Swedish Puukko?

[Lew]

Hi all

This was listed on ebay as a Moro knife but it's a Mora really :D . I have always loved the look of the birch burl handles and they are so comfortable to hold. The blades are laminated and always super sharp due to the edge geometry. If any of you who collect puukkos and have similar sytle knives please post some pics it would be nice to see the different variations.


Lew

[Bill M]

Cool blade Lew!

You really have a wide range of interests. ;)

[Lew]

Cool blade Lew!

You really have a wide range of interests. ;)

Bill

The fun thing about these is you can use them unlike my other antique or ethno knives which are only for looking at ;)


Lew

[VVV]

Lew,

This knife is called "Morakniv" in Swedish.
Mora is the city in central Sweden where they were/are produced.
The word Puukko doesn't exist in any of the Scandinavian languages (=Swedish, Norwegian and Danish), it's only applicable for Finland and Finnish knives.
Looks a bit strange for Scandinavians to see their traditional knives being labeled with a completely foreign term.
I guess you would react the same if somebody described a traditional US product, like jeans, with a Spanish completely different word?
Have you seen Levi's latest model of pantalones vaqueros? ;)

Michael

[Rich]

VVV is correct. "puukko" is a type of Finnish knives. Among my other collections
of sharp, pointy things, I also collect puukko and other Nordic knives; Morakniv,
Staskniv, etc. Here's a few pics of my collection. They are somewhat old ones,
as now the collection has about doubled in size.

There are two good Nordic (Scandinavian) knife forums; one on

Blade Forums: http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showforum.php?fid/124/

another on British Blades:
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=41

You need to register for both of course, but well worth the read for those
into Nordic knives. I'm mainly into puukko. Also have made a few from
Finnish and Norwegian blades. Most Nordic knives have a flat grind and
are so sharp they make your eyes bleed just by looking at them :-)

We've discussed puukko, etc before (but why not keep it up :-)
Run a forum search on "puukko".

Rich S (aka: old puukkophile)

The Japanese Sword Index
http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/nihonto.htm

[Congoblades]

I don't know if this is a "puukko" but it's Finnish and looks like the one in Rich's box :)

[Ferguson]

I love the knives of Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

Steve

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Scandi/Swedish-out.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Scandi/jarvenpaa-with-guard.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Scandi/purple-puukko.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Scandi/Puukko-10-5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Scandi/lion-hilt-outside.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Scandi/DSCN1368.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Scandi/scandi5-2.jpg

[Rich]

Beautiful knives all !

Congoblades: definitely a puukko in a Kalavala style sheath. Made by
Iisakki Jarvenpaa post about 1950's (after they switched to the ink stamps
on the blade flat).

Steve: Love the wood sheathed puukko. Did you get them like that? Obviously
"customized" - not uncommon with Nordic knives. I believe the blades
are all Jarvenpaa. The engraving on the ferrules is pretty distinctive.
The Helle (I have one also) was their competition for the Hackman Tapio
Wirtala design. Personally, I find it very uncomfortable in the hand. The
diamond shaped pommel digs into my palm no matter how I hold it. Just
a matter of personal preference; still a fine knife and good cutter.
The middle one, I can't read the maker: I suspect either Loumanen and Kumpp
or Lahdensuo, both early. I really like the mini's. I've a couple minatures.
I understand from Ristinen's book that they stopped making mini's as not
cost effective late last century (20th). If you all don't have Ristinen's
2nd book, it is a must for puukko collectors or anyone interested in
Nordic knives IMHO.

For some reason my third pic didn't load. So I'll try again. Mostly horseheads
and some from the late 1940's (varnished paper sheaths).

Rich

[ariel]

Hi all

This was listed on ebay as a Moro knife but it's a Mora really :D . I have always loved the look of the birch burl handles and they are so comfortable to hold. The blades are laminated and always super sharp due to the edge geometry. If any of you who collect puukkos and have similar sytle knives please post some pics it would be nice to see the different variations.


Lew
Lew,
You opened a Pandora box!!!!!
Seriously, I think Puukkos are perhaps the most elegant knives. And the handles are magnificient: nothing ostentatious, just wood, but what beauties!
Very "Finnish" style: no matter how old, they always look "modern". Seems like Finland is an epicentre of the "contemporary" design.