Hi guys, a few months ago I got those itchy fingers that said I wanted to make another knife – or rather handle a blade as I have zero experience in blacksmithing. Anyway I wanted something a little different so I spend some happy time surfing the web. What I found was some Lammi blades at Brisa knife supplies. These are Finnish Puukko blades apparently made around 1928-1930 and had recently been found stashed away in an old warehouse.
So I got a couple (one 85 mm and one 105 mm) and then wondered what to handle them with. I often use local Texas Bois D'arc that I harvested from a friends place a few years ago, but I wanted something more in keeping with the age and origin of the blades. I thought curly birch and birch bark would be good – and fun as I have not tried birch bark before. I also had a small piece of ancient Kauri wood. This is ~40,000 year old wood found in huge trunks in bogs in New Zealand. It is very expensive (my piece is very small!) not only because of its age but also its beauty. A lovely dark colour – but what really makes it stand out is the golden sheen visible in patches apparently the result of some chemical process taking place during its long years in the bog. Finally I had a small piece of Mammoth ivory.
Now (quite some time later - down here in Texas in the summer I am very limited in my time in the garage as its so hot I just start dripping over what ever I am trying to work on in no time) I have finished the knives and taken a few pictures. The 85 mm blade has brass bolster, kauri wood, curly birch and brass. The 105 mm blade has mammoth ivory, alternating stacked birch bark and curly birch then a piece of Texas White Tail antler. For stacking the bark I had read that if you clamp them together and put in the oven at ~200 degrees for a couple of hours, the natural oils will bond them together. My bark seemed pretty dry so I also spread some pine resin cut with some teak oil between the pieces. This seemed to work quite well. I used the same “glue” when I assembled the bark and wood sections. I confess I used standard epoxy for the bolster, ivory and antler. For finishing I immersed the blades in a mix of teak oil and boiled linseed thinned with some turps for a week in the garage (so 70-s to high 90-s degrees). The curly birch handle I then put a thin coat of canuba wax on (nice and shinny) but left the bark and birch handle as it was. Having finished I am really pleased with the birch bark. It is the nicest feeling handle I have ever made. It is soft and grippy at the same time. I aim to make a full bark handle the next time the urge takes me.
Now for a couple of sheaths.
Oh yes, the blades are not just lookers, they get reallly sharp – my forearms are as soft as a baby's butt with all the shaving they have been subjected to.
Here is some info I found on the web about Lammi and the pictures of the knives with a trusty old Svea 123 and White Tail antlers.
[SIZE=3]Kustaa Lammi (1901-2001), son of the old master of Finnish knife making Juho Lammi, started making knives at a early age. When he was only 10 years old, he sold his first knife at the Kauhava railway station. Since then he has been in the knife making business. Kustaa Lammi made his last knife at the age of 95.
Since 1921 Kustaa Lammi has been running the knife making business which his father started in the Kettula, part of Kauhava. The products of Lammi's knife factory have been exported to over 15 countries, including Australia and the United States.
The shape of the puukko has remained the same as the original Lammi's puukko. It takes time to make hand made puukko. Kustaa had appreciated the tratitional working methods and continued using them. Kustaa told that it takes about a week to make a puukko.
Finland's Central Chamber of Commerce granted Kustaa the Golden Award in recognition of his excellent work. The former president of Finland, Urho Kekkonen, also gave the President of Yugoslavia five Kustaa Lammi knives as a gift.
Information taken from: Puukkoposti 2/2005[/SIZE]
Trying to show the golden sheen
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Both knives
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The 105 mm
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The 85 mm
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