I married a comedienne. Today I received a couple of packages, one from New York and the other came all the way from Finland. Inside the box from Finland was a puukko. My wife long ago stopped paying attention to my knives; she thinks they're all pretty much the same. Surprisingly enough she was interested in the box I received from Ragnar. No knives, but rather a bunch of sharpening stones. I got a Viking whetstone from Sweden, a Wastila stone from Finland, and a translucent Arkansas stone. My wife was shocked that there was nothing sharp included.
Being that she has never sharpened a knife in her life, she couldn't figure out what she was looking at. I told her they were sharpening stones.
"Sharpening stones?"
"Yeah, I use them to keep your kitchen knives nice and sharp. There are a few different types here. One's from Sweden, another from Finland, and the white one is from Arkansas."
"That's it? Stones? As in rocks? You've been bugging the mailman because of a bunch of rocks?"
She then let out a pretty good laugh and left me alone with my new purchases. I didn't see what was so humorous. She's not as funny as she thinks she is.
On to the knife. It is a puukko from puukkoseppa (bladesmith) Joonas Kallioniemi. Joonas is a young maker who has quite a following across the pond. He has only recently began "officially" making puukkos. Like a lot of custom puukkoseppa, Joonas does everything himself. He forges the blade from round silversteel (Böhler k510) barstock, makes the bolster and keeper, and crafts the puukko's handle and sheath.
The quality of this knife leaves me speechless. Even in pictures you can see the outstanding fit and finish of his work. The incredible part is that Joonas is still relatively new to the knifemaking scene; he is only 22 and started just a scant three years ago. He made this puukko before he started making knives full-time. If this is what he is capable of now, I look forward to seeing his progress as he spends more time and gains more experience in his craft.
I promised Joonas that I would use this knife. It's going to sting when I get that first scratch, but a promise is a promise and I have a feeling that it'll be well worth it.
Being that she has never sharpened a knife in her life, she couldn't figure out what she was looking at. I told her they were sharpening stones.
"Sharpening stones?"
"Yeah, I use them to keep your kitchen knives nice and sharp. There are a few different types here. One's from Sweden, another from Finland, and the white one is from Arkansas."
"That's it? Stones? As in rocks? You've been bugging the mailman because of a bunch of rocks?"
She then let out a pretty good laugh and left me alone with my new purchases. I didn't see what was so humorous. She's not as funny as she thinks she is.
On to the knife. It is a puukko from puukkoseppa (bladesmith) Joonas Kallioniemi. Joonas is a young maker who has quite a following across the pond. He has only recently began "officially" making puukkos. Like a lot of custom puukkoseppa, Joonas does everything himself. He forges the blade from round silversteel (Böhler k510) barstock, makes the bolster and keeper, and crafts the puukko's handle and sheath.
The quality of this knife leaves me speechless. Even in pictures you can see the outstanding fit and finish of his work. The incredible part is that Joonas is still relatively new to the knifemaking scene; he is only 22 and started just a scant three years ago. He made this puukko before he started making knives full-time. If this is what he is capable of now, I look forward to seeing his progress as he spends more time and gains more experience in his craft.
I promised Joonas that I would use this knife. It's going to sting when I get that first scratch, but a promise is a promise and I have a feeling that it'll be well worth it.
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