I love quality knives. I keep my Kershaw 1660CKTST Ken Onion Black Leek Serrated Folding Knife with SpeedSafe on my hip nearly everyday. And as a prepper, having a quality blade isn’t just a hobby or a fashion statement – it’s a way of life. Over the years I’ve owned, used and tested dozens of blades, but one has surprised me the most of all. This blade takes a lickin and keeps on tickin! I’ve batoned firewood with it in the mountains of Alaska, I’ve fileted fresh fish with it in the rainforest of Costa Rica and it has never let me down. The knife that I say that EVERY prepper should own is – the Mora

This little 3.8 inch, unassuming blade may seem slightly underwhelming, but I can assure you – this is quite possibly the most useful and quality knife you can own under the $100 mark. It’s long rat tail design makes it durable and rigid for those fire making and shelter building chores. Don’t let the fact that it’s not full tang fool you, this is still one sturdy knife. But at the same time, the carbon steel stays extremely sharp for those task like fileting fish or skinning game that require a bit more finesse.

The blade shape is great for multiple uses and comes razor sharp right out of the box. Even with heavy use I normally don’t notice the blade dulling down much in the first 6-9 months, and when it finally does get ground down too far for comfort, the carbon steel sharpens back to original razor quality with minimal effort. The molding of the grip feels natural in hand, however my only complaint is the plastic handle in the model pictured feels a bit cheap, but how can I really complain when the knife sells on Amazon.com for $8.99? (And higher end models are available as well with much nicer handles and sheaths, the will cost you a bit more though – The Heavy Duty Model is $14.87 for example.)

Overall, I give the Mora top scores for quality and affordability. Over the years, I’ve purchased at least 4 for myself to keep in my vehicles and bugout bags, and probably 10 more as gifts for friends and loved ones – and none of them have every snapped or broken. For the price, you’re not going to find a better survival knife. If you’re new to prepping and/or survival, on a tight budget, or both – this is the perfect knife for you.

The Mora Craftline Basic Utility Knife is currently available at Amazon.com for $8.99 and can be found here.

And as I described earlier, other “higher-end” Mora’s are available as well if you’re interested in something more advanced. My personal favorite of the special Mora’s? – The Mora Black Carbon Bushcraft Edition.

So what do you think? Is there knife out there that you believe trumps the quality and cost of the Mora? Have you had a positive or negative experience with this knife? We want to hear from you! Leave you comments below and tell us what you think. – Skip Tanner