Strange Keris blade or???

A. G. Maisey · 1st October 2006, 10:40 PM

On the leather used in puuko sheaths.

Yeah, modern commercial puukos use reasonably heavy leather, however the leather in antique puuko sheaths is really quite thin.

A lot of puukos use a liner of fibre , or in the old sheaths of wood ,and then the outside leather is sewn wet around the liner and shunk on.

When I was doing a lot of knife making, I made a lot of puuko blades of various patterns, and to turn them into knives I was working with bloke who used to spend summers in ---I think---Norway. Anyway, when he was there he lived in a rural area with traditional knifemaker, who had taught him the full craft. The blades were as rough as guts---they worked well and held an edge well, but the finish was not good.

However, the sheaths and handles were real works of art. The leather that was used in the sheaths was really very thin. It was some sort of a semi-cured leather, not tanned like normal leather. The sheaths he made when he was in Australia used a different type of leather, but it was still very thin, and I think I remember him telling me that there was only one small tannery where he could buy it. I think it was a traditional bark tan.

Many old puukos used metal sheaths, and I have one very old village made puuko that has a sheath of horn.

1st October 2006, 10:40 PM	#10
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	On the leather used in puuko sheaths. Yeah, modern commercial puukos use reasonably heavy leather, however the leather in antique puuko sheaths is really quite thin. A lot of puukos use a liner of fibre , or in the old sheaths of wood ,and then the outside leather is sewn wet around the liner and shunk on. When I was doing a lot of knife making, I made a lot of puuko blades of various patterns, and to turn them into knives I was working with bloke who used to spend summers in ---I think---Norway. Anyway, when he was there he lived in a rural area with traditional knifemaker, who had taught him the full craft. The blades were as rough as guts---they worked well and held an edge well, but the finish was not good. However, the sheaths and handles were real works of art. The leather that was used in the sheaths was really very thin. It was some sort of a semi-cured leather, not tanned like normal leather. The sheaths he made when he was in Australia used a different type of leather, but it was still very thin, and I think I remember him telling me that there was only one small tannery where he could buy it. I think it was a traditional bark tan. Many old puukos used metal sheaths, and I have one very old village made puuko that has a sheath of horn.