Puukko

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Puukko
Leuku (middle)

The puukko is a traditional all-purpose knife from Finland , the leuku of the seeds is a larger variant of the puukko.

Knives of the same design from Sweden are named Mora after their place of production . In the German language these knives are also known as Finnish knives .

history

The term Puukko originally means "knife with a wooden handle". Historical finds of stone tools prove this form as early as the Stone Age ; the first finds of metal puukkos are dated to the Middle Ages . In the 18th and 19th centuries, regional centers for the manufacture of blades , handles and scabbards were established . In the early 19th century , the industrial production of knives began at Fiskars , and Österbotten became a center for this from the middle of the 19th century . There are currently around forty manufacturers in Finland. The largest are Iisakki Järvenpää (founded in 1879) and Marttiini (founded in 1928), while the majority are small craft businesses . In Sweden, Mora has established itself as a production center for knives of this type.

As a general purpose tool, the puukko has been used in a variety of ways. Since it is particularly suitable for wood carving , everyday objects such as kitchen utensils or containers were made with it. It was also used to prepare meals and eat, earlier also by women as a household knife, today as equipment by hunters, fishermen and soldiers. The puukko is an important element of traditional costume , luxurious designs are popular as gifts. Wearing a certain type of puukko shows that you belong to a certain group, e.g. B. to the boy scouts or earlier to the National Guard . The puukko of the seeds (or rag), the leuku, is still an important everyday tool.

The puukko was and is also a dangerous weapon - with which about a third of all homicides in Finland are committed. Wearing it outside of work was banned as early as 1850, and the law was tightened in 1977. In the 19th century , knife fighters, the Puukkojunkkari, caused a violent period , especially in the province of southern Ostrobothnia . At times, the use of knives was prohibited in the Russian sphere of influence. There was an exemption for seeds that was announced in Russia on May 10, 1935.

In the Soviet-Finnish War (1939/1940) the Finnish soldiers successfully used the puukko as a close combat weapon. The Soviet soldiers were equipped with long bayonets that were unwieldy for this purpose . After the war, the Soviet Union learned from experience and introduced shorter knife bayonets.

Construction methods

The handle of the puukko is about 10 cm long, the blade is usually shorter. The relatively short blade has a positive effect on handling. The blade is single-edged, the edge is straight from the handle and then curved towards the location . The back of the blade is straight, there is no ricasso on the blade. The blade has a Scandinavian cut, ie the cutting edge has a double-sided flat cut without a secondary bevel with a grinding angle of 17-19 °.

The handle is very simple, there are no hand protection elements that would prevent the hand from slipping on the blade. As a rule, it is made of wood and is straight, sometimes swollen . Sometimes it consists of leather discs . There is often a knob cap. The handle usually has a teardrop-shaped cross-section, which helps the user to locate the direction of the cutting edge. The tang is not visibly anchored in the handle.

Traditionally, the puukko is worn in a sheath on the belt . The sheath is very deep, so that only the upper part of the handle protrudes from it. The scabbard is carried in such a way that the dominant hand pulls out the knife while the weak hand holds the scabbard.

The Sami Leuku is, in contrast to Puukko than billhooks designed. It is significantly larger, with a total length of 30 cm to 50 cm. Sometimes the leuku is worn on the belt together with the shorter puukko. Puukko / Leuku combinations are offered in a uniform design.

  • little puukko

  • How to wear the puukko on the belt

  • Reconstruction of a costume from the 12th century

  • Puukko with Saami belt set

  • schematic structure of the classic puukko

  • different knob shapes

  • Puukko, a historical find from Karelia

literature

  • Dmitri Alexejew (Дмитрий Алексеев): Энциклопедия оружия (Encyclopedia of Arms) , Litres, 2017, p. 38 ff. ISBN 9785457592131
  • Hyytinen, Timo: Puukko, Käsikirja. Kansialanimeke: Vanhat ja uudet puukkomallit, puukkojen keräily, puukon käsittely ja teroitus, oman puukon valmistus. Jyväskylä, Arma Fennica, 1999, ISBN 951-98371-0-8
  • Hyytinen, Timo: Suuri puukkokirja , Jyväskylä, Arma Fennica Oy, 1988, ISBN 952-90016-2-2
  • Hyytinen, Timo: Suuri puukkokirja 2 , Jyväskylä, Arma Fennica Oy, 2005, ISBN 951-98371-6-7
  • Kemppinen, Jukka: Puukot , Kuvitus, Mikko Kemppinen, Helsinki: Otava, 1976, ISBN 951-1-02469-8
  • Pälsi, Sakari: Puukko , Näköispainos, Alkuteos 1955, Helsingissä: Otava, 1998, ISBN 951-1-15699-3
  • Nylund Erik: Korupuukko , Jyväskylä, Arma Fennica Oy, 2007. ISBN 978-952-5687-04-0
  • Taisto Kuortti: Puukkosepän kirja , Jyväskylä: Arma Fennica Oy, 2007, ISBN 978-952-5687-03-3
  • Hyytinen, Timo: Leuku ja Lapin puukot , Jyväskylä, Arma Fennica Oy, 2015, ISBN 978-952-5687-26-2

Web links

Commons : Knife from Seeds  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Knives from Finland  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • National Museum of Finland: Tommi-puukko
  • Know your knives: The Finnish Puukko at thetruthaboutknives.com
  • nordiska knivar Blog page of the Finnish knife maker Otto Kemppainen with numerous publications on Puukkos
  • Pekka Tuominen: Finnish Military Knives / Centennial Observance (for Puukko the Finnish military), nordiskaknivar.wordpress, December 2017 ( webarchiv )
  • Sverre Solgård: Traditional Norwegian Knives (on the Puukko typology of "Agder", "Telemark" and "Toten"), nordiskaknivar.wordpress, December 2015, ( web archive )
  • Saku Honkilahti: Birth Of A Puukko (documentation of operations for traditional manufacturing), nordiskaknivar.wordpress February 2014, ( webarchiv )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d National Museum of Finland : Puukko - the Finnish Sheath Knife October 2, 2006
  2. ↑ a b c Gerhard Seifert: Specialized Weapons Knowledge , 2007 Specialized Weapons Knowledge (PDF file; 3.66 MB)
  3. ↑ Clive Emsley: Crime, Police, and Penal Policy: European Experiences 1750-1940 , Oxford University Press , 2007, ISBN 9780199202850 , p. 129 [1]
  4. ↑ People's Commissars of the USSR: DECISION of 10 May 1935 , webarchiv , Russian, accessed on February 16, 2018
  5. ↑ Pasi Tuunainen: Finnish Military Effectiveness in the Winter War, 1939-1940 , Springer , 2016, ISBN 9781137446060 , p 117 [2]
  6. ↑ Martina Sprague: Swedish Volunteers in the Russo-Finnish Winter War, 1939-1940 , McFarland Verlag, 2010, ISBN 9780786457533 , p. 196 [3]
  7. ↑ a b c Risto Hakomäki: Suomalainen PUUKKO (The Finnish Sheath Knife)
  8. ↑ James Ayres: A tale of two knives in: Knives 2008 , Verlag F + W Media, 2007, ISBN 9780896895423 , p. 33 [4]
  9. ↑ Christian Boucharenc: Design for a Contemporary World , NUS Press, 2008, ISBN 9789971693473 , p. 239 [5]
  10. ^ Form Function Finland , Verlag Finnish Society of Crafts and Design, 1986, p. 161 [6]
  11. ↑ Joe Kertzman: Knives 2015 , Verlag "F + W Media", 2014, ISBN 9781440240737 , p. 108 [7]