First Thoughts: Mora Craftline Q 546 Knife

Morakniv Craftline Q 546

My youngest two children had finally reached an age where I felt they were mature enough to have a knife. Originally, my intent--as it had been with my other kids--was to give them a small multi-tool type knife, such as the Leatherman Squirt or Micra, with a small set of scissors, a pen-knife, and a few other useful tools. However, as I learned with my older kids, because these tools are so small, they are easy for an active youth to lose, and, frankly, the blades are generally too small and awkward for practical use. Basically, they became a tool of last resort. The impracticality of such knives was reinforced earlier this year when I accompanied one of my sons on an 11 year old Boy Scout camp, and observed how difficult it was for the boys to whittle or do anything of much use with the small pen knives that most of them had brought. (I had brought a small lock blade folder with a 2-1/2 inch blade for my son to use, and it seemed to work much better).

My wife and I next considered just getting a small, lock blade folder for the boys. But my oldest son, with a few years of Scouting under his belt, had begun to prefer a small fixed blade camp or belt knives, and so we decided it would probably be the best choice. My oldest son's favorite knife--even more than his SOG Seal Scout--was a Mora knife, and so we started thinking in that direction. Then, on Black Friday, we happened across the above pictured knives at a local sporting goods store. They answered all we could hope for in a small fixed blade knife.

According to Amazon, the statistics on the knife are as follows:

• Fixed blade knife with stainless steel blade
• Blade Thickness: 0.08" (0.2 cm), Blade Length: 3.8" (9.6 cm), Total Length: 8.2" (20.8 cm), Net Weight: 3.4 oz. (97 g)
• Ergonomic plastic handle
• Plastic sheath with belt clip
• 1-year manufacturer's warranty

The knives are inexpensive--I think they were $11.99 at the store where we got them--although I expect that you could purchase them for less online. It shows up on few things--mold marks and that the spine of the blade is not polished, and still shows marks from being cut out.

A little rough on the spine

However, the polish and grind on the rest of the blade is excellent, and, like all Mora knives, very sharp from the box.

Like other Mora plastic sheaths, the knife simply clipped into place by the sheath--there are no separate straps or snaps to deal with. There is a small drainage hole at the end of the sheath. Notwithstanding the description given above, this is not a belt sheath. That is, there is not a belt loop. Rather, it uses a keyhole attachment designed to slip over a button sewn on the side of a pair of pants.

Both sides

 The handles were large enough for me to use comfortably, yet small enough that the boys (11 and 9, respectively) were able to handle them without too much trouble. I really liked the finger guard, which makes the knife much safer to use.

Since they were Christmas gifts, and only opened yesterday, the only use they saw was opening boxes and other packages. But that being said, they handled well. The boys, of course, were overjoyed.

I suppose a pocket knife is handier to carry around, but given the current social climate about children having knives, I expect that the boys will only be using these around the house or when camping anyway. And in those circumstances, the fixed blade design will work better than a pocket knife.

Based on the thickness of the blade and its shape, this is a true belt knife. It is thin enough to use for cutting food, and most other chores, but probably too thin for some of the heavy duty uses expected of a survival or camp knife. Obviously, while it could be used to skin animals, a drop point knife would be preferable. But the point is sharp and pointed enough to get under string and cord, or for fine cutting tasks. In short, it is a general utility design commonly known, as I mentioned, as a belt knife--and in such a role, I expect it will excel.