Can the "sword" blade version of the Higonokami be considered a puukko?

[XiaolongJackson]

Nicked these images from a vendor on the auction site. Also, keep in mind that Higonokamis are made using laminated steel.

Could this knife be considered a puukko?

Edit: Reason I'm asking is because of the straightback blade shape and the zero grind.

 

[Planterz]

Aren't puukkos from Finland?

 

[XiaolongJackson]

Aren't puukkos from Finland?

Doesn't stop people outside of the Scandinavian countries from trying to make them.

 

[G. Scott H.]

Never seen a higo like that before, but I'd call it more of a traditional tanto profile (no yokote) than anything, since it's Japanese. Cool looking knife in any case. :thumbup:

 

[Poez]

Doesn't stop people outside of the Scandinavian countries from trying to make them.

I did not get the question either: can you please explain what do you mean? What do puukkos have to do with this knife?

 

[XiaolongJackson]

I did not get the question either: can you please explain what do you mean? What do puukkos have to do with this knife?

Probably should've clarified in the OP post. The blade is a straightback and has a zero grind, like a puukko, so I was wondering if it can be considered one.

 

[whetrock]

I think it was Phil Hartsfield maybe, that noted the similarities of the Finns and the Japanese, not only in cutlery but other cultural things as well.

 

[Frederick89]

If you look at a real tanto blade and to a real puukko blade you may find them rather similar. This is not that strange since exist a limited number of really practical blade profiles and geometry.

Anyway, any knife made out of Finland, even if similar in style, is not a puukko. A puukko isn't just about a straight spine and a zero edge, at all.

I don't get what should be the cultural similarities between Finland and Japan.

 

[SPNKr]

Anyway, any knife made out of Finland, even if similar in style, is not a puukko. A puukko isn't just about a straight spine and a zero edge, at all.

So what is a puukko?

 

[Frederick89]

I'll speak about smiths' made knives, not the tourist mass produced ones and I'll put it down very simple.

Like the Swedish bruks kniv and the Norvegian tolle kniv the puukko is a carving knife, with rather often a simple barrel handle (made of wood or bark) and a sheath that envelopes amost all the knife but the pomell. Despite Scandinavian knives they are usually bit thicker and higher grinded.
Old puukkos were forged from sqared files, so this is wherefrom comes the rhombic section.

I said they are not all about straight spine and zero edge since puukkos can show plenty of variations (slightly clipped or slightly dropped points just to say a couple) and can be found with a variety of bevels, as long as can be a personal preference from the crafter.

Hoping to be clearer here come three examples from three Finnish smiths I have knives of, all with rhombic section:

-Antti Mäkinen forges very subtle hollow grinds and keeps them with a zero edge, blades have a lightly clipped point;
-Ilkka Seikku forges flat grinds and put a convex edge on them, blades have a very ligthly dropped point;
-Pasi Hurttila forges flat grings and put a tiny microbevel on them, blades have most often a straight spine.

 

[Lycosa]

That's a cool folder, whatever the jargon. Get one and please get one for me.

 

[parbajtor]

Not all higonaifu's are laminated. NB: Higo no kami is a trade protected description (like Champagne) and there is only one licensed smith from Higo prefecture still making these "carpenter's knives". The other knives made to the same pattern by unlicensed smiths are commonly referred to as Higo naifu.
Secondly Puukko just means knife in Finnish, so by that definition, yes it could be considered as a puukko. As could a Sissipuukko (military knife) like peltonen or fallkniven F1.
Finally, the knives we (in Europe) refer to as puukko's or scandi's are usually fixed blade knives (although barrel knives form a subset of the category).Puukkot usually follow a strict traditional form, whereas scandi's might be thought of as "in the style of" a more traditional blade.

 

[XiaolongJackson]

Thanks for all the answers so far. This has been pretty educational.

 

[Thomas Linton]

I'll speak about smiths' made knives, not the tourist mass produced ones and I'll put it down very simple.
. . .

I said they are not all about straight spine and zero edge since puukkos can show plenty of variations (slightly clipped or slightly dropped points just to say a couple) and can be found with a variety of bevels, as long as can be a personal preference from the crafter.

Hoping to be clearer here come three examples from three Finnish smiths I have knives of, all with rhombic section:

-Antti Mäkinen forges very subtle hollow grinds and keeps them with a zero edge, blades have a lightly clipped point;
-Ilkka Seikku forges flat grinds and put a convex edge on them, blades have a very ligthly dropped point;
-Pasi Hurttila forges flat grings and put a tiny microbevel on them, blades have most often a straight spine.

And I have two from Antti Makinen ("YP") this year and both have a straight blade spine all the way to the point, a slight rhombic (diamond) cross-section and a single convex bevel - like every knife shown on his site when last I looked.

Conventionally, a "puukko" is a fixed-blade knife, but given that "puukko" is a Finnish word for "knife," YMMV.

 

[Frederick89]

Actually Finnish has two words for knife: "veitsi" that refers to a knife in general and "puukko" that refers only to the belt knife we call that.

What puukkos you have? As far as I know Antti puts convex grinds only on leukus and on the skinner (nylky).

 

[Thomas Linton]

Actually Finnish has two words for knife: "veitsi" that refers to a knife in general and "puukko" that refers only to the belt knife we call that.

That is my understanding as well, but I am not a Finn. However, a number of translation programs translate "puukonteriä" as "knife-making."

I am also told that "linkkuveitsi" is a folding knife, but that is also second hand - from a Finn.

What puukkos you have? As far as I know Antti puts convex grinds only on leukus and on the skinner (nylky).

"Vuolo" and "Nylky" The "Nylky" has a more obvious convex, but a straightedge shows that the "Vuolo" is convex as well.

 

[Sidehill Gouger]

If some tells you yes will that somehow make this folder more valuable to you? Its a traditional Japanese friction folder.

 

[The_Monkeyboy]

Not all higonaifu's are laminated. NB: Higo no kami is a trade protected description (like Champagne) and there is only one licensed smith from Higo prefecture still making these "carpenter's knives". The other knives made to the same pattern by unlicensed smiths are commonly referred to as Higo naifu.
Secondly Puukko just means knife in Finnish, so by that definition, yes it could be considered as a puukko. As could a Sissipuukko (military knife) like peltonen or fallkniven F1.
Finally, the knives we (in Europe) refer to as puukko's or scandi's are usually fixed blade knives (although barrel knives form a subset of the category).Puukkot usually follow a strict traditional form, whereas scandi's might be thought of as "in the style of" a more traditional blade.

^This^

The knife you have in that picture appears to be an actual Higo no kami, based on the markings stamped into the handle. But most are not laminated. They are hand-forged, and have a rather unique grind that has several different angles to it as you go from the flat of the blade to the edge. It may look like a laminate, but generally it is not. Also, I have never seen one with a tip like that. It looks cool, but it isn't typical of the standard Higo no Kami. As for it being a puukko, as the others have noted, aside from the blade geometry on the two styles being similar, no, it is not a puukko.

-Mb