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Originally Posted by RobT
Hi VVV,
Leuku isn't acceptable internationally because it is a Finnish word for a Lap knife. Puukko won't do either because it fails to distinguish between two stylistically different knives (and it has the same drawback as leuku). What could be more natural then to name the knife after the people it is closely associated with?
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Good morning,
it should be remembered that Sami people are Finnish (those who live in Finland). There is no such things as a Lappland-country or Sami-country. Also, they do not live in isolation from the rest of the people who live in Lappland. A leuku is as a traditional knife for the average Northern Fin as it is for a Sami. The origin of the design may be very well Sami. During the centuries it has become broadly accepted as the best overall tool for the conditions of North, never mind your ethnic background.
A leuku, lapinleuku or stuorra niibi is still a puukko even though it has a flare of its own. If someone wants to see it as itīs own thing thats ok, as in a way it is. Here it aint so and why would also the Sami call it the big (stuorra) knife (niib, puukko) if they wouldnt see it as just a knife (puukko)? Cultures and languages evolve. Maybe the only name used for this type of knife centuries ago when no other ethnic groups lived in the North of Finland was a stuorra niib, but why indeed use the suffix big? At this age the common name for this knife here in Finland is the leuku. Odds are that most people with Sami background called it as a leuku too. Why? - because the Sami language aint common no more. Most people outside Finland who recognize this type of knife do recognize it by other names than those of the Sami-language. - For the majority itīs just a Scandinavian knife, a Finnish knife, a puukko or a leuku. The few that have ever heard of anything resembling niib or stuorra niib are few and between and odds are most of these people can be found on this an other similar forums
Best
Jussi