ll stick with the Moras all the way for outdoors.🔪🎸🇳🇴
the thinner companions aren't to bad for food prep.
but the one to get that does it all
is the Mora Kansbol.
I found one of those somebody dropped
the blade comes out of the handle a bit crooked but it seems good
I like the ganzo handle. Appears to be nice. Maybe a good cheap food prep knife.
i have a Mora as my EDC. I do handyman work, and a fair amount is carpentry. The scandi grind is the thing that makes it work well for me. I watch a lot of videos, and noticed that people in the Scandinavian countries use this grind a LOT for carpentry.
What? Do you not have power tools? What kinda hack uses a knife to build shit day to day?
I’d say always instead of “a lot”.
Go outside here and every handyman, carpenter and heavy duty worker carries a Mora or similar. Scandi grinds ALL the way.
Hunter or bushcraft knives might use other grinds, but you ask a Swede (or Norwegian/Finn) if they know what a scandi grind is they won’t know. It’s just
a default knife construction.
Good video, from your testing I will still recommend the Mora for those starting out, and will still gift Mora knives as the grand kids come of age. Just wish the old style Mora Scout with wood handles, metal guard, and leather sheath was easier to find.
Those are pretty awesome!
I know, I have the old Classic Fisherman, I don’t know if it is even in the catalogue any more.
That rubber breaks down and smells like sick after a while,
By the way, that is a crap way of making tent pegs ! two strikes with a hatchet gives you a clean upward notch.
@@CrimeVid But he wasn't testing/comparing hatchets.
Sharpenability is the most important factor in the field when it hits the fan.
Man you got the most interesting knife reviews on TH-cam!
Thanks so much Don. Really appreciate that!!
I use my electrical tone generator and probe to find the blade tang end in the knife handle .
Interesting observation in this video regarding the hardness of the Ganzo blade.
Matches my experiences with Ganzo knives. I purchased two: one with a "D2" blade, the other with a "440C" blade. Both blades were much softer than expected. I've seen so many people saying good things about Ganzo knives I thought maybe I was just very unlucky.
Can anybody else post their experiences with Ganzo blades?
I've been carrying a ganzo folding knife for 7 years and I don't have any problems, yes I also noticed that the steel is a little softer than would be optimal for that type of steel, but on the other hand, the performance is better than the victorionox and latherman 420hc knives I own
I've not had issues with any Ganzo in 440C and I've used maybe a dozen they're around 58 HRC which is slightly softer than optimal, would prefer 60 HRC but stand up to a lot of abuse, hold a pretty good edge for the steel, and aren't difficult to resharpen, so for the price they're hard to beat.
Around 7-8 years back their 440C wasn't heat treated very well and some models were known to have issues. That's not the case anymore. Both the 440C and D2 have been verified by independent testing and their heat treat is pretty good these days (albeit still on the softer side of about 58 HRC, when I would want 60-61 for both steels).
@@adrianjagmag Thanks for the info.
Just for reference, the 440C blade was a F7611, the D2 blade a FH51. Both were purchased in the first half of 2020.
Well it is a very affordable option of having knives at multiple spots , as go home bag , camp secondary tool, hiking light back pack etc. For sure Mora is a tool you can trust with out questions , but scandi is mostly for bushcraft tasks. I have some Moras and very glad i do, but also a Ganzo axe , the twin brother of Fiskars X7 , made in the same production line , same matterials , same performance , but a bit cheaper. Also a folder , the G720 with 440C blade , and it is a beast. Check it out Aaron, here in Europe is a top seller.
G'day mate, I have the X7 and it's the best bang for buck hatchet I've ever owned, and my fav to use, (could do with a little taller edge IMO, but hey, it does the business as is. Didn't know there was a Ganzo branded equivalent cheaper again, good on ya for putting that out there, great tip, especially for those starting out.
Yep the G720 is probably the best bang for buck folder I've ever purchased too and a good 440C still holds up to this day IMO. Cheers Duke.
@@eyeofthetiger4184 the other twin brother of the hatchet is Gerber Combo 2.
The grind is likely what made the tip bend as there is less thickness to the tip due to the flat grind.
Correct
I think buying 10 of the Ganzo and holding them in your depot for use as post apocalypse trade goods is a good idea. Maybe use up one or two while you wait. At $15 each, why not?
You know Spyderco has proven that you can make 8cr13 Steel into an amazing Knife Blade so Ganzo should be able to also you would think. Great review my Friend
I don't understand why people want to compare a flat grind knife with a scandi grind knife, they are designed for some very different purposes. It must be just because the two knives use a similar construction and price point, which does indeed have some comparison, but not in the key aspect of the knives.
If you pause the video for the tip test you will see that the Mora only was driven in about half the way the Ganzo was - which makes sense because the same amount of pressure will stop the THICKER Mora tip prematurely and the thin Ganzo will be driven deeper. It's a comparison between a Scandi and a flat grind, OF COURSE the thinner blade will bend more easily. It's not a like-for-like comparison.
The Mora gets an automated sharpening at the factory which is consistent from one blade to the other whereas the Ganzo might be sharpened well or it might be sharpened very poorly, it just depends on which one you get. Way too many knife reviewers don't closely investigate how well a knife has been sharpened - especially when the knife is a very low cost knife. Certainly, Ganzo needs to do better factory sharpening!! as does at least 99% of the knife brands that produce low budget knives out there. Mora is the only brand I know that uses automated sharpening and their edges are consistent as a result.
Why do some people insist on calling it GONZO? A doesn't say "OH". Must be an educational defect somewhere.
Just my worthless opinion but I think the Kansbol would work circles around that ganzo . The combo grind gives the performance of both a flat grind and a scandi .
I don't know if you have seen these or know anything about them but Amazon has a knife made by CuCut knife company in China. They are a Mora style knife also. A 2 pack sells for $12. You may want to look into those also.
a Mora Companion is one of two blades I religiously carry around in the local bush or jungle … the other one being a cheap 12 inch high carbon spring steel local parang … best wishes …
Thanks I use my $17.00 Mora's as a utility and garden knife. Like the scandi grind for ease of sharpening and will keep them...
Great review! Thanks, Aaron!
Thanks for watching Richard
Appreciate the test. Don’t see why or how anyone would buy this when you can get a stainless or carbon mora for $1 more.
Because the scandi grinds isn’t all that great at most things!
Could you do a comparison of the new Flissa 9" D2 steel knife? It looks interesting for $20 (full tang, wood handle). Around $26 for micarta handle, $23 for G10 handle. 🤔
did he do chemtest on the china knife? like is it safe to eat anything cut with it? or is it using those contaminated steel?
Another great review Aaron. I had a feeling the Mora would come out on top. All the best from Ireland.
Thanks for watching Martin and glad you enjoyed it!
For the price the Ganzo folders I have are pretty good, I have always felt the scandi grind on my Moras where the big attraction and what made them special to me.
I have a couple Ganzo folders and they are GREAT knives.
No experience, but plenty of speculation. How about a Mora for the bushy stuff and a Ganzo for the camp kitchen prep? Unless you run into some really resistant tomatoes. Just thinking out loud. I mean, the two knives would run you less than $40. And you'd be covered. Besides the Ganzo is pretty good-looking. Right?
G'day Aaron, since I'm not a huge fan of a scandi for "do everything" applications, ...(though I do, .... do just about anything with them, lol), I really wanted to like the Ganzo for its sabre grind, but I did shudder as soon as you mentioned 8Cr; its fine for string, (perhaps not rope), cutting and the like, ...... but don't get it anywhere near timber IMO, especially fruitwoods and other hardwoods ..... unless you like sharpening more than using.
I assume its the HT on Mora's 12C, but what ever it is, it certainly punches above its weight. Incidentally the same can be said for the AUS-8A used on the CS Finnwolf.
Btw; a sabre/reciprocating saw ...... is certainly one way to reveal a hidden tang, lol.
A lotta good features on the Ganzo, I like the grip in particular, but at the end of the day, for me, not worth the purchase, even at the price. Thanks for showing it though mate, interesting, enjoyed the vid as always and proud to be a sponsor. Cheers Duke.
Thank you for being apart of the channel!
So many Mora’s?!?! Which one would you recommend for edc around the farm?
I would say the 511 or the robust
I had my F1 for 25 years and it has been used a lot, still going strong 👍🏻
Always perfect, professional videos!
Thank you 😀👍💪
Thanks Andy Really appreciate it!!
Thank you for this video! The new Ganzo seems like it would be a great cam knife.
A knife grind lesson for me. I understood the Scandi, sabre , and flat grinds as three different types of grinds, with the sabre grind being something between a Scandi and flat. In this video you use sabre and flat grind interchangeably. I notice the Ganzo grind appears to be one that really isn’t a sabre or a flat, but something actually between those two.
Do I need reset/correct my understanding of knife grinds?
Thanks!
You have a Scandi, Full Flat Grind, Flat or saber grind are the same, and hollow. Hope that helps.
Yeah, a saber grind is a flat grind that doesn't go all the way to the top of the blade. If it does, it's considered a "full" flat grind. Saber grind is a type of flat grind.
Since the geometry of the tip is so different I can't conclude which one is harder. A simple scratch test could say that.
Great video, many thanks.
Thanks for this very fun video.
If I had no or very few knives and not so much money the Ganzo might be a good potential option for a bit of an all rounder, probably better than many of the other Ozark Trail level options out there though if you shop around you can get a Mora 2000 or Bushcraft Forest for a few dollars more that would be a better option. I love my cheap and cheerful fixed blades, Mora, Hultafors, Marttinni, Buck Light Max, my more expensive knives can be left gathering dust and i don't see the Ganzo as a future purchase.
I would like your opinion on the kizer cabox
Yeah. I'll stick with the Mora. Proven track record. World renowned Quality. Big fan of the scandi grind as well on all my knives.
Ya, I thought it might be an alternative but the crappy edge geometry and bent tip did it for me.
@@gideonstactical Never hurts to try them out though. You never know.
@@fredalbrecht986 true my friend, and to understand the composition.
@@gideonstactical By the way. Thanks for doing the video. It's appreciated.
I bought a Ganzo folder a few years ago, the tip bent on that, although the edge was decent on it. It made me laugh though because as we know, Ganzo clone a lot of knives, but they cloned two knives in one for a best of both worlds option. It looked identical to a Spyderco Paramilitary 2, except they'd then also added Benchmades axis lock to it. It feels just like a Paramilitary 2, sure the quality is not as good but the Para 2 was more than ten times the cost. For quality at a budget price though, it's hard to beat Mora.
I have seven moras ….I know it’s a sickness 😂😂😂 my favourite is the humble companion. I have it in carbon and stainless steel. There is a very good reason for this..I do a lot of beach side camping where the stainless is right at home. I have owned Moras now for 51years and I have to say they are a magnificent tool I actually cried like a baby when I lost my original old mora it was a great carving knife and it got better with age. I finally bought a new 511 recently after just destroying my old one but with a little love and a new handle it still stays in my collection. Now I must point out I make my own knives which I sell on a limited basis. I have a great deal of knives all based around bushcraft and camping tasks. I do make and sell a couple of hunting knives and do a ‘Bowie’ style knife for hunters. In other words I have a lifetime of experience but I am still a student . Knifes are the most useful tool man ever invented and steel and treatment is man style witchcraft 😂😂😂. I have been a fan of your channel a very very long time my friend and I thank you for your insight. To all reading this enjoy yourself and peace.
Can you hang the ganzo sheet on a Jeans button like the mora?
Can you drill a small hole in a Mora handle to add a Lanyard? I just got my first Mora and I really like these but red and black and I’d like to add a bright 550 Lanyard. Thank you my friend
Yes, no problem
No idea about elsewhere in the world, but here in the uk the Ganzo models are about twice the price of the Mora ! if you shop around...........so Mora any day of the week for me, i have at least half a dozen moras
Personally, I would take the mora if I were to just have one.
However Chinese knives are a great disposable option if you are able to get them high quality at Chinese direct from manufacturer prices.
Nothing is better of a Mora for the price, thanks for the video. Can you test the banchmade puukko?
Due to the fact that i live very close to the factory of Morakniv and the store with heavily reduced prices, and i could not stress this enough, the local patriotism i would chose Mora.
Morakniv offers great value and history at attainable prices, just like Victorinox. I don't think that anything else is worth the effort of considering if it's a real replacement. I mean, why worry if my Eldris or Swisschamp do the job?
Great review. Thanks Aaron. I'll hold on to my Mora for it's bushcraft ability. If I need a flat ground similar-sized fixed blade, I will look elsewhere than Ganzo.
I'm a fan of Morakniv knives, but I have to defend Ganzo here. The cut itself is more delicate than scandi, so the tip will be even more delicate. There's nothing like Scandi for wood, but for other tasks, a full flat one is much better. This Ganzo is something in between Mora and Opinel, which in my opinion form a complementary pair. An informed user will probably be as satisfied with this Ganzo as with Mora or Opinel.
I don’t foresee anything ever beating a Mora in that price range especially from China.
I've used Mora knives since I was 6 years old (I'm 40 now, so that's 34 years of experience) so I can tell there's not many knives in that price point that can compare. The only complaint I have about Morakniv is that they're a way too conservative and when they try to be modern or tactical they just don't cut it. I wish they would dare to experiment more and put more energy into making knives that could compete in the premium market. Make some sheaths that work with both vertical or horizontal carry, try some premium steels and make some full tang G-10 knives already!
I always imagine mora seeing premium knives as a scam. Besides my froe is a better froe than a premium knife despite/because having a whole wooden handle.
Gave my 6 year old his first Mora the other week. 😊
He has the same model at his grandma as well (scout 39) which was used by me, his 3 cousins, and most likely will be used by his younger brother in a few years. And maybe some day, by their kids.
I'd just go with the Mora. They're well made and the quality will stay the same whereas the Chinese will alter the quality after a few months of selling their knives and make it as janky as they can while still selling units.
I like that it's ambidextrous
I carry my knives left even though I write right
I'm somewhat ambidextrous
I use a left mouse/trackball
says it's 8CR14 which isn't bad if heat treated well
it's about the same $$ as Morakniv
and the tip bends so I'll stick with Morakniv
I bought 6 of those little Ganzo fellers, and they make a pretty good set of steak knives.
Nothing better than a Mora. Whether stainless or Carbon I love them. I actually use all their wood carving knives as well and they kick butt. I took one of my carbon companions to the grinder and ground it to a full flat grind blade and let me tell you it is SLICEY! I actually cut the crap out of myself with it breaking down boxes. I think full flat ground knives are actually easier to sharpen than scandi knives which is why I modified the knife. They're cheap enough that I'm willing to experiment. Maybe give it a try and see what you think.
Scandi grinds are legendary for a reason.
yea, for wood carving, not anything else
Hey Aaron great video I have the Maura companion great knife although Ganzo makes pretty good pocket knives and by the way what is that blacked out version watch you’re wearing on the channel keep up the good work man👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
It’s a company just in that color
I would like to get my son a flipper style knife. It needs to be tought and be able to keep an edge. He works in a warehouse and opens and breaks down 100s of boxes a day..What do you recommend?
.Thanks
Nice! The Duralock series from Kershaw has a few flippers with D2 steel SOG Tac might be good too. You want a high flat or a FFG grind to help with cardboard.
Mora for me. Every few years I buy a new one. Then i find one in an old truck or quad. They are the best cheap fixed blade knife there is.if you loose one, oh well.
The mora wana be was very hard for me to sharpen. I understand the different geometry but still
the scandi grind and the sandvik 12c27 is always the better choice in the nearly same price range.
I have two Ganzo folders, one is an automatic. I love them. They have done everything I needed them to do with no issues. They are a good alternative for testing feeatures due to the massive price difference with the originals. Have never picked up any of their fixed blades though.
I wish Mora would put a lanyard hole in their knives !
They can do it for their high range Garberg and Kansbol knives. Prior to the full amalgamation "Frosts" Mora knives had a great sunken lanyard hole on most of their knives.
No problem to drill one yourself
@@SolarCookingGermany 1. No Drill. 2. No Vice.
Think I will give the mora a try. You say there good I believe ya. Thanks Aaron.
I wonder if the G807 would be any better. Slightly more expensive and it uses 9CR14 instead of 8.
what is the point of comparing apple and orange? Why not find same profile knife between the Swed vs Chinese knife instead?
Nice demo!
Thank you!!!❤
You are so welcome!
Another great video, thank you, sir.
You should test the Flissa Bushcraft knife. Its a straight mora companion (non hd) clone for the most part with a ambidextrous sheath for $10.
Thanks for the tip!
If anyone can beat a mora I want that knife! Thanks for the video
My friend you are a true Renaissance Man when it comes to Knives. I have a small budget and would like your Opinion on an EDC, Field Dressing to slicing a Tomato Fixed Blade Knife and what you would recommend honestly.? I really like the Garberg and Kansbol to the BK14 lol and yes the RAT-3.. Semper Fidelis
good info dude. i paid $12 for my companion and it's a fantastic knife
Thanks Aaron. The Ganzo looks a bit more tactical, but not sure I would exchange my Mora for it.
it's not meant to be an wood carving knife, it's meant to cut food, and other stuff.
Perhaps the Morakniv Pro Flex with the flat grind would have been a better knife to compare. The damaged tip was to be expected. Thank you for the very informative video🙏