Unfortunately, the tip of the large knife looks like this....
Does anyone know where in Scandinavia they come from? Maker perhaps?
Look what I've just been given.....
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Unfortunately, the tip of the large knife looks like this....
Does anyone know where in Scandinavia they come from? Maker perhaps?
Nice!
Finnish. Maybe Mäkipelkola?
I always mentally connect these knives with the Finnish gypsies. I know this is wrong, but that is where I used to see them being displayed, as a part of the ethnic costume there guys wore.
I would just remove the rust using normal rust removal ( phosforic acid) then clean everything.
After a good dry I would use leather polish on the leather, a furniture polish on the wood and a bit of oil on the blades.
Personally I would not polish the brass horses heads. These knives are old, do not try to make them new. Patina.
Preserve.
Also, I would not personally sharpen or use them.
If you like to use knives like this, you can buy modern ones!
These can be made maybe 60-80 years ago, but most likely not during WW2, as brass was a restricted material and leather in short supply.
Finnish. Maybe Mäkipelkola?
I always mentally connect these knives with the Finnish gypsies. I know this is wrong, but that is where I used to see them being displayed, as a part of the ethnic costume there guys wore.
I would just remove the rust using normal rust removal ( phosforic acid) then clean everything.
After a good dry I would use leather polish on the leather, a furniture polish on the wood and a bit of oil on the blades.
Personally I would not polish the brass horses heads. These knives are old, do not try to make them new. Patina.
Preserve.
Also, I would not personally sharpen or use them.
If you like to use knives like this, you can buy modern ones!
These can be made maybe 60-80 years ago, but most likely not during WW2, as brass was a restricted material and leather in short supply.
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Sundowner, you must have horse shoes in your pocket.
I would do absolutely nothing to them until I was 100% positive of their provenance.
Then maybe clean but not to look factory-fresh. Their value could be lost entirely with a total polish.
I would do absolutely nothing to them until I was 100% positive of their provenance.
Then maybe clean but not to look factory-fresh. Their value could be lost entirely with a total polish.
Thanks all for your replies. I'm not going to do anything in a hurry!! I let my neighbour freshen up the sheath and look at the difference after 2 minutes..
Remove the rust, stop new one. Sharpening will remove the patina.
Most Finnish knife makers were small workshops, family businesses or one man bands.
I have a weak memory that it or was ( more likely) a small factory.
Most Finnish knife makers were small workshops, family businesses or one man bands.
I have a weak memory that it or was ( more likely) a small factory.
Checked it, probably made between 1940 and 1960 as leather and brass were hard to come by before that time. Apparently they used birch bark for sheath before 1940
The reason for two knifes is this:
The larger one is developed to chop branches.
In Swedish we call them ‘huggare’ which means ‘chopper’
The small one is a general purpose knife.
The simple reason guys did not carry an ax is the weight, and the technique we used ( I still use) to make a fire.
The lazy man’s technique.
The larger one is developed to chop branches.
In Swedish we call them ‘huggare’ which means ‘chopper’
The small one is a general purpose knife.
The simple reason guys did not carry an ax is the weight, and the technique we used ( I still use) to make a fire.
The lazy man’s technique.
No, brass and leather were available, except during WW2.
Brass was used for cartridge cases, leather for boots and horse stuff.
Birch bark was used by the very poor, for many things, instead of leather, for centuries.
In Sweden, many poor country folk made own knives in the past.
Steel from discarded barell hoops, birch wood and bark from the forest.
Leather had to be bought in, so used only for essentials, like Sunday boots and some horse equipment where wood, roots or bark could not be used.
No ornaments.
I guess it was the same in Finland, but for longer as they were poorer.
The ‘iconic’ classic knives made in Mora are designed after the ‘poor farmers’ knife, but made by superior materials, at an affordable price.
The birch handle was painted red so it eas more visible.
The sheats were made from a pressed fibre material as this was cheaper than leather.
