Puukko Knife,Hand Crafted

As child in The UK,I remember all to clearly the Birthday when I was allowed to get myself an Pen-Knife and then a few years later,an a Air Rifle.For a 12 year old this was a big step in the direction of growing up and becoming a man.When coming to Finland 20 odd years ago I was presented with a Finnish puukko Knife.This single blade knife not only caught my eye for all its attractiveness,but quickly showed why the Finnish puukko Knife is considered to be one of the best in the world.

The Puukko Knife a Pleasure to Own

The fist and only knife I have owned was a simple Swiss-Army Knife.The Toolkit for millions of children worldwide.I could dig in to the ground,cut twigs and all nasty things young children do with a knife.Problem was it got discarded after a short time from an ever blunt blade,loose gadgets or just simply,I grew out of using it

When I was first shown the Finnish Puukko Knife whilst fishing with a Finnish Friend,I was impressed by its beauty and simplicity.The blade on the Puukko knife was gleaming and razor sharp.The handle was crafted from what appeared to be wood and was comfortable to hold giving a real feeling firmness and warmth giving a more than satisfactory feeling of having an extension to your arm with a crafted blade on it.So I began looking in to the history of the Finnish Puukko Knife also known as The TOMMI Puuko Knife

Puukko Knife

The Finnish Puukko Knife

The Puukko Knife is crafted by the famous Kainuun Pukko smith works.They began making knifes in 1610 and follow rational methods for making and crafting these pieces of art and tools.The first knifes way back in time were known as Tommi Puukko Knives.Each silver steel blade is heated in a charcoal fire followed by thousands of strikes by hand with a hand hammer.After that the Knife blades are quenched in oil and progressively tempered to give them the outstanding and optimal hardness of steel.The stages mentioned are what give the blade of the knife its unsurpassed razor sharpness and extended length of life.As a result of each of these heat treatments the pukko knife blade attains better edge holding characteristics.As more heat treating is applied the better the Knife Blade.Kainuun Puukko Knives are subjected to over 100 heat  treatments giving them such a high quality.

Puukko Knife Handles

The sheath and knife handle material0f the Puukko Knife is individually selected by the craftsmen of the blade.It is not uncommon for the handles to be crafted from Finnish Wood from the root burl of Raita wood,a wood that is unique to Northern Finland.It is this very wood that gives the Finnish Puukko Knife its warm comfortable feel

I use the knife when ever I go out searching for mushrooms  in the local Finnish Forests of Lappeenranta,Eastern Finland.The puukko knife is a handy addition for anybody who fishes,hunts or wanders in the open or forest areas.Next time you look for a knife, look out for the name Finnish Puukko Knife.The Puuukko Knife has won many contests around the world and are held by many collectors/owners to be the best knife in the world.Using a Puukko Knife  myself since coming to Finland,it is not hard to disagree