All About Pocket Knives

Late to the game but this is what I have...
The center knife was my grandfather's garden knife. Came back with him while on a 6-month sabbatical touring Europe in 1960.
The bottom was a local antique find. Ceremonial?

Nice, those 3 are all 'working puukkos', no ceremonial ones there.
kj

kootenay joe wrote:Nice, those 3 are all 'working puukkos', no ceremonial ones there.
kj

Thanks for the info. I have seen the bottom example listed as ceremonial for several $100.
I bought it on a lark at one of my regular haunts, very inexpensively. (Better than saying CHEAPLY!!)
None is getting sold until our kids threaten us with nursing care. Then we cash out and disappear.

There are ceremonial (or Sunday) knives from Norway that might look a bit like your 3rd knife. The scabbards are usually made of horn plus pewter or silver fittings top & bottom.
The '3rd knife' is a very good example of a Finnish puukko especially with the sheath 'all there'. Often the metal from base of sheath is missing. Yours still has the belt hanger too. Blade edge & tip look great. On ebay now it is ~ $75 knife.
You could even make it your own user knife. They sharpen to a razor edge and will cut anything sensible.(i.e. copper wire o.k. steel fencing, No !)
kj

"You could even make it your own user knife. They sharpen to a razor edge and will cut anything sensible.(i.e. copper wire o.k. steel fencing, No !)"
Good explanation there...

I just picked up the Olavi Kemppainen Puukko shown at top of this page.
I am so 'moved' by this knife and with thousands of knives in my collection, this old collector rarely gets such a fine 'knife buzz'.
The blade is the most perfect i own & it is forged ! And it is The Sharpest edge i have ever experienced, even sharper than my Jerry Halfrich, Rick Menefee, Todd Davison, etc. all known for super sharp edges.
O.K. is said to have been the finest Puukko maker of all time. It is an honor to own this knife.
I wouldn't sell it for 5x what i paid.
kj

My only swede and Finish knives. (thanks to kJ) I finally got it touched up and sharpened a little. both knives take a mean edge! Include in the photo are a couple of pieces of 8 ounce leather that I practiced on. A little hard to read on the Finn but it says Made in Finland among other thisgs. No sheath for the Swede, just a "user" but a good one. Terry

The Finnish Puukko is such an incredibly fine knife/tool yet most knife lovers here don't know much about them and don't have one.
There are plenty of vintage puukkos 'out there' waiting to be found & tuned up to totally thrill the new owner.
Why do they cut so well ? I don't know but they do.
kj

what kind of price range do these things run? I know where there is a beautiful one, but it's a bit pricey I think, or it could be a real bargain, who knows. Thanks
Bruce

Puukko prices are 'all over the map'. Higher prices sometimes reflect a knife made by a well known smith either present or past. But more often it is just 2 or more bidders wanting the same knife.
Puukkos are often signed by the maker in the fuller groove but to a non-Finn it just looks like a bunch of unreadable connected loops.
There are no books or online resources that help one learn how to assess Finnish knives as to age or maker. Hence for 99% of us we really don't know what we are looking at other than 'a knife from Finland'.
As to prices, they are going up since i began chatting about these some months ago but some still fly low and might be had for $30-$40.
Many sellers think they are very valuable and first post them for a high BIN. I watch these as most will remain unsold until listed as open auction with a low opening bid.
If you search "Puukko" and "Finland knife" and "Finnish knife" (3 separate searches) on ebay you will get lots of knives to watch. After a few months you will know which style you like, what a complete sheath looks like, and what a good price is.
kj

Enzo.. Reindeer horn and oak.. John

A beautiful knife. Congrats.

Quick Steel wrote:A beautiful knife. Congrats.

Thanks Garry!! John

Here is a very finely finished puukko by Todor Hristov in Bulgaria. The handle is a rather dark blue Alder burl and spalted Beech. Steel is stainless N690co with a 'rhomboid' grind (thickest at 'ridge' running length of blade about 1/4 way down from spine. Overall length is a little over 9.5" with the handle being a bit longer than the blade which is 'correct' for a puukko. Blade edge is very sharp.
kj

Here is a Puukko made some years ago in Rovaniemi, Finland. Just under 7" OAL, the 3" blade was made by Veikko Hakkarainen and the handle was made by Lauri Tuoteet.
V.H. was (now deceased ?) a very highly respected Finnish 'smith' who also made completed knives. The ones i have seen have stacked birch bark handles. This knife which has a V.H. blade has a solid wood handle which is not as 'fancy' as a birch bark handle.
Am i correct that a knife fully made by V.H. is considered more collectible than one that was completed by L.T. ?
Please comment if you are familiar with V.H. knives and those completed by L.T.
kj

I now have this knife i show above. I am not particularly impressed. Veikko Hakkarainen is said to be one of the best Finnish smiths of all time.
The blade is certainly scary sharp, it can split hairs. And it has the proper Tommi rhomboid cross section, thickest about 1/4 way down from spine.
I think it is the handle that spoils the knife. It is too short, 3 3/4". Blade is 3". Most puukkos have a long handle, about 4 1/2". There is no guard so the extra length adds a bit of safety. And finally: sheath is too big, knife falls out. It should 'snap' in and need a good pull to extract it.
Still, not every puukkophile gets to own a "V.H." blade.
kj

Here is a knife i just received that i think is fantastic.
8" OAL, stacked birch bark handle with a shield image applied. The blade looks never used. The tip comes to a real point. I think the writing on the flat is "Kauhava" which is city in Finland famous for puukko manufacturing. I cannot read the signature in the fuller.
The sheath is pressed cardboard and in perfect condition which is rare. Even the image of the Finnish flag is completely intact.
The use of cardboard to make the sheath suggests this was made during WW II, i.e. a knife of approximately 75 years. Very rare to find one of these unused.
Hoping to learn from comments of puukkophiles,
kj

kootenay joe wrote:Here is a very finely finished puukko by Todor Hristov in Bulgaria. The handle is a rather dark blue Alder burl and spalted Beech. Steel is stainless N690co with a 'rhomboid' grind (thickest at 'ridge' running length of blade about 1/4 way down from spine. Overall length is a little over 9.5" with the handle being a bit longer than the blade which is 'correct' for a puukko. Blade edge is very sharp.
kj

I like this knife very much. It obviously takes the concept to a really beautiful custom level. I think that the 'dangler' system of sheath attachment to one's belt is a superior method in many ways. Most sheaths do not orient themselves well at all when sitting, in most situations.

Yep, dangler sheath, driving in my truck i do not even notice that i have a knife in dangler sheath on my belt. It just naturally stays out of the way.
kj

Here is a most 'powerful' knife and although not a true puukko design it was made by Heimo Roselli, perhaps the most famous Finnish smith alive today.
Heimo has been forging knives since 1976 and has developed his own 'Wootz' which he calls "UHC" for Ultra High Carbon. This steel gets tempered to an Rc of 66-68 !
This is the H.Roselli "Hunting Knife" with UHC steel. It came from a USA company called "Bush Smarts.com". They discard the very nice Roselli sheath and put the knife in a sheath they designed which is sewn with steel 'thread' so that blade is less likely to cut through.
9" OAL, 4" blade.
A fixed blade user knife does not get any better than this.
kj

Wow Roland that is quiet a tour. That blue one takes the cake but they are all really nice. I learn more and more.

Stop with the puukko photos fellas. Thats a style of knife I don't have and now I want one at a time when I shouldn't be spending more money.
Seriously though those are all beautiful knives, thanks for giving us a look.

That is one stalwart knife kj. Looks like it could skin a rhino.

QS, now that you mention it, the knife looks like a rhino.
And sunknife, it is not the looks that make these knives a 'must have' for a knife lover. It is how incredibly well they cut that makes them a 'must experience'.
You can get decent inexpensive puukkos from Kellam knives or Ragnar's Forge. You will love using it.
kj

Thanks for the info KJ. I took a look at some of the knives on those dealers websites and a lot to like there. I'm thinking a puukko may be in my future plans when I'm ready to add another fixed blade knife to the collection.