Stunning Large Hand Carved Set of “Bear Head” Finnish Puukko Knifes by T.W.R.

Here on offer is a large and beautiful hand carved set of “Bear Head” Finnish Puukko knives, in their carved wooden sheath.

The set consists of TWO knives, one large and one small, that have carved wooden handles that depict bears heads as the pommels.

Both knives have polished brass bolsters that connect what I believe are carbon steel blades that are the type as produced during WW2?

Both blades have a blood grove on both sides and on the front the large one is engraved the words:

MADE IN FINLAND

With some ornate engraved scrollwork at either side of the words.

The small blade has the word:

SUOMI

Suomi translates to FINLAND

again with ornate engraved scrollwork at either side of the word.

Both blades still retain a sharp edge with no nicks or signs of sharpening.

Each blade does have some very light “worm pattern” pitting/greying to its finish as can be seen in my photos, but the finish is beautifully smooth.

The one piece carved wooden sheath holds both knives and has been beautifully carved with a deer or horned mountain ram design on the front.
The sides have a speckled design with “V’s” in relief near the top.

The back has also been worked with a bark pattern to the lower section. At the top is the remains of the original leather belt loop, which is attached with a small metal plate and 2 screws.
Also on the back are the carver's initials in ink, which I think read as T.W.R. who I can’t trace. Below these also in ink, is the word: SUOMI.


All the wood seems to have a very light lacquer or varnish to the finish, which gives it a lovely sheen.

The sheath is in excellent condition with just a fine hairline crack (about 2.5” long) on the front right hand side near where the small knife fits.


Some information about the Puukko knife.

The Puukko is a Finnish knife and the name lends itself to the Finnish word “Puukotta,” which means “to stab/knife.” The prefix, “Puu” means “wood” in Finnish.

The design of the Puukko is attributed to the indigenous Sami people, who created several knives to use for day to day tasks; the Puukko was the smaller option, used to skin fish or animals. Although historical records vary, the Puukko dates back about 1000 years. Both men and women carried Puukko’s, although the sizes change depending on the person, as the Puukko handle is meant to fit the hand size of the user.

By WW2 a large number of Puukko-knife designs that where individual to a certain manufacturer or manufacturers of certain geographical area, had become available from multitude of factories and smaller scale manufacturers spread all over Finland.

What can be noted is, that during the war soldiers apparently had certain tendency of favouring Puukko-knives with longer blade than typical – presumably because longer blade made knife better suited to be used as a weapon in hand-to-hand combat. Especially during long trench war period of Continuation War making trench-art items developed into such a widespread hobby among Finnish Army, that it reached almost industrial scale.

Besides the Puukko knife being the most common tool for trench art, it also become with one of the most common trench war items to be made by soldiers.
These trench art Puukko knives and their sheaths tended to be more lavish and decorative than the everyday Puukko knives that most of soldiers otherwise carried with them.

This rare and unusual knife set is in excellent original condition and I can only find another like it on the internet which is nearly twice the price and not in such good condition!

The large blade measures 5.75” (14.6cm) and the knife itself is 11.25” (28.5cm) long.

The small blade measures 2.75” (7cm) and the knife itself is 5.9” (15cm) long.

Inserted in the scabbard the set measures 12” (30.5cm) long.

The set weighs 220g in total.

Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

Please see my TERMS OF BUSINESS regarding Deliver Charges and Insurance regarding additional insurance cover, should you require it, BEFORE the item is dispatched.

The responsibility lies with the customer to check with your Customs restrictions that this item can be imported into your country.

Thank you for taking the time to look.

Code: 50464