ok....I kinda dropped the ball on the first one. But the second makes up for it.

Pasi Hurttila is a 30ish young smith and mainly wilderness guide. His shop is a dirt floor shed with exactly two power tools, a belt sander and a hand drill. All cuts are done with a handsaw, all holes are drilled and filed, every blow of the hammer is by hand.

These leuku are forged from 0.197" thick 80crV2, rhomboid cross section blade ends up circa 0.176" at thickest point.

Before handling, each blade is tested by chopping, scraping, batoning, and drilling, both moose antler and wood, and must still slice paper when done.

Again, all cuts of wood and brass, done by hand, as well as holes filed to perfect fit. Pommels are peened/filed/peened/filed/peened/etc to compressive fit.

Wood liners cut and carved by hand, likewise sheaths cut and stitched.

This blade just over 8". A no-fear companion.














The last knife is mine.

This process detailed far clearer in Pasi's article on the nordiskaknivar site available at

https://nordiskaknivar.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/making-a-leuku-by-pasi-hurttila/

Excellent post, and beautiful blades.

Thanks!

Glad to spread the word on various sharp things. How I adore them.

I have a 4.5" blade stacked birchbark handled puukko by Pasi, with blade forged of K510 round bar, due in Mon or Tues, and will post it, as well.

Sad news is that Pasi has moved back to primary work as wilderness guide rather than full time smith, so only 3-6 knives per season come up for sale, now.

A wonderful master and his work!
Thanks for posting, this is very interesting

Again, I love to do the fyi posts for less well known folk both here and overseas. Glad some folks enjoy them.

I neglected to mention that on the leuku, after tang drawn down on pommel, Pasi adds two coarse thread matching material screws to either side of peened tang, and then cuts off the heads and polishes with pommel.

As for some idea of how compressed his handles, the thin black lines on my above knife, between brass and wood, are compressed leather spacers. Everything also glued. Rock solid.

As he likes to opine, he makes knives that work, and does not make microscope-proof knives.



Antler pommels and ferrules persisted for 2000yrs after metal available, for a reason. When 65 below zero and one must briefly use the knife with bare hand, or knife used immediately upon entering shelter with same bare hand, metal is a very bad idea.

As for the arctic birch wood or stacked bark, both are very waxy weather resistant materials, the cabin birch logs laid atop stripped bark sheets as a natural ground sheet moisture barrier, and lasting generations.

Liking the way they leave the hammered look in the blade. Way to go and cool handles to finish off those blades.

I am easy to please. If a knife can hack, baton, and drill moose/elk antler, still slice paper, and be held by the human hand, I want it.

The smaller puukko arrived today, 4.5" blade, 0.199" thick at grind line of rhomboid cross section at stamp, distal taper and still 0.150" one inch from tip. By way of comparison, my #19-4.5 is .210" at thickest point. Tang left heavy per my request.

Forged of round bar Böhler Üddeholm K510 (very clean, very high carbon chro-moly/vanadium/silicon steel).

No glue on this one, 4 pieces of bark packed down, repeat, packed some more, oven heated to compress further, then peen/file/peen/file/etc to get to desired length.

The Finn traditionalist says if every scrap not done by one man, may as well take up knitting. His sheath is perfection. Knife snaps into position just as it hits the wood liner.









As with the leuku, blades tested prior to handles built, so I already know it can carve antler and then still shave hair.

Lofty
great looking knives, I would like to see a photo of how the seam in the leather of the sheath is done if you have a chance.
I appreciate seeing some less common knives especially the work in progress

Peter

Seam widens up top for a circle stitched hole punched through leather for brass ring or triangle for the actual belt hangar, which is either a loop, or slotted, depends on maker. Stitching done by hand.

Loop was included, but not installed, per my wishes to carry IWB.