My interest was rekindled last year when i saw a few threads about Joonas Kallioniemi's Puukko's, they looked very well made with a crispness to the design and finish. When I got to handle one it was even better than i had imagined, a perfect little knife with some very subtle and impressive detailing.
I contacted Joonas right away and asked him if he would make me a knife and if possible to take a few build pics as the project came together.
Pictures of finished knives are all well and good but i really like to see the work that goes into a knife.
Joonas very kindly took the time to document the build and i would like to share the pics.
1. Here are the "raw" materials we begin with. We have some 11mm round bar silversteel for the blade, a piece of curly birch for the handle and some brass for the bolster and the rivets.
2. First off, the steel bar is heated in a forge and hammered flatter and the tang of the blade is forged out.
3. This shows the blade-to-be being cut from the bar.
4. After cutting the piece is given some shape and it also gets some precurve to compensate the curving that occurs when beveling the blade.
5. The bevels of the blade are forged in.
6. Here the bevels have been roughly forged and the blade is being inspected.
7. Forging is all done! Here is the forged blade with the round bar it was forged from.
8. Before grinding the blade I remove the forging scale on a grinding wheel because that hard oxide surface quickly ruins the grinding belts.
9. The profile of the knife is ground to shape.
10. The bevels of the knife are ground.
11. And here we have a rough ground blade, almost ready for heat treating...
12. Now, with a filing jig, I file the shoulders of the blade to make it easier to put the bolster in place.
13. Here the blade has gone through heat treating. The blade is oil-hardened and it has gotten two tempering cycles. I use an oven to be completely sure of the temperatures.
14. After heat treating I finish the blade and test it after which I etch my name on it (if the blade doesn't get thrown away).
15. Here is the bolster and rivet for the handle. They have been slotted.
16. After slotting comes the fitting of the bolster to the blade. It gets there, slowly.
17. Then, when the bolster is finished, the whole thing is assembled and the tang is peened. Note that the peening goes flush with the rivet. This is because the hole in the rivet is countersinked.
18. Here is the assembled knife, ready to get the handle shaped.
19. And after some shaping and finishing the handle is ready.
20. Next phase is to make the wooden liner for the sheath. The outline of the blade is transfered on the wood and carved.
21. Then, the liner is glued and shaped.
22. Here we have some leather ready for the sheath. I have thinned the leather towards the tip and you can also see that the upper side will be thinned and folded.
23. The belt hanger is also cut. Some time ago I got an idea to make a solid rivet for the hanger and ever since I have used this way. The rivet is slided in and when the brass link is put in place it stops the thing from coming apart.
24. Here you can see the hanger assembled. Once the brass link is closed this won't come undone.
25. I sew the sheath wet over the knife and the liner and after it has dried it gets some leather dye and grease and the belt hanger is put in place. Then the knife is finished.
2. First off, the steel bar is heated in a forge and hammered flatter and the tang of the blade is forged out.
3. This shows the blade-to-be being cut from the bar.
4. After cutting the piece is given some shape and it also gets some precurve to compensate the curving that occurs when beveling the blade.
5. The bevels of the blade are forged in.
6. Here the bevels have been roughly forged and the blade is being inspected.
7. Forging is all done! Here is the forged blade with the round bar it was forged from.
8. Before grinding the blade I remove the forging scale on a grinding wheel because that hard oxide surface quickly ruins the grinding belts.
9. The profile of the knife is ground to shape.
10. The bevels of the knife are ground.
11. And here we have a rough ground blade, almost ready for heat treating...
12. Now, with a filing jig, I file the shoulders of the blade to make it easier to put the bolster in place.
13. Here the blade has gone through heat treating. The blade is oil-hardened and it has gotten two tempering cycles. I use an oven to be completely sure of the temperatures.
14. After heat treating I finish the blade and test it after which I etch my name on it (if the blade doesn't get thrown away).
15. Here is the bolster and rivet for the handle. They have been slotted.
16. After slotting comes the fitting of the bolster to the blade. It gets there, slowly.
17. Then, when the bolster is finished, the whole thing is assembled and the tang is peened. Note that the peening goes flush with the rivet. This is because the hole in the rivet is countersinked.
18. Here is the assembled knife, ready to get the handle shaped.
19. And after some shaping and finishing the handle is ready.
20. Next phase is to make the wooden liner for the sheath. The outline of the blade is transfered on the wood and carved.
21. Then, the liner is glued and shaped.
22. Here we have some leather ready for the sheath. I have thinned the leather towards the tip and you can also see that the upper side will be thinned and folded.
23. The belt hanger is also cut. Some time ago I got an idea to make a solid rivet for the hanger and ever since I have used this way. The rivet is slided in and when the brass link is put in place it stops the thing from coming apart.
24. Here you can see the hanger assembled. Once the brass link is closed this won't come undone.
25. I sew the sheath wet over the knife and the liner and after it has dried it gets some leather dye and grease and the belt hanger is put in place. Then the knife is finished.
And along side a few BB favorites as an indication of size, (sorry my pictures really don't do the knife justice)
Along side a couple that belong to another forum member.
Joonas is a great guy to deal with, he kept me updated throughout the build and the finished knife was ready on time.
I might well be shooting myself in the foot by saying this, (because I'd like another knife from him in the future) but he really doesn't charge enough for his work.
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