There are few places in the world where knives are more central to the daily life and culture than Finland. The national epic myth, the Kalevala, contains a story of the first 'smith, and to many people the Puukko is synonymous with Scandinavian knife.
Iisakki Järvenpää is one of the leading suppliers of traditional knives in Finland. The knives are of high carbon or AISI 420 stainless and tempered to 57-58 on the Rockwell Scale. Iisakki Järvenpää combines traditional styles with modern production methods to provide outstanding values. The blades are well ground and the the knives are supplied with sturdy functional sheaths.
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#1244; The Aito Puukko is one of my personal favorites. The handle is built up from stacked layers of birch bark with solid ends of red bronze. There are also bronze and Black fiber decorative spacers. The handle is polished and oiled, rather than Varnished, and is more common. This improves the grip, and is much more comfortable. It’s about 4 1/8” long and fits my small to average sized hand perfectly. It has just enough shape for control without restricting you to any single grip. The blade is unpolished carbon steel of a useful size and shape. It’s about 3 3/8” long, 7/8” wide, and 1/8” thick. The tang of the blade extends the full length of the handle and is visible at the pommel. The sheath has a plastic insert and a brass reinforcing band at the top. The suspension strap is attached to the band with a ring. I can see the whole outfit lasting several generations. The knife and sheath weigh a bit over six ounces.
The name Aito has a double meaning. There was a man named Aito Järvenpää who worked at the factory for about fifty years. He was both skilled and well liked. The word itself means something like “genuine” or “original” in Finnish.
The traditional Lapland Puukko is the all-purpose utility knife of the Sammi people. As a nomadic people in a harsh environment, they have refined the style over centuries until there is nothing superfluous. The elegant result is a real demonstration that form follows function. The classic Nordic blade is narrow enough to penetrate, has a straight section for slicing, and enough curve at the tip for light skinning chores. The wide, flat pommel allows the use of the off hand to add force to the point. The deep leather sheath is an indication of how serious a lost knife can be in the wilderness. The sculpted handle of arctic birch gives excellent control for the draw strokes that are favored when the hands are gloved or numb with cold.
There are three sizes:
#5618; If you can't decide, here's a combination set with the 5" and the 3 1/4" puukkos in one sheath. This gives you a large knife for heavy work, and a small knife for fine work. In polished carbon steel,
The Leuku is the traditional camp knife of the Saami (Lapp) peoples. It combines the functions of knife and machete, and is the constant companion of this northern nomadic folk. It is used for gathering firewood, butchering reindeer and similar tasks. These are supplied with curly birch handles and nickel silver trim. They have the same flat pommel as the Lappland puukkos. Again, the leather sheath takes almost the entire knife. The Leuku is about a foot long with a blade just over 7 inches long and 1 1/4" wide. The knife and sheath weigh a bit over 11 ounces.
#5229, (shown) carbon steel blade, black except for the bevel, about .127" thick,
#5229-o, stainless steel blade, about .115" thick,
A combination of the 3 7/8" puukko and the 7" leuku in a double sheath.
#5629; in carbon steel (shown) with the sides of the blade left black,
#5629-o: in stainless steel,
You can click here for a comparison image of these knives (35KB).
#9223; The Pigeon knife is designed especially for bird and other small game hunters. It has short 2 1/4" polished carbon steel blade with an acute point. The handle is an attractive assembly with curly birch at both ends, and stacked birch bark in the center. It's treated with linseed oil, giving great feeling and grip also when wet. The handle is about 3 7/8" long, and works best with average or slightly smaller hands. The knife would also make a very nice upscale whittling knife.
The Classic Puukko comes with a curly birch handle and classic style sheath. The blade is polished carbon steel, just under 4" long and .119" thick.
#6316-new-style, 3 7/8" (10 cm) carbon steel blade,
#1243 This is purpose built for the big game hunter. The generously proportioned handle is assembled from curly birch, red brass and leather. There is a guard to keep your fingers off the blade when working inside a body cavity. The carbon steel blade is about 3 1/4" (8.5cm), which allows you to guide the tip with your index finger on top of the blade for delicate skinning. The length overall is just under 8". This is a great worker for those with large hands.
#1156; One of the oldest styles of Puukko, with rounded brass pommel and stacked birch bark handle. The handle is particularly comfortable. The tooled leather sheath has brass trim at the throat and tip. The carbon steel blade is just under 4 inches (10cm) long, and the overall length is 8 inches. This is one I could happily live with for my own use. A true classic
#2156; The famous horse-head puukko. It comes with a nicely detailed brass horsehead casting, and stacked birchbark handle. The carbon steel blade is a useful 10 cm (just under 4"). The length of the knife overall is about 8 1/2". The sheath is nicely detailed, bound in brass, and should last a couple of generations.
#2756; A combination of the 10 cm. and 6 cm Hevosenpääpuukko in one sheath. The small blade adds almost no weight, and can be kept razor sharp for delicate tasks. Both knives have carbon steel blades.
#2251 Miniature horsehead puukko with a carbon blade of 2 3/16" (6cm). The length over all is about 4 1/2". This would make a neat neck knife!
#4217; Here's a variation with an Elkhound pommel that could pass for a wolf. The handle is curly birch. It comes with a carbon steel blade of just under 4" (10cm)
#4216; Hounds are not forgotten either. The comfortable pommel of this knife is the head of a hound dog. It comes with a carbon steel blade of just under 4" (10cm)
Traditionally, Scouts in Scandinavia use knives with guards, often in snap style sheaths. These are cataloged as Scout knives, but the blade shape seems more suited to the dedicated hunter. They all have carbon steel blades, about .120" thick, stacked leather handles with aluminum guards and pommels. The tangs run the full length of the handle, and are visible at the pommel.
#3445; This is the smallest, with a blade length of about 3 5/8". The handle has only about 3" between the guard and pommel, so it's suited for children or smaller ladies. The knife and sheath weigh about 3 3/4 ounces.
#3447; The midsized version seems the most useful to me. The blade is about 4 5/8" long and 1" wide. The handle has about 3 3/4" between guard and pommel and is very comfortable in my average sized hand. The knife and sheath weigh just under 5 ounces.
#3449; This is the largest of the three. The blade is about 5 7/8" long and the handle has 4 7/8" between guard and pommel. The grip is fairly small in diameter, so it's still suitable for average sized hands. While the use of aluminium keeps the weight down to just over 4 1/2 ounces, much of the weight is in the blade. It's suitable for light chopping and general camp chores, as well as butchering large game. The knife and sheath weigh about 6 3/4 ounces.
