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Morakniv Companion Spark Reviewed / Compared to a Similar Chinese Unbranded Bushcraft Knife

I was preparing a 72 hour emergency kit and wanted a relatively inexpensive bushcrafting knife that had a ferro rod for starting fires.  There are the usual outdoors gear stores in my area like Mountain Equipment Co-op, Canadian Tire, Cabelas, Breathe, etc., but I also find that I check on Amazon a fair bit for enhanced selection.  Amazon often isn't the cheapest place for brand name outdoor gear, but you can find good value sometimes for similar products or the odd discounted sale.

Anyhow I knew about the Swedish Morakniv Companion Spark and also found a much cheaper Chinese made knife with similar attributes.  The Chinese version doesn't have a brand name, but had a very long description instead "Camping Hunting Knife with Fire starter and Diamond sharpener,outdoor survival Fixed blade knives,hiking multi gear tool knife Made of stainless steel and Ergonomic Handle." That is one long name with typos corrected!  I'll call this knife "BC" short for BUSHCRAFT from now on to shorten the name.  Anyhow, it actually looked pretty good and it had similar features to the Morakniv Spark and it cost $19.99 Canadian with shipping from Amazon.  Because of the price, I ordered one to see what it was really like.  The Morakniv Spark costs $44.99, but is usually around $49.00 on Amazon.  If you're reading this from the United States, everything in Canada costs more.

Now that I have both knives, I wanted to compare them and I found some interesting things about them.

Morakniv Companion Spark in blue at the top, and BC in grey on the bottom.

The Morakniv Spark is the original knife and the BC version has taken many design cues from it, but it is a different knife rather than a clone.  These differences are especially interesting as there is big price difference between the two.

Spark Features

  • Length 9.4 inch (239 mm)
  • Blade 3.9 inch (99 mm) hardened Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel with a thickness of  0.09 inches (2.5 mm). Flat ground spine for striking ferro rod.
  • Weight 4.5 oz (128 g)
  • Anti-slip rubber handle composed of polypropylene (PP) and Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE)
  • Twist-lock to handle fire starting ferro rod with cord.
  • Plastic sheath

BC Features

  • 8.3 inch (212 mm) length
  • 3.8 inch (97 mm) 5cr15mov stainless steel blade with a thickness of 0.09 inch (2.3 mm).  Flat ground spine for string ferro rod.
  • Weight 4.4 oz (125 g)
  • Anti-slip rubber handle composed of polypropylene (PP) and Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE)
  • Twist-lock to handle fire starting ferro rod with cord.
  • Plastic sheath
  • Diamond finish emery board for sharpening.

Based on the specifications above, you can see the knives are very similar.  However, they are very different knives due to the blade design and steel.  The handle designs are also similar in general form, but they are differently implemented.  The sheaths are also similar in form, but actual implementation is again quite different.  The ferro rods are very similar and would strike sparks well in either case.

The knives shown side by side outside their scabbards.

You can see the knife designs are quite different based on the same general set of features.  The Spark is longer, slimmer in profile and seems to have a better ergonomic design on the handle.  Both are quite grippy.  In terms of the handle materials, they are composed of the same plastics.  The polypropylene handles are molded around both knife blades and then coated in TPE.  Polypropylene is a commonly used plastic for tools, ropes, car parts, plastic containers, etc.  TPE is a grippy, rubbery kind of polymer that is again often used for this purpose.

Top view of the knives and blades.  You can see the knife blades are equally thick on the spine and that the Spark has a thicker and more substantial handle.

Closer view of the two blades.  They are similar in length and that is about it as everything else is different.

Both of these knives have attractive looking drop point blade shapes that look utilitarian.  The Spark has a stronger blade as the steel is made out of the stronger Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel that is also thicker until the Scandi grind, common in bushcraft knives, starts to the cutting edge of the blade.  The BC blade slopes in on both sides to the cutting edge and then there is a slight grind to provide the edge.  Because of this, the BC blade is actually thinner except near the spine, even though it is longer from the spine to the cutting edge.  Both blades came quite sharp and were able to easily slice paper.  The BC blade is made of 5cr15mov steel which is a low-end Chinese stainless steel that is often used in kitchen knives and such.  It dulls faster, but sharpens easily and is a good steel, but not one I would pick for batoning wood.  What strikes me the most about the BC blade is that it really reminds me of a kitchen knife and  I kind of wonder if a similar milling process was used to create it.

Closeup of the spines and handles.

Note how the handle is molded around the blade.  It is well done, but the finish is a little rough.

Note how the handle is molded around this blade.  There is actually more PP around the blade.

Closeup of the handles and the ferro rods.

After looking at the blades, lets check out the handles.  The handle of the Spark is more substantial than that of the BC. This is a good thing. It is thicker with more PP plastic in it to better hold the knife tang and make it more solid.  I tried flexing the blade and handles sideways and the Spark was more solid.  The thinner handle on the BC does securely fasten the tang and for smaller hands it could be more comfortable to use, although the handles are good for average and small hands in either case.  Using some powerful magnets, I determined that the tang on the Spark goes 8 cm into the handle versus 5 cm for the BC.  The Spark would have a better bond to the blade.  The ferro rods and the way they twist onto the handle work quite similarly in both knives and they are very close in comparison.

The back of the plastic sheaths.  Both are similar in general design, but the Spark sheath is more substantial and would retain the knife better.  Both have similar clips that can slide over a belt.  I will note that the sharpening board is on the inside, when it should be on the outside, which is why I rigged a protective cover on it.

CONCLUSION

The more expensive Morakniv Spark is the better bushcrafting knife.  It would be better for heavier use and is a stronger knife in both the blade and handle overall.  The BC knife is actually pretty good for $20.  This is the price range for a tiny Swiss army knife or cheap kitchen knife.  For this price you are getting a ferro rod, a sharpening board, and a decent blade, but not one that I would necessarily use for heavy wood cutting or anything like that.  The BC knife was kind of interesting as it looks well suited for lighter camping tasks such as feathering or shaving wood, cutting rope and cutting food; for these tasks, you probably can't go wrong with it.  I'll be putting the Morakniv in the 72 hour kit, but I'm not unhappy I bought the BC either which could be a nice addition for a real economy emergency kit.

Closeup of the diamond sharpening board. 


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My Tokyo Guidebook Now In Print and Ebook

My Tokyo Guidebook Now In Print and Ebook