Kauhava ('puukkojunkkarit') Puukko?

M

malex

Joined
Nov 16, 1998
Messages
18
Hi, Forum Members!

As far as Mr. James K. Mattis has very representative selection of different type Puukkos I have
decided to post my question here. At
http://www.chaicutlery.com/puukkonotes.html

I have found the post from Markku Huttunen:
"A traditional puukko does not need <finger-guards>, as it is not meant for stabbing (though they
were used for that too by the 'puukkojunkkarit', a group of Finnish outlaws at the Kauhava region
between 1790 and 1885)."

Is there any pics available with 'puukkojunkkarit' Puukko? Is it possible to buy them?

I had also found very interesting Finn Knives at
http://www.kellamknives.com/catalog/AfrTuereq2Blue.JPG

Regretfully my question about them was kindly ignored by KELLAM KNIVES team.

Does anyone have any info about it?

Thanks in advance.
Alex
 
The Kellam folks have a lot of interesting knives in their shop (and at the shows they do), and not all of them from Finland. For instance, folders with arctic birch handles, (for people with Finnish tastes in cutlery who want the convenience of a pocket knife) are made in Italy (as Fällkniven knives are designed in Sweden and made in Japan).

The file name on that .jpg image, ...catalog/AfrTuereq2Blue.JPG, looks to me like the knife has something to do with Africa and specifically the Tuareg people of the Sahara. Here's a link to a Tuareg dagger picture - not as fancy: http://www.natashascafe.com/html/knife.html

Here's some medieval African art, showing a dagger worn on the warrior's upper arm: http://www.dia.org/collections/aonwc/africanart/78.32.html

As for knife-wielding bandits of the Kauhava region, I'm guessing that they would have used the same sort of puukkos that would honest folks in the Kauhava region used for woodcraft and such.

The Iisakki Järvenpää company makes a lot of regional puukko styles. And I need to put up a page to actually try to sell the handfull of their various styles that I had them ship to me months ago! Meanwhile, here are a couple of places that are "up and ready" with some of their knives:
http://ragweedforge.com/FinnishKnifeCatalog.html

Take a look at #1156 on that page, and tell "Ragnar" I said hello.




------------------
- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
Thank you, James!

Very detailed and informative answer to my question. May be it'll be interesting that Iisakki Järvenpää was honored with the status of Royal supplier by Russian Tsar Alexander II in XIX century.
 
I think I remember seeing ads that mentioned the Russian royal connection. Tsar Alexander II abolished serfdom during his reign, and so is one of the very few tsars I'd want to admit to associating with.
smile.gif



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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
And of course, HE was the one that the radical leftists of his time had to blow up...thereby leading to (and maybe influencing!) Alex III, and decades of repression...

BTW do any of the rest of you think that last year's "terrorist bombings" in Russia smelled of a Reichstag fire? Just wondering...
 
Johnniet, this is a theme for the Political Arena. Some Russian experts thought that the bombings were influenced by state structures for Putin's boost. If you can read in Russian have a look at http://www.compromat.ru/main/vragi/vzryvy.htm
For all we know.

Back to knives. At http://www.pikto.info.tampere.fi/gaicutra/puukko/yleista.html
I had found the following:

FINN BAD MAN (HA:RMA:N HA:JYT)
In the 19 th century so called knifer culture (puukkojunkkarikulttuuri) came from Swedish parishes and got settled in a few Finnish parishes. It's been told that a bad man fought for the freedom of peasants against the master race. The bad men were big-mouthed village fighters. The most famous were sons and masters of big houses. Their special mark was the Finn bad man's knife (Ha:rma:n ha:jyjen tunnusmerkki oli puukko).

Does anyone have any comments?
 
Folks looking to discuss the (de)merits of Vladimir Putin probably wouldn't look here, but if you poke around my page you'll find that I do think knives are related to life, the universe, and everything.
smile.gif


As for the tsars ... Remember that short little prayer from Fiddler on the Roof?

May God bless and keep our noble tsar, far away from us.
Click to expand...

Interesting Finnish site. I suspect that the meaning is clearer in the author's native Finnish than it is in English, and it assumes more knowledge of Finnish history than I have. I gather that there's a rather fuzzy line between rebels and bandits.

As for knife-work in the dark, I've heard (or seen in web forums) stories of Finnish soldiers during the Winter War and WWII doing nasty things to large numbers of Russian soldiers without making much noise. I also suspect that war stories from a lot of nations have grown in the telling. Does anybody know any military history documents or references of interest to puukko people?


------------------
- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
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