# Is this moraknive set good?



## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

Doing a gift exchange with family with $60 limit and they are asking for my want list. I have wanted to get into spoon/utensil carving. Wasn't sure to ask for a basic set like this or get one better knife or?

https://www.rockler.com/woodcarving-set-120-164

Thanks in advance


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## Phil32 (Aug 31, 2018)

It seems strange to me that they put a 6" sheath on a short bladed knife. It looks okay if you just want to try spoon & bowl carving, though not the perfect deal. As a woodcarver I prefer gouges (curved chisels) for shaping the bowl.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

> It seems strange to me that they put a 6" sheath on a short bladed knife. It looks okay if you just want to try spoon & bowl carving, though not the perfect deal. As a woodcarver I prefer gouges (curved chisels) for shaping the bowl.
> 
> - Phil32


Ok so your advice seems to fall in like with Paul Sellers. Under his advice I bought this Hirsch gouge but when trying to make a spoon using basically this and a spokeshave, i felt i was missing something. Maybe a different size/sweep gouge. This is all i have gouge wise(i do have a regular set of bench chisels as well)
https://paulsellers.com/2013/04/found-a-professional-gouge-that-wont-gouge-you/


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## wildwoodbybrianjohns (Aug 22, 2019)

Those hook knives are good for spoons, particularly on the smaller side. You can hold the stock in your hand and carve, whereas with gouges you have to clamp the stock down, or support it somehow, and carve. Im not sure how well you´ll do with really hard woods like oak if the grain is not uniform. If I was doing spoons though, I would just get the hook knife.


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## jdh122 (Sep 8, 2010)

Hook knives are great for carving the bowl in a spoon (more enjoyable than using a gouge IMHO, and will work fine even on very hard woods like apple or sugar maple as long as it's still green). My concern would be the length of the blade on the straight knife, I think a longer blade is better. I think this is a better Mora straight knife for spoon carving, although some might find the length a bit scary: 
https://www.amazon.com/Morakniv-Classic-Handle-Utility-3-9-Inch/dp/B00449YYM8/


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I have the hook knife but haven't spent enough time with it to form an opinion. I also have the 120 though and I have used it quite a bit and it's one of my favorite blades. The Morakniv steel is good steel and I really like the handles they provide. I also have the 106 and I love it too. Really my biggest beef with Morakniv is that they use the same sheath for a bunch of different models like Phil pointed out. So I have to pull the knife out of the sheath to know whether I grabbed the 106 or the 120.

As far as the hook knife, I have done a good deal of research and asking questions and it seems the general consensus among experienced spoon carvers is that it's a good knife but requires some significant re-shaping of the bevel before it really fulfills its potential.


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## jopo (Jan 7, 2015)

I have used both of those knives for many years although not purchased as a set. They are great and let's be honest…if you are buying them for someone who's fairly new at carving, both knives are excellent and anything you may hear like the 2nd bevels vs 1 bevel or the junky plastic sheath are not real issues IMO. The sheath…mine didn't fit well so I used the knife and made some mods. Easy..or build yourself something out of leather. The double bevel on their hook knives works just fine and I have no problem sharpening which is 95% just a strop with green honing compound. If years later you want to refine the bevel, you can do so but clearly thousands of carvers have been fine with the design.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Morakniv makes fine knives. I don't have either of these but it might be a few bucks cheaper to order them separately from Amazon. You can get a leather sheath with the 164 hook knife, right-handed version, for for $24 and the 120 , including that extra long sheath, for $21.60.


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## Phil32 (Aug 31, 2018)

_Quote:
Ok so your advice seems to fall in like with Paul Sellers. Under his advice I bought this Hirsch gouge but when trying to make a spoon using basically this and a spokeshave, i felt i was missing something. Maybe a different size/sweep gouge. This is all i have gouge wise
- SMP_
This Hirsch gouge is not what I would recommend. First, it is 37mm wide and designed for use with a mallet. Also, it is straight, where you may want to use a bent or spoon bent gouge. The key challenge to carving a bowl shape with any tool is getting the cuts to meet smoothly in the center. Often this requires working cross-grain, which calls for very sharp tools.

Phil


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I say go for that pair SMP. I have no doubt at all that you'll like the 106 and even if you don't like the hook knife, you can probably sell it easily on this site or eBay and put the money towards something else.

I'm kinda like you at Christmas when it comes to family. We do a $50 limit in my family so I always have to come up with something in that price range. I usually end up listing something that might be fun/useful but that I probably wouldn't spend money on otherwise


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## Karda (Nov 19, 2016)

i have 2 mora carving knives and they are great, the wide bevel makes for a sharper knife. I also have a mora spoon knife, it junk. the bevel is very short , it like tring to carve a spoon with a crooked chisel. i am removing the secondary bevel and that helps but it not sharp yet. the quality of the knife is good but the design sucks


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

> I say go for that pair SMP. I have no doubt at all that you ll like the 106 and even if you don t like the hook knife, you can probably sell it easily on this site or eBay and put the money towards something else.
> 
> I m kinda like you at Christmas when it comes to family. We do a $50 limit in my family so I always have to come up with something in that price range. I usually end up listing something that might be fun/useful but that I probably wouldn t spend money on otherwise
> 
> - HokieKen


Thanks all for the advice!

This is the way I am leaning. I guess its a good starter set to see if I like it and then go from there. I would probably buy something from Kharkiv Forge, but its too hard to tell somebody else to get something here, and the shipping takes too long. So I figured it would be easier for the buyer to be able to go to Rockler or order on Amazon. But I love the look of this guys tools(maybe if I get into it more I can buy myself something here later):
https://www.etsy.com/shop/kharkivforge


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