Difference between revisions of "Puukko"

The traditional material for the handle is birch. Also [[oak]], [[ash (tree)|ash]], [[pine]] bark, horn (especially elk and reindeer), [[scrimshaw]] and bone are used. Often the handle is made from various materials between spacers. Today, however, industrially made puukkos often have plastic handles.

In Finland and northern Scandinavia many men put great pride in carving their puukko's handle. Over generations, this knife has become intimately tied to Nordic culture, and in one or another version is part of many national costumes. A good puukko is equal parts artistic expression and tool. Making it requires a lot of different skills: not only those of a bladesmith, but also those of a carver, a jeweller, a designer, and a leatherworker to make the sheath — and if you master the difficult art of weaving birchbark, this is an opportunity to use it. Finest puukkos have blades of Damascus steel, and forging a blade using [[crucible steel|blister steel]] was considered the hallmark of a master smith. As the process of making [[wootz]] was rediscovered in Finland in the 1980s, some master smiths have made wootz puukkos.