A peek at Terävä blades at the Laurin factory (Skrama stuff)

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I mentioned in another thread that this might warrant its own thread.

Link to photoset of a visit to the Laurin factory.

On 22 November Varustelaka published a photoset on their Facebook page of a visit to the Laurin Metalli factory, where their Skrama and Jääkkäripuukko knives are made. Of some interest by itself to see some shots of how such a blade is mass produced (there is another set some 2 years old that is also interesting, to find it requires some artful use of Google). Most interesting though is to see them handling some prototype blanks for future additions to their knife range (some possible full-width tangs in the making?) , and a seemingly almost-ready prototype for a shorter, one-handed version of the Skrama chopper with a slightly shorter blade.
Think of it what you will. Some of us may start saving up or putting stuff on their anniversary gift list. Clearly the Terävä line of cutting tools is getting more extensive every year. For someone who does not have any yet and wants to build a kit of useful outdoor blades, not pretty but brutally functional, they can pick a combo of something short and nimble and something bigger that makes short work of a lot of wood. For those of us who already have a few, we need to scratch our heads and wonder if we will 'need' to add something to our arsenals in the near future, or be happy with what we have.
A few things I noted:
- prototype blade blanks for a full-tang version of the Skrama (full-width skeletonized for proper balance I guess) and ditto for a puukko blade;
- a puukko blade about to get its handle molded on, that sported the Varusteleka logo engraved on the blade (until now these blades were totally sterile, so visibly branding them is a new thing);
- something weird developed for sheaths (some sort of clip).

OK, guys, go crazy. :-)
 
Just note that I have no relation with the Varusteleka guys except as a customer who buys stuff from them (knives, t-shirts, jackets, backpacks, socks, gloves... etc.). Or what they call 'a regular pig' - a client who sends too much beer money their way, lol. It won me a 'pig' velcro badge once (that I decided not to stick on a pack or jacket) and with another order a free tin of caffeinated Shoka Cola chocolate that I never opened but keep in a pack in case I need a superboost during an emergency. I own a Skrama, a Puukko 110 and a 140 and a mini puukko bare tang. And a lot of their socks (I add one or two pairs every time I buy something else).
 
skrama has a lot going for it, as is ; ) ... the mini's all seem cute, etc, and would be interesting to test as an edc
what they manage to do with 80crv2 is almost epic

honestly, I want to see a larger skrama, something like 50-60cm overall instead of 43
 
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That steel is indeed surprisingly good. If my information is correct is was known in the past also as 'Swedish sawsteel' (although it comes from Krupp). Circular sawblade stuff.
Looking at the pics from the factory it seems they grind the secondary bevels on large grinding wheels, not flat plate-supported belts, so that bevel may be just slightly hollow ground (at that scale it probably doesn't matter). I found the bevel angle on the long chopping edge of my Skrama too obtuse for slicing through flexible vines (it bludgeoned them instead of cleanly slicing them off), took the blade to my old belt sander and thinned the bevel, while convexing the grind. After that it sliced and chopped even better than it already did, and it takes even more abuse. I guess they put the steep bevels on them to make them 'YouTube idiot-proof', but the steel can actually handle a thinner edge as long as one does not try to chop through blocs of reinforced concrete...

I have noticed that not only do all these blades sharpen easily, their working edges improve with use, probably as one tends to slightly convex a bevel when sharpening by hand and stropping. I use pieces of hardfoam nail file/nail polishing pads (the ones as wide as one finger) to touch them up in the field - these weigh nothing, are dirt cheap and won't damage your pockets. As the pads are slightly flexible, that tends to convex the bevel a bit. Works great.

As far as the usefulness of a mini for EDC is concerned, the question with fixed blades is always whether you can get away with a blade plus a handle and won't it become cumbersone and/or difficult to carry in a discrete manner? Unless you go for a very small fixed bladed knife - like a Mora Eldris-sized thing or nice little blades that you see cowboys and -girls carrying crossdraw/horizontal on their belts.
If you believe Mors Kochanski (RIP) you do most of the work with the first two-fingers length of the blade. But a good bread or cheese (my metric) is often more like four fingers thick so you would like a bit more length. Add a handle of some comfortable thickness and you end up with something that is not very discrete. And that is all assuming that where one lives, a fixed blade is legal in most places. Otherwise it's not 'always on your person' anyway.

I use my mini puukko bare tang quite a lot and if I were to carry a fixed blade as EDC (on my person as opposed to in a pack), it would be something like that. It slips into a pocket or an everyday-carry bag unobtrusively in its flat sheath, you can use it as a neck knife when you add some cordage, and it is crazy tough. The bare tang is quite useable without scales, although it's not a knife to do hard woodwork with the whole day - the blade can take it but your hand wouldn't. But you can beat it up to split wood, and do things like ram it through a coconut, say. I see it as a second knife along with a good slipjoint folder or a multitool.

Varusteleka started out with a very limited choice of blades (Skrama and two puukkos), the range is clearly expanding to offer more choices for those who want to build a useful kit. No need to get them all (I have to convince myself of that, lol).

Anyway, interesting things are happening on the knife front in Santa Claus town (Laurin is in the Rovaniemi area, polar circle, where the 'official' Santa Claus office is situated). Hohoho.
 
I have a Skrama and a Mini Skrama. That steel is pretty darn good. And the Mini is a really great small EDC. Mine is the one without the rubber handle and it slips in the right front pocket nicely. The flat profile practically disappears in pocket and I often forget I have it. I wrapped mine with paracord and made a leather slip for it. The Skrama is a great knife too, but the Mini Skrama is a more general use knife and a perfect EDC for me.

IMG-6902.jpg
 
skrama has a lot going for it, as is ; ) ... the mini's all seem cute, etc, and would be interesting to test as an edc
what they manage to do with 80crv2 is almost epic

honestly, I want to see a larger skrama, something like 50-60cm overall instead of 43

E03-FC9-BE-76-DE-4478-A89-B-B10-B222-F28-E8.jpg


That's the owner of Varusteleka, but unfortunately think that mega skrama is a one off.
 
skrama has a lot going for it, as is ; ) ... the mini's all seem cute, etc, and would be interesting to test as an edc
what they manage to do with 80crv2 is almost epic

honestly, I want to see a larger skrama, something like 50-60cm overall instead of 43

I like the way you think... Bring on the sword version. :thumbsup::cool:
 
lmao, that thing is hilarious - seems they just scaled up in all dimensions, must weigh 20 pounds (I don't want that one even if they sold them)

I want one sized for real use, it should look like a waki sized skrama (which is where my 60cm came from - which is about 2 feet)
 
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lmao, that thing is hilarious - seems they just scaled up in all dimensions, must weigh 20 pounds (I don't want that one even if they sold them)

I want one sized for real use, it should look like a waki sized skrama (which is where my 60cm came from - which is about 2 feet)

Wouldn't that be a terribly blade-heavy tool if you just upscaled the Skrama? A wakisashi is a lot slimmer than a Skrama blade. For reach you'd more likely go to something like a latin-style machete, thus a thinner blade stock to maintain a certain nimbleness, but with a skrama-style sheep's foot tip. More for use in clearing flexible brush/bush than the kind of multifunctional, hatchet-replacing chopping and splitting the Skrama is so good at. I do see where a shorter version comes from, it is like a Finnish leuku, to be combined with a short puukko (or mini skrama if you are a fan of sheep's foot tips).

The monster demo is indeed hilarious.
 
Wouldn't that be a terribly blade-heavy tool if you just upscaled the Skrama? A wakisashi is a lot slimmer than a Skrama blade. For reach you'd more likely go to something like a latin-style machete, thus a thinner blade stock to maintain a certain nimbleness, but with a skrama-style sheep's foot tip. More for use in clearing flexible brush/bush than the kind of multifunctional, hatchet-replacing chopping and splitting the Skrama is so good at. I do see where a shorter version comes from, it is like a Finnish leuku, to be combined with a short puukko (or mini skrama if you are a fan of sheep's foot tips).

The monster demo is indeed hilarious.

I couldn’t agree more. The Skrama is a very well-thought-out tool. It chops quite well for its size, i.e., in comparison to other 9- and 10-inch blades. The reason is the long handle, which allows it the head speed to chop more like an 11- or 12-inch blade. At the same time, it balances quite well for closer work.

Add one or two inches, and it might chop better, but at the expense of the balance. At two feet long, it would be a prodigious zombie killer, but heavy and unwieldy for brush. Thinner stock would help, but at the expense of splitting ability.
 
I had a skrama for years as my gardening go to tool for everything from clearing to digging.
Great tool!
 
Yes, it has been announced. In their official newsletter it is mentioned"
The birth of Skrama 200
Skrama is getting a little sibling! Skrama 200 is a bit shorter and lighter than its big brother, but still a formidable tool.

We're also getting the long-awaited brown and left-handed sheaths!

These will be available in the spring, so go and order yourself a restock notification!
 
I got the notice as well. I have a Skrama and Mini Skrama and they are great knives for the money, IMO. I have decided that I will certainly be getting the 200.
 
here is a pic of the skrama 200 - and the original is now being called the skrama 240 (blade lengths are 20cm and 24cm, while overall lengths are 35cm & 43cm)

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