[Gabriele A. Pini]

An Italian man once said
"In Italia ti perdonano tutto, tranne il successo"
(In Italy they forgive you everything, bar the success)
He was an expert in such things: his name was Enzo Ferrari.

A truly amazing piece: I love when someone conceive a fantasy (real) sword... It's a piece of the distant realms brought to us!

[Jarno-T. Pälikkö]

My apologies for taking so long to answer; thank you for your comment Gabriele. - The weird thing of the Finnish jealousy-business is that one does not need to be successful for the rumors to start to circulate…

But here is a picture taken in a temperature of -20 degrees centigrade (with wind from the sea blowing)… What has happened to the sword? Has it shrunk in the cold, or is it set up against a mega-sized puukko, or what?


...Relax, it is just me, I could not resist the temptation and made a 26,5 cm mini-version of the sword… In this one the guard and pommel are carved out of a single block of bronze taken from a huge cogwheel and the blade is fifteen years old vintage damascus steel.



Cheers & Merry Christmas Time to Everyone,
JT
Wolf Island, Helsinki

[Jean Thibodeau]

Wow that is a nice puukko and I really love the blade bevels and style.


Well -20 is sort of normal in Québec where I live and we occasionally get to -30 or a record -40 C ( That is fairly rare, but with the wind-chill factor and high humidity in Montréal it can feel like it ! What they say about a dry heat one can say the reverse about a humid cold: it feels like your bones are freezing solid and the flesh actually hurts with exposed skin for more than a few minutes. ( I'm sure it also gets as cold or worse in Finland not sure about the humidity ? ).

Very nice " tiny " version of the sword also.

How about more information/pics of this puukko ? Well, asking before going to see on your web site, so maybe I'm asking for more than is on your wed site which I'm going to have another look at right after I post this.

[Scott Woodruff]

I usually have no interest in fantasy swords, but that is really cool! I love the way the horns forn a s-shaped guard, that little detail really makes the piece. I also love all things Finnish, so that makes it doubly cool!

[Sam Gordon Campbell]

This sword pleases Crom!

[Jarno-T. Pälikkö]

Thank you very much for your comments, I apologize for being slow to answer (again), the piece I try to get ready for the upcoming Helsinki Knife Show has kept me somewhat busy.

About the “Rautalammin puukko”: I am not particularly fond of these traditional designs which are – in my mind- rather dangerous for any non-expert modern day user. With such handle designs you really have to know how to – and how not to - handle the knife. True, the clean and simple lines of the puukko are quite beautiful and the rather tricky to grind beveling of the blade is very appealing, but no, these style puukkos are not my cup of tea…

There are some top-notch makers here in Finland who specialize in making these types of puukkos, usually I guide customers who are interested in such knives to them. The foremost names in this field are Arto Liukko and his son Jari. Their work can be seen via Helsinki Knife Show site: http://www.helsinkiknifeshow.com/.

As to the fantasy sword and its minuscule offspring, the s-curve of the guard is The Cool Thing in my mind too. The customer was at first a bit hesitant about the idea but was rather taken by it when he held the sword in his hands. In the miniature I deliberately lengthened the horns to make the carving more difficult and the effect more drastic.

After the knife show maybe I’ll post a picture of the miniature with the stand I have prepared for it here… they're rather cool together!

Happy New Year,
JT
Wolf Island, Helsinki

[Christian G. Cameron]

Happy New Year, JT!

[Jarno-T. Pälikkö]

Thank you Christian and the same to you!

-And keep up the good work! (Hint, hint!)

JT
Pukinmäki (Goats Hill), Helsinki - man, do I operate in animalistic places or what!?

[Jarno-T. Pälikkö]

Hi all,

As promised, here’s a picture of the miniature sword “in proper hands”…

Enjoy!

[Christian G. Cameron]

You rock, JT. That's smashing. Or perhaps cutting...

[Matthew Stagmer]

I just read through this topic. At first glance I thought it was pretty neat but now that I see it was a mini I have to say congrats. That is just awesome. I have a soft spot for mini swords. I always wanted to try and get all of the top makers to make one mini sword a year and do a book of them at the end of each year.

Maybe one day!

[Jarno-T. Pälikkö]

-My apologies for again taking so long to answer, but my computer broke and was repaired (sort of) just a while ago…

The big sword got a fair amount of attention in the Helsinki Knife Show as it was easily the biggest piece of cutlery in the happening. The miniature and its “wielder” caught the eyes of the younger visitors, it was clearly something NOT from Toys”r”Us!

Here’s a link to a youtube clip someone made of the Helsinki show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InmaRicC7jo

I just got ready to be riveted a medieval-style single hander. If the customer does not mind, mayhap I’ll post a few pictures of it here when I get it photographed…