The Kansbol is one of the newest knives from renowned knife maker Morakniv. A good fixed blade knife that can be used for survival, hunting and light field work is essential. In my job as a survival instructor for the US military I’ve had the opportunity to see and use a variety of knives in a variety of locations and for many different tasks. Knife preference will change from person to person but for the most part you see certain things that work.

When I received this knife I was immediately impressed by the sheath and the handle. The sheath is made of polypropylene and features the crossed arrows from the Swedish province Dalarna. The knife can be inserted into the sheath in either direction and clicks in positively. The sheath features generous water drainage holes at the bottom to ensure moisture, and to some extent debris, will fall out keeping your knife as clean as possible.

The handle of the knife is made of TPE, a rubbery material that gives a sure grip regardless of the weather. It also has a hole to attach a lanyard, which is located at the bottom of the handle. These are well thought out features and are an improvement over earlier models and in general an improvement over many of the more expensive “survival” knives I’ve used in the past. The handle is thick enough so that you can get a good purchase on the blade during hard work and slims at the hilt so that you can choke up on the knife during fine work.

The blade features the excellent 12C27 Swedish Stainless Steel which is used throughout their line of knives to great success. The stainless steel will be very resistant to corrosion which is always a plus in a knife that is expected to get you through adverse conditions. The blade is sharpened via a scandi grind which allows for painless and easy sharpening. Approximately halfway up the blade, the edges are contoured in to allow for finer precision work. This is another forward-thinking design that I’ve appreciated in my time with the Kansbol so far.

The blade is a partial tang, with a width of 2.5 mm and weighs in at 4.7 ounces. I’ll be giving this knife a full review in the coming weeks as I test its ability to survive the harsh world of survival training. The Morakniv Kansbol so far has impressed me with the features it has, at a price point that is hard to ignore (29 bucks at some online shops). Stay tuned!