War era puukko

[Rich]

Not sure where to post this with the new divisions, but anyway -

Picked up a nice, near mint, war era puukko. Blade marked in fuller
I. Jarvenpaa Kauhava, on flat some other factory etching that I can't
make out - looks like "Erika....lu" Any help in the reading and meaning
of that would be appreciated. On other side of blade is etched James
V. Blackford, Sweden 1944 (Initials also carved into steel ferrule and sheath.

Sheath is only one of the type I've seen. Pressed, molded, varnished birch bark
- no stitching, just glued with two iron rivets at top of Kalevala style sheath.

The blade etching "Erika...' or whatever is also shown on page 36,
items 20,23 of the Jarvenpaa 1939 catalog reprint in Ristinen's second book,
but I can't make it out from the photos either.
Any help appreciated.

Thanks
Rich

[Rich]

In case anyone was interested -

Courtesy of Les Ristinen -

The engraving is "Erikausvuolu" (special whittler).

Rich

[VANDOO]

A VERY NICE KNIFE. :) I HAVE SEEN THAT STYLE SHEITH ON A LARGE WW2 OR BEFORE EXAMPLE. I HAD THOUGHT THE SHEITH WAS LEATHER AT THE TIME. THE ONE I SAW WAS AT LEAST 12 INCHES LONG, HOW LARGE IS YOUR EXAMPLE?

[Rich]

Van -

Don't have it in front of me, but it's probably about that size.
Sheath is muchlarger, but obviously made for knife. Seems
to me not to be a practical sheathas it is very brittle and
stiff, more so that even the varnished paper sheathes
of the period.

Rich

[Blacksmith]

Hi, the sheats, on that time, were usually made of birch park or cardboard `cause there wasn`t leather much for use because of the wartime.
Even shoes and bags were made out of cardboard. And it`s also typical that the sheats were much larger than the puukko itself.

Regards, Timo

[mak]

Hi all. Look at my little collection of Finnish army war knives:
http://fotoplenka.ru/photo/makandr/309103/8832378.jpg
http://fotoplenka.ru/photo/makandr/309103/8832389.jpg
http://fotoplenka.ru/photo/makandr/309103/8832390.jpg
http://fotoplenka.ru/photo/makandr/309103/8832391.jpg
http://fotoplenka.ru/photo/makandr/309103/8832392.jpg
http://fotoplenka.ru/photo/makandr/309103/8832432.jpg
http://fotoplenka.ru/photo/makandr/309103/8832433.jpg
http://fotoplenka.ru/photo/makandr/309103/8832435.jpg

[Rick]

Just to throw in a factoid here :

Finns own more guns per capita than any other nation .
Most crimes of passion, (murders etc.) are comitted with knives in Finland .

Thank you MSN for the stats .

[Rich]

MAK -

Nice collection. Here's some of mine (pics taken about a year ago, has
grown since then). Not all Finnish, some military, some not. All Scandi.
Only one aluminum war sheath, but several war era varnished paper
sheaths by various makers and styles.

http://home.earthlink.net/~rsblade/nordic.htm

If you're a collector of Finnish knives, you might be interested in the two
Scandinavian knife forums:

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

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=41


Rich

[Rich]

MAK -

Here's one you might find interesting. Swedish survival knife by Carl Andersson.
Blade approx 7 inches; wood handle, aluminum sheath.

Rich