Customer Reviews

Frosts Master Craftsmen Triflex Knife

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having read many favorable accounts of the knives of Mora, Sweden, and their usefulness in bushcraft and outdoor contexts, I had to try a few to see for myself how they did. The "Triflex" Craftsman was one of my first, and I have considerable respect for this knife. I gather that "Triflex" is used by this manufacturer for high-carbon, non-stainless steel that is "differentially tempered"--that is, the heat treatment is such that the edge is hard, and therefore supposed to hold its sharpness relatively better, while the spine is left somewhat softer, increasing the blade's resiliency and thus its toughness and resistance to breaking. Some of the best blades in the world are made this way. It is a somewhat-complicated thing to do, and thus I was pleasantly surprised to see an inexpensive factory-produced knife with a differentially-tempered blade.

In my somewhat-limited experience, this knife is tough--blade survived being driven through a hardwood stick with a baton, as some wilderness survival practitioners recommend when one wants to cut wood with a small knife. When I did this with a new knife, the very edge of the edge formed a not-so-tough "wire edge" about a hair's breadth in width; when that came off, it rendered the edge dull, but some quick sharpening put it to rights. I have heard that Mora knives sometimes have edges that are a bit soft until you've sharpened them a few times--one theory is that the polishing process, which follows the heat-treatment, may draw the temper from the very edge of the edge and thus soften it, and it takes a few sharpenings to get down past the steel that's been softened by the heat from the polishing, and down into the truly-hard steel underneath. My experience would be consistent with this theory.

The handle is kind of large. It is of a very tough plastic. I cannot imagine breaking this plastic without the violent use of a heavy hammer. The handle was a bit slick when I got the knife new, but I found that scrubbing it with coarse sandpaper converted the slick surface to a very-grippable one that would keep the knife from slipping even under such slippery use as, say, cleaning a fish.

One of my favorite attributes of this knife is the fact that the lanyard hole in the handle lines up directly with a hole in the belt-loop part of the scabbard. What this means is that if you thread a mini-carabiner through the lanyard-hole and through the hole in the scabbard, you can lock the knife into the scabbard, making it very hard for the knife to pop out. (Many of the modern Mora knives are held into their plastic scabbards by merely snapping in, and I've often felt that this method of securing a knife in its sheath is somewhat precarious. The last thing you want in a wilderness or survival situation is to loose your knife, or, maybe even worse, have it come loose from its scabbard in close proximity to vulnerable parts of one's body, potentially miles from medical help.)

All in all, it's a great knife, cuts very well; its edge geometry makes it great for most small-to-medium-knife tasks.

It is hard to get a better knife for the money.

If you're interested in bushcraft but you are on a tight budget like me, then this is the knife for you. I got this particular one after I researched entry-level bushcraft knives and asked for it in particular as a Christmas gift. It was recommended on some bushcraft forum that I can't recall at this time.

I've had it for a couple of weeks now and have used it to split hardwood limbs that were 3" thick and also to make feather sticks. In my efforts to split the wood, I placed the blade on the end of the piece of wood and pounded the spine of the blade with another piece of the same wood. Several times I solidly struck the very tip of the sharp point of the knife, but it did not bend, break, or otherwise become dull in any way. It held up great and once I cleaned the knife up a bit it looked almost new and the blade didn't even require any resharpening before I could make more fine feather sticks. The blade is awesome on this knife!

I've also used it as a general utility type knife and have not found it lacking at all in any application.

The handle fills the hand nicely and gives a good feeling grip.

My only complaint is that the thinnest part of the plastic sheath broke, but I was planning on getting a leather sheath for it anyway.

The next time I need a good knife or know someone who needs a good knife, I will look no further than Frost's Mora knives.

I didn't end up running across Mora style knives until just a year ago, but I've become a quick convert. Now I understand why so many fishermen, outdoorsmen and survivalists sing their praises.

This Mora Triflex knife has a 4 1/8" (105 mm) blade that is .098" thick. That's a little thicker than some of the other Mora style knives from Frost (most of the other Mora knives are .079" thick).

To me thicker generally means that the knife is a little more durable and it means that the knife in question is able to tolerate abuse a little more abuse than it would if it were a little thinner. This knife is pretty durable. I mostly use my Moras as fishing knives or for food prep where their edge holding ability really comes into play since you're using it constantly.

It's a really good knife and one of the best (from the already good) Mora style knives from Frost.

Holds edge very well. Stays quite sharp despite I worked wood with it.
I choose it over (Frosts Carbon Clipper Utility Knife)because of thicknes. Sheath could be better.

At under $15, this knife is a good value. It's light and tough. Sword Demon sent the knife fast, but it arrived a little dirty. The knife cleans up okay though. Also, the sheath has some plastic protrusions half way down that create difficulty putting the knife in the sheath. The point gets stuck for me about half the time. And the knife did not arrive very sharp, but it sharpens well.

Despite the problems, the knife gets four stars because you get a lot of knife for the money.

This is a good Knife worth the price. The blade takes a razors edge and is a bit thicker than the green swedish mil. mora. The sheath is a plastic type that holds the blade via pressure fit. It attaches to a belt through a slot in a tab that extends up from the sheath. This tab is thin plastic and is showing signs of fatigue after 2 days. I will probably make a nylon sheath and use the existing one as a liner 'cause the blade is wicked sharp!

I have extensive experience with Frost Mora blades. I have owned nearly all of them, including the curved carving models.

Overall I give Mora blades a 5 star rating with the following understanding: Mora blades are made for CUTTING applications. Mora blades are NOT intended as heavy chopping, battoning, or prying tools!!! If you are looking for a knife to beat on, don't get a Mora. Get a Becker, Kabar or something with real heft and thickness. Mora knifes are brittle for that kind of work. Some folks probably get away with it, but I choose to use another knife for those applications. Mora's wonderful carbon steel edge does however excel at cutting chores.

This model I give a 4 star rating because I don't love the handle as much as other wooden, full tang models, but if this knife is available, it is still a great option as a light cutting tool for bushcraft and outdoor use.

I do prefer this handle to the Clipper models however.

I think I paid about $16 for this thing, including delivery. It is easily worth twice that. Excellent blade structure and metallurgy. It takes and holds a fine edge. The only con regarding this knife is that it doesn't have a full tang. Knowing that up front, though, one can plan for carrying and using this knife within it's abilities. Very satisfied with this purchase.

Please note that some sources list this as a stainless blade. It is not. It is high carbon, and will readily form rust/corrosion. This is not a problem for me as I prefer such blades and know how to take care of them properly. For some folks, this could present an issue.

When I was a kid, my father was a commercial fishermen. They used the little cousin to this knife; it had a red handle and a little hard-plastic scabbard with a leather hanger. They were almost indestructible. In fact, I still have one. They cost probably less than a dollar at the marine supply back then. I heard about this upgraded version in a self-reliance blog. I am in love with this knife. In fact I own two: one for camping and one in the car ... just in case. I own many, heavy-duty and expensive knives of all kinds. Still, this is one of my favorites.