The Puukko

Arathol said:
I find this a bit hard to believe.....
First, its not that easy to bend these as its not just tang you have to bend. The compressed stacked bark is quite solid and provides a lot of resistance to bending. You would need to compress the bark on inside radius of the handle, which is not possible without further damaging the knife. None of the examples shown show any signs of compression. You could no more bend this handle than you could if it had a wood handle. If birchbark handles were really that fragile you'd think its use would have been short lived, not continued for centuries.
As to the bark swelling when wet, yes it will, but like anything made of wood when it dries it will return to its normal size.
Also, if you were to apply enough pressure to actually bend the handle, you would damage the bolster before you bent the tang. The bolsters on these old knives are mostly just thin brass sheeting formed into a cup and secured in place with molten sulphur, referred to by makers as brimstone. This is the weakest point where the tang would start to bend first.
Many older bark handles are coated with a varnish by the maker. If you were to bend the handle that varnish would crack when the layers separate. If you look at the pictures, the knives that are in good condition show the varnish is intact. I also find it hard to believe that so many similar knives are not just bent but all bent exactly the same.....
Oh, by the way, look on page 206 of Ruusuvuoris book on puukkot.....you'll see just such a knife with a non-symmetrical (bent) birchbark handle that was made by Lahdensuo, dated 1940......so yes, they were being made....
That sheath is most likely original, its not the only one like it I have seen. Some decorations and the date may have been added later but there is no reason to believe that its not original to the knife.
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I understand your arguments.
I will express my opinion.
The shanks on old Finnish knives are really thin and not hardened. This is done for ease of assembly and riveting at the end of the handle.
All examples of deformed handles are associated with birch bark. Birch bark is a soft material. Much softer than wood or plastic.
The Finns produce dozens of handle shapes for different types of work. If such a shape were in demand, you and I would see it in both wood and plastic. But I could not find such a deformation in other materials.
And covering old handles with new varnish before selling is a long-known trick of the Finns. :) I have seen this more than once at flea markets in Helsinki and Tampere.
I think that this deformation is caused by the tastes of the owners or naturally when doing some work. For example, making blanks for wooden spoons, ladles. When they cut with the cutting edge towards themselves. and the blank is rested against their stomach.
 
Puukko from Wood Jewel is on my walk today.

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The Suomi series is dedicated to the centenary of Finland's independence.

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maxjeg said:
I understand your arguments.
I will express my opinion.
The shanks on old Finnish knives are really thin and not hardened. This is done for ease of assembly and riveting at the end of the handle.
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As are many other knives with stick tangs. Leather is softer than birchbark and I can't say I have ever seen a stick tang knife such as a old Marbles shaped or bent like these are, and there are many examples that are 100 years old and have been used and abused for years.
maxjeg said:
All examples of deformed handles are associated with birch bark. Birch bark is a soft material. Much softer than wood or plastic.
The Finns produce dozens of handle shapes for different types of work. If such a shape were in demand, you and I would see it in both wood and plastic. But I could not find such a deformation in other materials.
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You can't make a curved handle using a stick tang that goes all the way through a solid piece of wood. You can however stack pieces of birchbark and compress them to conform to the curve.
In addition, all the examples I have seen are of one particular design, which is a vuolupuukko, or wood carving knife that has a hooked pommel. I've never seen a stacked birchbark ball end or nuppipää puukko thats "bent".
Very old Jarvenpaa catalogs make reference to a puukko with vaaralla visapaalla, which seems to mean crooked or curved handle.....
maxjeg said:
And covering old handles with new varnish before selling is a long-known trick of the Finns. :) I have seen this more than once at flea markets in Helsinki and Tampere.
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Yes, you can re-varnish old handles but you can't fake the patina and crackling of the varnish from age.
maxjeg said:
I think that this deformation is caused by the tastes of the owners or naturally when doing some work. For example, making blanks for wooden spoons, ladles. When they cut with the cutting edge towards themselves. and the blank is rested against their stomach.
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The problem is that the knives shown are not the same as a straight knife. The handles are not just bent, they are actually shaped differently. They are not symmetrical and have a distinct swell at the pommel end.
 
Will Power said:
You should reject it...clearly a forgery 🤣 Lisakki?? Häh ? Should be Iisakki the Finnish form of Issac :)
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Maybe that misspelling is the reason I was the only bidder. I got it delivered for $2 more than my new Ahti.

By the way, is it the case that Jarvenpaa and Marttiini both are now owned by Kellam? Along with Wood Jewel and Roselli?
I'm glad I got my Ahti before the fifth generation of the family sells the company.
 
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screened porch said:
Maybe that misspelling is the reason I was the only bidder. I got it delivered for $2 more than my new Ahti.

By the way, is it the case that Jarvenpaa and Marttiini both are now owned by Kellam? Along with Wood Jewel and Roselli?
I'm glad I got my Ahti before the fifth generation of the family sells the company.
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I think you are mistaken. Kellam is a trading company that orders knives with its name from various manufacturers. Ahti knives are manufactured in Kauhava, Finland, which has a long and rich history of being known for knife making. The Ahti knives are made by Reino Kamppila and his son, who operate a fourth-generation family business of knife making. Wood Jewel and Roselli are owned by the founders. In the fall of 2005, the international fishing gear tackle corporation giant Rapala VMC LtdCorp. bought Marttiini Ltd.’s whole capital stock from the Marttiini family.
 
maxjeg said:
I think you are mistaken. Kellam is a trading company that orders knives with its name from various manufacturers. Ahti knives are manufactured in Kauhava, Finland, which has a long and rich history of being known for knife making. The Ahti knives are made by Reino Kamppila and his son, who operate a fourth-generation family business of knife making. Wood Jewel and Roselli are owned by the founders. In the fall of 2005, the international fishing gear tackle corporation giant Rapala VMC LtdCorp. bought Marttiini Ltd.’s whole capital stock from the Marttiini family.
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I wish I could find the older styled Ahti Korpi before they changed the handle shape. Even after the change the handle shapes were subtle and nice for a moment, but the last couple of years they have changed to much more dramatic contours. Such to the point I'm thinking about testing out Kellam's handles instead, but I worry those stock images are old and the handles on those have become more dramatic too! Chaps my ass.

I'm certain Kellam knives are made by Ahti and I really hope that Kellam's handles have been left alone but the more I think about it the more I'm doubtful.

Suffice it to say, I'm not overly happy with whoever is shaping Ahti's handles these days. Be it on the Korpi or the leukus (the more traditional oval puukko handles are just fine).
 
screened porch said:
By the way, is it the case that Jarvenpaa and Marttiini both are now owned by Kellam? Along with Wood Jewel and Roselli?
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Jarvenpaa is still privately owned by Jarkko Haukkala, an entrepreneur who was a pilot and manager of Finncomm Airlines, and his friend Hannu Pennala.

I found this list of who makes what for Kellam a while back-
Wolf Pack; Puukko; Wolverine Made by Ahti

-KP Line: Made by Kainuun Puukko of Finland. VK stamped ones are made by Veijo Käpylä (the current smith) AK and OK stamped ones should be the last ones made by the Kemppainen brothers, the previous owners.

-R Line: made by Roselli Oy.

-J line: made by Iisakki Järvenpää Oy.

-M Line: made by Janne Marttiini Oy.

-AK Line: made by Altti Kankaanpää

-Historical Knives, Finnish Knives: made by Antti Mäkinen, grandson of Yrjö Puronvarsi.

-KT Line: made by Wood Jewel on design of Kauko Raatiniemi, owner of Wood Jewel and his son Tuomas

-Other Lines
-HM Line: made by Harri Merimaa of WoodsKnife wth Lauri blades
-YP Line: made by Antti Mäkinen

-Kullervo: made by Veikko Hakkarainen
-S Line: made by Finman
-Ranger Puukko: made by Fiskars
-Small Knives: various souvenir puukkos made by Paaso, Lappi Tuottet and Lauri Tuottet
 
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