From left: Erik Frost n.1 original version, Carl Anderson N.1, and Frost n.1 plastic version.
My name is Joao Grilo and I am the author of the blog Oldmora, dedicated to the history of the Morakniv knives. This is my first appearance on the official Morakniv blog.
Here is to the great knife maker Erik Frost and his ideas.
Back in 1908, Erik Frost filed his first patent, a new style sheath with a hood. This style of sheath was locally called “Fäbodkniv” and was very common in the regions of Dalarna and Hälsingland, even before Erik Frosts time. Despite this, he got the patent approved.
With a normal sheath, there is a risk of dropping the knife from its sheath and if you are unlucky, losing the knife itself. This brand-new style of sheath with a hood would solve that problem. When not in use, the hood is pulled down, locking the knife inside the sheath. To remove the knife, the hood must be pulled up, thus exposing the handle, allowing it to be removed from its sheath.
At first, Ströms Knife Sheath Factory produced this sheath from the material Unica cellulose base fiber. Later, around the 1950s, Frosts introduced a modernized version of this concept in polymer. Erik Frost made it in three sizes, No. 2/0, No. 1/0, and No. 1.
Another knife maker in Mora, Carl Anderson, also had his version of the Fäbod knife, which was probably also made by Ströms Knife Sheath Factory.
This model ranged from No. 2/0 up to No. 2.
In the digital archive of Mora, there is a photo identified to the FM Mattson Knife Factory, of these sheaths. Although, the model does not appear in the old FMM catalogs.
The number of sheaths made over the years by different makers is unknown. Judging by the low numbers of these knives that sometimes surface in collector circles, I believe the numbers were low, making it a very desirable collectors’ item, especially the early ones.