Puukko

What is a puukko?

"Puukko" is simply the Finnish word for a knife of this type, and it has been the standard working knife in Finland for centuries. It's an all-rounder for the outdoors and the farm: carving, whittling, preparing fish and game, and everyday cutting. A closely related knife is used in Sweden and Norway, often called a Nordic or Scandinavian knife.

What does a puukko look like?

• Blade: short and stiff, typically about 8–12 cm and no longer than the handle, with a straight spine and a slight curve to the edge near the tip.
• Grind: a scandi grind, one wide flat bevel on each side running to the edge.
• Tang: a narrow hidden or through tang set into the handle, often secured at the back with a pommel or peened over a metal end cap.
• Handle: oval or barrel-shaped, with no guard, traditionally curly birch, stacked birch bark or reindeer antler, sometimes with brass or bronze bolsters.
• Sheath: deep leather, often with a wooden insert, so most of the handle sits inside and the knife can't fall out.

Why no guard?

A puukko is used for controlled cutting, not stabbing, and the swelling handle shape stops the hand sliding forward. Without a guard, the knife can be choked up for fine carving, and it sits deep and safely in its sheath.

Puukko vs bushcraft knife

Modern bushcraft knives borrow heavily from the puukko: many use a scandi grind and a similar blade length. The main differences are that bushcraft knives often have a full tang and handle scales, and are built thicker for batoning wood. A puukko is lighter and more of a carving knife.

Making a puukko

A puukko is a classic first knife on bushcraft-style courses: a simple forged blade, a flat scandi grind you can finish by hand, and a handle shaped from a block of birch. Many makers spend as long on the sheath as the knife.