Finnish knives

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Rich

Kalle Wahtera of Turku, Finland was one of the top knifemakers in Finland.
Credited with developing the Toijalan style of puukko. Wahtera is the
older spelling of Vahtera. He worked in the late 1800's to early 1900's.
The one I have (similar to that shown on ebay) is dated 1906. His
works are rather rare in the US and command very high prices in
Finland.

This style is still made today by his ancestors but on a very
limited scale. They also bring high prices and most are in Finnish
collections. They tend to be bought before they are even made :-)

Here's a link to some Scandinavian knife photos. See the second photo
down; third knife from the bottom right. It's a Wahtera.

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

Rich S

Rich, this is outstanding information on these very intriguing and distinct knives! It has always seemed an extremely esoteric field of study, and aside from the references you have cited, one of the only others I have seen was I believe by Robert Dohrerwend (if I recall the name correctly, it was published in "Arms Collector" in Canada about 5 years ago).
What is the earliest known example of one of these puuko?
Best regards,
Jim