Mora Camp Axe Initial Impressions

Mora Camp Axe Initial Impressions

I was excited about getting this, but after actually holding it, I am currently fairly disappointed.

The blade, while typically amazingly Mora sharp, is too thin to effectively split wood.

I will know more when I get it outside and put it through it's paces.







Coming in at between 40 and 70 dollars, depending on where you get it, I have other less expensive camp axes that look and feel far superior.

I am a HUGE fan of Mora knives; mainly due to the quality and price but this has disappointed. It just feels really cheap.

I plan on taking it out soon and doing a video on how it actually performs so stay tuned for that.

Cool. Please post your full review. I live in Colorado and do a lot of camping and packing and usually bring my Gerber camp axe. It's a great axe but it's a little heavy. Would be nice to know if there is a lighter alternative.

The fact that it can't split wood it not a big deal, IMO. Not really what you need to do when backpacking.

Thanks for posting.

interesting piece.

I collect knives and axes as well. My first impression is it has a bad blade angle in relation to the handle. See below, the grind drops downward vs at a 90 deg from the grip.

It appears to be a decent game skinning blade, but will also have issues trying to split anything with the way the handle wraps the blade.

If you have the cash, I recommend a Granfors Bruks 420 small forrest axe. Imo the best you can buy by far, no comparison. For the purpose of being portable enough for hiking, but still functional, unlike most compact hatchet type tools. 2 lbs...19" handle. Cuts like a full size axe.

I do a lot of backcountry and have family in the tree business. The thing has ridiculous abilities. You can reach and chop through a 2" green branch one-handed from the bucket.

a reply to: semperfortis

It seems to be a bit too lightweight, Fiskars X7 looks to be better as lightweight...

Mora actually calls this a light weight axe. If you where wanting a camp axe, I would suggest Husqvarna 576926401 13 in. Curved Handle Hatchet. I think it would be a better axe for light weight chopping.

a reply to: semperfortis

I'm gonna guess that it's going to perform better than you might think and will be virtually indestructible.

But since I just happened to be on the site I'm going to say it's Estwing's Sportsman's Axe FTW.



www.estwing.com...

Since it is a camp axe and not a maul or full size axe it is not really designed to split wood.

Camp axes and small axes are really made for preparing kindling and limbing trees. They are usually too lightweight to be used for serious splitting.

I have a Marble's Camp Axe. Wooden handle and beautiful steel head. The handle is also untreated so you can prepare it any way you would like. Don't need to worry about nasty varnish that will lead to blisters.

Only $25 when you can find it. It works great to camping and lightweight!

Marrble's Camp Axe

The only thing special about this axe is the blade material. It is made of the same Ultra High Strength Steel that is now used to reinforce high stress areas of automobiles, such as bumpers and roll cages. The main alloying agent that makes this possible is Boron. These Boron steels are capable of being heat treated to very high strength and surface hardness--to the point that ordinary rescue tools don't work on cars that are reinforced with this stuff. They have to be cut apart with abrasive cut-off wheels.

As a sometimes custom knife maker, I thought this would be a pretty good candidate material for making high performance knives, so I tried to buy some a few years ago, but I could not find a supplier who would sell it in small quantities. When I heard that Mora was making axes out of the stuff, I bought one a couple of years ago just to see how it holds up as a cutting tool.

Here's the thing about axes--and this might sound extremely stupid--but they're mainly made for either chopping or splitting wood, and the features you want for chopping are not the ones you want for splitting, and vice versa. For splitting, you want the cutting edge to be thick and have a relatively blunt taper that continues all the way up to the handle; that creates the maximum wedging force when you strike the end grain of the wood. For cutting cross-grain (sometimes called "chipping") you want the cutting edge to be thin and sharp; that will cut the maximum number of wood fibers when you strike the cross grain of the wood. Old timer lumberjacks used to carry double-bit axes with one cutting face ground down to a very fine, thin edge for chipping, and the other face ground very thick and tapered for splitting. If you tried to cut down a tree with the splitting edge of the axe you would be at it all day and the tree would end up looking like it had been attacked by a drunken beaver. Conversely, if you tried to split wood with the chipping edge, you would probably get the blade stuck and stand a very good chance of breaking the edge.

Any single-bit axe (like this Mora) could be ground to be a pretty good chipper OR splitter, but obviously not both simultaneously. This Mora blade is, at best, a compromise. It appears to have been water jet cut out of 6 mm thick (approximately 1/4 inch) flat stock and the taper extends back from the edge only about 14 mm (approximately 1/2 inch), so it is not going to be a very good splitter under the best of circumstances.

I live in a forested area that is transitioning from Redwood/Fir trees to Oak/Madrone trees, with all the associated understory shrubs and vines. I've found that the Mora axe will do a fine job of splitting dried, straight-grain kindling down to the size necessary to start one-match fires in my wood-burning stove or barbeque grill, and will sever green Madrone branches up to about 1 inch diameter with a single stroke. If the diameter of the wood gets much above about 1 inch in diameter, this small axe is going to reach its limits for either chipping or splitting, pretty quickly.

On the other hand, I would have to say that the blade steel has met or exceeded my expectations; it holds an edge extremely well and even seems to be moderately rust resistant, for a non-stainless steel.


a reply to: semperfortis

Well……

Took it out today and was wonderfully surprised

The “Boron” Steel held up fantastically and only needed some straightening after the day.

Cutting was amazing as the “Scandi” Grind should be, feather sticks and branch trimming was a breeze.

The amazement came with its ability to split. While the thinness of the blade made it less than ideal, the light weight made making multiple hits no problem at all. So it about equaled out as far as my other axes and tomahawks are concerned.

(Thanks all for the recommendations but I own numerous axes, tomahawks and hatchets.. I collect)

My overall impression is favorable now. If they would only include a belt sheath, this would be a fine product.

Semper

a reply to: semperfortis

I just got back from a trip in the woods yesterday.(2 nights out)
We tried out the Fiskars splitting axe,36 inch handle and made for bigger people....(my buddy`s axe,I am not a sasquatch like him haha)
Was so sharp I could shave with it and it was a monster in the woods.

He upgraded from the Gerber hatchet to the Fiskars splitting axe and what a difference.

I would give a Mora axe a chance for sure...I love their knives and have a bit of faith in their quality.

a reply to: semperfortis

Looking for the a good axe.......Gerber tactical downrange axe. It is the real deal and worth the money.