What is a Puukko knife? A Puukko is a knife Finnish/Swedish or Scandinavian origin and in the Finnish language “Puukko” means “knife.” As such, it is unnecessary to say “Puukko knife,” as it would be redundate but is still a commonly used term. These special knives are some of the best performing knives in the world. The Scandinavian puukko is known for its unique design and razor sharp blade. The puukko knife is not only known for its simple, elegant design, but also for its resilience. In testing the strength of the blade, a man once hammered a puukko knife through a pressure-treated 2 x 4, cutting the wood cleanly in half then taking the blade to his arm and effortlessly shaving the hair off with one swift stroke. The edge retention of these hand forged carbon steel blades is inarguably impressive.
A traditional puukko often has a hand forged carbon steel blade and some type of wood handle with brass bolsters with the wood handle sometimes consisting of many layers of birch bark. The handles can be synthetic or curly birch/birch. Traditionally there is no fingerguard. Most puukko knives will have a molded leather sheath sometimes with some type of ornamental brass pieces.
The puukko knife is deeply engrained in Finnish culture. Some Finnish men carry the same knife their whole lives. During formal occasions Finnish men wear ornamental knives on traditional Finnish brass-decorated belts. In defense against Russian invasions the Finns would travel by ski and sneak into Russian camps at the night with large razor sharp puukkos defeating the entire camps by silently attacking the sleeping invaders with their knives. Many books have been written describing the winter war Finns. For such a small country they were able to hold off numerous attempts by the Russian forces to overtake them.
In previous generations when a group of Finnish men would gather for a poker game, one man would take his puukko knife and strike the blade into the middle of the wooden table leaving the knife sticking up then state the following: “If any man here thinks another is cheating let this knife be the judge”. For the remainder of the game, the knife would stand in the middle of the table as a reminder.
In recreation as well as business in the Finnish culture, the puukko is ever present. A puukko knife is a common gift in Finnish business culture upon the completion or initiation of a business transaction or venture. Sometimes the gifted puukko knife may have a price tag upwards of $1000-$2000 and would be hand-made by a famous puukko master smith. Today a puukko knife may be purchased for well under $100. A custom made puukko knife hand forged by a puukko smith may start at $400 for a 4″ blade knife made of traditional materials.
0 Responses to “The Puukko Knife”