Mora calls this their Craftline Carpentry Chisel, but it looks more like a chisel knife to me. Dewalt has something similar – their side-strike chisel – and I’ve seen some pry bars that looked like this too.
It features a chisel-edge, and a chisel-edged blade, both beveled on one side. The spine is unground, which Mora says is rugged and value-oriented.
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Makes sense – why grind and polish the spine if there’s no functional benefit? Mora knives are often abotu utility and utility at low pricing, without a sacrifice in quality.
The chisel has a TPE rubber handle for grip, and comes with a hard plastic sheath.
User reviews seem pretty positive. If you don’t care for the chisel tip, there’s a similar Craftline Pro knife with a traditionally-shaped knife blade.
Sale Price: $9.74
Buy Now(via Amazon)
See Also(Craftline Knife via Amazon)
Certain colors of Mora Companion Knives also look to be discounted. Companion knives are excellent, featuring good grips and stainless steel blades. There are plenty of options available, but I like the SS ones especially.
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Henrik V
Its a traditional Scandinavian carpenters and roofers tool. Actually a very handy compromise
Andrew
What does it get used for? I’m struggling to see the utility.
fred
Perhaps it finds utility in use with wooden roof and siding shingles – instead of using a shingling hatchet to trim and split shingles and shakes.
Koko The Talking Ape
That makes perfect sense. Thanks fred! It also might explain why a few of us have never seen it used. :/
Rami
Many people use it as a normal chisel if you need to do some rough chiseling and you don’t have a real chisel at your disposal. It also works as a normal knife, a small prybar etc. Something you can’t use your 50-100$ kershaw or similar for.
Ian
I see our challenge here. Picture this:
-You just finished a skilsaw cut amd you want to finish the edge a bit nicer. (Pops chisel knife instead of splitter)
-You’re installing plugs and you need to make a small hole for a box. Your multitool and chisels are in the truck. (Pops chisel knife instead of wasting time and energy)
-You’re installing shingles on a roof and there a few popin double stapples. (Pop chisel knife to pry and remove, also use for cutting extrusions, clean caulking)
See the problem here is you see a chisel, or a knife. Swedish see a nice sharp piece or right angle cutting metal with a perfect grip to go at it. Its a “cheap tool” your grand kids will wonder wtf you used it for looking at all the dents on it going through your old toolbox. The beauty of the answer is in the legacy 🙂 I still have this no-name scrapper I found in my wife’s grand dad’s toolbox she inherited. Its been so used its rounded out proper and my favorite go to for any sort of cutting/scraping/prying when I want to make sure I dont f it up! 🤣
Tegian
It is used for pretty much anything you can imagine, it is cheap enough that you dont have to worry about damaging it, prying with it or hammering on it. A swedish carpenters multitool 😉
john
I’ve had this for about a year saw it on a wranglerstar video on youtube… very handy and very high quality
fred
It is sometimes referred to as a botoning chisel. Lee Valley also sells a variety under their Chestnut Tools (made in China) brand :
http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=67735&cat=141504
fred
I should have also mentioned that if you want a tool fro splitting out wood – this tool might do – but you might also look at a FROE
http://www.leevalley.com/us/garden/page.aspx?p=67231&cat=2,44728,45794,67231
Hilton
That Chestnut tool was the very first tool that I thought of when I saw this Mora on sale last week (or earier this week, can’t remember). I figured the Chestnut would be stronger as I’ve only been disappointed with one of their tools that I’ve bought over the years; the combo knife with hammer.
I normally just use my Becker BK2 with it’s 1/4″ thick blade to split (baton) firewood and most people are amazed when they watch me.
fred
I have a Buck Compadre Froe knife that has split a lot of kindling:
https://www.amazon.com/Buck-Knives-0108WAS-COMPADRE-Genuine/dp/B00R3NNZN6
Hilton
Now we’re talking. I am limited in diameter when using my BK2 as the blade is not that long but this Buck looks like the real deal. Thanks for the link.
fred
Silky also makes a similar tool:
https://www.amazon.com/Silky-Professional-555-24-Double-Hatchet/dp/B003BAPCGS/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1513970519&sr=1-1&keywords=555-24
I’ve never use it – but know folks who like the Silky ONO chopper.
My wife loves her Silky pruning saws and pole saw – that were recommended by arborists at the Botanic Garden where she volunteers.
Koko The Talking Ape
I think I prefer the Lee Valley model with the long vertical handle. Once I watched a friend use something similar to make blanks for building green wood furniture. Looked like the leverage made things much faster.
Nathan
As important as the handle is that the froe’s iron has a belly in the middle of it to act as the fulcrum where the leverage transfers inside of the split. There is an old saying — “dull as a froe.”
Stuart
I have a BK2, but it’s seen very light use over the years. It’s just too much knife for anything I do.
Koko The Talking Ape
The “See Also” button seems to be broken.
Koko The Talking Ape
I have to say, I can’t figure out what these things are for. It has a rattail tang, so it isn’t so great for use with a mallet. It might make a good paring chisel, but the handle isn’t great for that either. Batoning might be good for making kindling, but as fred says, a froe is better, and I have never needed to baton anything in furniture-building. At least the DeWalt and Lee Valley models look like functional chisels with a side grind added, instead of a knife with the tip cut off.
john
despite the fact that it is not full tang itis practically indestructible.. moras are tough
John
My son’s using my Grandfathers chisels. I added 2 chisels in 45 years but didn’t use em much. It’s amazing how we humans adapt to the slowly decreasing length of a chisel.
Are modern chisels better than those from 1890’s to 1900’s?
fred
Good tools as well as junk has ben produced throughout the ages. Socket and tang chisels were staples of a carpenters toolbox in the 1890’s. Today we have additional choices and might pick a cordless OMT instead of a flooring chisel or glazier’s chisel.
Some modern steels are said to hold an edge better than what was available in the 1890’s – and perhaps represent a better compromise between things like edge hardness, chisel durability, ease of sharpening and how long the chisel will hold its edge in use. Stuart with his PhD in material science – might comment on this. If you look at some hand made modern (or old) Japanese chisels – the blacksmith may have incorporated different steels – layering the chisel to take advantage of different metal properties. The price of a quality hand made Japanese chisel may cause some to have apoplexy – and others just to laugh about anyone spending so much on such a ubiquitous tool.
Regarding length – if you are using the chisel to pare – a long blade length should help you keep a low angle. If chopping out a hinge mortise – as short (sometimes called butt) chisel should work. Chisels for chopping dovetails or deep mortises will have different profiles from the typical bevel-edged bench chisel. Pocket and Mortise chisels usually have blade lengths in-between what you find on a butt chisel and the long paring chisels. Wood carving chisels are also differently designed – some with skewed cutting edges.
Diplomatic Immunity
In general, from comparing a modern Stanley chisel or even a handplane vs say a pre-WWII one…. no. Seventy plus years of inflation have caused a lot of products to become cheaper in quality in order to maintain a similar price. You can still buy great and high quality hand tools, it will just cost you a lot more than what the average tool costs.
Same reason why homes use osb board instead of wooden boards. Same reason furniture builders are using plywood with veneers nowadays vs using hardwoods like they did back in the day. Quality materials cost a lot more money and people, on average, aren’t willing to pay for the increased cost.
Koko The Talking Ape
Actually, now I’m curious about how much good chisels have increased in price compared to inflation. When the US was developing its industrial base, materials and labor were cheap. Now they are not, but India and China now provide cheap labor.
I was also going to add to fred’s and your excellent answers: it is possible to get decent stainless steel chisels nowadays. I don’t think that was true back in the day. I imagine hardly anybody needs that rust resistance, but it might be useful in some situations.
Hilton diplomatically
Not completely true about furniture builders using plywood. I reckon most cabinet makers from yesteryear would have loved OSB and plywood to work with. Two words, Moisture & Expansion.
Allen
I’m old, and I remember my grandfather who was a cabinet maker of sorts discovering Formica and plywood. He thought it couldn’t get any better than that.
fred
So here is a link to Veritas PM-V11 steel chisels:
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=69847&cat=1,41504
You can compare them – and their higher price to Veritas O1 steel chisels or Lie Nielsen A2 steel chisels
Diplomatic Immunity
Considering how much their O1 bench chisels go for I would just get the PM-V11 if I was willing to pay that kind of price for a chisel. It’s like $10 more. If someone’s buying a set of those they damn well better be serious about woodworking or just be well off money wise.
fred
If you think these are pricey – how about a set of 9 for $3500 – on sale – goes up to over $4000 after tomorrow.
https://www.japanwoodworker.com/products/tasai-damascus-pattern-blue-steel-multi-hollow-back-chisel-set-with-ebony-handles-in-signed-box
Henrik V
Here is some Mora Knivar corporate info about the various steel qualities;
https://morakniv.se/en/knife-knowledge/the-steel/
The original model since at least 130 years;
https://morakniv.se/en/product/woodcarving-junior/
High price point is due to the “laminated” steel.
Michaelhammer
Here’s a link to a similar knife that shows what this and other European knives are used for.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0SI__qlP5P8
Bargainhunter
This guy gives it a pretty convincing testimonial as to it’s versatile utility. For less than $10 how could I not? I’d been curious about Mora knives with their cult following and finally pulled the trigger on this on and 3 others (Xmas present for myself). The Edris (very small blade) and Companion Heavy Duty (thick carbon blade) were of particular interest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO4CtuRNzxk
Kurt Greiner
I went out and got the deal. Figured for that much money, why not? I was immediatley impressed that it was sharp enough to be useful right out of the package. Speaking of which, I got some of those impossible-to-open clamshells plastic packages over the last few days, and whatever the utility of this tool for other purposes, it was incredible at opening those.