Remake of an old Puukko

 Now this knife had been on my shelf for quite some years now gathering dust, and if knives do so, I ask myself why they do so. In this case I tested the blade again (crucible steel / file steel Damascus, 40 layers) and found it well enough, but the handle (walnut with a copper ferrule) felt awkward, because it was oddly shaped and far too much out of proportion. So out comes the hacksaw and I shortened it and fitted a butt cap out of yew. Since this is no machete, no need for peening the tang over it, and the glue stands up to the same tensile force as construction steel, so I just epoxied it on.

Now I like it far better, and it´s waiting for a sheath... it´s a good whittler and will serve well for a bimble round the local woods, if not for a bigger outing.

Short review of a Sampo Puukko

On a recent medieval reenactment fair near my home I had the opportunity to get me a Puukko cheap. It´s distributed by Sampo corporation, and according to Klaus, whom I met on the fair, and who is the owner of the shop, is made by hand in Finland. It costs 77,00 € when purchased regularily. It´s made from beautiful birch burr and reindeer antler. The tang is peened over a brass disc and the reindeer buttcap, which shows the natural surface at the end. The blade is 90x3,5mm, made from some unspecified carbon steel, but it appears to be something with manganese in it. Even as is, it would have been a good enough buy, but the surprise came when I checked the hardness on the edge. I estimate it to have 62 - 63 HRC IN THE EDGE. I emphasize this, because this appeared to me that someone got off his rocker on a production knife and cut short on the heat - treating process, until I realized the blade gave that familiar ringing sound only selectively tempered blades have. I then checked the spine hardness, and it came in at an estimated 49-52 HRC. At this prize, this is frankly insane! Out of the box the knife came wickedly sharp. Without any work by myself, it was hair-splitting sharp, and this after being transported all over Germany and lying in the heat, and the cold, and the rain, and the cold again, being fingered by thousands of customers and such. As is to be expected, it´s a most able whittler and even should stand up to quite an amount of abuse. If you use it for light batoning, it should even handle this, but remember that no rat-tail-tang is made to be pounded with a heavy baton through knotted hardwood  burr constantly. The sheath is made from top - grain leather with a plastic insert that is actually molded into shape, not just some piece stuck into the leather as with those Roselli sheaths. One complaint is that the belt loop could be more caringly put together and drilled together. 

For most any bushcraft and camping tasks, however, this is one knife you can bet your arse on. It´s also a great first knife for beginner viking reenactors, and, last, but in no way least, it´s a beaut.

And best of all, there´s plenty more of them, including Saami sets, Leukus, whittlers and whatnot.

Sampo also sells those wonderful reindeer hides... so pay their site a visit!