The Puukko

[Rich S]

No sure what you mean by "the original"?.....The knife above was authenticated by Marttiini as being made as a commemorative for the 1940 Helsinki Olympic Games....

Yes, I know it was for the 1940 Olympics, that's why I dated the pic.

 

[Arathol]

Yes, I know it was for the 1940 Olympics, that's why I dated the pic.

I was referring to my picture.....

 

[Rich S]

Sorry, misunderstood your reply.

 

[nbp]

I forgot, I also got this one from my Grandpa, in addition to the Wirkkala. Would we consider this puukkot? The sheath is quite traditional and it is Fiskars Finland. Some posted here have the mildly upswept clip point. I think the main "problem" would just be the modern plastic handle for cheaper mass production.

 

[Rich S]

Unique pommel treatment. Design seems to be his trademark. Well made puukko.

 

[Will Power]

Nice. Here is the original; minus the leather fans on sheath:
Engraving on end cap like on bolster.

An interesting item for sure, Ilves Puukko. The Olympics that never were.....originally set to be in Tokyo for Sept-Oct 1940 but moved to Helsinki for July 1940 but 'events' elsewhere made it all impossible. Helsinki did of course eventually host the Olympics in 1952.

 

[screened porch]

Very cool, war-time puukko?

Thank you. I bought it from a vendor who thought it was American Indian. I like to think it's a Winter War kit knife, but I have no way of knowing.
I'll try to get a legible picture of the Finnish cursive maker's name; maybe someone will recognize it.

 

[RayseM]

Here is a SAAMI made puukko - maybe from the 70s.

 

[screened porch]

Anybody recognize the maker of this one?

Kivinona? Kivinene?

 

[Arathol]

Best guess....Nikolai Kivinen, worked during the 1940s.....Pressed paper pahvituppi sheath so anytime from 1941 until 1950 or so

 

[Hammer67]

Just in from Javanainen Forge

 

[EngrSorenson]

Just in from Javanainen Forge

She’s a beaut! I was wondering if it ever made it! Wow.

 

[Hammer67]

She’s a beaut! I was wondering if it ever made it! Wow.

Thanks. It's been sitting here at my house for several weeks but I've been off traveling (of course it arrived the day after I left...). It actually came surprisingly fast from Finland.

 

[screened porch]

Best guess....Nikolai Kivinen, worked during the 1940s.....Pressed paper pahvituppi sheath so anytime from 1941 until 1950 or so

Hey, Thank you.
I'll write that down and keep it with the knife.

 

[kamagong]

I was the lucky winner of Josh's very generous giveaway. Thank you SwissHeritageCo for the fine leatherwork and thank you RayseM for the heads up.

I've only had the sheath for a couple of weeks so I haven't had the chance to use it in the field. Sorry Josh, user feedback is going to have to wait for a few months until after I've had the chance to tote it on a couple of hikes and the family's annual camping trip.

First impressions are very favorable though. The sheath is made of very thick leather, wet formed around the lower part of Tommi's handle. The knife is easily sheathed and re-sheathed, the fit being snug but not overly tight.

Josh used a very thick waxed thread to sew the leather. It's much thicker than the thread that came on any of my puukko sheaths. I distinctly get the impression that SwissHeritageCo builds these sheaths to last.



The only potential weak spot in the sheath's construction that I can see is ironically, the one part that should last the longest. The brass ring has a post that screws in. I can see the screw backing out with use and carry. No matter. A single drop of blue Loc-Tite should ensure that the screw stays in place until I intentionally remove it.

This sheath will help me keep one of my favorite knives in use for a long, long time. It is a heavy duty piece of kit. Josh says he wasn't satisfied with how it turned out aesthetically, but I have no complaints there. It's beautiful and goes very well with the knife.

 

[RayseM]

That is a perfect and lovely combo kamagong and SwissHeritageCo . Both ready for a lifetime of service. As for the shackle pin falling out, as you write, an easy fix with a bit of Loc-Tite. The old boat shackles pins were secured with cotter pins or a lanyard through the peg hole, lashed to the shackle itself or to the fixed item, as a bit of redundancy in order to keep it all together. They do the job very well. I like that I can remove the belt strap if I ever need to - maybe to add a different type of carrying leather - over the neck, or attached to a pack.

Enjoy and show it often.

 

[Pàdruig]

Referencing the discussion that involved blade shapes a ways back, the puukko pictured below has an interesting upswept tip - I could see that being useful for kettles. That said, I've found that tip useful in carving, in fine work that requires a fine point, and many other tasks.

(Surprisingly, it got a lot of attention while I wandered the Oregon Knife Show yesterday)

It is a blade forged by Saku Honkilahti and handle and sheath made by Tommi Mäkelä. It is my very favorite puukko and the fixed blade I carry every day that I wear pants.

 

[RayseM]

Oh my Dylan - that is a beauty. Worthy of lots of attention and I hope - USE.

You can see the same upswept tip here in a Henri Tikkanen puukko I asked him to make. He called it a KARJALAN PUUKKO, by his description ~

"This puukko is based on Eastern - Karelian puukkos as seen in the Finnish National museum, collected from the region of Aunus, North-Western Russia, an area inhabited Finno-Urgic Karelians. The Karelian puukkos can be recognized from Finnish ones by their triangular profiled blades with upturned tips and sheaths with their own kind of simple, yet beautiful decorations and shape."

Mine was a full flat grind but it shares a similar heritage, I'm guessing, as yours.



Puukko are grand!

 

[Arathol]

There are lots of puukkot with upswept tips, they don't have to be from one particular region or ethnic group.
From a 1939 Jarvenpaa catalog-

Some vintage Jarvenpaa blades

An older Marttiini Erapuukko

 

[RayseM]

... and there you have it - a plethora of puukko upswept tips examples. Thanks A Arathol .

Still, I wonder if there was an origin story to that particular style. Tikkanen's example was based on museum examples, though I don't know the period of time they represent.