KellamKLKPR4-BRK Knives Puukko

Excellent craftsmanship. The knife has perfect fit and finish, and came razor sharp. The blade can take a heck of an edge, too. The wood handle is absolutely gorgeous and very tactile. It's not slippery at all. I have massive hands and the grip is just perfect. The scabbard is just as high quality and unique. I'm so glad I found this thing.EDIT - I harvested a buck this year and used the Puuko to gut and skin it. It took almost no pressure whatsoever to cut through the hide, like I was going through butter. The handle is super tactile, it never became slippery even when slathered with blood and fat. It was very reassuring not having to doubt the knife. I did a dumb thing and didn't have my sharpener on me when I skinned the deer, but despite that I was able to skin down to the neck before the Puuko dulled. The deer was 140lbs, so this was no small achievement. Ten minutes with a whetstone and I was back in business. This thing is a work-horse.

I've wanted a Finnish Puukko knife for some time. Last fall, gluttony got the best of me in a local store - I purchased a sale-priced Spyderco Puukko - that was on the half-off clearance shelf due to a ripped box. A deal for an S30V bladed Puukko - or so I thought. Untried, I took it home - yikes, it's non-traditional sheath and sharp apex along my finger grip were big negatives - as was it's Taiwan birthplace - and it's Spydie hole in the blade. Sharp blade - and nice desert ironwood handle - to look at. I still wanted a Finnish Puukko - and ordered one via Amazon. With s/t on that Spyderco, I could have bought two of the Kellams!Others have piled on re the Kellam Puukko and it's virtues - I just wanted to add a few words. Both were bought as Christmas gifts for me. I left the Kellam in it's sealed poly bag - until Christmas Day. Both were given equal time... initially. The shape and size of the larger traditional Puukko's figured birchwood grip was a far better match to my medium+ sized hands. It's slightly longer blade is rough enough on it's spine to not need jimping for a decent thumb pressure, but a filed/sanded flat forward of the spine's thumb area may make a better firesteel striking surface. It's 'traditional' sheath is well made and works. The black finished blade is bright metal where ground, it's edge retaining it's initially great sharpness despite having turned quite a few small soft maple limbs into fuzz sticks, stakes, and toothpicks. It is carbon steel, so a little oil would keep it from rusting (One man's rust is another man's patina...). It's a decent value.

A fantastic, puukko style knife. Beautiful, comfortable handle. Excellent,razor sharp blade. First class fit and finish. Perfect size, IMO. The Kellam Puukko is a very high quality knife that is a must have knife for anyone who appreciates quality nordic style knives.Update 2/11/15When I received my Kellam Puukko, I was a bit puzzled about the handle. The handle did not quite look the same shape as the handle of the knife used for the photo in the description. It looked a bit thinner and more contoured. It looked like the handle in the photo of the Wolverine model. Being my first Kellam knife I didn't think much of this as I found the Puukko's handle very comfortable. I liked the Puukko model so well, I then ordered and received a Wolverine model. It appears that Kellam might have made some changes to the Puukko. My two knifes have the same handle and the blades are exactly the same size. The only difference is the Wolverine blade is a bit more polished on the backbone and is clearly marked as being the SPT blade. No complaints as I still think they are both exceptional Nordic style knives but it does appear that at least some recent Kellam Puukko knives share the same handle as the Kellam Wolverine.

First of all this is a great knife for what it is meant to be, a great basic working tool with an amazing appearance for it's price point. This knife is sharp and is much more versatile than most "camping knifes". The stained curly birch has is shaped very well and has a nice soft feel which unlike most of the soft touch butyrated plastic it will not decompose into a smelly pile. My last camp knife's grip broke down and when it did it released butyric acid which is main chemical that makes vomit stink. I would highly recommend this knife highly over other common North European knives which are actually based on the Puukko with such handles.There were two small issues with this knife out of the box which is the reason I knocked it down by one star.#1 This knife is from a line of Kellam Knives which uses more modern alloys which is great but I did find what they call a "black forged finish look" will drag when cutting some materials. It is intended to look like a rough forging of the traditional knives but a rough forging would actually tend to reduce drag. As I bought this knife as a tool it only took 10 min to make those sections slick with a diamond sharpening plate which solved the problem for me.#2 The grind is not a full flat grind so be prepared to spend a bit more time the first time you sharpen it.The fact that they can sell a full tanged, wood handled knife at this price point with only those small issues is amazing and I would highly recommend this knife for people who are looking for a knife to use. If you are more of a collector you will probably want to bump up in their product lines to the hand forged versions.