Two ways of working the blade
What brings these nine knives together is not a price bracket but the treatment of the blade. Most of the other folding knives of the workshop carry a 14C28N stainless steel blade, which is easy to live with. These ones go through an extra forging stage.
120-layer Damascus steel
Our Damascus blades are forged by Markus Balbach from N690 and 45NCD16 steels folded over 120 layers, then revealed at the workshop. The result is a stainless blade with a hardness of 61 HRC and a wavy pattern that differs from one knife to the next. Five knives of this collection carry one, from the Mini Solid Morta Damascus to the XL. Our guide on why choose a Damascus steel blade explains how it is made, and every Damascus model is in our Damascus steel knives collection.
As-forged 90MCV8 carbon steel
An as-forged blade keeps the look it has when it leaves the anvil. The steel is 90MCV8, a carbon steel forged in the traditional way at the workshop, with the help of our colleague and friend Frédéric Marchand for some blades. It sharpens easily and reaches 59 to 60 HRC. It is not stainless: it darkens with use and takes on a brown patina that gives each knife a finish of its own. Four knives of this collection carry one, and every as-forged model is in our hand forged knives collection. More on this steel in our guide to 90MCV8.
Compare the nine knives
The Mini slips into any pocket and is made to be carried every day. The classic Solid Morta, the lock back and the Tourbé are all-rounders, at the table as on a hike. The XL, modelled on the large hunting folders of the 1950s and 60s, is meant for large pockets. Dimensions and weights are those of each product page, prices are for the knife alone, before options.
If you are choosing a knife to carry every day, our guide to the EDC knife can help.
A handle in 5,000-year-old Morta oak
Morta is oak in the process of fossilization. The trunks lay buried for around 5,000 years under the peat of the Brière marshes, in Loire-Atlantique, deprived of air. They came out rich in silica and remarkably well preserved, as black as ebony with natural copper tones. The wood is only called Morta if it comes from Brière, and we extract it ourselves every year, in September and October, when the water is low enough for a vehicle to move through the marsh. Only about 10 to 20% of what comes out is usable. Our article what is Morta wood tells its story.
Every knife of this collection can be ordered with a plain Morta handle or with small inlays of mammoth ivory, another fossil material (+€35). The Solid Morta models can also take a thin blue border in vulcanized fibre (+€20). More on mammoth ivory and Morta.
The details of the assembly
The Tourbé has work-hardened brass bolsters and a slip-joint, and a fixed stop lets you fold it without damaging the edge. The lock back takes its name from the lock at the back of its handle. Its steel body is covered with Morta, the blade turns on a 304L steel pivot between two Teflon washers, and brass rosettes hold it in place. A case or a sheath can be added to the order (+€40), and the lock back has its own clip sheath.
What comes with every knife
Engraving is free on every model, whatever its price: a name, initials or a date. It goes on the handle, or on the spring and the lock button of the lock back, and, except on the lock back, you can also choose a pictogram drawn by the painter Nicolas Peyron. See how it works in engraving a knife.
Every knife is guaranteed for life, and if anything goes wrong with your Morta, we repair it. The workshop is recognized as a Living Heritage Company and was awarded at the 2021 Stars and Crafts Awards. All our folders, in every finish, are in the French pocket knives collection, and if you are looking for a knife to give, see our unique knives.
