The Puukko

[Txjohn]

Martti Malinen of Niinisaari, Puumala.

That’s it ! Thanks Frederick

 

[Will Power]

OK - waking this thread up to post puukko photos. This cool slender Ball Pommel Puukko was a PIF pick up from @Spikediesel more than a year ago.

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Here is a bit of info from the makers web site -

"The only historical maker of so called Ball Pommel Knives is Iisakki Järvenpää, so he can be thought to be the inventor of this model. Because of this, the collectable knives—made to celebrate anniversaries during the long history of the company—are ball pommel knives. The same applies to the models made every fifth year in honour of Finland’s independence. The Ball Pommel Knife's pommel or upper ferrule is round and made of cast brass. Over the time, handle has been made of many different materials, but today we produce handles of varnished birch bark. Like the others, this traditional model has its origins at the turn of 1880's and 1890's. It has been in uninterrupted production ever since."

I'm pretty certain that this particular knife was intended as an export or tourist model as the blade is inscribed in English - "Made in Finland" with the name Iisakki Järvenpää inscribed in the fuller.

Anyone have more info - I'd love to know.

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STILL - it is well made and detailed. Carbon steel (I think) that holds a very keen edge. Not a make believe knife by any stretch. It is a very fine puukko - in great condition - that has seen some years and some time on someone's belt. Mostly a house knife for me these days. I like it

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Thanks again @Spikediesel

Let's see some more puukkos.

Ray

Why not e-mail them some pics? I'm sure they'll get back to you.

https://www.iisakkijarvenpaa.fi

 

[Ballenxj]

Nice to see this thread come alive again.

 

[Tutone]

Jelio’s Beautiful Snakewood Puukko remains one of my favorites in my collection by the Bulgarian master Bladesmith.

 

[Elgatodeacero]

Puukkos are the most beautiful of knives..... this is a Malanika

 

[RayseM]

A Arathol - this one is certainly related to the one I posted

Why not e-mail them some pics? I'm sure they'll get back to you. https://www.iisakkijarvenpaa.fi

Yes Will Power - I will do that. Would be curious, especially, to know the vintage. Thanks for the push.

Glad to see the Puukkos coming out.

Ray

 

[Tutone]

Pawel Michalski Birch Bark with Scandi grind

 

[RayseM]

Nice Tutone .

You guys are keeping these knives too clean

 

[Arathol]

A Arathol - this one is certainly related to the one I posted

Yes, I have always assumed that it is a Järvenpää puukko. Its marked inside the fuller but the script is quite illegible...but its identical in construction to many other puukkos I have seen by Järvenpää.

 

[Chui]

- only have one, this, made by Stuart Smith ABS in South Africa. Handle is a gorgeous piece of Mopani that had been in a bog for a long time

 

[RayseM]

Yes, I have always assumed that it is a Järvenpää puukko. Its marked inside the fuller but the script is quite illegible...but its identical in construction to many other puukkos I have seen by Järvenpää.

I needed OptiVisor Magnifier and very bright light to make out the inscription in the fuller but I could finally read (more like, decipher) - Iisakki Järvenpää.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Same town. Different maker.

<a href="https://imgur.com/4a3kekt"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/4a3kekt.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

 

[Arathol]

A Arathol - this one is certainly related to the one I posted

Well, it seems it may not be a Järvenpää despite the similarity. I have been doing some looking in some obscure places and found a reference to a makers name, Kauhavan Puukkotehdas, that was used before WW2. The name and the script seems like a match for whats engraved in the fuller.
Just some trivia here, Iisakki Järvenpää was at one time the shop foreman there...

 

[Will Power]

Kauhavan puukkotehdas simply means The Kauhava Puukko Works(Factory) it could be the same as Järvenpää. But there might have been other small scale operations going on, Kauhava is the founding place of I.Järvenpää's knife making, it is still a very small place even by Finnish standards

 

[Thomas Linton]

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GGGE___US527US527&sxsrf=ACYBGNQriJtNI0Lrc8FYX9oH0dttF7PPfQ:1580719338840&q="Kauhavan+Puukkotehdas"&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj7mLm1_rTnAhX5hHIEHe-ECFkQsAR6BAgJEAE&biw=1602&bih=704

https://www.kellamknives.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1065

https://www.bukowskis.com/en/lots/1116253-a-kauhavan-puukkotehdas-double-knife-dated-1899

 

[RayseM]

Different but related. I will definitely chase down the origins of my version now
Thanks for the info Thomas Linton & Will Power & A Arathol !

 

[JohnDF]

From Norway

 

[TPVT]

good timing! i have a martti malinen en route. i’ll update the thread once received.

 

[Will Power]

Should be able to find out more about Kauhava as it's only 80 km from here, but woods for the trees you know

Lot of interest in Russia about Puukko collecting&history but I read Russian rather poorly but saw some interesting pics of old items.

Jaakko Hannuksela founded the first machine operated knifeworks in Kauhava in 1895, this became Kauhavan puukkotehdas 1898 was his firm until his death in 1912. The firm went on producing knives after Independence in 1917 and seems operations ceased at the commencement of The Winter War 1939 so active, 1898-1939.

Iisakki Järvenpää began making knives in Kauhava in the late 1880s in conjunction with Juho Lammi. he made the then Tsarevich later the last Tsar Nikolai II (1868-1918) a presentation Dress Puukko in 1888 which greatly stimulated interest, thus the Järvenpää firm has been producing puukkot in three centuries, 19th, 20th, 21st.

 

[black mamba]

I am curious to know how the real puukko aficionados (I'm NOT one) think about the newer ones made by non-Scandinavian makers, like my jelio (Bulgarian) shown in post #176. Please comment on both materials and construction methods.