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Knives made by Finnish trench fighters during WW2


Warpig
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Hello

 

This might not be the right forum for this but I thought you guys might be interested in some pics. As you know the Finns were fighting the Germans in 1944–1945 WW2 and winter war (1939-1940)  and continuation war (1941–1944).  During the down time, the soldiers were making artifacts of wood that they would be carving or modifying their knives with aluminum from downed Russian aircraft's. These knives are called "puhdetyö puukko". Usually they would carve motifs of animals, female art or location were they were stationed. My dad was actually a war veteran and passed 2014 at the age of 91.

 

Below there are a few knives which I described above that I randomly picked out. The biggest one above has been in 3 wars. Manufactured 1912.

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CavalryCombatant

Really cool!  Do they have any markings, or is there any good ways to identify them?

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Hello

They are all very individual, no one is the same and they are not numbered like other military gear. They are like a piece of military art from the era. I have a bunch of them, like 50 pieces, not one is the same.

 

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Backtheattack

Nice knifes. But Warpig, I`m far away from teaching another member, but your post is not correct, I think you mean the Russian Red Army, both campaigns you talked about where not against the German Army, both are against the Russian Army. Fighting of Finns against German Troops started after September 1944.

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As stated above fighting with Germans came later during Lapland war. Finns didn't exactly go into full on attack mode against the Germans. They more put on a show for the Russians as per their treaty. Less than 1,000 were killed on both sides.

The knives made during the war on their downtime are called Puhdetyöpuukko. The sheaths for the puukkos is Puhdetyötuppi. They were usually made from Russian aircraft aluminum taken from downed planes. They would often have intricate designs and would memorialize battles or fallen comrades. Puhdetyö is a general word for items soldiers made when they had leisure time.

I have a matching G33/40 with damaged hand guard that I bought in Finland. The Handguard repair looks like it was done with the same type of aircraft aluminum as your tuppi. My guess is a Finn picked it up during the wars. They were used by Finnish Waffen SS. They tried to remove the handguard, but the heavy spring clamp and some of the wood from the handguard stayed behind.

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digi-shots

Warpig great post!

 

I have a similar one that might be post war, not sure.  The handle looks like bakelite type of plastic with an aluminum ferrule (?)

 

Can you help translate or make out the writing on the top line?  Underneath says Finland.

 

Thank you!

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Backtheattack

 

It's ok to correct, don´t worry. Yes, you are correct. Finns and the Germans had been fighting against the Soviet Union since 1941 during the Continuation War (1941–1944) the peace negotiations had already been conducted intermittently during 1943–1944 between Finland, the Western Allies and the USSR, but no agreement had been reached. The Moscow Armistice, signed on 19 September 1944, demanded that Finland break diplomatic ties with Germany and expel or disarm any German soldiers remaining in Finland after 15 September 1944. Thank you for correcting. 

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digi-shots

 

Thank you for posting that beautiful hand made holster (puhdetyöpuukko) knife. We believe It is the original manufacturer Iisakki Järvenpää signiture. Below it says Made in Finland. All Iisakki Järvenpää knives are hand made in Kauhava Finland. JFK ended up having one as a gift and even John Wayne ended up having one.

Here below is a link: https://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/a/292ab924-38cf-455c-b069-b19f5a0bff8b

 

Google translation from article :

 

Out takes from text:

Iisakki Järvenpää from Kauhava Osakeyhtiö has been making knives by hand for more than a hundred years. The South Ostrobothnian steel weapon has ended up with the Russian emperor and the president of the United States, among others.

Iisakki Järvenpää's knives originated in 1879 while a Kauhava resident was sitting by the fireplace forging a blade into his knife. - Soon after, he started trading in the knives he made together with his cousin Juho Kustaa Lammi. Men also invented the blood groove used in knives at the end of the 19th century, Haukkala states. At the same time, there was also an actual knife factory in Kauhava, where Isaac moved to work as a foreman in 1899.

 

However, he did not feel comfortable in his wash for more than five years. The reason for this was that he received a salary of only FIM 25 per month, which was less than the merit of an ordinary worker. - Iisakki finally got enough and founded Iisakki Järvenpää Osakeyhtiö in 1904. A significant factor in the matter was his son Juho, who had been in America to raise the necessary capital. - Juho later became the factory manager, to whom Iisakki, as a regular man, paid back the money brought from another continent, Haukkala says.

 

Iisakki Järvenpää's operations gradually grew. In the best times of the company, in the 1920s and 1930s, up to a whopping 250,000 knives were produced a year. In addition to Finland, there were enough buyers in the Nordic countries, Germany and the United States. Today, however, the production of knives is different. - 8,500 of them are made annually by eleven employees. Because it is a pure craft from start to finish, it takes time to make each knife unit. - Because the work is very careful, the knives have a strong guarantee of quality. It is extremely important in domestic handicrafts.

 

Iisakki Järvenpää's knives are completed in the hands of professionals through several work steps. There are almost a hundred different knife models in the selection. - The production of knife blades begins when the material arrives to us in sheets. The carbon steel is then cold pressed, hardened, shaped into a blade shape, polished for the first time and washed. - After that, the material is left to wait for the work of other production lines, ie other parts of the knife created from different materials. Its own chapter is the carvings and the sheath of the knives, which are made of leather through several stages of work.

 

A horse-headed knife from Kauhava was passed on to several other characters. One of its most famous owners was the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. Several stories are told to the President about the end of the knife. - There is no certainty. According to one version, President Urho Kekkonen would have given him a knife as a personal gift. According to other information, it would have been taken away by a Ostrobothnian housekeeper or the Finnish ambassador. A photo from 1929 reveals an actor John Wayne hanging on a blade from Kauhava. The blade route for the actor, however, is a mystery.

 

In Military use In Finland, the knife has been honored by, among others, President Kekkonen, who in 1979 received Iisakki Järvenpää's 100th anniversary knife series number 1. Otherwise, there are several letters from well-known knife holders in the company’s shelters. One such is the foreword by Ilmari Juutilainen, a knight of the double Mannerheim Cross, in connection with the handing over of a scout knife to his son: "Yes, your dog is a good and reliable friend, but the man's best friend is Järvenpää's knife, in war and peace."

 

 

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Warping, thank you for the detailed information on the Finnish knives!  Do you know if the one I posted with leather sheath is WWII vintage or newer?
 

 

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Here are some Finnish Puukkopistin. The m/19 are pretty rare. The long m/19 is really rare. They were designed for NCO to wear in lieu of swords.

The others are actually Bayonets shaped like Puukko. M/39 and M/42.

Logos are from m/19.

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Nice knives from Finland. But just a reminder,  this is a U.S. Edged Weapons forum. Appreciate all the cool knives I've seen.  Thanks for showing!  SKIP

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SKIPH

 

Yes, you are right. This is not the right forum as I mentioned in my original post. I was interested to find out if there are people here interested in edged weapons history from Finand. I apologize for "bending" the forum rules a bit. There is the new World Militaria Forum. I am going to post more pics there. There will be Russian, Finnish and some German edged weapons there as well as New not used hand made Iisakki Järvempää Puukkos and more of these puhdetyöpuukkos. Please feel free to contact me directly ([email protected]) if there are questions or interests in the items I post.

 

ps: capt14k. Seriously nice collection!! I have one of those top row second from left, 1920 Hakman but missing the protective bent front piece around the knife in front of handle and some of the other ones you posted. Please lets continue post on World Militaria forum for non US edged weapons. See you there.

 

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Warpig- Not a problem, we are getting new members all the time, and just want to stay on the topic of US Edged Weapons. You are more than welcome to contribute, and be a member.  Keep collecting what interests you!  SKIP

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