This week’s topic came out of discussion I was having recently with a friend and he asked my opinion on what type of knife he should buy/give as a present. A good knife and an outdoor lifestyle go together. Can you think of any movie about cowboys or mountain men where the main character didn’t carry a knife? I can’t.
For me, a good knife is simply a tool I have with me to use as needed. In a typical day I may use my personal knife a dozen times or more for as many different tasks. I feel unbalanced and almost naked if I don’t have my knife on me. It is practically a part of me.
Cultures around the world are known for their knives and how they use them. Think of a machete. What metal image and what part of the world comes to mind? What about a curved sword? What cultures and what part of the world do you think of? The U.S. Marine Corps’ official sword was modeled after the edged weapons from this region of the world. It is called a Mameluke. Think of the American frontier and the Bowie knife or other big robust knives comes to mind.
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For maybe the last 2000 years, Northern European Arctic cultures have favored a smaller, round-handled skinning style knife to help them hunt, fish, and survive. The most common knife that is used is the puukko. The puukko is a unique Scandinavian knife design, and in the Finnish language, the word puukko comes from the Finnish word “puukotta,” which translates to “wood knife”. The prefix, “puu” means “wood” and “kotta” means knife or stab.
The original design of the puukko traces back to the indigenous Sami people of the European Arctic regions. Each knife was an original, made for the owner and fitted to their hand. The handle was made in its length and circumference to specifically fit the user’s hand. There is really no such thing as a standard puukko. The closest thing you may have ever seen to a puukko is the smallest Rapala filet knife.
I have always wanted my own puukko…an original Finnish or Sami puukko. I missed an opportunity a little over a year ago when my Dad, the Ol’ Marine, crossed off one of the items on his bucket list. He had always wanted to see the northern lights, the aurora borealis. He and my sister took a cruise to Norway and went out on the pack ice above the Arctic Circle, and stayed in the Sami-style teepees to watch one of Nature’s most amazing light show. Why I didn’t think to ask them to pick me up a traditional puukko as a souvenir, I don’t know.
Puukkos are considered a point of pride for Scandinavian peoples. Young boy and girl scouts in Finland receive puukko knives for their accomplishments, and it is a gift of honor. In Norway, a father presents his son with his on puukko around age 12 and a sign of passage. In many of these cultures, a puukko will be handed down through generations as a part of family pride and honor. In the Finnish Army, many soldiers are not issued a battle knife; every soldier is allowed to carry his personal puukko. I think the tradition and honor of the puukko and the reverence associated with it might be what first attracted me to the knife.
The original puukko design was never intended to be anything but a tool. However, during the Winter War (1939-1940) when Russia invaded Finland, Finnish soldiers relied on their puukkos when ammunition was depleted. A PBS documentary Fire and Ice: The Winter War shares that the puukko was used for close quarters fighting. Puukkos were so effective that the Russians outlawed them in Russian occupied territories. Sound familiar?
The traditional puukko is a simple-looking knife, with a thick blade that tapes to its point, a round handle the same width as the blade. The iconic blade has a straight spine and a wide, curved edge. Many puukkos typically made with curly birch handles. Curly birch is native to Scandinavia and has a distinct look when carved and treated. It makes a functional and sturdy handle.
Blades have traditionally been made of high carbon steel. They are strong and can hold an edge. What more do you need in a knife?
One last thing that has always intrigued me about puukkos is how they were worn. The can be a belt knife, but due to the layers of clothing needed in the Arctic regions, digging down to you belt to get your knife just wasn’t practical. More often the puukko was worn like a necklace or attached to the front of your outer coat where it was easy to get to…an application born of necessity.
All this being said, I still didn’t get one for Christmas. Bummer.