Making A Traditional Finnish Sheath Knife

The Finnish sheath knife is world famous for its quality and function.

Kauhava, a parish in Finland has become synonymous with the hand-made Finnish sheath knife known as the Puukko.

Kauhava is more generally known for arts and crafts traditions. This tradition of craftsmanship lends itself very well to the making of all the components of the traditional Kauhavan Puukko sheath knife.

From blacksmithing the blades to shaping silver fittings, to fashioning birch bark into knife handles as well as creating hand-made leather sheaths which fit the knives like a glove.

There is also more intricate craft work involved in creating silver and brass inlays on the handles, engraving the silver fittings, etching the blades and decorating the leather sheathes.

The result is a functional work of art.

That is what the Kauhavan knife represents.

The above video shows the making of one of these iconic knives, from working steel into the blade to grinding the blade, to polishing, to engraving to making the handle and other fittings. Also the leather sheathes are made by the same maker in this video (not always the case) and there is good detail on this process too.

A lovely historical film for a general audience but also plenty of practical detail for the knife enthusiast.