Do you need a finger guard?

Juha Perttula said:
Traditional puukko has no finger guard, for that reason it may be dangerous for the user. However, I have learned that you can stab safely if you put your thump on the butt of the handle. And if you push by the blade, then you must support the butt on the palm of your hand. I have used traditional puukko for 50 years and never got a bad wound, but despite of that, I think that a knife with good finger guard could be better. I would like to hear your opinion, can a knife without finger guard be safe ?

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For stabbing stuff the palm of the hand or thumb on butt grip should be fine. But the pukko is not a fighting knife so I don’t think forceful stabs was ever part of its design.

The palm of hand grip looks like it wouldn’t be good for fighting of course but should be ok the rare time you need to stab through something.
 
I don't need them but I certainly prefer a finger guard and/or choil. Anyone can get distracted while using a knife and the added protection of a guard is nice to have. After 30 years of carrying a knife, I like to think I'm safe and use proper procedures in handling a knife...but sh*t happens.

This is why I prefer a lock on my knife vs a traditional/slipjoint too. I little bit of extra safety net.
 
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ponykid said:
Francisomv what is that top knife in that pic? whose the maker if I may ask?
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The maker's Mariano Yannoni (from Argentina but he ships worldwide and attends Blade Show). He's my go to guy for small and medium EDC fixed blades. I've got a ton of his knives, even some very basic ones from when he was getting started, and love them all.

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You can see his stuff on Instagram.
 
A lot of Finnish/Swedish/Norwegian wood working knives don't have a guard, because it can be in the way while cutting. When I grew up, you'd hear that a guard is something you find on kids knives. I guess the point is that if you meet so much resistance while push cutting, that you run a risk of slipping onto the edge, you're not using the knife correctly, i.e. trying to cut off too much at the same time. That or your knife is dull of course. The saying that a sharp knife is safer than a dull knife is never more true than when there is no finger guard.
 
Lapedog said:
For stabbing stuff the palm of the hand or thumb on butt grip should be fine. But the pukko is not a fighting knife so I don’t think forceful stabs was ever part of its design.
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Puncturing living creatures is part of its design/use. Its a hunting knife. The butt of the puuko goes in the center of the palm.
 
Exactly... Isn't this a debate skills vs design ? The more "useful" features are designed into the knife the less skills (totally natural to everybody until 20 / 21 century, come on...) are needed from the user. I think this is a bad thing. The rubber hand guards on concrete chisels have induced a lot of people to bang stupidly on them with the heaviest hammer available. Bad stuff.
 
Franciscomv said:
The maker's Mariano Yannoni (from Argentina but he ships worldwide and attends Blade Show). He's my go to guy for small and medium EDC fixed blades. I've got a ton of his knives, even some very basic ones from when he was getting started, and love them all.

20161013_123533.jpg


You can see his stuff on Instagram.
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This is a very nice knife. I'd use it !
 
marcinek said:
Puncturing living creatures is part of its design/use. Its a hunting knife. The butt of the puuko goes in the center of the palm.
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I actually think my Mora puukkos are some of the most fearsome stabbers ever.
 
Only cut my left hand, the one holding the wood, a few times, but never for a lack of guard. Speaking of puukko handles I prefer those with a teardrop/egg section over the oval ones, since they have no tendency to rotate in the hand and allow for more powerfull grips.
 
herisson said:
I actually think my Mora puukkos are some of the most fearsome stabbers ever.
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Now, one could argue that, since Moras are not from Finland, they are not puukkos.

That said some puukkos made for children/scouts do have guards.
 
Now, one could argue that the puukko pattern (not reserved to Mora) is common to all the northern Scandinavian era (Sweden, Norway and Finland). However, the stabby version (Mora of Sweden) is swedish. And yes, the puukkos with guards are the ones aimed at Scouts / children. Cue the Northerners vs Southerners joke...
 
You're right, they will not appreciate my wide swept cultural appropriation. The finnish puukko has a different blade (except the Scandi grind...) from the Mora iteration but they share the same barrel shaped handle. I believe the navaja pattern could possibly produce a similar controversy...
 
herisson said:
Now, one could argue that the puukko pattern (not reserved to Mora) is common to all the northern Scandinavian era (Sweden, Norway and Finland). However, the stabby version (Mora of Sweden) is swedish. And yes, the puukkos with guards are the ones aimed at Scouts / children. Cue the Northerners vs Southerners joke...
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What is this north vs south joke I keep hearing cued but never told?
 
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herisson said:
You're right, they will not appreciate my wide swept cultural appropriation. The finnish puukko has a different blade (except the Scandi grind...) from the Mora iteration but they share the same barrel shaped handle. I believe the navaja pattern could possibly produce a similar controversy...
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lol. I own a puukko (one of those birch bark Järvenpää Aitos) and it is a little scary. Let alone with cold, wet, gloved hands. The Finns are braver and more adept knife users than me!
 
The Northerners like to say that a Leukku (the Puukkos bigger brother) with a guard is for Southerners (aka : for people who don't know how to handle a knife or for children). I must admit the Leukku is a very special knife : you better know what you're doing when you're working with that thing. Stromeng (pure Finland) makes Leukkus with guards, so there's that.
 
marcinek said:
lol. I own a puukko (one of those birch bark Järvenpää Aitos) and it is a little scary. Let alone with cold, wet, gloved hands. The Finns are braver and more adept knife users than me!
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It is a very aggressive pattern (not obviously, but really the smallest of them slices a pig open with little effort). Always lock the thumb or the pinky behind the pommel whatever you do, with or without gloves, and you're good to go. Worked for them people since the Viking era or earlier.
 
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