Educate me on the Puukko.

dewingrm said:
Tom,

I just looked at my Mora and it has the guard but the butt has the metal cap similar to the top right one in the picture above. I went to a few antique stores this afternoon and didn't see any Mora's. Good luck in your search.


Ryan
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Ryan, Thank you for taking the time to look and post a reply.

My regards, Tom
 
Yrjo Puronvarsi was a famous Finn maker of pukkot. He is still alive, I think, but retired some years ago. Antti Mäkinen, his nephew or grand-nephew, learned from him and carries on the making, using the same "YP" mark.

I have two puukot made by Antti. The prices were quite reasonable and the knives are well-done. I have read several comments of Antti's work, and they were all very positive.
 
You've probably made a decision by now, but, if you want to get the lowdown on Puukkos look at what most of the Bushcrafters use at a site like Bushcraft USA. These are guys that like knives and really use them for more than cutting an apple or opening an envelope. In my opinion a better design has never been developed for outdoor use. It's my favorite design. Kellam sells some nice ones. Kellam's Wolverine is actually made by a company called Ahti. You can buy an Ahti that's the same knife that Kellam sells for a more reasonable price. You can still buy a handmade knife from the Puronvarsi family. I have two of Yrjo Puronvarsi's blades which he hand forged from "silver steel" (a steel no longer made) from 1932. You can buy these blades at Thompson's Scandinavian knives for $50 to $60 and put your own handles on them. It's the best steel I have ever used. The peoples that the Scandi design comes from are a people who basically made their living with a knife, everything from making shoes, axe handles and furniture to processing game. You can see an entire array of Scandi knives at [non-BF dealer removed]website and decide from there.

Jim
 
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If you think you're good with a knife watch this video of an old Scandinavian man using a hand axe and a puukko knife to make a new axe handle. Observe his knife hand hold techniques when using the knife. Proper techniques that were discovered long before he was born and passed down through the generations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IMe15BBPxg
 
Good video, Jim, was that a piece of glass he was using to smooth the handle toward the end?
 
Thanks glad you liked it. They did sometimes use a piece of broken glass for finishing. In that video I think he was using a metal cabinet makers scraper. I use the same tool when I'm making a primitive bow, but glass gives just as good a finish...and both are better than sandpaper.

Jim
 
I like all my Nordic knives, traditional puukko style or not. But given the vastly different knives called "puukko" more recently, it is good to recall that the word means "knife."
 
Thanks for that video link Jim. Very much enjoyed watching that man and his skilled hands at work!
 
saltaire said:
..."silver steel" (a steel no longer made)...
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Not exactly. There are plenty of puukos still being made with silver steel, by individual puukkoseppa (puukkosmith). You have to be willing to pay custom prices, but they are there to be had.

- Christian
 
The Puukko has always been a part of the Scandi people's tool kit. Whether it's an axe, adze, chisel, auger or puukko these tools are all essentially traditional knives in one form or another. Some are just used for heavier work than others; never the less, all jobs regarding wood work can be done with a simple traditional knife. It all just depends on how long you want to spend on the job. Most front-end wood stock removal is done with an ax or adze and most finish work is done with a knife. Here's another classic treasure of a video showing the excellent wood working skills of the people using all of the tools (essentially knives in different forms) mentioned above.

Enjoy these beautiful and long lost skills of times gone by!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGDkliy1DEU
 
Silver steel is commercially available.

Silver steel is common tool steel that is supplied as a centerless ground round bar (with tolerances similar to that of drill rod).
Amongst other applications, it has been widely used to make such things as punches, engravers, screwdrivers. Sheffield silver steel is used in France as a blade steel for straight razors. In Finland, German silver steel was and still is widely used for Puukko knives.
The composition is defined by UK specification BS-1407, and is as follows: carbon 0.95–1.25, manganese 0.25–0.45, chromium 0.35–0.45, silicon 0.40 max.[1] In the annealed state it has a hardness of 27 HRC. It can be hardened to 64 HRC.[2]
The European/Werkstoff equivalent grades are 1.2210 / 115CrV3 with a composition of: carbon 1.10–1.25, manganese 0.20–0.40, chromium 0.50–0.80, silicon 0.15–0.30, vanadium 0.07–0.12
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Thank you for correcting me Christian. It is very good steel. I'm glad it's still made. Mine are so sharp I can actually shave my face with it.

Jim
 
Thank you. I wasn't aware it was still available. I knew they stopped making it during WWII, but ofcourse the formula is well known. It's very good steel. Thank you for bringing me up to date.

Jim
 
You'll be happy with this blade. I have two YP blades that I have handled myself. I think there is no finer blade made that I know of.

Jim
 
Thanks for the info guys! yeah im loving the feel of this blade :thumbup: keeper for sure!
 
saltaire said:
If you think you're good with a knife watch this video of an old Scandinavian man using a hand axe and a puukko knife to make a new axe handle. Observe his knife hand hold techniques when using the knife. Proper techniques that were discovered long before he was born and passed down through the generations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IMe15BBPxg
Click to expand...

Yeah.....and you thought you were cool because you could make good looking feather sticks. Wow, that old Fin has some skills with the steel. All of it!
 
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