Knives of the Norsemen

[Lew]

Hi Guys

I don't remember if we ever had a thread on puukkos so I decided to bring up the subject. For years I have loved these functional and beautiful knives. They come in many shapes and sizes depending on what part of scandinavia
they come from. These knives cut great and stay sharp! They are some of the most comfortable knives I have ever held and used. So hear are some from my humble collection. The first one just arrived today it was made by Jukka Hankala of Finnland. The blade is 4" long and is razor sharp. The next three are standard puukkos the top one is from the 1930s and the wider bladed one is from the 1960s an Andersen made knife. The other one is a modern AK puukko. The last two are a leukku from Lappland which the locals use for butchering reindeer the small one is from Norway a classic hunting knife model. Hope you find them interesting.

Lew

[Ferguson]

Beautiful knives. Love the "as forged" flats on the new one. They are all so practical and so lovely in they're simplicity.

Steve

[Rich]

Another puukko collector on the planet!!!! I've been
collecting them for a while. Have about 30 (no duplicates).
Got my first when I was about 10 years old (a very
long time ago :-) Three of my favorites.

Stag handle, appears factory or at least original
to knife.

Post WW II with varnished cardboard sheath.

Lahdensou Lapua puukko with carved wood sheath
by Ville Pikkesaari.

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinpic/puukko15.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinpic/puukko20.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinpic/puukko28.jpg

I finally got a copy of Ristinen's first book. Good
info and a good compliment to his current book. Both
must haves for the puukko enthusiast IMHO.

Rich S

[derek]

Hi guys, here is one old thread:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=661&highlight=puukko

And my two cents:
http://www.ancient-east.com/collection/puukko/finnknivesbook.jpg

I am down to 6, but they are very cool knives. Rich, I have the book in the pic. What is the other one??

Thanks,

-d

[Rich]

Les Ristinen published "Collectable Knives of Finland"
about 2-3 months ago. Larger format, tons of pics and
old catalog reprints, 176 pages, some in color.

IBSN # 0-9626839-1-4

I ordered my copy directly from him. Don't know if it's
available elsewhere or not.

Do folks think there's enough interest in puukko to
start a Yahoo Groups message board on the topic? Could
be an email group or online message board (options for
each individual); has picture posting capability; but
must be a Yahoo member to post, etc. Let me know what
you all think. I can set one up if desired. Not trying
to take away from this GREAT board, just don't want to
load it down with specialty discussions that may not be
of interest to others.

Rich S

[Jens Nordlunde]

Hi Derek,
Your knife looks very much like this one, mine is at least 80 years old.

[Andrew]

Rich, first the kukhri guys now the puukkos!? :(

I'm joking, of course. ;) However, please don't be concerned that specialty discussions are unwelcome here. After all, you guys put up with our incessant tedious ramblings about dha. :D

Personally, I'd love to see more puukko discussions. I think there's room here for nearly all weapons, particularly as my personal concept of "ethnographic" expands.

We've avoided creating multiple sub-fora for discussion of specific weapons and cultures. Other boards have done this (with varying degrees of success, in my opinion). But, one of the things I like about this forum is the easy exposure to things (e.g. puukko) I would not normally read about if I had to go to another board, or even a sub-forum.

Please stick around guys. :)

[Rich]

Andrew -

Ok, just didn't want to clog up the board with puukko
stuff. But if you don't mind .... :-)

Does anyone know if Les Ristinen has a website or
email? Would love to be able to get him into some
of our discussions.

Andrew - What Dha? Dah???? :-)

Rich S

[Henk]

Great a thread about puukko.

Also yours truley likes the Scandinavian knives. From the holidays in Scandinavia in the eighties i brought some knives home as a souvenir. Next month I will be in Sweden. So, who knows......... :D

[Rich]

Hmmm, seems we've "outed" a few closet puukkophiles :-)
I know there are more of you out there. Don't be afraid
to admit you like puukko :-) Nothing to be ashamed of;
it's all quite natural to like quality knives :-)

Rich S

[Battara]

First it was the dha freaks, then the khukri cooks, now the puuko pals :eek: - what's next - Moro maniacs? :D

[Andrew]

We prefer "dha dudes" or "dha guys". :mad: :D

[Rick]

I like Dhafia myself consigliere . ;) :D

[Rich]

Battara -

Please, it's puukko (two k's) and puukkophile, not
puukko pals (that sounds so mundane :-) Have to maintain
some semblence of dignity with these obsessions :-)

Rich S

[Andrew]

I like Dhafia myself consigliere . ;) :D

lol! :D

(Sorry for the hijack Lew. :o )

[Andrew]

Andrew -

Ok, just didn't want to clog up the board with puukko
stuff. But if you don't mind .... :-)

Does anyone know if Les Ristinen has a website or
email? Would love to be able to get him into some
of our discussions.

Andrew - What Dha? Dah???? :-)

Rich S


We don't need no stinkin' dha!

Definitely need more puukko around here, Rich. In fact, there's been a dearth of nihonto, now that I think of it.... ;)

[Aurangzeb]

Hi all!

I like these puukko knives I don't have one YET , for every time I have money I can't find one and when I don't have money I find them. But soon I will find one!!!! Some say I am out of my mind (don't know why though).

Mark...

[Rich]

OK, on a more serious note (why change now) :-)

I wonder why the development of the horsehead pommel?
I can see the purpose of the hook pommel; IMHO it gives
more control of the blade and you can do more "forceful"
cutting with it then with a plain straight pommel.

Perhaps the horsehead design is just an aesthetic
embellishment of the hook pommel? I know little (that's
an understatement) of Finnish culture, but I don't think
of horses as a major component of Finnish culture.

Just wondering? Any thoughts?

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinpic/pommel.jpg

Rich S

[Lew]

Hi Rich

I think that style of pommel can be traced back to the Czars of Russia during the 1800s but I'm not 100 percent sure?


Lew

[Justin]

Im glad to see so much interest in these guys,maybe someone can help me with a question.These little knives supposedly date back 1000-2000 years and yet I have seen very few that look any older than the 1930s-1940s,were are all of the 19th century and earlier models?

[Andrew]

Good question, Justin. I wonder if this is a function of these knives' function. Are these working knives/tools? If so, I would expect most owners to use them untill unusuable, and then discard/replace.

[spiral]

My names Spiral and Im a Pukkoholic!

Well more of a kukriholic actualy! but I do have a couple of quality Scandanavian knives.

Anyway! So Is this Norwegian Staskniv counted as a pukko?

The maker is Loune with a rampant lion with axe trademark on the blade, & a flower on the probably nickel silver ring around the top of the scabbard.

Ive found out that Tarould Louen {1825-1901} & Elias Louen{1865-1954) were considered amongst the top 5 master craftsman church carvers in Norway & they both made these knives .

The grip & pierced sheath is slow grown holly wood, & its all seems very utilitarion despite is carving.the blade is 3.5inch. oa. in scabbard 9in.
Perhaps The most skilfull part, but easy to overlook to my mind was perhaps the tapered & gently stepped oval hollowng of the inside of the scabbard to match the external profile of the knife. That bits not so showy but not many men could do it as smoothly & finely as this is done.

Even the fret work varies on each side of the scabbard , so it was carved through not fret sawed.

Instead of a horse, the head resembles the dragon caved on the original Viking long boats.


I wonder if its possible for anyone here to date when this was made? & which craftsman. made it? or am I asking the impossible?

Not sure whether my other one counts as a true Pukko either? often called a finnish knife in Sweden , I belive?

its a Standard, 4inch blade 1874 style Swedish barrel knife , with a Finnish masur birch handle.

By Joh Enggstrom, so that predates c.1915 I would presume.

I realy like them both!

All comments, thoughts & info welcome!

Spiral.

[Lew]

Hi Spiral

That is one nice looking puukko the carving is exquisite I am green :D with envy.



Lew

[Rich]

IMHO, the Norwegian staskniv is in the puukko group as
are most Scandanavian knives.
The Swedish barrel knife would be if it were a fixed blade.
Don't know about folding puukko :-)

BTW - my wife collects Swedish Barrel knives. Has
about 50 of them; all sizes fromm 10inch (closed length)
to about 1 inch; most with wood handles; but a couple
rarities in ivory; another in tortise shell. They were
also copied and made in India (these usually have the
typical carving set type carved handles).

I just got a absolute mint L & K Kauhava "Scout Knife"
off ebay. (These have a guard and basically look like
any western style hunting knife). Red galalite handle
with aluminum hook pommel and brass guard.Amazing it is mint
considering the company went out of business in 1945
according to Ristinen's book.

Rich S

[Lew]

Rich

You are a lucky man to have a wife that likes to collect knives. Most of my knife collecting buddies have wives who think we are out of our minds the wives just see them as rusty old junk :(


Lew

[Rich]

Hi all!

I like these puukko knives I don't have one YET , for every time I have money I can't find one and when I don't have money I find them. But soon I will find one!!!! Some say I am out of my mind (don't know why though).

Mark...

Mark -

If you're looking for modern Scandanavian knives, try
Ragweed Forge. He has a nice selection of modern
knives and IMHO competitive prices. I've purchased
several from him.

http://www.ragweedforge.com/Welcome.html#catalog

Rich S

[Rich]

Rich

You are a lucky man to have a wife that likes to collect knives. Most of my knife collecting buddies have wives who think we are out of our minds the wives just see them as rusty old junk :(


Lew


Just because my wife collects knives doesn't necessarily
mean she doesn't think I'm out of my mind :-)

Rich S

[Battara]

Rich

You are a lucky man to have a wife that likes to collect knives. Most of my knife collecting buddies have wives who think we are out of our minds the wives just see them as rusty old junk :(


Lew

In my case, my wife does not think my stuff rusty old junk (though she swears I'm out of my mind regardless :D ).

I like that pukko, Spiral. I'm with Lou - beautiful carving! :)

[spiral]

Thank you Louis, Battara, thats very complimentry of you!

It is nice, I must admit! The fact the scabbard is carved out of one solid piece of wood always astounds me.

Rich have you any photos of other Staskniv in your collection or elsewhere? It would be nice to see some others. ;)

Perhaps I should have collected these pukkos & barrel knives like your good self & your wife rather than kukri!
Storage & display must be so easy! :cool:

But alas kukri are my favorites! :D

But perhaps I will be lucky & come across another Louen for $10 one day, :rolleyes: :D

Its funny but if Louen was a top American knifemaker & famous Victorian church carver 100-160 years ago, rather than Norwegian , I think it would probably be worth thousands rather than hundreds of dollars.

Or am I mistaken? What do you guys think?

Tis a strange world after all. :rolleyes:

Spiral

[Rich]

The only Norwegian knife I have is one I got from
Ragweed Forge, a Haugrud Baglerkniven. I also like
the leather sheathed ones with scroll work on the sheath
and knife fittings. There an interesting one on ebay
now (but I can't mention that :-) Too expensive for me,
but a nice looking knife IMHO. Most of my puukko
are Finnish with a couple Swedish thrown in for good
measure. I guess what I find most amazing with Scandinavian
knives is the steel quality (will take and hold a shaving
edge - literally) and the clean functional lines.

Rich S

[spiral]

Cheers Rich, I often bid on nice Pukko on ebay but never win them :( {do ok on the kukri though ;) }

but this one was $10 including postage described as a "dragonhead dagger" & I was the only bidder!

Definatly in my top 5 ebay lucky finds!

Spiral

[Rich]

General question on Scandinavian knives: lots of
Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian knives, but I've not
seen anything on Danish knives. DId the Danes have
a "national knife" as the other countries? If so could
someone direct me to a picture or two?

Thanks
Rich S

[Rick]

Rich , when I was young I purchased a large sailor's sheath knife in Denmark , it was styled almost exactly as some of the large hunters shown in links previously in this thread with the exception that it had an extra pocket on the sheath that held a decent sized fid .
The knife was Danish and of excellent quality with the same edge holding characteristics of other Scandinavian knives .

[Jens Nordlunde]

Hi Rich,

I think Rick starts wondering why I don’t comment – and I have been wondering if I should, but here is what I can add.

The Danes have a very long tradition for making swords and knifes of high quality, but as far as I know, they did not have a tradition for making special knifes like the Finns, the Norwegians or the Swedes.


Jens

[Rick]

Hi Jens !
I guess there are a few makers of traditional knives left in Denmark . :)
A Google search revealed this site :
http://www.finepipes.com/DanishKnives.htm

[Threetemper]

An excellent resource for early puukko type knives,their sheaths and accoutrments is www.arkeodok.com. They have a fantastic cd with drawings and pictures of archeological finds from the island of Gotland Sweden for sale(cheap). It is remarkable how these early knives and their scabbards resemble modern puukkos. Due to copyright stuff I do not believe I can post any of these directly but a lot of the finds are on their website. I like puukkos too. :)

[Rich]

Here's some beautiful modern Tommi puukko. Gorgeous,
but expensive :-) Up in the high end custom maker
catagory.

http://users.reppu.net/j.hankala/englanti/etusivu/front_page.htm


Rich S

[Lew]

Rick

This is the maker who made me that hunter puukko at the begining of the thread. He does great work his standard hunter and puukko are very reasonable compared with custom work here in this country.


Lew

[Rick]

Hi Lew , I miss that old Danish Bos'un's knife ; the blade must have been 6" long . :(

I gave it to my Dad to use for splicing , whipping and general marine knotwork . It was stolen out of our old island fouse in Maine by one of the local lobstermen ; they would B&E the Summer cottages in Winter in search of booze . Those guys are a pretty lousy lot ; I know from first hand experience .

Not many people meaner tempered than a Maine lobsterman . :mad:
Unless you've got a handfull of ten dollar bills ; then they're all sweetness and light .

[Rich]

Earlier in this thread I was asked about folding puukko,
specifically Swedish Barrel Knives (folding sloyd),
I said I didn't think folding knives were classified
as puukko. Looks like I was wrong. Did a search for
fun on Amazon and got the following as one of the
results.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0700708030/ref=sib_books_ref/103-1390841-1005425?%5Fencoding=UTF8&keywords=puukko&v=search-inside


Evidently, puukko can also refer to folding or clasp
knives. You learn something everyday :-)

Rich S

[spiral]

Thanks Rich! ;) I have 2 nice Pukko then!

Fascinating that you & you wife both colleted Pukko {albiet of different types.} without realising!

Spiral