Good Puukko?

sqoon

sqoon

Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Messages
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I'm looking for a good puukko knife similar in look and feel to the famous Tapio Wirkkala Puukko. Yes, I know CS has the Finn Bear and the Sisu, but I hate the 4116 steel and what they are asking for the Sisu is just silly (and again, not a fan of the steel choice). I'd like something with a high carbon blade. Some of the Mora's look nice, but none seem to fit the bill. Any suggestions? Some folks have told me to get a custom job done, but that seems awfully expensive and more of a hassle than I'm looking for. Any suggestions would be great!
 
In the 1970's Helle made what I believe was a model 30 Jubileum or something like that. A few years back they released a 30th anniversary edition. They're tough to find but usually sell for under $100. They're very similar to the Tapio knives. I'll post a pic for you later.
 
sqoon said:
I'm looking for a good puukko knife similar in look and feel to the famous Tapio Wirkkala Puukko. Yes, I know CS has the Finn Bear and the Sisu, but I hate the 4116 steel and what they are asking for the Sisu is just silly (and again, not a fan of the steel choice). I'd like something with a high carbon blade. Some of the Mora's look nice, but none seem to fit the bill. Any suggestions? Some folks have told me to get a custom job done, but that seems awfully expensive and more of a hassle than I'm looking for. Any suggestions would be great!
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......you have good taste; his design is a "classic"....and I don't know of anyone who currently does one other than CS. The tapered handle on the Tapio Wirkkala is one element that makes his design so unique.

- regards
 
I've seen several Tapio puukkos pop up on e-prey in the past 6 months.
 
I like my kellam puukko but it's the only one i've got :( so I don't have much to compare to
 
I've never held one but I've read more than once that the handles on his knives weren't very comfortable.

If you just want a decent puukko there are lots of choices....Järvenpää, Wood Jewel, Helle, Paaso, etc. Another option is to buy a blank (again, lots of choices and they're inexpensive) and make your own handle.
 
I think this knife was actually made in the 1960's and not the 1970's as i stated earlier. This is one of the originals and not the 30th anniversary re-release. The blade is triple laminated with a high carbon edge.

Oops...the upload crapped out. Here's the pic.
 
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I thought of the helle's jubileum too when I readed the original post. It's a bit similiar design. I don't like the looks of the sheath though.
 
I agree with A.L. I have Helle Symphoni. Excellent ergonomics, great steel but sheath was horrible. It failed my basic test that I grab from bottom and throw. If puukko leaves the sheath, its no good. I had new seath made that carries blade protector inside.
 
Roselli's Carpenter is a classic puukko... die-forged Krupp W75 with a carbon content of .7-.8%. The sheath is crap but you can use it as a pattern to make a better one.
 
Marion David Poff said:
Helle Jubileumkniven, third knife down...
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Maybe it's just the picture but that looks like a really uncomfortable handle...

If you want one that looks like a Tapio Wirkkala Puukko just for show then maybe that one would be fine, but if you're buying this knife to use, it might be a better idea to get one with a more ergonomic handle.

I've had a couple Mora's and a Kellam Wolverine and they're all good knives, the Mora's are good and cheap but they sure aren't pretty, the Kellam one was good and it looked pretty cool too, but it's a lot more expensive than a Mora. Here is Kellam's "knife shop", I like the looks of a lot of their knives but I think they get them from different people/companies so you can get similar ones cheaper elsewhere, like Wood Jewel. I'm not sure if Kellam actually sells Wood Jewel knives but they look very similar to some of their models except Wood Jewel knives are cheaper and apparently still good quality, but I've never had one myself.

I've heard some good things about Roselli knives and if I was looking into getting a Puukko myself (though I'm not into them anymore), I'd probably get the carpenter.
 
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