Old North Europenean Knife

[Tatyana Dianova]

This is another fetch from the local flea market Looks to be a quite old North Europenean knife. The hilt is made from the very hard root wood, it has some varnish traces and steel collar. The blade is handforged, it has a tanto like tip and one shallow fuller. The scabbard is tooled leather.
The knife in scabbard lookes like a fish - I really like its shape! It also was used many times in its life - the blade is worn a bit. Can somebody tell me more about it: the name (puuko???), country, age?

[Tatyana Dianova]

It seems that I put it on the wrong forum - I'm not going to sell this one It would be good if moderators will move this one to Ethnographic Weapons Forum...

[Henk]

Certainly a north european knife. It is a finish puukko knife. The handle is birchwood. It certainly has some age, but I don't know how old it is.

But it is a lovely knife indeed.

[Rich]

Yes, if Finnish it's a puukko (term also commonly but mistakenly used
for most all Nordic knives of this design). The same style was also
made in Norway and Sweden. (I collect and make puukko).
The style of sheath is called Kalavala. Too bad the blade is so badly worn as most were signed by the company or maker. Most of the Finnish puukko were signed in the fuller while the Swedish and Norwegian ones were signed on the
blade itself usually on the upper portion. Many of the Norwegian and
Swedish ones were (are) made with laminated steel. If you're interested
in the design and would like to see many modern ones check out this site.

Ragweed Forge:

http://www.ragweedforge.com

Check out the Jarvenpaa, Ahti, Helle, Lapin Puukko and Mora sections especially. Some of the other brands also sell the same design.

Rich S

[Jim McDougall]

Hi Tatyana,
Its great to see you posting here! and you did indeed post on the right forum. As Henk has noted this is a Finnish 'puuko' , and as he has noted, it is difficult to estimate age on these, however most of them are contemporary to about WWII period. While these are generally considered utility knives, it is known that the Finns are incredibly adept at fighting with them. During WWII it is known that many of the Finnish soldiers chose them over bayonets in close quarters hand to hand combat.

There is little written on them, however a very comprehensive article on them appeared in 2001 by Robert Dohrenwend, "The Puuko", Arms Collecting, Vol.39, #1, February, 2001. I think back issues may still be obtained through the Canadian Arms Collectors Society, as this was thier journal.


All very best regards,
Jim

[Rich]

There is also a great book in English by Les Ristinen "Collectible Knives of
Finland" that covers both antique, vintage and modern puukko and
leuku. Highly recommended and still in print.

Rich S

[Jim McDougall]

Thanks for the information on these knives Rich. I've always wondered myself, just what is the heritage on these? It seems all I've seen were relatively recent, and wondered if the form extends into 19th century?

All best regards,
Jim