New Blade

[SA1911a1]

I am fond of knives and always have been. My father gave me my first sheath knife when I was in the first grade......Something I would have never done with my son, but it was a different world. It came with a strict set of rules that I followed to the tee, knowing that if caught violating said rules would end up in my knife going into the trash. I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, but I remember what that knife looked like.

I have been wanting a Puukko for a while and finally found one dirt cheap on ebay. I had to buy the knife and sheath from two seperate sellers but still ended up with a lot less than these normally go for. It came to me with a rusty, beat-up blade that took some work to get back to a good functional knife. These are made with what amounts to a steel sandwich with softer steel on the outside of the blade and hard steel in the center. The hard steel is really damn hard and it takes some patience to get a fine edge on the knife. I finally got it sharp enough to peel hair off my arm, and the edge should last. The knife really fits the hand well and comfortably and will make a fine and handy tool.

There is a seller, I believe from Lithuania, that has a lot of pre-owned Puukkos for a reasonable price and I might hit him up for another one.

[tomaustin]

it looks a whole lot better than the way you started out describing it !! a paring knife ? what is the blade length ?

[SA1911a1]

it looks a whole lot better than the way you started out describing it !! a paring knife ? what is the blade length ?

It does look a lot better than when I received it! I take great pleasure in restoring old tools.

The blade is about 3.75". The knife could certainly be used for paring, but they function as a traditional utility belt knife in Finland, Sweden, Russia and surrounding countries. There was a time when no Finn man or woman would not have one of these handy. For many Finns it was a right of passage to build one of these knives from blanks and the knives and the sheaths were highly personalized, showing the multiple skills required to make the knife and scabbard. This one is a commercially made knife. The Swedes use a similar version with a hand-guard that they call the Mora. Finnish soldiers carried the knives as tools rather than weapons so the hand guard was not needed and got in the way more than it helped. Without the handguard, you can use your thumb on top of the blade to exert force on the item being cut. There is a Wiki article on the PUUKKO knife if you want further info.

[Junk Yard Dog]

[steelbuttplate]

The original Rapala filet knife I think was modeled after those.