MoraknivClipper 840 Fixed Blade Outdoor Knife with Carbon Steel Blade, 3.9-Inch , black

Perfect light knife.

I purchased the Mora Carbon Clipper from Sword Demon for $8 and change. When I received the knife, it was razor sharp (and I mean that literally, you could shave with it). One of the reasons for the knife's sharpness was that it had a "Scandanavian grind" blade with a very low angle on both sides - probably about 14-13 degrees. The sharpener I used for reference only went to 15 degrees and the angle was clearly lower than that. That tends to make for a very sharp knife, though I am curious how well it will hold up in regular use since that angle is steeper than what I use on paring knives in the kitchen. The good news is the Clipper is extremely easy to sharpen. Even a novice can do it thanks to the grind, you just lay the bevel against a flat stone and scrape the whole bevel. No special sharpeners or even much skill needed to keep this knife sharp. However, if you dislike this approach and want to do a compound bevel, you can use various pull-through sharpeners or other sharpening techniques and those will work as well, though, you lose the simplicity of any person being able to sharpen the knife on a flat stone.The knife is a good, solid shop knife at an extremely good price. Because it is so cheap, you don't feel a lot of regret in using it in ways you would never use a $60 knife, and surprisingly it holds up pretty well for a knife that looks like a gaudy steak knife; but it can be broken if abused. The knife is also carbon steel - which means it will rust if it is left wet. It also means it isn't the best knife for saltwater/high-humidity environments. You can oxidize the blade (Google "Forcing a patina") and it will give it very minor protection against rust; but the patina is usually not deep enough to be useful and will scrape off when you sharpen the knife. The patina will also slightly dull the edge (since it basically oxidizes the very fine edge), though the knife is still plenty sharp afterwards. So far, I've just been cleaning the knife after use, drying it off completely, and every once in a while, I give it a little coat of canola oil. No rust problems so far.If you buy this thinking it will beat out your Becker or ESEE, you are probably going to be disappointed. If you buy it as a cheap utlity/shop knife, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at what it can handle. It isn't the best knife in the world; but it easily outperforms knives costing several times what this costs.UPDATE: Batoned the knife about 4" deep into some wrist-thick seasoned hickory I had laying around as firewood. Originally planned on trying to split the wood; but gave up as it was a lot of work driving that tiny wedge through the wood without much blade I could hit. After some yanking and pulling to get the blade free that I was sure would have bent the blade, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the blade was straight and still razor sharp. I kind of expected the edge to roll a little bit with an angle that sharp, but it did not.

It is not often that I can recommend ANYTHING without meaningful reservations. This little knife occasions one such time.My observations reflect most of the ones that have already been made. The knife feels very good in the hand, it is inexpensive, and it cuts like a mother-in-law's tongue! In regard to the last observation, this little knife comes pretty sharp from the factory but it really shines after it is properly sharpened. (By the way, carbon steel Clippers ARE easy to sharpen but the first sharpening can take a bit of time, After all, Clippers are cheap knives and, while their "factory edges" can cut well one cannot expect the same kind of "niceties" on a Clipper that one might find in a much more expensive knife. After the first sharpening, however, the knife actually is quick and easy to sharpen.) A properly sharpened edge on a carbon steel Clipper knife can be scary! One almost gets the impression that Excalibur was made in Sweden. (This is a slight, but very slight, exaggeration!)Even the knife's much-maligned sheath does a nice job of protecting the blade (and, protecting one from the blade) and it doesn't carry all that badly. Those who would "improve" this sheath will find ample ideas on YouTube.I have often read that the Clipper is a "light duty" knife. It is true that the knife's blade is thinner than some Scandinavian knives (which, by the way makes it a great slicer, unlike too many knives from that part of the world). However, I would be very hesitant to consider the knife to be in any way "fragile". As videoed "destruction tests" prove it requires an awful lot of abuse to wreck these things. I find it difficult to imagine a reasonable scenario where these knives would not work as well as any knives of their size.One potential problem that has not been mentioned is the problem of "maintainance"...i.e. being able to "maintain" one's ownership of these knives. It seems that someone always needs this knife more than the current owner. This is no big problem if a "stash" of these knives is kept, however. I have never known a person to whom I have given one of these knives to be anything other than thrilled with it and (at least temporarily) with me.This goes double for a male purchaser with a woman in his life. He would do well to go ahead and order two "Clippers" because one of them is almost certain to mysteriously "disappear" in short order. This phenomenon has been known to happen even when the female partner is otherwise unimpeachably honest and upright!My recommendation would be that the purchaser buy at least four of these knives for his own use and then order a custom sheath. This should keep him and his grandchildren nicely in knives at least until the turn of the next century (or, until such knives are banned, whichever comes first).The only other "improvement" that I can recommend is to file the spine if the knife's blade flat. The knife will look a bit better and the modified spine also works very well with ferrocium fire starters and even as the "steel" in "flint and steel".The Clipper has recently been phased out, though I understand that Mora is now offering a knife that is pretty similar. That having been said, I recommend that "real" Clippers be purchased for as long as they are available.

The Clipper is pretty much a Companion but with a 1/2" shorter handle, as well as a skinnier handle. It rocks the same 4.1" blade that's .08" thick. I quite like the grip pattern on the Clipper, definitely grippy. The sheath is a little more slim and tight. Pics to compare: blue handle is a 511, Green handle is a modified Companion HD, and red is the Clipper. A stainless version would be rad.

I bought this mainly as a dedicated striker for a large ferro rod that I keep in my back pack. It has a fixed blade just shy of 4” long, a slender unpadded but comfortable handle.. for what its worth I am female with average hands. The unground spine so far, is useless to me as a striker, but the blade puts out a serious shower of sparks. The high carbon blade can EASILY and QUICKLY be brought to razor sharpness with just a little wilderness pull thru pocket sharpener and hold that edge longer than a couple high brow brand EDC pocket knives that I have. Good knife, but for the money.. a great knife! I prefer folding pocket knives, but this knife would be great for anyone preferring an inexpensive sharp EDC with a fixed blade. Great for work, tackle box, backpack. Comes with a stiff molded nylon Sheath that fits the knife like a glove, that can be attached to belt