Review – Since the jungle knife first caught my attention, I have been a big fan of it, mainly because of their incredible versatility. Bushcraft knives are designed to handle a large number of difficult tasks and are built for strength and durability. Since 1891, Swedish knife manufacturer Morakniv has been committed to making some of the strongest knives, and their jungle knives are no exception. I remember when I first heard about Morakniv a few years ago, they started to win design awards, and I was surprised that their knives were so strong and cheap. Their products show that you can buy high-quality knives without spending a lot of money. Further proof of this is the Morakniv Garberg BlackBlade Survival Kit. Although I think they call it a lifesaving kit, they played a bit fast and loosely, but brought home one of the best jungle knives I have ever used for a high price of $119.99, as well as a scabbard and integrated diamond sharpener. And an igniter.
What is it?
Morakniv Garberg BlackBlade Survival Kit is a full-handle carbon steel knife with a 4.3-inch blade and polymer handle, mounted in a smart polymer sheath with a removable belt loop attachment and a removable igniter And diamond sharpener. Although I checked the carbon steel Garberg version of the kit, there is also a Garberg stainless steel version and a version with different blades, collectively called Kansbol.
Morakniv Garberg BlackBlade Survival Kit comes in standard cardboard and plastic blister packaging. I like the simple design of the package and how to highlight the package features.
There are more annotations on the back of the package, and details the complete specifications and functions of the survival kit components.
What’s in the box?
- Morakniv Garberg Full Tang Carbon Steel Blade Knife
- Polymer sheath
- Polymer bracket for igniter
- Igniting iron rod
- Belt loop
- Reflective umbrella rope
Hardware specifications
- Blade Type: All Tang Carbon Steel
- Blade thickness: 0.13 inches (3.2 mm)
- Blade length: 4.3 inches (109 mm)
- Blade grinding: Scandi V-Grind
- Blade hardness: HRC 58-60
- Spine angle: 90º
- Overall length: 9 inches (229 mm)
- Weight: 13.8 ounces. (391 g)
- Grip material: polyamide (PA)
- Sheath material: polymer
- Belt loop material: leather
Design and features
Morakniv has been winning design awards for their knives for many years, and their expertise is reflected in this kit. Every design element is well thought out and effective, and when the knife is in the scabbard, the whole kit looks perfect.
Although, as I mentioned before, I feel that a survival kit should contain more items than just a knife, lighter, and sharpener. If the kit also includes some fishing lines and hooks and a compass or some other safety equipment, I would think it is more like a survival kit. This is really just a knife with some additional functions. Although the modularity of these additional features is great. You can remove unnecessary elements according to the situation and keep only the elements you like.
The sheath broke into a belt loop, an ignition rod and an igniter holder with an integrated diamond sharpener.
Both the belt loop and the igniter mount can be easily disconnected from the main sheath.
Due to the grooves and notches on the sheath and the element itself, they snap back into place satisfactorily.
The main body of the sheath is made of sturdy polymer with drainage holes at the bottom to prevent moisture from accumulating around the blade.
Diamond sharpeners can be used to keep your Garberg blades super sharp, but they can also be used with ignition rods to produce some impressive sparks.
The igniter is a cerium iron rod that can perform about 7000 impacts at a temperature of 3000 degrees, and is very suitable for ignition even in humid conditions.
Both the igniter handle and the Garberg handle are made of a sturdy polymer, which is textured enough to maintain a strong grip when wet.
Both the igniter and the Garberg handle have lanyard holes. The included reflective umbrella cord will work well here, but I chose to use a thicker 550 umbrella cord instead. I don’t think the supplied parachute can be used for a long time, it would be better if Morakniv included some thicker parachute in the kit.
Of course, connected to Garberg’s polymer handle is the extremely sharp carbon steel BlackBlade. This knife is terribly sharp, I like it.
The special lapping on this knife is called Scandinavian lapping or Scandi. As we all know, this kind of grinding is very sharp and very strong, but sharpening does require more effort. This kind of grinding on a jungle knife that is as versatile as Garberg is very meaningful, because it provides fine control when processing wood, can easily enter any medium without getting stuck, and there is a lot of metal behind for felling Or similar tasks.
In addition to grinding, I really like the aggressive lines of the Garberg blade and the serious points that are great for piercing or driving the knife.
Garberg also has a ground ridge, which means that it is not polished and has sharp corners, which is ideal for use with ignition rods to generate sparks.
This knife is full soup, which means that its blade extends from the tip of the blade through the handle to the bottom. Approximately a quarter of an inch of steel extends from the bottom of the knife as a saddle, which can be used for striking or hammering.
I do like the black coating of Garberg carbon steel, which is why I chose it instead of the stainless steel version, but this choice does have some consequences. Although carbon steel is very strong, easy to sharpen and maintains good edges, it does require more maintenance when exposed to moisture. If improperly maintained, this blade is prone to rust and needs to be kept clean and dry between uses.
Performance
For such a powerful full-handle blade, Garberg feels very light in your hand. The handle can provide good grip and can be purchased for your thumb at the same time as fine sculpting.
The whole knife is very strong and can be easily used for command. Insert the knife into the log, and then use another log to hammer the spine of the blade to split the wood into fire. This is incredibly abusive for the blade, but this knife can hold it well while maintaining its sharpness.
The carbon steel edges are still fine enough after the wood is feathered from the log to scrape off paper-thin pieces for ignition.
In use, I do hope that the Garberg knife can be firmly clicked into the sheath like other parts. To remove the knife, you only need to pull it slightly. If you are collecting fire in the forest, if your knife accidentally falls out of the scabbard, this may become a problem. Fortunately, you can use a little parachute rope or put some tape inside the sheath to solve this problem. Morakniv also offers other types of scabbards, with the option of holding the knife firmly in place.
I used Garberg instead of my usual EDC pocket knife for about a month, and every time I took it out of the scabbard, I was excited (and a little nervous). Fortunately, although Garberg is one of the sharpest knives I have, its professional design prevents me from accidentally cutting myself. Scandi grinds are known for very little slippage, and Garberg proves this. The included fire rod always emits some very large sparks, whether it is hitting the spine of the blade or the diamond sharpener. Generally speaking, as a toolkit, this is a well-designed and reliable tool. I just don’t call it a survival kit exactly.
what do I like
- Incredibly sharp and powerful blade
- Economical
- The fit, feel and grinding of the knife are great
Areas for improvement
- The polymer sheath cannot completely hold the knife
- Survival kit is not an accurate description
Final thoughts
Although Morakniv Garberg BlackBlade Survival Kit is not a real survival kit, in my opinion, I really like this knife and everything about it. Garberg is very sharp, frightening, very sturdy, and the price is much lower than most similar quality knives at $119.99. I hope this knife is a little safer in the scabbard that comes with it, but for this versatile tool that is likely to last a lifetime, it is not a tool to disrupt transactions.
Price: $119.99
Where to buy: Moraknife and Amazon
source: The sample of this product is made by Moraknife.
