Finnish knives

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Rich

Jim -

I've been told of examples in museums that date about 1000 years ago.
My oldest one is from the mid 1800's. Puukko and Leuku have been made
in Scandinavia, Finland and Lapland (Sami) for many centuries.

Rich

Thanks very much Rich. I'm pretty curious on these, and admire the knowledge you clearly have on them. It seems like these knives have a certain propensity to distract even the most specialized of collectors into fascination that parallels thier particular field of study. It seems that I have always associated you with specialization on Japanese weapons.
It seems that even Alan Maisey, whose knowledge and involvement with the keris is well known worldwide, has even noted a certain affinity for these small but powerfully captivating knives.

Is there a line of thought on the evolution and development of the puuko? What are the differences between puukko and leuku? Like Ariel, I'd like to see an informational thread on these develop so we could learn more on them here together.

All the best,
Jim