IndyJoey said:
So, i should be able to find one at a home depot? cool, i'll try that. Do you have any recommendations for one? You know, handle material, blade material, size? I usually like stainless blades because it keeps an edge very well...
It's worth a shot. The largest mass manufacturer of puukko type of knives is not actually Finnish, but Swedish company called
Mora. They supply their products worldwide and should be a rather common brand in pretty much any hardware store.
Now, as far as the materials go, it pretty much depends on what you plan to use it on, considering it's designed to be a true multipurpose knife. If you figure it's mainly going to see use as a hunting knife, cutting up small animals and fish, stainless steel blade is the way to go. If you intend to work on harder materials, such as carving and cutting wood, then I recommend veering towards blades made of common tool steels such as carbon-based alloy. A good compromise between the two is a laminated steel blade, which has processed blade surface to protect from the elements but a sturdy core inside.
What comes to blade lengths, they traditionally come in three varieties. The so-called carpenter's blade may be as short as two inches (5-6 cm), which is usually handy for working on wood surfaces such as carving and shaving chips.
However, the common blade is, well, the most common as it is designed to handle adequately any task the user decides to employ the knife. The blade length is usually about four and half inches (10-11 cm), give or take half an inch. It's the blade I pictured earlier.
Then there's the Sami blade, or
leuku, as it's called in my native tongue. It has a huge blade ranging from six to 11 inches. Not the most wieldiest of knives, it is mostly meant for skinning big game and to be used as a makeshift axe when you need to make a fire during those cold Nordic winters.
Out of these three, I definitely recommend the multipurpose common blade. With a bit of practice, you can do the woodwork almost as well as with the carpenter blade which doesn't really fly for anything else, and leuku is pretty much an overkill. And to be honest, I doubt that any regular hardware store even carries a leuku-length blade.
The hilt material is probably where most puukko shoppers who head to a run-of-the-mill hardware store have to brace for disappointment. Most hilts are usually made of rubber, plastic or some kind of composite material. If you're looking a knife mainly for use and not for aesthetics, they'll do. But like I said, if you also wish to go for that good vintage outdoorsy look, there's no beating a wooden handle. The classic Finnish puukko hilt is generally made of birch, but I'd say any wood from a broad-leaved tree native to Northern Europe (oak, elm, etc) is fine. But like I said earlier, finding one from a regular hardware store might be a tall order sometimes. As an alternative, you could look for a store that specializes in hunting and fishing gear.
Hilts made of animal bone, such as elk or bear also exist. But these are truly quite rare. And expensive.
Puukkos usually come with a handy sheath so that the worker or hunter can hang it from their belt. The blades meant for general tool use usually come with a plastic sheath, but again if aesthetics and classic look are more important, the sheath should made for leather, either hardened or soft. The former is better for protecting the blade against the elements but sheaths made of latter make 'em more wieldy. Apart from hanging it from the belt, stuffing it into the side pocket of a backpack or even into the boot become options. It's also something of a tradition that the sheaths and hilts don't mix: If you find a knife with wooden hilt, it usually comes with a leather sheath whereas hilts made of synthetic materials are accompanied with a hard plastic sheath.
I currently have three puukkos in general use. One with a plastic hilt with a blade made of stainless steel, which I use as a wieldy kitchen knife. The other two are for more outdoorsy purposes. Both have birchwood hilts and soft leather sheats. The blades are made of stainless and laminated steel. All three are of the common blade length.
Since you're looking for your first knife which should probably both look cool and be wieldy, I recommend the common blade length with a wooden handle and blade made of laminated steel though stainless should do fine too unless you're into heavy carpentery. Sheath ought to be of leather, naturally, it's what Indy would have carried in his day. Let's hope you find a nice one somewhere.