# General > General Knives & Blades >  MORA Knife tang question

## Sourdough

I have a "Mora" kitchen knife, that I really like and use a lot in the kitchen. But I assume it has a small rapid taper tang, as it has a yellow plastic handle.

Is there anyway to know other than xray how long the tang is......? maybe a magnet...?

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## pete lynch

I used a magnet out of a hard drive that quit on me to check the tang length on the Moras I own. They are very strong magnets and they stuck to the handles on most of the knives 2/3 of the way down the length of the handle. Some went further.
Hope that helps.

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## Rick

Pete's right. A magnet will drop off when you reach the end of the tang. You're description is pretty good. I think technically they are called "push tangs" because of the design (you knife guys might know) but the plastic handles are molded to them. I use the term rat tail, which isn't technically correct but describes them so most folks can visualize what they look like.

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## Camp10

A mastersmith will tell you that a hidden tang that is at least 2/3 the length and width of the blade is as strong as a full tang as long as it is tightly fit to the handle.  This tang is at least 2/3 the length, shy of the width but the real problem are the huge air gaps around the tang.  I cut through a few on the side I cut off as well.  

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## Justin Case

I will Never Buy anything less than a full tang carry knife again,,   Just seems silly, If you are going to spend money, why not get something you know is solid.  JMO

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## Winter

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Japenese swords are not full tang. European swords are through tangs.

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## Rick

It depends on the maker and even then on the knife. The traditional Japanese sword was generally full tang. The tang is referred to as the nakago and there are several types. The Suriage is a full tang. 

Here's an article for you: 

http://www.ncjsc.org/nakago-1.html

You can find plenty of examples of European rat tails in their traditional swords. Look at any of the hunting trousse knives. Almost all of them were rat tails and those were made in the 19th century.

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## kyratshooter

If the only way you can get to the abriviated tang and see the horrid air gaps is to saw the handle off the tang, that is actually a positive mark for the knife!

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## Sarge47

> I will Never Buy anything less than a full tang carry knife again,,   Just seems silly, If you are going to spend money, why not get something you know is solid.  JMO


Be that as it might, my Mora 2000 is NOT full tang, but I'm not sorry I got it!  The light weight of the blade offsets any problems that a 3/4ths tang might have.  Add to that the field test that Klkak did with one tells me that there are "full Tang" knives that might not do as well!  JMO.   :Cool2:

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## tsitenha

I use Mora red handle knives for personal project I split the handle off and it is a B...... those knives are good. I use deer antler as a handle and epoxy them in place but would never feel ill equiped with just a red handled Mora, 2/3 tang or not.

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## Camp10

> If the only way you can get to the abriviated tang and see the horrid air gaps is to saw the handle off the tang, that is actually a positive mark for the knife!


No!  I hope a few other makers jump in as well but this is pretty dangerous IMO.  This tang is supported on both ends but not in the middle, failure was a sure thing.  I havnt used this knife for long and never for anything very tough which is probably the reason I didnt end up with that blade back around and into my hand.

Like I said, the 2/3 tang isnt a problem IMO but only supporting the blade by less than half the tang is a problem and this will be my last Mora.

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## Rick

I have had a LOT of Moras go through my hands and I've yet to hear of anyone having a problem and getting injured. I suppose there is always the first time. 

Camp, I think the thing you need to consider is the cost associated with them. These are, for the most part, $10-$20 knives. What they deliver for that price is pretty remarkable, I think. 

If you want a full tang knife that will live up to the same use and abuse then you are going to pay more than $20. Mora also makes several full tang knives but they are in the $125 price range.

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## kyratshooter

Rick, you can get that particular model for $10 all day long, which makes you even more correct, they are a bunch of knife for the money.

No, I would not want to use one to lever a Buick off an injured person, as my only cabin building tool, or to chop rocks to build a pyrimid.  But I have never had one come apart half way through a deer cleaning or any other NORMAL knife use.

My younger brother could tear anything up!  You put him in an empty room with three ball bearings and he would break one, take another apart and lose the third.  He would probably take a perfictly good knife and saw it in half to declare it useless too.

I am sure you could clamp the blade in a vise and use a breaker bar to pry the grip off and call that failure, but as I see it, if you have to go to extreme measures to purposely tear it up it has not failed, it has been torn up.

This is like pouring beer on the ground to get the empty can!

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## Camp10

Rick, I know you sell Mora knives and I am not telling others to keep away from them but IMO this is a dangerous error.  Anyone else can take it any way they want.   I know they are a cheap knife and I'm sure it is one of the best $15 knives on the market but seeing this and having the first Mora I owned break at the handle after a week of use is enough for me.

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## Camp10

For the record, I didnt plan to uncover anything bad when I cut that knife.  I used it as a test mule and this was its final test.  In its previous test, I  cut chunks out of the blade with a few other knives making it unusable but I did use it for plenty of lightweight work before this and found it to be pretty useful for most light tasks.  To have a defect in that spot in the handle is a problem.  I dont care who made the knife or how much you like their products.

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## Sourdough

OK.......The reason I was wondering about the tang is: My Becker BK-9 has roughly the same length blade, and easy to remove handles. So I was wondering what if I took the handles off the BK-9 so it was a flat blade, and remove the handle from the Mora which is about just over 1/16" thick, that maybe both would fit into the same sheath at the same time.

Yes, What is the need..........None, it is just that they say old people need to keep thinking, and it is so hard for my to think "Inside the Box". It was just a mental masturbation. (Which is why I might do it anyway.......)

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## Rick

Camp - Whether I sell anything is really beside the point. I wouldn't intentionally steer anyone wrong..well, there is this one guy..but him aside I wouldn't. I wouldn't sell anything I didn't believe was quality either. I do appreciate your opinion and I don't really care for those gaps any more than you do. I can't imagine that was the only handle Mora ever made that had that problem either. But that's even more to the point that I've never seen one have a problem. 

If your knife snapped at the handle then, 1. it wasn't the handle that failed and 2. you should have sent it back for a replacement.

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## Rick

Sourdough - You hang around the geese too much. You need more human contact.

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## kyratshooter

Camp, exactly what were you doing when you snapped the blade on that Mora?

Building a snare?
Making a spear?
Butchering a deer?

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## rebel

I guess I'm lucky.  I've never had a knife fail me doing what it was intended for.

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## kyratshooter

> I guess I'm lucky.  I've never had a knife fail me doing what it was intended for.


I'm in the same boat!

I am 60 and the only knife I ever remember failing me was a $0.98 pen knife from Woolworths back around 1959.

I even have the last Sabre Barlow I paid $2.98 for around 1960.  The blades are sharpened paper thin but I could still dress a deer out with it.

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## Rick

Now I know that's a lie! If you're 60 there's no way you can remember 1959. I can't even remember where I put my glasses 10 minutes ago.

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## Camp10

> Camp, exactly what were you doing when you snapped the blade on that Mora?
> 
> Building a snare?
> Making a spear?
> Butchering a deer?


Cutting rope.




> I guess I'm lucky.  I've never had a knife fail me doing what it was intended for.


Thats good and like I said, this one didnt fail me yet either.  Its just one of those things that really bothers me to see.





> Camp - Whether I sell anything is really beside the point. I wouldn't intentionally steer anyone wrong.


Rick, I know that.  I trust you, I buy from you and I didnt mean that as it must have come across..sorry.  I was not out to change other people's minds, just stating that mine was changed.  You've tested and handled far more Mora knives than I and I do appreciate your perspective.



From a knifemakers perspective..or at least _this knifemaker_, this is like driving a car knowing that it has steering components that are bad.  If you took your truck to your mechanic and he told you that the tie rod ends are about to break, you will probably look for a ride home and leave the truck with him.  Seeing that air gap is like that to me.   


I'll just step away now...sorry I ever posted a picture that was an eye opener for me.

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## crashdive123

Nothing to be sorry for.  I haven't commented because I really don't have enough knowledge on how that air bubble would affect the knife's performance.  I also don't know if that was an anomaly in the making of that one knife, or if they are all made that way.  I have several Mora knives, but do not use them for heavy tasks.  So far, they have served me well.  My favorites are the wood handled models, so imperfections in the pouring and molding of the handles is not an issue.

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## Rick

No point in stepping away (unless you just want to) and no point in being sorry. We value your opinion, too, and your entitled to yours just like the rest of us. It's all just been talking points for me. Nothing personal was taken away I can assure you of that. I don't have a fat lip...yet.  :Blink:

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