Puukko rescue project [image heavy]

[NCO]

A while back I was going through my fathers attic and came across with this old rusty piece of beauty. Iisakki Järvenpää(THE puukko smith) Scout Puukko.

The leather sheath was nowhere to be found, and the puukko itself was pretty rusty itself.
From what I heard afterwards is that it had been missing for about 20 years (early 90s) and that my grandfather had bought it for my father in the early 80s. so about 30 years old knife.

I asked if I could have it and see if I could make something out of it. I got a green light on that. I didn't take any pictures it in the condition it was found as I thought of making this thread just moments ago.

At the time of writing this I have used sandpaper to get rid of the rust and dirt that was on the knife to see if there is anything nice under all that and I must tell you, it looks like it wasn't that bad at all!

I will post pictures here to show what I found:

As can be seen, the knife has had some abuse. The steel hand guard is crooked, the leather handle is dry and chipped, the blade is blunt like a backside of an ax and so on.
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I have started fixing the blade by filing it to get the desired nordic(scandinavian) bevel on it, and to get past the chipped edge.
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Here is some closeups on the handle. I will sand it down a bit to get it smoother and then probably oil it couple of times.
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Tell me what you think about this find and how you think I should proceed in saving this baby.

And yeas, I used my webcam to take the pictures.

[Rick]

That is a very nice looking knife. The fact that your grandfather bought it makes it an heirloom and something you can hand down to your kids. Nice find!

I'm going to let the knife makers advise you on restoring it. By the way, does you dad know you were nosing around in his attic? I think I'm going to give him a call.

[NCO]

This again highlights the advantage of quality puukkos over Moras, for the greater price you get much longer service life. No matter that you can buy ten moras for the price of this puukko, but this one will outlive 100 moras...

And yes Rick, as I said, I got the "green light" to take the knife, from which you could assume that I also had permission to nose around the attic. Which I by the way had, prior of finding this beauty.

[canid]

are you draw filing? i find it easiest for maintaining a flat, and i'm not sure, but it seems to be easier on the file.

i don't know how it looked before you started working on it, but in all it doesn't look to be in terribly bad shape.

i would replace the handle stack all together if the shrinkage and cracking is as bad as it looks, but i doubt it's actually necessary. it certainly would open up some creative options.

[NCO]

By draw filing you mean what? Please remember that my English vocabulary is lacking in some more specialized areas, such as survival and craftsmanship. They do not see the need to teach the English terminology of filing in schools.

The handle isn't at all that bad as I thought it would be. I'm pretty confident that with a proper oiling it will restore to it's original dimensions. I have been sanding it a bit to get rid of some of the cracks and it is working. The few deeper ones I will just let be. The knife is old and it may just as well look that way too.

[canid]

By draw filing you mean what? Please remember that my English vocabulary is lacking in some more specialized areas, such as survival and craftsmanship. They do not see the need to teach the English terminology of filing in schools.

The handle isn't at all that bad as I thought it would be. I'm pretty confident that with a proper oiling it will restore to it's original dimensions. I have been sanding it a bit to get rid of some of the cracks and it is working. The few deeper ones I will just let be. The knife is old and it may just as well look that way too.

draw filing is when you hold the file perpendicular to the length of the blade, with the flat held firmly against the bevel, and draw back and forth towards you:

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[NCO]

I sort of did. I had the file slightly angled and only pulled, but otherwise yes.

I decided that I have to get some new sandpaper and a new sharpening stone for this project, so I payed a quick visit to the local hardware store and spent some money. Now I'm ready to go again.

EDIT: I'm currently in process of giving the knife it's edge back:

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[NCO]

Ok, the sharpening is pretty much done. I finished the blade with a leather belt. It cut's paper just like a good blade should.

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[NCO]

Another update. I'm currently sanding the handle, it seems to come together nicely:

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EDIT: I always knew that I had one bad feature... That is stupidity in simple things. I managed to cut my finger while sanding the handle. Typical of me. Nothing major, just a scratch, but annoying never the less.

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[kyratshooter]

This again highlights the advantage of quality puukkos over Moras, for the greater price you get much longer service life. No matter that you can buy ten moras for the price of this puukko, but this one will outlive 100 moras...

And yes Rick, as I said, I got the "green light" to take the knife, from which you could assume that I also had permission to nose around the attic. Which I by the way had, prior of finding this beauty.

That may be a Puukko brand but it is not a puukko style. It looks very much like one of the old Marbles woodcraft series.

The guard is not bent, it was made that way.

put on some gloves before you really hurt yourself. That or put some tape on the blade.

And just think, for the same amount of time you have put into that knife you could have worked some overtime and bought a Mora! It would have a sheath too.

[NCO]

About the style, very true. It is a more "contemporary" design by Iisakki Järvenpää. Still the techniques used in making it are traditional.

The guard is bent. I found a picture online about the same puukko model and on it the guard was straight. Also this is how my father remembers the guard.

I whipped up a quick sheath for the knife from an old belt I had lying around and used it as protection while sanding the handle. The sanding is now done and the handle has been oiled with Tung Oil.

And finally about the mora. I wanted a knife, not a mora...

[Camp10]

I'm not sure I would have used tung oil on the leather. I usually treat my leather handles with resolene and then buff in some beeswax. Any good knife is worth restoring. Being able to put a tool back to work is worth the effort. Nice job!

[NCO]

Well, Tung oil was the choice cause I had a lot of it around. I'm thinking of adding a beeswax layer on top of it once it is fully dried.

What I must say about the tung oil is that it gave a really pleasant feel for the handle. It's not too slippery or too rough. It also did the job of "re-swelling" the leather so that there is no space between the pieces anymore.

The sheath is butt-ugly (so it can double as my face) but does the trick for now.

This is how the set looks now:

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[Rick]

I think you did a fine job. That's a great looking knife and the sheath is just fine.

[NCO]

This whole project, coupled with the thermos purchase, ended up costing me quite a lot of money.
Not in for of tools or anything.
It just inspired me to redesign my 2night/3day pack altogether...
I'll post it somewhere else.
Now if I only could get my bluetooth connection to work...

[crashdive123]

You have blue teeth? Wow - it must really be cold there. Just kidding. I know what bluetooth is. Well done on the restoration project.

[NCO]

Thanks people. Once I get my mini-drill battery loaded I will use a wirewheel to polish the rest of the blade properly.

[panch0]

Nice restoration on that knife

[Ole WV Coot]

I think I'll break ranks with everyone else. I have knives that belonged to relatives back to the Civil War and NO way would I restore them. I have generations of knives in the condition they were in when the relative died. Back to the mid 1800s in the USA and Mom's family back to Sweden. I have all labeled. You did a decent job restoring that blade, but I find old knives, even a homemade cleaver in the condition I got it much more valuable. My youngest grandson will get them plus the one I will have carried most along with my gggrandfather's rifle down each generation to my favorite firearm. Just my personal opinion on old knives and firearms with known owners that have meaning to me.

[NCO]

Well, 30 years for a quality knife isn't really that long time. I wouldn't try to restore a knife from the 1800s, but from the 80s, different story. The knife had a lot of service life left. Besides, it was made for being used.