The Puukko

kamagong kamagong Nice to hear that Christian, it's a very tidy knife- too bad no longer made. You might also enjoy some of Pallarés' inexpensive knives in carbon or inox. They make simple and very effective kitchen knives too.
 
robopek said:
Picked this up a few days ago...an excellent condition Tapio Wirkkala (Designed 1961) "Puukko" knife with the original sheath. Produced by Hackman, Finland. I had another one once, bought relatively cheaply at a gun show. Halfway through dressing a deer with it, the blade fell off, and I realized that someone had already broken the blade and had then simply glued it back in place. No wonder it was so cheap. But for the brief time I used it on that deer, I was very impressed with it as the near-perfect ergonomic tool for that job, and I have cleaned way more deer than I can remember. So I always wanted another, but they were hard to find, especially for anything like a reasonable price. I traded an old scope for this one. (Note, I used to be robinpeck, member since 2001, but the other day I couldn't get it to work no matter what I tried, and I had to rejoin with a new name.)
uOy0dIt.jpg

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My grandfather gave my brother D Don M one of these in the 70s. It's a nice design.

I have a question regarding Laurin blades. It seems that a lot of Puukko makers use Laurin blades. Do the individual makers do the heat treat, or do they purchase the blades already heat treated by Laurin?
 
lambertiana said:
My grandfather gave my brother D Don M one of these in the 70s. It's a nice design.

I have a question regarding Laurin blades. It seems that a lot of Puukko makers use Laurin blades. Do the individual makers do the heat treat, or do they purchase the blades already heat treated by Laurin?
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That's a good question.
I'm just guessing that the blades are heat-treated by Laurin, so I'll be interested to hear.
 
lambertiana said:
My grandfather gave my brother D Don M one of these in the 70s. It's a nice design.

I have a question regarding Laurin blades. It seems that a lot of Puukko makers use Laurin blades. Do the individual makers do the heat treat, or do they purchase the blades already heat treated by Laurin?
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They are already treated although a couple makers tweak the treatment after the fact.

Laurin has a great treatment on their 80crv2. Never tested their stainless though.
 
Greetings all. Would anyone happen to know a good model of puukko that could fit my specifications? My preferences are a carbon steel blade between 3.25” and 3.75”, barrel-shaped handle (material not important), and a full edge that runs all the way to the handle. I found a model by Kauhavan Puukkopaja that almost fits this, but the edge has a slight ricasso. Then I found an Ahti Juhla that looks perfect, but it’s in stainless steel, not carbon. Argh! I’m willing to pay up to $150 to $200 for this holy grail. Kind of surprising I can’t seem to find something like this, everything is so close yet so far. Any help is appreciated and thanks!
 
stonefrog said:
Greetings all. Would anyone happen to know a good model of puukko that could fit my specifications? My preferences are a carbon steel blade between 3.25” and 3.75”, barrel-shaped handle (material not important), and a full edge that runs all the way to the handle. I found a model by Kauhavan Puukkopaja that almost fits this, but the edge has a slight ricasso. Then I found an Ahti Juhla that looks perfect, but it’s in stainless steel, not carbon. Argh! I’m willing to pay up to $150 to $200 for this holy grail. Kind of surprising I can’t seem to find something like this, everything is so close yet so far. Any help is appreciated and thanks!
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Well, unfortunately many commercial makers all use similar blades from Laurin Mettali, which keeps costs down, blades like this...
y6ey63b.jpg

There aren't a whole lot with the blade you want, which I assume is this
CcDv2wW.jpg

However, once you start getting into knives that don't use inexpensive mass produced blades the cost increases pretty sharply....Maybe look on Etsy for puukko makers that might have something like what you are looking for.
 
robopek said:
Picked this up a few days ago...an excellent condition Tapio Wirkkala (Designed 1961) "Puukko" knife with the original sheath. Produced by Hackman, Finland. I had another one once, bought relatively cheaply at a gun show. Halfway through dressing a deer with it, the blade fell off, and I realized that someone had already broken the blade and had then simply glued it back in place. No wonder it was so cheap. But for the brief time I used it on that deer, I was very impressed with it as the near-perfect ergonomic tool for that job, and I have cleaned way more deer than I can remember. So I always wanted another, but they were hard to find, especially for anything like a reasonable price. I traded an old scope for this one. (Note, I used to be robinpeck, member since 2001, but the other day I couldn't get it to work no matter what I tried, and I had to rejoin with a new name.)
uOy0dIt.jpg

FOoL5iW.jpg
Click to expand...

I've always considered that design to be one of the most beautiful puukko designs. Like Will said, they sadly run pretty steep price here or are just in horrible condition (and most of the time both).
 
I bought one of the large model Wirkkala from Brookstone (?) hardware in the mid 1970's. Got a smaller version at the Turku, Finland gun show, but it was not cheap, 100 euros. My friend said it was the first small version he had seen for sale in many years. Later at the Washington Arms Collector show in Puyallup, WA I was at a Mountain Man booth looking at a folder (do not remember what kind) and noticed under a pile of Mountain Man style knives the distinctive butt and sheath of a small Wirkkala, and I got the folder and the small Wirkkala for $45, which by the way was in very good shape. Never know what treasures you might find at gun shows. All three are hanging off of hooks just to the right of me as I type this. John
 
stonefrog said:
Greetings all. Would anyone happen to know a good model of puukko that could fit my specifications? My preferences are a carbon steel blade between 3.25” and 3.75”, barrel-shaped handle (material not important), and a full edge that runs all the way to the handle. I found a model by Kauhavan Puukkopaja that almost fits this, but the edge has a slight ricasso. Then I found an Ahti Juhla that looks perfect, but it’s in stainless steel, not carbon. Argh! I’m willing to pay up to $150 to $200 for this holy grail. Kind of surprising I can’t seem to find something like this, everything is so close yet so far. Any help is appreciated and thanks!
Click to expand...

There are a few from Kauhavan Puukkopaja that look right but might be a little shorter in the blade - 75mm and 80mm.
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And if you are OK with a swell pommel this one is 3.75”. And if you are handy you can remove that pommel flare.


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lambertiana said:
There are a few from Kauhavan Puukkopaja that look right but might be a little shorter in the blade - 75mm and 80mm.
View attachment 3125855
View attachment 3125856


And if you are OK with a swell pommel this one is 3.75”. And if you are handy you can remove that pommel flare.


View attachment 3125857
Click to expand...
Thank you friend! I noticed Järvenpää also makes a “Hare knife” which has a 3.25” blade and barrel handle, but it too has a ricasso. It may be something to bite the bullet on, but before I do, any puukko aficionados here that would like to give their input as to their build quality lately? I noticed the prices on all their models went up quite a bit, but how is their fit and finish?
 
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