The Puukko

[Will Power]

I bought this yesterday, at a knife club meeting, because I like how it looked!!View attachment 3186052View attachment 3186053
I since found out it is a Leuku Puukko, with a curley Birch handle!!

Nice find, your knife evidently had an Estonian owner by the name engraved on the blade.

Puukko is often used loosely as a term for fixed knife- in the way in which non knife types refer to Penknife when they mean the vast array of Traditional pocket-knives But as pointed out by Arathol, where connoisseurs or those in the know are concerned it refers to a particular type/style of fixed blade of Finnish origin. Its name has something to do with the word puu meaning wood which may refer to working with wood, carving, construction etc or the handle itself, often wood. For those of a nervous disposition...the word for stab has its origin in puukko too I'd say - puukotus Similar to the English word 'knifed' .

 

[The Zieg]

The beer is reminiscent of a Finnish sahti, a traditional ale that is difficult to get here in the US, but whose taste is approximated in certain rye ales. Likewise, and a much more true likeness, is the puukko by Danijel Haramina, not made in Finland but a real puukko in every sense. Sheath by SwissHeritageCo , of course!

I don't brew beer anymore (I dabbled in it when I was in college), but if I did, I would certainly try my hand at a sahti style!

 

[waynorth]

Nice find, your knife evidently had an Estonian owner by the name engraved on the blade.

Thanks for the brief treatise, and the information on my knife, Will!!! Knowing these things makes it more enjoyable to own!!!!!
This forum, with its population, is such a treasure!!!

 

[Old Engineer]

Thanks for the brief treatise, and the information on my knife, Will!!! Knowing these things makes it more enjoyable to own!!!!!
This forum, with its population, is such a treasure!!!

Now that you have a Leuku Charlie , you need to try one of this style with Birch Bark Handle . Now that Spring is here I will be using this one quite a lot . That Birch Bark handle seems to be a very comfortable handle .

Harry

 

[waynorth]

Now that you have a Leuku Charlie , you need to try one of this style with Birch Bark Handle . Now that Spring is here I will be using this one quite a lot . That Birch Bark handle seems to be a very comfortable handle .

Harry

Nice knife, Harry! I like mine, but the Puukko pool is a little too deep for me to step into, this late in the game!!!

 

[Old Engineer]

Nice knife, Harry! I like mine, but the Puukko pool is a little too deep for me to step into, this late in the game!!!

That is fine Charlie but I was a little older than you are when I got into it .
What about one of every pattern ???? You don't have to go Deep , just step into the water ???

Harry

 

[lambertiana]

Now that you have a Leuku Charlie , you need to try one of this style with Birch Bark Handle . Now that Spring is here I will be using this one quite a lot . That Birch Bark handle seems to be a very comfortable handle .

Harry

I prefer birch bark to birch wood for handles. It feels a lot better in hand.

 

[Arathol]

Some guarded puukkot from Jarvenpaa

 

[jfk1110]

Some guarded puukkot from Jarvenpaa

Something about the lacquered birch bark is just memorizing to me anyway!!! BEA-utiful k ives

 

[A.L.]

The beer is reminiscent of a Finnish sahti, a traditional ale that is difficult to get here in the US, but whose taste is approximated in certain rye ales. Likewise, and a much more true likeness, is the puukko by Danijel Haramina, not made in Finland but a real puukko in every sense. Sheath by SwissHeritageCo , of course!

I don't brew beer anymore (I dabbled in it when I was in college), but if I did, I would certainly try my hand at a sahti style!

View attachment 3186520

My brother is a sahti enthusiast, so much so that he made some for this past easter. Unfortunately I don't have any in glass pics but here's a pic of some in beer katiska, small fishing trap made for cooling beers in the lake along with Sandels, one of the most popular Finnish bulk lagers and a Chinese spy.

 

[The Zieg]

My contribution today:

I had been using the heck out of my Peltonen M95 Sissipuukko since I picked it up on the BF exchange February last year. I love this knife, but I hated the sharpening choil. I would cut twine and fibrous materials, butcher game, trim plant materials, and just about all of it would get caught in that big honking choil. Too small to be a finger choil, too large not to get caught in materials. I went so far as to go to BF's "Want To Buy" in the exchange and request someone to sell me a first generation model that didn't have the sharpening choil. With no luck I had to "engineer" my own solution. I can now whip the blade through any material without getting caught in the now-non-existent-choil!

The M95 is a terrific knife!!

 

[oldmanwilly]

I played around with my little Kellam puukko last weekend and really enjoyed how handy it was for carving. I've never been a big fan of the shallow scandi grinds that are so prevalent on the market now, so I appreciate the higher Sabre grind that keeps the edge thin enough to slice well.



I like the Kellam, but I generally prefer a longer fixed blade for a general field knife and wouldn't mind somethingwith an even higher grind. So, I made the decision to embark on a little summer project to build my own puukko.



I ordered Tommi Puukko blank by YP Puronvarsi with a 120mm blade (approximately 4.75 inches) and a few pieces of hardware like a bolster and pommel cap. I have always admired the traditional Finnish puukko and think this blade profile and grind is exactly what I have been looking for. I have delusions of fashioning a leather stacked handle, maybe with a piece of antler as an additional bolster, but we shall see.

Would it be blasphemous of me to fashion a simple finger guard, unlike most traditional puukkot?

 

[The Zieg]

I played around with my little Kellam puukko last weekend and really enjoyed how handy it was for carving. I've never been a big fan of the shallow scandi grinds that are so prevalent on the market now, so I appreciate the higher Sabre grind that keeps the edge thin enough to slice well.

View attachment 3193460

I like the Kellam, but I generally prefer a longer fixed blade for a general field knife and wouldn't mind somethingwith an even higher grind. So, I made the decision to embark on a little summer project to build my own puukko.

View attachment 3193459

I ordered Tommi Puukko blank by YP Puronvarsi with a 120mm blade (approximately 4.75 inches) and a few pieces of hardware like a bolster and pommel cap. I have always admired the traditional Finnish puukko and think this blade profile and grind is exactly what I have been looking for. I have delusions of fashioning a leather stacked handle, maybe with a piece of antler as an additional bolster, but we shall see.

Would it be blasphemous of me to fashion a simple finger guard, unlike most traditional puukkot?

No, not blasphemous at all. Puukot have all sorts of variations. We might all appreciate the earlier, more traditional looks, but there need to be concessions to actual use.

 

[maxjeg]

I played around with my little Kellam puukko last weekend and really enjoyed how handy it was for carving. I've never been a big fan of the shallow scandi grinds that are so prevalent on the market now, so I appreciate the higher Sabre grind that keeps the edge thin enough to slice well.

View attachment 3193460

I like the Kellam, but I generally prefer a longer fixed blade for a general field knife and wouldn't mind somethingwith an even higher grind. So, I made the decision to embark on a little summer project to build my own puukko.

View attachment 3193459

I ordered Tommi Puukko blank by YP Puronvarsi with a 120mm blade (approximately 4.75 inches) and a few pieces of hardware like a bolster and pommel cap. I have always admired the traditional Finnish puukko and think this blade profile and grind is exactly what I have been looking for. I have delusions of fashioning a leather stacked handle, maybe with a piece of antler as an additional bolster, but we shall see.

Would it be blasphemous of me to fashion a simple finger guard, unlike most traditional puukkot?

You could simply alter the shape of the handle. For instance, like this:

Finnish-style handles aren't always comfortable.

YP Puronvarsi blades are not the best choice. They are quite thick—5.5 mm—and suffer from poor heat treatment quality. I’ve owned two of their hunting blades: a 120 mm and a 100 mm model. I gave the 120 mm one away, while I still use the 100 mm one. The knife dulls quite quickly when working with wood—faster, in fact, than Mora knives. It also developed micro-chips in the edge while I was using it to dress a trout I had caught.

 

[screened porch]

Here's a Lauri blade on a stick.

I was going for primitive, and I think I achieved it.

 

[oldmanwilly]

You could simply alter the shape of the handle. For instance, like this:

Finnish-style handles aren't always comfortable.

YP Puronvarsi blades are not the best choice. They are quite thick—5.5 mm—and suffer from poor heat treatment quality. I’ve owned two of their hunting blades: a 120 mm and a 100 mm model. I gave the 120 mm one away, while I still use the 100 mm one. The knife dulls quite quickly when working with wood—faster, in fact, than Mora knives. It also developed micro-chips in the edge while I was using it to dress a trout I had caught.

Thanks for the inspiration, that's a fine looking knife.

I had heard the YP blades were on the softer side but thought they were attractive and thought to give it a try. I'll consider this as a practice run before getting a better quality blade.

 

[Luke_Chambers]

Those Tapio W. used to be fairly common here until people realized that overseas they were getting a lot of attention ... I've always liked these, and in flea market shops I keep a hawk eye on the piles of (usually appalling condition) knives up for sale. Might get lucky one of these days.....They were 'controversial' at the time due to the handle, but it offers remarkable dexterity. Tapio Wirkkala was a renowned designer, glass, ceramics, furniture too I believe.

I found one of these ages ago. It has sat in my drawer since then, because I'm worried to chip the edge. Somewhere (forgot where) I read that the blade is a bit delicate. Could you comment on your experience with these knives?

Wirkkala by the way designed the cutlery that I've been using every day the last 40 years, "Taille".

 

[John A. Larsen]

I got one from Brookstone Hardware (?) back in the early 1970's. Took it with me to the field on a 30 day exercise in Germany, where I was also tasked to be the S4 (Supply), and in this case to equally divide up any local food we got, like good German bread, meat and cheese. It worked well and I also used it for small cutting tasks, never had any problems with the edge, then again I was not abusing it. Later bought the smaller model at the Turku, Finland gun show and another one which was mint at a local Washington Arms Collector Show in Puyallup, WA. John

 

[Luke_Chambers]

Took it with me to the field on a 30 day exercise in Germany, where I was also tasked to be the S4 (Supply), and in this case to equally divide up any local food we got, like good German bread, meat and cheese.

Nice memories. Make for a good story.

 

[jfk1110]

I found one of these ages ago. It has sat in my drawer since then, because I'm worried to chip the edge. Somewhere (forgot where) I read that the blade is a bit delicate. Could you comment on your experience with these knives?

Wirkkala by the way designed the cutlery that I've been using every day the last 40 years, "Taille".

USE IT.......