The Mora knives I ordered from Ragweed Forge on Tuesday arrived today (Thursday). As happy customers have observed countless times on ETS, www.ragweedforge.com customer service is superb!

Because the model #840 that I got a couple years ago is currently out of stock, I went with the very similar #911 (carbon steel). The 911 costs $12 (plus shipping -- which is a flat $6 for all domestic shipments so I went ahead and bought a few of them). The 911 is in the "Modern Mora Knives from KJ Eriksson" section of the website:

http://www.ragweedforge.com/911.jpg

The 911 blade is slightly thicker (and arrived quite sharp). The handle is larger than the 840's -- yet still comfortable in my small hand. The great thing is the improved sheath the 911 comes with. Still a plastic sheath but, unlike the 840's, the 911 keeps the knife secured when you hold it upside down.

These knives really are a remarkable value. They aren't things of beauty like my Bark Rivers or anywhere near as refined or capable as Doug's MK3 (my fave but I won't leave it in the car, let alone give them away). But the Mora's are functional and a heckuva lot better than no knife at all. And they'll likely be stored full-time in a spare tire compartment (am hoping that won't be a problem with the carbon steel blades, perhaps should have gotten the stainless steel version?).

These Mora 911s are going into the car kits that I'm making for Hanukkah and Christmas gifts. My sister and friends, who are not knife aficionados, will think I spent a lot more than I did on the knife because they look like it and are marked "Made in Sweden."

I'll try to remember to take a photo of these kits as they come together. So far, I have the firesteel, scraper, vaselined cotton balls, steel wool and fatwood -- each individually wrapped in plastic bags and rolled up tight together in a cotton bandana emblazoned with First Aid tips.