Sharp, precision knives are essential to hunters in the field. Over the years, I have used and abused many different knives with mixed results. One knife company whose knives I had never used until 2020 is MORAKNIV. Simply MORA for many. For the last six months I have been using two knives from MORAKNIV from Sweden. The MORAKNIV Kansbol (in olive drab green) and Garberg (black) were sent to me to field test and give my honest, no-nonsense review of both. This review will be on the Kansbol.
The MORA Kansbol is a lightweight, stainless steel fixed blade outdoor knife with a lightweight polyamide plastic handle. It also has a polyamide plastic sheath which has a click-lock to prevent the knife from falling out of sheath. You can get the multi mount system as well, but the Kansbol I reviewed had simply the plastic sheath, which I though was pretty awesome. The blade is Swedish 12C27 stainless steel that is razor sharp (right out of the box),and holds up extremely well after use. The backside has a 90-degree square blade spine ground especially for use with a fire starter.
Total length is 8.9-inches (226 mm); with a blade length of 4.3-inches (109 mm); weight 4.7 oz. (134 g).
When I saw the polyamide sheath I told my wife there was no way this would hold the knife in place. I loaded the knife into the sheath and proceeded to shake it, toss it around, turn it upside down and shake it, but the knife stayed put. The Kansbol sheath surprised me and I’ll admit I was hasty in my judgment.
The knife inside the case is lightweight and balanced. No, it’s super lightweight and balanced. I wore it on my belt while scouting for deer and I didn’t even notice it was there. I used it to trim branches and had to be careful to not cut myself. It’s so sharp that it cut through branches easily. I took it out on the trail to show my hunting partner some of the features and nearly cut myself when trying to fit it back into the sheath without looking down. Don’t do that. You are liable to stab yourself and need medical attention.
The handle is also caters to handling in wet conditions. What I mean is, if your hands are wet the knife shouldn’t slip. The grip is easy to hold and the material grips well. There is a hole for a lanyard, should you choose to add one. I am not a fan of lanyards on my knives, so I did not add one as I feel they get in the way.
Disclaimer: In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have any photos of me using the knife. I used the knife many times over six months, but it was difficult to take photos by myself. I used my phone and got as crafty as I could at the time.
Even after using it for six months, there was no corrosion or pitting. Even after leaving it wet and allowing it to air dry over and over. I still had one final test. I wanted to cook a steak and use it to slice through the meat to see how well the edge held up…but I will admit that the steak was cooked medium rare, I dove in and forgot to take pictures. Whoops! (The steak was delicious and the Kansbol cut through it like butter.)
The Kansbol blade is incredibly sharp and strong. As it is lightweight, I enjoyed handing the sheathed knife to my friends as they anticipated it weighing much more. Every person said it was far lighter than they had imagined. This would be a great field dressing and skinning knife for any hunter. California hog hunters would really appreciate the grip and razor sharp blade when skinning a fatty hog.
Overall, the MORAKNIV Kansbol is one of the best knives I have had the pleasure of field testing. The results were surprising and I am a believer in MORAKNIV. Those who have told me for years to get one knew what they were talking about. I love this lightweight knife and at a MSRP of $33.99, how could you not? I have decided that I must try this knife during hunting season this year due to the sharpness, durability and weight. The Kansbol is a great addition to my hunting kit.
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