Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Jim McDougall · 1st December 2007, 10:12 PM

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

1st December 2007, 10:12 PM	#5
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,748	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