The boreal forest of Northern Lapland is vast, remote, and unforgiving. For those who have lived here for generations, self-reliance is not a choice. it is a necessity. Scattered homesteads and long, brutal winters have shaped a way of life in which survival depends on skill, knowledge, and the right tools. Among the most essential are two knives: the puukko and the leuku.
For centuries, these knives have been essential to life in the North, serving the Sámi people in their daily tasks. Carried from childhood, they become trusted companions, relied upon for everything from carving wood to preparing food. More than just tools, they are a constant presence in everyday life, valued for their practicality and reliability.
The puukko is a compact and versatile knife that has long been a staple for everyday tasks. Given to children as their first tool, it is used for everything from carving, crafting, and food preparation. Its size and shape allow for precise, detailed work while remaining sturdy enough for more demanding tasks.
The leuku, in contrast, is built for power, making it ideal for chopping, splitting wood, and heavier tasks. Traditionally carried by reindeer herders and hunters, it is used for clearing trails, processing game, and splitting firewood. With its broad blade, thick spine, and slightly forward-weighted balance, the leuku excels at tasks that would otherwise require an axe. In the open fells, where large trees are scarce and shrub-like birches dominate the landscape, an axe is unnecessary. Instead, reindeer herders rely on the leuku for cutting branches and preparing firewood.
As a guide in Finnish Lapland, I depend on the exceptional craftsmanship of Kyro Petteri, a traditional knifemaker based in Ivalo. His puukkos and leukus are forged using time-honored techniques. Built for hard use and meant to last a lifetime, they are an essential part of my gear, and I never head into the wilderness without them.
Kyro Petteri is not just a knifemaker; he is a lifelong artisan deeply connected to the landscapes and traditions of Finnish Lapland. Born and raised in Ivalo, Kyro’s formal background is in art, which is evident in the precision and care he brings to every knife he crafts. Beyond knifemaking, he creates handicrafts from locally sourced materials, a skill that reflects his deep appreciation for natural resources. Kyro made his first knife at 22 years old, a moment that marked the beginning of his journey into traditional knifemaking.
The Blade: The Heart of the Knife
Every knife begins with its blade. In Finnish knifemaking tradition, artisans often collaborate with specialized blacksmiths rather than forging their own blades.
Kyro follows this practice, sourcing his blades from blacksmith Kari Saastamoinen, whose work is highly regarded for its precision and durability.
This collaboration allows Kyro to focus entirely on handle crafting, sheath making, and ensuring each knife is properly balanced and finished.
The preferred material for Finnish blades has long been high-carbon steel, chosen for its superior sharpness and durability. While some modern knives use stainless steel for corrosion resistance, high-carbon steel remains the top choice for those who prioritize cutting performance, edge retention, and ease of sharpening in the field.
High-carbon steel is produced by carefully adjusting the carbon content in molten iron. The process typically involves melting iron ore in a blast furnace, purifying the molten metal, and then adding carbon to achieve a composition between 0.60% and 1.0%. This controlled process results in steel that is hard enough to maintain a sharp edge, yet tough enough to withstand repeated use without becoming brittle.
Puukko blades are then almost always sharpened with a Scandi grind, a technique that creates a zero-bevel edge. This means the primary grind extends directly to the cutting edge without a secondary bevel. This design allows for exceptional control and precision, making the puukko an ideal tool for carving, slicing, and other tasks essential to bushcraft. The flat grind geometry also makes sharpening straightforward, as the entire bevel lays flat against a sharpening stone, ensuring consistent and repeatable results. This simplicity is one of the key reasons Scandi-grind blades remain the preferred choice for Finnish outdoor tools.
Leukus, however, vary in their grind depending on their intended use. Some feature a Scandi grind similar to puukkos, but others have a less acute grind angle or a convex edge, which provides extra durability for chopping and heavy-duty tasks. This grind ensures the leuku can split wood, process game, and clear brush efficiently, without chipping or dulling as easily as a finer edge. The leuku’s broad blade and weight-forward balance make it a versatile cutting tool, capable of handling jobs that would typically require an axe.
The Handle: A Craft of Precision
Once the blade is in hand, Kyro starts working on the handle, a defining feature of any quality knife. The tang, the portion of the blade that extends into the handle, plays a crucial role in a knife’s strength and balance. Finnish puukkos and leukus traditionally use a rat-tail tang, a narrow but strong extension of the blade that runs through the handle material.
Unlike an exposed full tang construction, where the steel is visible along the spine and base of the handle (common in modern bushcraft knives), or a fully enclosed hidden tang, where the tang is completely sealed within the handle, the rat-tail tang extends through the end of the handle and is peened over a metal end plate, usually made of brass. This technique ensures a secure and durable construction, preventing the handle from loosening over time, even with heavy use.
For Kyro, the best handle material for a puukko is birch bark. He praises its superior grip, durability, and low conductivity, making it comfortable to hold even in extreme winter conditions. Unlike metal or synthetic materials, birch bark does not become uncomfortably cold in freezing temperatures, a crucial feature for those working in harsh Arctic environments.
Fitting a birch bark handle is an intricate process. The bark is cut into squares and stacked onto the tang, with each layer carefully compressed and glued in place. This creates a dense, ergonomic grip that molds subtly to the hand over time. The process takes approximately 15 hours, excluding drying time, and requires both patience and precision. Kyro considers this the most challenging aspect of the craft.
Beyond birch bark, he also works with curly birch, goat willow burl, reindeer antler, and elk antler, each offering distinct textures and visual appeal. These materials add personalization and character to each knife, ensuring that no two are ever exactly the same.
The Sheath: Protecting the Blade
Once the handle is shaped and fitted, the next step is crafting the lesta, a wooden protector that sits inside the leather sheath. Handmade from recycled wood, the lesta acts as a barrier between the blade and the leather, ensuring a secure fit and preventing the sharp edge from cutting through the sheath. Kyro prefers to make a closed lesta, which fully encases the blade, rather than a half lesta, which offers only partial protection. Although a closed lesta takes more time and precision to craft, it provides significantly better protection, enhancing both the sheath’s durability and the knife’s longevity.
Once the lesta is carved and in place, the final step is crafting the leather sheath, which must be both protective and secure. Using a traditional technique, Kyro wet-forms the leather by soaking it in water before carefully molding it around the lesta and handle. As the leather dries, it hardens to create a snug fit that holds the knife securely without the need for modern locking mechanisms. This process requires precision, as the sheath must be tight enough to secure the knife while still allowing for smooth and effortless removal.
Kyro’s sheath designs range from simple, classic leather constructions to intricately decorated pieces that incorporate elements of cultural heritage, especially when featuring reindeer antler.
Working primarily on commission, Kyro creates custom knives for those who appreciate true craftsmanship. However, a small selection of his work is available at Siida, the Museum of Sámi Culture in Inari.
A Timeless Tradition These knives have remained unchanged for generations because they consistently prove their worth. Again and again, I have witnessed their excellence in the field. Whether carving, processing firewood, or butchering game, they are indispensable in the wilderness.
What truly sets them apart is how well they complement each other. The puukko excels at fine, precise tasks, while the leuku takes on heavy-duty work.
Refined over generations, this pairing allows its user to take on any challenge the wilderness offers.
In a world of ever-evolving gear, the puukko and leuku remain as reliable today as they have always been. reliable today as they have been for centuries.
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