Almost ready. The blade, that is.

Its taken again a small step ahead and still, i like the fact that it done with files, sandpaper, rasps, hammer, etc, with as less electric tools as i can. The holes are made with electric drill yes, sorry :) but other than that, its more handmade to me, than the grinder & cutter made blades. Only thing ill be doing to it is to file the bevels clear, and shape em the way i want. Then to the handle making..

I got pretty good tips, for heat treatments from few blacksmiths that i am proud to know, and my fear of ruining this during quenching etc, was unnecessary. It did not crack or bend, and after ovening it , seems like a good blade indeed. After ovening hours, i sunk the bevel area in icy water and used an gas torch to make the spine more softer than the edge will be.

Still pretty low on stock removal.

Its not 100% percently intact no more since i have gone and drilled one hole, that is sort of stock removal, not forging :). If i could have,i would have made the hole by piercing with some punch-like tool but i didnt have any idea how to make one from the scrap metals i had on my hands.

Other than that, everything so far, made by forging. I just cleaned the future bevel area with steel wire brush on angle grinder. If thats stock removal, then ill be damned. I donno what to call this knife yet, but i think i like the looks at least my self. It has a hole on the tip, reminding me from cleavers that i like, as well as a bit curved handle with flared butt, plus a choil with a finger groove to choke from. A curved overall edge might be good for chopping and slicing and it has also a bit of sharper tip at the and of the edge, if i have to stick something with it, to punch a hole or use it as a crude drillbit. Surely its not a whitlling tool, but a mix of things that i like, and i tried to mix em so that the knife would not be so ugly either.

More handle shaping to come, plus few this and thats and then i hopefully get the heat treatmets done without breaking the weird blade. The next one, i´ll be making will be made from another bearing race, next to the blade in the picture. Thats just what the blade in the pics, started from, but the next one, will have whole different,more demanding shape, with sharp, more knife like tip and dual bevels, i think.

How original. Another knife post :)

Heres a few shots of a knife i started to work with. I dont honestly have no idea, what kind of it will be when ready, but im sure it will be bigger one. Ive been playing with images of blade sports knives, tracker / wsk knives, cleavers etc, but we´ll see how it will it end up, or will it at all :).

It started its life as a SKF ball bearing race, about 10 centimeters diameter, 35 mm wide and 10mm thick. I red heated in two times, before i could cut an opening to it with angle grinder.


I didnt remember to take pictures of the progress as i was having a hard time, beating that race, on the horn of anvil, to open the gap in race till i could straighten it all the way, on the anvils straight surface, to form about 30 cm long, 35mm wide and 10mm thick blank. And i tell you that  getting that blank to 5mm thick, took some time as well , this material aint as soft as spring steel you know.

But, after 2 hours or so its looking like this without any material taken away with any grinder & cutter. I try to form the shape now, as much as i can , with forging only, before the actual finishings. The handle will hae more contoured shape, and the blade shape.... i dont know at all,as i said :).  As i own a T.O.P.S Tracker, i do have my opinion about it and i´d like o design that a bit further, maybe, from this piece of steel. But i also like all sort´s os seax knives, hukari´s, etc. Plus, i do love the oearlier style of R. Marchand, and also, many works of Tai Goo, so i am bit lost, you know....

While the big blank was heating i made a quick knife blade from an old Opel coilspring. Its not ready, sharpened etc in the pic, but you´ll see that its bit like some old scout knives that were common here once. It has a diamond / coffin cross cut shape, and a 12 cm blade, that starts from 20 mm and in its widest point before the tip its 23 mm. Thickest part, is about 5mm under the spine, and its 5mm. The spine itself is 3mm.
I think this will have a brass bolster and a leather stack handle, just as the scout knives have.

At home, i had nothing to do so i started to build handles to my laminated big blade that Kotavuopio did to me. It was supposed to be  pretty muhs like leuku with just a full tang but i went and made the handle a bit different after all.

                                           Lots of fitting, trying, removing for grinding, and then again, screwing the handle slabs on again....repeat several times.

In this pic youll see the tubing that i used as a rivet, acting also as a possible hafting point and a lanyard hole, which i see as a good aid especially on harder chopping. Theres also those holes in handle, drilled to lighten the total weight of knife a bit, and more than that, to make the blade better fro chopping-like tasks. I usually like all my knives to be front weighted than balanced equally.

I don thave any special tools nor equipment at home, not to mention a real working table, so i messed up my own mancave room with oak dust, epoxy, leather etc, but i got the handles done.

Then i sanded the handles a bit. Not too much, this is a working tool, not a showcase item by any means. Then a mixture og gunstock oil and red dye, let it settle a while after good scrubbing in of the oil, followed by hard woolsock "polishing". And were good to go, just after i get  a shetah done.

Ahma arrived a few days ago

Well, the Ahma puukko that T.Kotavuopio made to me, arrived a few days ago. I have been using it andit works like a dream. I hope i´ll be able to take some pictures of it in few next days, but all this frigging non stoping rain we´ve had in several days in a row, rain seems to ruin cameras. Well, anyways, its been used now, from basic sausage stick whittling :), and firewood prepping, to prepping fresh fish that i have been getting from lake almost every day, plus, i loaned to my friend who dropped a moose and tried Ahma for skinning,cutting and cutting of the game, and he wanted tobuy it from me immediately. I think it tells me, that this knife is pretty good for game use, as i wanted to have a more game capable puukko.

Heres few pics of it.

First of all, it fits just perfectly in my palm, and offers few different, and yet comfortable grips. The knife has a bit longer handle, compared to most common handle sizes as i have a big hand, plus, its still offers a lot better grip to me, even if i am wearing gloves, so i dont have to, take gloves off everytime i need knife for some quick cut.

The handle, is also, quite thin as you can see. Usually Finnish puukko´s have pretty round and fat handles, but as this is to be used with wet, maybe bloody hands, its better that the handle is flat, as it prevents the knife from starting to spin inside the fist. Still, the handle has rounded edges, so its not like something i see in various fulltang knives that have sharp corners in the handles, that are more like pain in the butt, and force you to think about using gloves while using the knife, to make the grip more comfortable.

 The sheath is just what i asked for. A simple, no-nonsense leather piece with sturdy wooden liner inside. Still, i am Not complaining about that nicely done decoratioon Tero went and did, as its about in every knife he makes, in way or another. I asked that the beltloop should be large and bit wider. This because i usebit wider belts usually, and i just happen to like loops a bit wider. It has a soldered brass o-ring as a swivel, to the sheath folds away if i am sitting in the car or similar. The rigid loop aint my choise,as the sheath tends to stick everywhere while sitting.

 The front bolster, is hand filed for snug fit, from harder, thick piece of copper, instead of the usual brass, and it even looks nice with that red hardwood handle, i think. The tang goes thru the handle, and its then riveted, against a 4mm think piece of brass thats pressed in the wood. Pretty rugged construction overall, and i do know that the tang is pretty large compared to many tangs that ive seen so far.

The blade, has measures like 11cm length, 30mm "height", 5mm thickness and its hand forged, all the way, including the bevel shaping, from a bar of K990 steel.

By the way, as i was taking these quick shots, SNOW started to fall on the ground ! I know it wont stay on the ground, but it gives me hope, that the winter might be coming. after all, how great !

C´mon WHERE´s the winter....?

Its not here, at my home beach,i dont see any serious signs of fall ending and winter starting, and i have been waiting for more subzero nights and more morning frost....Theres still even flowers rising and in bright colours, the birch has tiny green buds...its all mixed up, the swans stay still here, at fields and bays, you dont need ice auger to to fish....Please give me a harsh winter. They are forecasting -3c for tonight but we´ll see about that.

And it sure doesnt look like a promising early winter even in lapland.... Well they have bit of ice in some smaller ponds and lakes able to carry a regular size guy to walk on for a while, and -3 temps but....last year, two weeks from this date, there was feet high snow, over -30c temps...so theres just that two weeks for the gods of weather to sort it out and give winter there too.

THIS is what i want to see for the next..lets say...5 months:

Little heads up, about the upcoming leuku review.

So, i mentioned a few days ago that i am trying to do this post, about the ever fascinating topic, meaning leuku knives. First i was trying to gather up some, do a bit of testing, take pics and such, to be posted just after christmas, but i have to stretch that a few weeks. So i´ll be posting it at january, as soon as the last of the leuku´s arrive to my possession. So far i think i have even succeeded with this, as it sure looks like i´ll be able to show you some 5 leuku´s, atleast, if not more. All of them being made here in finland, from forged carbon steel, with quite traditional looks and all. I have asked from few bigger well know companies as well, but sadly without any kind of reply back. But hey,  i am very happy to show you these 5 spanking new knives, thats a good amount indeed !


Heres already two teaser pictures, showing you one of the leukus, by T.Kotavuopio.   If i get more project pics, ill add em here !

So far i can thank following makers for their friendly attitude towards this topic that i started to work on, after receiving a good few suggestions to do more stuff about leukus, with pricetags that just about anyone can afford.

T. Kotavuopio.

I. Seikku 

J. Ryynänen.

P. Hurttila / Hurttilan Paja.

A. Mäkinen / YP-Taonta

My Ahma / Wolverine puukko is ready.

And i am excited to get it on my belt. I like that simple deep sheath with obviously sturdy liner in it.

Well, , i must return to writing now. I have soo many thoughts and i´d like to  make it easier to read so it takes some time still.

Back On-Line.

Finally i have found my way back on the wonderful world of internet. I hope it doesnt mean that i´ll be nerding in front of screen so much but i really like the fact that i can write my blog again. Luckily the time-out didnt take weeks or months :).

I havent been doing anything special so far, as unboxing my possesssions and putting em back on their new places has taken time and nerves i tell ya . But, i had my last bird hunt last weekend, and we stsarted to build a forge in the old forest rangers place where i spend my time. I hope it gets ready before x-mas but i am still missing a lot, a sandwheel and a BIG anvil and i still have lots of hammering and sawing, insulating etc to do and with a super limited budget, as always, i am hunting for others scraps and such, from which i can build my shed with effort, sweat and re-cycling.


What else... Oh yes, if it all goes smoothly, ill be publishing one topic that i am trying to write well and all. It might be interesting to all of you who are in to leuku knives. I think, that there will be from 3 to 5 handmade leukus all in one story, in same pictures, from which you can easily do your comparings and decide, if you´d like to order one for yourself, from one of the few bladesmiths that make this topic of mine, possible. Lets hope this project goes well !