I have been interested in the Scandinavian style puukkos for quite some time. I have considered the Mora line, renowned for their value and functionality, but I was after something more traditional looking: enter Marttiini Oy from Finland. While they offer both stainless and carbon steel versions, the stainless steel used seems to be of poor quality (they only state the Chromium content at 13% and a Rockwell hardness of 53-54) while the carbon steel, although not a named steel, is listed at 0.75% carbon and 55-57 HRC as well as being more "traditional" in my mind. I looked at a number of their offerings in carbon steel including the Lynx Lumberjack, Arctic Circle and Arctic Carving but was really after a simple working knife so went with the Black Lumberjack. In researching these knives there seems to be an absence of reviews so I thought I would post one based on my early impressions.
The stats (approximate): 3 1/2" blade, 7 7/8" total length, 2 1/2 oz knife only, 3 3/4 oz in the sheath.
Materials and construction: 0.75% carbon steel partial rat-tail tang blade with a mirror polished Scandi grind edge, lightly stained birch wood handle, brass (?) ferrule, traditional style black leather sheath with a plastic blade insert.
Fit and Finish:
The handle is not polished smooth but left with a slightly rough finish especially towards and around the pommel. When it arrived the wood felt and looked very dry. I have given it a couple of doses of wood polish and it feels better in hand now. I might touch up one or two of the rougher spots but on the whole I like the feel of the wood.
The sheath is made of thin leather in a traditional style with a twisted leather dangler. That combined with the light weight makes it very comfortable to carry. The company name is embossed in silver. Time will tell how that stands up to wear and tear.
As you can see, the rat tail tang does not extend completely through the handle. So far with the limited use I have not felt any degree of blade movement, the construction feels very solid.
The blade is left with a gun metal look finish, possibly from the manufacturing process but I am not sure. Some Marttiini blades are engraved with the company name, this one is not. The Scandi grind single bevel edge is mirror polished and came at least as sharp as any other knife I have ever bought, it easily slices paper. This knife probably has the pointiest tip of any knife I own. I am not sure how the point would stand up to any kind of abuse but it did fine with some light drilling into dry, seasoned maple. The ferrule is nothing fancy but it is well fitted and functional.
The Marttiini logo stamped into the handle. As you can see this is not central on the handle and from the pictures I have seen it's location can vary a little. You can also see some of the rougher finishing on the birch wood here.
The spine has been left with a rough finish and is quite sharp. I do not doubt it will throw plenty of spark of a ferro rod but I have not actually tested that yet. I did not find the spine uncomfortable when pressing down with my thumb.
Plastic blade guard in the bottom of the sheath.
The tail, according to Marttiini, is supposed to reduce the swinging of the knife as you walk and also hides a drainage hole for the sheath.
The knife handle sits deep in the sheath and is a good fit. The swell of the pommel is useful in withdrawing the knife, there is no way the knife will fall out by itself. You might be able to shake it out if you try hard enough and over time the sheath might well loosen up some but for now it is nice and snug. Care does need to be taken with the blade edge on the unprotected leather at the top of the sheath, you may want to squeeze the sheath opening into more of an oval shape to avoid slicing the leather.
Overall the fit and finish strike me as appropriate for a good quality working tool.
Function: My intended purpose for this knife is yard work, some simple fire prep tasks (hobby only), basic carving (very basic lol), possibly some occasional food prep. It will probably partner my Pioneer Harvester SAK.
Okay, so I had ordered the knife and then stumbled across a post in another forum discussed that swell at the pommel and how uncomfortable it was!
Instant buyer's remorse and it hadn't even arrived yet... doh! Here it is in hand:
My hands are medium to large, I find this handle to be just about right. If you have very large hands it will most likely be too small. I do not find the pommel swell to be uncomfortable, in fact it is very functional both in removing the knife from the sheath and on slicing pull cuts. That said, the fish tail on Opinel knives doesn't bother me either. I can see how it might not feel right to some. The oval cross section gives good rotational control of the blade and the palm swell is comfortable. The straight forward handle shape is very versatile and I had no trouble with a variety of grips.
Here it is next to a Condor Bushlore for size comparison.
As you would expect from a sharp Scandi ground edge it bites deep into this dry, seasoned Yellow Poplar wood...
And shavings and feather curls are no problem - for the knife, anyway
I have not used the knife enough yet to warrant resharpening so I cannot comment on edge retention. From their website, Mattiini's philosophy seems to be ease of sharpening over edge retention. I will update later once I have more cutting time in hand.
Summary: Super lightweight, very sharp from the factory with a nicely made leather sheath and a comfortable handle for extended use and plenty of leverage for the size of the blade. Wood, carbon steel, leather and the rustic, workman-like appearance all appeal to the traditionalist in me but I don't feel functionality is being compromised in any way. So far so good - I'm already thinking this will be the gateway knife into the Arctic Carving knife, that curly birch sure looks purdy!
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