hackman finland stainless

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pa_thie

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Apr 7, 2005
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I am trying to learn about a knife that has been in my care for over 20 yrs. It is a puukko style, purchased in early 1982. It has imprinted on its blade the following inscription "Hackman Finland Stainless" & beneath that is "Tapio Wirkkala". Blade is about 4" long Overall length is almost 9".

The handle is black material, possibly nylon mix..with brass fittings.

The sheath is fitted leather sewn in the style of a puukko with what appears to be a "5 digit claw/bear paw" on it.

I would appreciate a sharing of any information concerning this knife.
 
It was my hunting knife for many years ,it's very practical yet won awards for style .They were available in the 4" and a smaller version .Excellent knife !!
 
It was made by Hackman Oy knife company. They are/were a widely respected knife factory, famous for a few knives, yours included. I believe they may of shut down a few years ago.

The heyday for importation of their knives was the mid 70's-early 80's. Tapio Wirkkala is a famous finnish designer, your knife was his take on the traditional Nordic Puukko knife. He added the nylon handle, and changed the lines a bit.

They were and are expensive knives, one in nice shape goes for $125-200 now.
 
Design Taipo Wirkkala. ” 2 sizes was made, I have use both sizes and have the small size left. This knifes is a collecters knifes today.
The smaller size is more expensive then the bigger size because of a smaller production of this size.

I use the smaller one as a hunting knife for many years. You can still find this knifes on fairs and so on in Scandinavia, the prize, for the smaller one, is about 300 dollars and the bigger size is about 200-250 dollars. The prize goes up every year. Ceep it!
Thomas
 
wow, i just bought mine in a little shop here for about 15 bucks, you think i got a good deal? : )
 
danroot said:
wow, i just bought mine in a little shop here for about 15 bucks, you think i got a good deal? : )
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Let's see, knife worth $150-300, You got it for $15.00. COULD BE!!!! :D


These came into the US in the same period as the Hackmann "Garcia Survival Knife" designed by Ken Warner (another collector knife and not to be confused with the much lighter version made in Brazil) and the Hackmann butterfly knife (nylon handles), sometime (for ?????) called the "CIA knife."
 
I have owned several, the early production was a bit impractical, the blade chipped very easily, later on they corrected that with a better HT but still the handle (polyamide) remained a bit slippery when wet and when used in field dressing an animal. Stylish yes, not very good for actual use.

TLM
 
bob bowie said:
It was made by Hackman Oy knife company. They are/were a widely respected knife factory, famous for a few knives, yours included. I believe they may of shut down a few years ago.
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Hackman is a part of the Iittala Group. Kitchen and dining cutlery alongside with cookware are still made under the Hackman brand.

The butterfly knife with red nylon handles mentioned by mr. Linton is still manufactured today by a company called Pertemet Oy. They are available here in Finland for 12-13 euros.

The Wirkkala puukko is a beautiful piece, sure enough. But they have very hard blades and get chipped easily. Even very light chopping or limbing can cause damage. I have seen a Wirkkala puukko take pretty bad damage in a situation where a three and a half euro supermarket puukko would have performed. Do not twist the edge. The handles are very slippery and (imo) uncomfortable. I suggest you keep these knives in the display cases.

I have two, and both are in bad shape. These originally belonged to my father and his late brother. The other one has been sharpened on one side, making the grinds uneven, and has a broken tip. This one also has the etching "SOTAKORKEAKOULU" (military academy) and, as I understand, was my uncle's. The second one has a chipped edge from limbing thin branches off a small spruce, courtesy of my father, and the pommel has been used as a hammer. Both have some handle wear, and the other sheath is somewhat scratched.

I have been toying with the idea of finding some better skilled individual to repair the knives, just to give me peace of mind. I hate when I have knives in bad condition, gives me bad vibes. I don't really care for their (lost) market value either. I myself value practicality in a knife, which these have little to me, but they have sentimental value.
 
Was actually doing a search on the Hackman folding knife. Glad to see all the great information. I purchased mine in the early 80s in northern Minn. I was in Winter Operations in the Marines, and the Norwegian trrops recommended it. One of the only folding knives I have ever found that can be opened with artic mittens. Plus, when dropped in the know or tundra the red handles made it much easier to find. Mine has been great, and the blade holds well. Couple that with a nice Leuku on your side, and I was never in need of cutting power. Thanks for the information the Hackman.

Why or whom called it a CIA Blade?

Bill
 
I have two of these. They are very good knives for my use anyway. I actually wrote the company a letter inquiring as to the type of steel used. They wrote me back & dont hold me to this but, I am pretty sure they said it was 420. Just goes to show you what a proper heat treat can do. :)
 
das_tog said:
Why or whom called it a CIA Blade?
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to quote phone_archer (who himself refers to another source) from this thread:
phone_archer said:
The following info comes from "The Working Folding Knife" by Steven Dick (a great book - you should get a copy if you don't already)

An importer got permission to import Hackman Camp knives (from Finland) from US Customs. The book doesn't give the type of stainless used, but does state that a number of these knives were purchased by the CIA. Since they were of foreign manufacture, they were "sterile" (not traceable back to the US).
Click to expand...
 
TLM said:
I have owned several, the early production was a bit impractical, the blade chipped very easily, later on they corrected that with a better HT but still the handle (polyamide) remained a bit slippery when wet and when used in field dressing an animal. Stylish yes, not very good for actual use.

TLM
Click to expand...

I have to disagree TLM, this knife got me through junior year of necropsy lab at vet school. The suggested equipment was a heavy bladed necropsy knife and that was next to useless when it was important (and the profs always thought it was important) to remove a specific organ without hacking surrounding tissues to pieces. After working around bone or cartilage, I would have to run the knife over a fine stone for 10 - 15 minutes before the next class, but I can't think of another knife I would have wanted in those circumstances. At least now I mostly deal with alive animals, not dead without a cause..... My brother-in law gave me the knife for Christmas in the early 80's and I inherited an identical knife when my father passed a year ago last fall.... I'd buy a third in a heartbeat.
-keevel
 
Yesterday, I picked up a Tapio Wirkkala in almost mint condition from the thrift store, never sharpened one small nick near the bolster. It is really nice, I really like the shape of the handle. The different angles help place the hand during use and it has great balance. I had no idea what I had picked up until I got home.
 
The Wirkkala puukko is in my opinion one of the most beautiful modern designs of any object. Such clean and elegant lines. I gave mine in the mid 80's to a man who helped me build my home. He'd always admired it and didn't have a ton of nice things.
 
While the handle material of the Wirkkala puukko may be questionable, the shape was close to perfection.
It "registers" in your hand and quickly tells you the orientation of the blade by feel alone. I've sold
several of my take on the design and my customers have praised the shape. Tapio got it right. Most
of mine were shipped with African Blackwood handles which is much less slippery than the original
nylon. I've yet to make one with a laminated birch bark handle, but I think they'll be even better.

Wirkkala got the line of the blade and handle, the bevel, and the "break" in the handle lined up to produce
a smooth, sleek, and graceful line. A small ricasso to aid in sharpening, a genius of design not found in
many other puukko. Besides, he designed the Finlandia Vodka bottle and many other Finnish modern
designs, particularly for Arabia Ceramics.

My favorite knife.
 
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