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- Jun 29, 1999
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I’ve had my eye on Benchmade’s neat little 200 Puukko for some time, and it being a new year, and close enough to my birthday (in six months), I picked one up at my favorite brick & mortar shop in Calgary (as if I really needed an excuse
).
Puukkos have evolved over centuries, notably in Finland. A Finnish commenter on this forum some time ago noted (in part), “The puukko has developed to remarkable functional simplicity during generations of hard, straightforward use by ordinary people. It is a compromise, a multi-tool, if you like, with nothing inessential. That explains some of its characteristic features. The blade, for instance, is typically only a hand width in length, or a bit less. A longer blade would hamper its performance in whittling, etc. control is better with a shorter one (for fine work, such as countersinking a hole, the puukko is grasped by the blade and the thumb may be used as a ‘backstop’). But because it is not a ‘pure’ wood carving tool, too short won’t do. Similar explanations could be given for the relatively pointy point (remember the hole?), the (usually) straight back (with absolutely no false-edge or swedge), the wedgelike grind, the relatively thin blade, the smooth guardless handle (often called the head), made traditionally of wood, mostly birch, or of birch bark.”
My Roselli carpenter’s knife, one of my favorites, with its Krupp W9 carbon steel blade and birch handle fits that description perfectly. Traditional puukkos rarely have a full tang, something that doesn’t really affect their usefulness and contributes to their light weight.
Benchmade’s 200 puukko is a modern iteration, with CPM 3V steel, a Santoprene handle, a full tang (albeit lightened with three holes) and a useful lanyard hole. The blade is 3 3/4”, overall 8 ¼” long, 1/8” thick with a drop point and saber grind. Not a traditional Scandi grind, but a durable secondary bevel, which I plan to leave as is. With a bit of work it could easily be convexed.
Modern design aside, I didn’t have anything in 3V, which is noted for its toughness. Composition is 0.80% Carbon, 7.50% Chromium, 2.75% Vanadium and 1.30% Molybdenum There’s a YouTube test of someone hammering a Benchmade 200 Puukko through a ¼” iron spike on an anvil, with minimal edge damage. I don’t plan to do that but it’s nice to know this is a tough steel. There’s a hilarious YouTube evaluation of the 200 by a bunch of demented enthusiasts at Dutch Bushcraft Knives (
) – well worth the time to view. NSFW though.
OK, 3V won’t hold an edge like high vanadium alloys such as S30V, S110V, etc., but it takes a lot longer to sharpen those alloys and you need diamond hones. Crucible claims it holds an edge better than D2 at 60 RC, and it’s better in edge retention and toughness than A2, which is already outstanding for those qualities, speaking of my Bark River Professional Series Woodland. 3V is not by definition stainless, but there’s still enough chromium to make it a bit stain resistant -- a small trade-off IMHO. And it is way easier to sharpen than any of the super steels. Mine came almost shaving sharp out of the box, and it only took 60 seconds on the DMT ultra fine to produce a hair-popping edge.
The light green colored grip is made from Santoprene, a thermoplastic rubber quite similar in feel to Kraton – it may be the same stuff for all I know. Nice and grippy, firm, and not likely to slip when covered with blood/fat etc., or to stick to your skin in deep cold. It is oval shaped, handy for orienting the blade (as when it’s dark and you’re feeling around blind inside a moose carcass). Cold Steel’s Kraton grips are similarly outstanding for field use.
The bushcraft style sheath is well conceived. It has a removable leather dangler loop that snaps onto a metal loop through the belt loop, so it could be used either as a dangler or a belt sheath. The sheath is supported by a thin glued-in plastic insert, and has a loop for a fire steel. I’ve never had to use a fire steel in 70+ years as I find matches or a BiC lighter handier, but it’s a nice thought. The leather is quite thin, though, and has three rivets through the stitching, which I found cheap and annoying. I used it for a pattern and made a better one out of thicker latigo saddle leather waterproofed with SnowSeal. Most people without a deep-seated sheath neurosis would probably find it just fine as is. There are a number of sheath makers on this forum who can whip one up for you.
It passed my whittling test with flying colors, with no discernable diminution in sharpness after whittling a 4” thick piece of jackpine down into shavings. Also handy around the kitchen. The blade is thin enough that it will slice crisp veggies or apples without splitting them. Light enough to be almost unnoticed in a daypack or bugout bag. Or a vest pocket, if you don’t care to wear it on your belt. In fact, this is a knife you’d find handy just about anywhere.
There are some knives that just seem to cut, like the legendary katana in Steven Hunter’s marvelous The 47th Samurai. This is one of them. Benchmade’s founder Les de Asis would be proud of this knife.
).Puukkos have evolved over centuries, notably in Finland. A Finnish commenter on this forum some time ago noted (in part), “The puukko has developed to remarkable functional simplicity during generations of hard, straightforward use by ordinary people. It is a compromise, a multi-tool, if you like, with nothing inessential. That explains some of its characteristic features. The blade, for instance, is typically only a hand width in length, or a bit less. A longer blade would hamper its performance in whittling, etc. control is better with a shorter one (for fine work, such as countersinking a hole, the puukko is grasped by the blade and the thumb may be used as a ‘backstop’). But because it is not a ‘pure’ wood carving tool, too short won’t do. Similar explanations could be given for the relatively pointy point (remember the hole?), the (usually) straight back (with absolutely no false-edge or swedge), the wedgelike grind, the relatively thin blade, the smooth guardless handle (often called the head), made traditionally of wood, mostly birch, or of birch bark.”
My Roselli carpenter’s knife, one of my favorites, with its Krupp W9 carbon steel blade and birch handle fits that description perfectly. Traditional puukkos rarely have a full tang, something that doesn’t really affect their usefulness and contributes to their light weight.
Benchmade’s 200 puukko is a modern iteration, with CPM 3V steel, a Santoprene handle, a full tang (albeit lightened with three holes) and a useful lanyard hole. The blade is 3 3/4”, overall 8 ¼” long, 1/8” thick with a drop point and saber grind. Not a traditional Scandi grind, but a durable secondary bevel, which I plan to leave as is. With a bit of work it could easily be convexed.
Modern design aside, I didn’t have anything in 3V, which is noted for its toughness. Composition is 0.80% Carbon, 7.50% Chromium, 2.75% Vanadium and 1.30% Molybdenum There’s a YouTube test of someone hammering a Benchmade 200 Puukko through a ¼” iron spike on an anvil, with minimal edge damage. I don’t plan to do that but it’s nice to know this is a tough steel. There’s a hilarious YouTube evaluation of the 200 by a bunch of demented enthusiasts at Dutch Bushcraft Knives (
OK, 3V won’t hold an edge like high vanadium alloys such as S30V, S110V, etc., but it takes a lot longer to sharpen those alloys and you need diamond hones. Crucible claims it holds an edge better than D2 at 60 RC, and it’s better in edge retention and toughness than A2, which is already outstanding for those qualities, speaking of my Bark River Professional Series Woodland. 3V is not by definition stainless, but there’s still enough chromium to make it a bit stain resistant -- a small trade-off IMHO. And it is way easier to sharpen than any of the super steels. Mine came almost shaving sharp out of the box, and it only took 60 seconds on the DMT ultra fine to produce a hair-popping edge.
The light green colored grip is made from Santoprene, a thermoplastic rubber quite similar in feel to Kraton – it may be the same stuff for all I know. Nice and grippy, firm, and not likely to slip when covered with blood/fat etc., or to stick to your skin in deep cold. It is oval shaped, handy for orienting the blade (as when it’s dark and you’re feeling around blind inside a moose carcass). Cold Steel’s Kraton grips are similarly outstanding for field use.
The bushcraft style sheath is well conceived. It has a removable leather dangler loop that snaps onto a metal loop through the belt loop, so it could be used either as a dangler or a belt sheath. The sheath is supported by a thin glued-in plastic insert, and has a loop for a fire steel. I’ve never had to use a fire steel in 70+ years as I find matches or a BiC lighter handier, but it’s a nice thought. The leather is quite thin, though, and has three rivets through the stitching, which I found cheap and annoying. I used it for a pattern and made a better one out of thicker latigo saddle leather waterproofed with SnowSeal. Most people without a deep-seated sheath neurosis would probably find it just fine as is. There are a number of sheath makers on this forum who can whip one up for you.
It passed my whittling test with flying colors, with no discernable diminution in sharpness after whittling a 4” thick piece of jackpine down into shavings. Also handy around the kitchen. The blade is thin enough that it will slice crisp veggies or apples without splitting them. Light enough to be almost unnoticed in a daypack or bugout bag. Or a vest pocket, if you don’t care to wear it on your belt. In fact, this is a knife you’d find handy just about anywhere.
There are some knives that just seem to cut, like the legendary katana in Steven Hunter’s marvelous The 47th Samurai. This is one of them. Benchmade’s founder Les de Asis would be proud of this knife.
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