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 !

Last post for a while ,i am afraid.

So, this might be the last one here, as i move in tomorrow morning. I dont have any clue,when do i get the wireless connection to web working, if at all,but if i do, youll see more post here immediately. The "bad" web connection is about the only downside, on this moving to countryside,but its actually annoying too,a si like to blog and reads my emails, but at the same time, i remember that i havent even had an internet connection,nor a computer,before......well i maybe bought  the connection and pc, about 5 years ago. And before that i spent more time outside and among crafts. So, if i get the web working, i still hope that ill spend more time making items, hiking etc than hang so much in front of computer. Still, i cant deny that i will miss my blog-time a lot before i get it going again. Yet, it might take anything from 4 days to 4 weeks or so, sorry.

 Well,  i still have plebty of small crafts that i can do at home and loads of movies and books. I have to finish in example, this laminated, bainite treated 220 x 40 x 7mm full tang leuku Tero did to me, loads of ideas, to work from leather and such. And as i get my metal working gear brough to new place, i can forge, weld, cut and play with steel in various forms too. The geese hunting is about to be at its best moments too,and such. If i get that outdoor work that ive been discussing about, ill have also a better income. So maybe this all turns in a good way.

The Ahma / wolverine puukko, by the way is missing only its sheath,and then its fully ready to be used.

If you have something important to say to me, you can put it in the comments to this post. I wont publish any personal messages,but i will publish the not-personal ones, here too, when i have chance to read 'em someday somewhere.

I hope the winter, real winter would quick and make end of this rainy weather.

Well, thats about it for now, and we'll see again.

Moving....

Well, now i have packed up all my stuff in movingboxes, and ive left only a daypack that has all i need tfor next 2 nights here. Then well move to the new place and i already know that it will last for some time, before i have my own internet connection as no phone operator etc,offers any adsl service there, it seems to i have to try various wireless and slow connections, if there is one that would allow me to even slowly write in to blog and check out my emails. I am not quitting, thats for sure but moving to tiny woodstown comes with issues like this.

Anyways, keep those comments coming when ever you want, i like to read em when ever i can get my butt in front of web connected computer.

Tomorrow, if i have time, i will post something before taking the computer in my pack.

Just a quick puukko progress update, part 2 or 3.

My Ahma puukko by the hands of T. Kotavuopio, is just about ready. I think its only missing the wolverine paw mark done, and sheath.

Pretty sleek aint it. It has a big long handle, but the length of the blade, makes it all look so well balanced.

Shortly about weekend.

2 nights ago i went to cabin again, to gather the last mushrooms, saw and split firewood, clean up the yard from most items lying all over, from bbq stove to garden chairs,benches and such, as it sure looks like that nights are always subzero now,and the stuff outside freezes and stucks if i dont take em in the barn. So i wasnt doing anthing interesting actually. Regular sauna bathing with 3 buddies, eating and having good time after sauna. Bottle of Fireball, a case of Karhu, 2 kilos of moose beef, onions, mushrooms, rye bread, chocolate, thats what it was all about. Scent of wood smoke from stoves, candle lights and thick woolsocks. At the 2 mornings, i still picked up my gun and went for a 3 hours walk, to catch a bird or two, and i got one. Well, thats more than enough, i know that at christmas, our table will have only hunted meat instead of bought. Were moving to the new home at next weekend,and then the finest bird season is almost over,and i can only try to get ducks and geese and i am mostly interested in geese as its more challenging, sniper-like action, instead of shotgun mayhem :). During this week, i am boxing my possessions,and at thursday i am disconnecting the pc from web and i hope that it will be connected at new home at beginning of the next week. Honestly...i sometimes miss the time without cellphones and computers with networks and all.

As i got that old gas stove working, and we have done some repairs and cleaning at the cabins old kitchen that was more like warehouse before, i wanted to use it.
Fried onion with real butter, with handful of mushrooms.

Add 500 grams of fresh ground moose beef, throw some salt, and a drop of whiskey in it. Sadly, i didnt have any cream with me, nor had i remembered to bring potatoes with me. So i boiled some macarone, and mixed it with this grub above, but i didnt hear any complaints about it.

This stuff sure is my favourite poison now and as the days get colder, i just "might" have a flask filled with this in my chest pocket when doing some outdoors in the snow and such.

I am glad that we have some...14 cubic meters of firewood at the cabin, it will last just fine over winter no matter how much we heat the cabins four fireplaces or the one in sauna.

                       Frost and ice, it all tells me about good times ahead.

On the way back home, my buddy who woked up early as i did, but drove to his moose chase place, sent me a pic about his catch of the day. I heard that ill get a good piece of that as well. Lucky me to have a friend like that.

I didnt take much pics, my phones battery is doing death it seems, sorry, but i hope these are better than no pics at all.

Just a quick puukko progress update.

Its definetely getting readier.

                                    Handle block atached,as well as the bolster.

                                     After shaping and still wet after two days in jar of tung oil. It has to be cleaned, and finished with 1000 grit sandpaper, brass part has to be filed and polished etc but its goin to be pretty beautiful...i think, what say you ?

I'll name it Ahma, which translates in to wolverine, as it will be having a wolverine paw in its handle,maybe in the sheath too.  I have always found wolverine interesting and it sure is controversial, loved,hated, chased,protected smaller creature living here. Some see it as a terrible beast killing reindeers,some realise that it might not kill as much as claimed. Theres not much of them around anymore,but some think they all should be hunted down. To me, its definetely an animal worth keeping alive,as well as any other predator in this world, from wolves to gators,from snakes to mountain lions. The worst creature to roam in this globe,are we the people,not the animals.

Just as wolverine is, this knife will do things that people like, like carving decorated camp tools,and whittle shavings to set up a warming fire,as well as tasks that some find repulsive, meaning skinning,boning,gutting game.

Order yours from T.Kotavuopio, its easy even for oversears customers.

Fall weekender

Last weekend, i stuffed my pack and guns into car once again, to go and see if any game would be waiting for me in the bush. Well, i got only two birds,hazel grouses, but they tasted well, freshly cooked in open fire pan along with generous amount of mushroom,bacon and onion all fried and mixed with cream...kind of a stew you might say.

I found an old but working gas stove at flea market and i took it with me and now it it has a new home and life in the forest cabin where we hang out. i do love open, real camp fire, but i think, that its good to have a stove too, so we can cook a meal inside the house as well. Theres a fireplace too, but its easier to use pan and pot on stove than in fireplace in which you cant build a holder for cooking items.

There was mushrooms, so much that i got 4 bags gathered in some..under an hour. And at next weekend i'll be harvesting more.

I had fun time teaching my girlfriend to drive the pick-up that we use there. She learned to use lowering gears and turn on and oof the spindle locks in front, use the winch and then drive in the actual bush,after she managed to drive in old logging machine tracks.

                             Filling up the tanks from stream, for sauna use.

Off course, i took an advantage to hunt,as i had again this hunting guest pass. And shot some cans etc too,naturally :). My only caths was two pigeons, the bigger birdd were hiding all the time,as there was pretty windy weather and the trees were dropping the leaves and at that time, birds dont fly to branches,sadly.

Although there wasnt much to hunt, i enjoyed the fresh windy days, seeing the nature changing its colours for winter. Already we had -3c temps at nights and i just cant wait, to see days when snow drops and when we have minus temps at daytime too.

 The small bar has to be filled soon too, so when the winters there, you can have some proper drinks after a day in snow.

my girlfriend did a serious cleaning at cabon and from some old box she found his obviously older wood handled Mora. It has a slightly worn blade, and the tip has a minor piece missing,some patina and dirt.

As we came back to home i sanded off the red paint, scrubbed the matel parts a bit, and dyed the handle and then oiled it. Ill be making a new leather sheath over the original plastic sheath too, so now she has a "new" beater knife that she can keep at the cabin always as a spare.

Theres an old road, thats officially used last time, about 50 years ago, crossing thru the cabins yard. I have been looking from maps that the old road went to another road in the bush, that still exists and leads to my friends cabin, in about 9 kilometers from the cabin where i visit.

So i drove the old road that is rarely used by our off-road vehicles, and its still blocked so that even jeeps etc, cant connect to the another road. Its kind of a two roads that used to be one but now theres forest growing thru it. But with ATV i could drive it all the way. It was fun and i saw a lot of moose and deer tracks too, plus few toilets of badger.

At some point i stumbled upon old place where once stood a house, and there was just a fireplaces stone base left and next to it, a pile of moss covered junk.

The word junk in my books doesnt mean anything bad always,though. Like this coffee pot. It must be atleast 30 years old or older. It still had good zinc ? lining and the outer side had a good condition emalium. I didnt find the lid, but i picked it up anyway and brought it to cabin as well as the old coffee jar, and ill be using them as decoratives there somewhere.

The best thing in this trip was that i was given this small cabin, near the large main cabin. It has a small room with bunks, a small room to change clothes and a small sauna, plus a outhouse and a firewood shelter...that is just big enough to take a snowmobile in too :). Ill be removing the inner walls and making it one bigger room,throw away the sauna equipment and replacing the KIUAS with a stove, that has a cooking surface on top of it. Sturdy locks, wooden window covers with hinges, better bunks, a few stools and a table, and ill have comfortable small cabin there too, for me to use,and for my friends who will receive a key too. I still think that ill be using the main cabin if theres more people,so its better to use the woods to heat the big cabin, but if im there alone, ill use the smaller that requires less wood. Theres a well next to it ,with checked pure water. I wont be building anything as a yard, just remove the junk around it,and add a lid above the door, that will be modified to open towards inside,so its easier to go in,even when the high amount of snow is in front of the door.

We brought in to the main cabin, some stuff too. Few coffee pots, more matches, candles, a small skillet and a barbeque thingy made from steel wire, in whicj you can roast meat, bread etc, in between the two folding steel nets.

I got this new brew, that was way too  good it seems. Fireball, a whiskey liquour with some hot spice and cinnamon. It went empty too fast when we were heating up sauna, building a new firewood shelter from logs and throwing the axes :)
It just might be my favourite soft drink for a while.

This puukko has been pretty darn good, especially when i got to make a new sheath. It isnt nice or beautiful i know, but the previous i made accidentally for left handed so i didnt carry the puukko so much, but now i will. It seems to hold the edge super fine and its sturdy enough for any puukko task, but also, its small enough to be used for more detailed jobs as well. It has a nice balance too, a sthe brass parts in the handle add weight to handle, as the blade isnt the lightest one.
The blade is made by T. Kotavuopio, from ball bearing race,and the handle etc. is done by myself, from leatherdyed curly birch, and brass parts i made by casting them from used 308.rifle cartridges.

Well thats about it now. I didnt do anything interesting nor didnt take so much pics  but i thought that some of you might like these anyway.