text: Jari Liukko | nordiska knivar
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  This puukko was crafted by Jari Liukko, son of Arto Luikko, living and working in Savonlinna, in Southern Savo region, on the shores of Lake Saimaa. Both father and son are puukkoseppämestari.
  thickness 3,5 mm at spine; 4,6 mm at bevels junction
  tang 6×3 mm at the pommel
  edge angle 19°, with tiny microbevel
  hardness ~ 59 HRC
  thicknes 21,5 mm
  knife 108 g
  The blade was forged with hand held hammer from a bar of 80CrV2. It has a subtle rhombic section, tapered in height and thickness and sporting a slightly dropped, but acute, point. After annealing and normalization done with a blow torch, the blade was heated, again with blow torch, quenched in oil, then tempered once in oven. The blade is hardened so to leave the spine and tang softer. The bevels are ground to 19°.
  The handle is made of birch bark discs compressed between two 5 mm brass bolsters. After being peened it was put in oven at 100° C for an hour, getting rid of all the leftover moisture and using the birch oil as glue. It's sanded to a fine grit, giving the handle a very smooth and velvety feeling. It's tapered, rather strongly, both in height and thickness towards both ends. The section is a marked and kind of flattish teardrop that fills the hand well.
  The sheath is crafted from 2 mm thick leather. It's hand stitched and has a two sided liner, hand carved from black alder. The very first mm of leather is folded inside the mouth, giving a very strong retention, but not difficult to manage. The belt loop is fixed with a brass D-ring. The belt loop itself is closed by a brass button, sporting Liukko initials.
  Out of the box it was hair popping sharp, but I detected few asperity on the edge, so I stropped it with black and green compounds to get it perfectly smooth.
  Let's go with the usual tests. During the twig troll carving, from a dry piece of plane wood, the puukko was comfortable, precise and showed a good bite. While roughing out the hat I had to be careful not to cut away pieces of the top due to the very deep and aggressive bite. On the contrary, when cutting away the feathers just created the blade felt a little bit lacking on mass behind the edge, something I've experienced also with the Kullervo, which has a similar edge angle. When freeing the troll from the branch I had to cut part of a knot and when planing the actual base I either had to cut through the remaining of the knot or against the grain. Anyway I felt no problems, given the acute edge that bit always consistently. At the end of the work I could clearly feel three rolls trailing the nail along the edge portion that worked the knot and against the grain. This part alone wasn't shaving anymore and was quickly fixed with some stropping with green compound.
  Now, while carving the usual dry silver fir spatula, again I felt the puukko very comfortable, sporting a very good bite and being quick in planing cuts. While roughing out the sides with the chest lever grip I found out I couldn't perform extremely long cuts: the edge tends to bite so deep it got stuck a few times, plus the bevels are so high the blade couldn't really wedge the wood, if it's gone too deep. Anyway, rocking the blade allowed me to get the blade free and getting back at removing wood. While working down the curved belly of the shaft, pulling the knife using the thumb as fulcrum, I was pleasantly surprised by the extreme quickness the blade had gliding in the fibers. At the end of all the roughing work the edge was pristine and still well shaving.
  There is basically no story to tell about all the finishing cuts. The puukko has been comfortable, very fast, precise and effortless in every aspect.
  At the end of the work the edge was still pristine, the first half cm next to the handle felt like it had lost some bite, but was still shaving anyway, like the rest of the blade.
  Let's start with a couple of necessary notes. This puukko has the finest looking and cleanest made sheath I've ever come across. Also, despite the bevels are slightly asymmetrical at the tip, I wasn't able to notice it in actual use.
  When I first held this puukko I was slightly dubious about the handle, due to its strong taper in both directions and rather flatted teardrop section, but it proved me wrong. Never had hot spots or discomfort during use and the strong tapers, paired with the flatter section, actually lead the puukko to melt particularly well in the hand. Also, the flatter section makes the knife impossible to rotate in the hand, something that can occur with a more oval section.
  Plus, the combination of the chubby center and the slim ends, allowed for a particularly graceful transition from power cuts, exploiting the center, to nimble finishing cuts, gripping with the annular and pinkie finger the slim pommel end.
  Speaking of blade performances, it was quite homogeneous. It sported a good capability in power cuts combined with a delightful nimbleness for finer works and finishing cuts. In power cuts, though, it was a bit less powerful compared to other puukkos with a little steeper edge and thus able to wedge more when necessary,
  The steel had a slight tendency to roll, but I haven't managed to chip it and so far stropping was plenty enough for maintaining it. I may just strengthen the microbevel a little in the future. I also have to add that in use the loss of bite wasn't really perceivable. Given steel, geometry and hardness the resilience was like I expected it, while the actual edge holding was superior to my expectations. Top notch heat treatment.
  So, let's sum it up. This is really a particularly classy and elegant package, that some users may find excessive or even snobbish, depending on their own tastes. Given its acute edge I don't see it suitable as a "one tool option" as trendy in modern bushcraft right now. I'd pair it with an hatchet and use it as a dedicated wood working knife, as puukkos are, after all.
  Tagged Jari Liukko
  Congratulations to the newly certified puukkoseppämestari; Tapio Syrjälä, Eero Kovanen, Jari Liukko and Mikko Inkeroinen. They are the first new master bladesmiths confirmed since 2009. They had two years to prepare for the final exam, making two knives for the jury. One a "user" and the other one a collector grade piece. They join the seven other puukkoseppämestari; Pekka Tuominen, Jukka Hankala, JT Pälikkö, Arto Liukko, Markku Vippola, Mikko Haverinen, Pasi Jaakonaho as master bladesmiths certified by the Finnish National Agency for Education.
  Each of the four has been featured on this blog, please check the Index Page to learn more about them and their work. Again congratulations on your achievement!
  Tagged Eero Kovanen, Jari Liukko, mikko inkeroinen, Tapio Syrjälä
  Jari Liukko is a very talented puukkoseppä who has learned from his father Arto Liukko one of the seven puukkomasterei of Finland, master of the rautalammi puukko. It was my pleasure to present a piece about the history of this style of puukko written by Arto in February 2013, rautalammi puukko
  Jari Liukko:
  "I must have craftmanship in my blood, since it has always intrigued me. I was born in 1983 and already during the late 80s and early 90s I used to be at the forge with my father, making wooden toys, like airplanes and swords. I forged my first puukko in 1999 with the help of my father and then participated to the Fiskars national knifemaking championship, in youth class, and happened to win. That really kicked me into knifemaking and I've been making knives ever since.
  I was taught puukko making by my father and then I also spent some time on the internet lurking what other makers were doing, thus discovering and learning some other different techniques and styles.
  My goal as a craftsman is to be the best of course! But I'm not trying to beat the world or anything, and the fact that I have a day job, drastically diminishes my possibilities. So I guess I could say, that my goal is to become as good as I possibly can in my area of expertise.
  Speaking of traditional puukko styles, here in the eastern part of Finland, we only have one. It is called the Rautalampi-puukko. It was developed in the very early years of 1900 and had two famous makers, Ivar Haring and Emil Hänninen. It would actually be an understatement not to include my father as well among the great makers of Rautalampi, since the whole style was concidered lost until my father laid his eyes upon a picture he saw in a book. That awoke his interest and in 1994 it was almost like a new birth for the Rautalampi-style. That of course caused a ruckus, in a good way, among the experts.
  Besides knifemaking, I've been playing drums since I was three years old. My hobbies also include fishing, some hunting, reading and keeping in shape (floorball, cycling etc). I really don't have any winter activities so it's the best time for me to make puukkos and knives!"
  Jari's Work Shop
  Tagged Jari Liukko, rautalammi, Rautalammi puukko
  Rautalammi Puukko by Arto Liukko
  Recently when I was trying to learn about the Rautalammi puukko I wrote to Arto and Jari Liukko to see what they could tell me. I am an admirer of their masterful work and was hoping they would have some information about the history of this type of puukko. Arto is one of the seven puukkoseppämestari of Finland and Jari is his son. Their work is of the very highest level as you will see by the photos below. You can visit their website at http://www.liukkopuukot.fi/index.html Here is the information I received from Arto and Jari:
  The Rautalammi Puukko by Arto Liukko
  "There's no greater puukko tradition in eastern Finland than there is in Ostrobothnia, (Kauhava, Härmä…) which is the cradle of the whole Finnish puukko culture. Of course the puukko was needed here on a daily basis like everywhere else. Surely the local smiths had their own models and puukkos from elsewhere for sale. But there is one model, labelled as a traditional puukko, that stands out and honorably represents knife making skills in eastern Finland. The Rautalammi puukko.
  The father of the Rautalammi puukko is Emil Hänninen (1869-1952) from Rautalampi. His workshop shipped puukkos all over Finland and also abroad, at least to Russia. Hänninen's grand son, Hannu Tick, has told that a notable amount of puukkos sent to Russia were simple and ascetic utility knives. The Rautalammi puukko is a lot different than that ascetic utility puukko. It has a straight blade and a ricasso, but no blood groove. The handle is symmetrical. It also features a long pommel and skillfully filed bolster. The handle material in preserved models are curly birch and ebonite. An inlayed birchbark handle was also part of Hänninen's production. The inlay pattern, "lily of the valley", he used was simplier than the complex inlay patterns used by the smiths in Ostrobothnia, but it still was beautiful and original. Even though Hänninen's works are original, the influence of Ostrobothnian puukkos are clearly visible. The one factor separating the Rautalammi puukko from every other Finnish puukkos the most, is the sheath. The particular feature is the last (wooden cover inside the leather), that has strongly bevelled and decorated sides. Ornaments on the sheath are quite original and in my opinion the Rautalammi sheath is one of the most beautiful.
  Only a handful of Hänninen's puukkos have been preserved to these days and most of them are in the familys posession. A known puukko hobbyist Eino Kauppinen owns some of Hänninen's work. In the Paris world exhibition in the year 1900 Hänninen received a bronze medal for his decorative Rautalammi puukko. This puukko still exists and is owned by the family member of his wife. After Emil Hänninen retired, one of his sons Heikki Hänninen continued in his fathers foot steps. Emil's second son of four, Urho was a blacksmith. Did he made puukkos? I have no knowledge of it. The son of Urho Hänninen made Rautalammi puukkos by the standards of his grandfather Emil.
  Iivari Haring (1887-1954) is mentioned as a maker of Rautalammi puukkos. In his days of youth he worked as a smith in Karttula, but moved to Kuopio in 1914 and from there to Pirkkala in 1937 to work in an airplane factory. There is only one preserved puukko by Iivari Haring in the common knowledge. This puukko and the sheath is photographed in Timo Hyytinen's "Suuri Puukkokirja 1". The sheath is genuine Haring, but the puukko I am not sure of.
  I have seen similar work among others in the Kauhava's puukkomuseum. Haring's house was destroyed in a fire and most likely a lot of valuable puukkos were destroyed. Hopefully some of his work still exists. What kind and in what condition time might reveal.
  The Finnish Puukko culture is rich and original. The Rautalammi puukko is one crucial part of this tradition. I recommend people to get to know this model. It is a stylish and honest Finnish puukko. It was made as a utility puukko and it fills every criterion demanded of a puukko. With this model one can study almost every aspect there is to a traditional puukko. These are for example assembling a birch bark handle, doing the inlays and mountings. All tools used in the sheaths decoration you can make yourself . The Finnish puukko has received its shape and form during the ages. The basic form is very simple. It features a straight blade and a straight symmetrical handle. The length of the handle is a width of a mans hand. The length of the blade is the same or a bit shorter. The blade is relatively narrow, usually 16-18 mm. Of course there are exceptions from this definition to different needs of use and personal choice."