Terava Jaakaripuukko From varusteleka

Discussion in 'Reviews' started by Stayinsharp, Dec 6, 2017.

  1. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    Well guys... while I’m testing the Landi Bushcraft knife on an almost daily basis doing numerous things from woods chores to carving up boxes for recycling- I felt that it may be time to add another review....and I decided to go with.....
    The terava jaakaripuukko from varusteleka.
    We’ll call it the Puukko for purposes of this review. Let me start by saying that I have the 140mm version. That said the handles on both the 110 and 140 are exactly the same. The blade shape and demensions (other than the length) are exactly the same. Also I will state that I paid for my knife with my own money. I did not receive a discount for this knife in any way. I also want to state that this is the first purchase I made from the company and have not had any contact with the company owners nor the manufacturer of this knife. This will be an honest review and as detailed as I can be with the current condition and usage of the knife.
    Here we go....

    Price: 8/10
    Allow me start with how much I paid and the option I purchased. 140(mm) with leather sheath- $54.99 plus about $10 for shipping...
    Comparatively, I got mora garberg for a sweet deal on the fleaBay at around $65.00 shipped NIB. I say that because most people you see on YouTube are constantly comparing these two knives. I get it. They’re bushcrafty style knives, they have synthetic over mold handles, about 4-5 inch blades, sharp spines, and both are (kinda) scandi ground. I find these knives to be very different. I’ll save that for another post. Sorry for the side note. Let’s recap. Knife w/ leather sheath 64.99... if I could have gotten this at 50.00 shipped it’d have gotten a 10/10!

    Fit and finish: 6/10
    Ok. So this and price eval go hand in hand. The more I pay the more I expect. That said... I’ve never gotten a bad mora.... ever. This knife was shipped from... whatever European country it was made in an awesomely large and very safe box. Got it in about ten days. Opened the box and.... the (scandi) grind was uneven. There was a substantial secondary bevel (About 1mm thick) which was also uneven. The heat treat marks on the side were natural. And very cool. I love that. No hit there... but then they had ground the spine in an unfamiliar way. Also not bad. Just not usual. The over molded rubber handle was just that. Nothing special but the seems are almost unoticable. The sheath is perfect. It’s made of nice leather. Has a plastic insert to protect the sheath from the knife, dangler, and a button retention that is extra security. Is amazing. The sheath itself is probably worth at least $30.00!!!

    Handle comfort: 4/10
    Might as well get this one out of the way quickly- the handle is not as comfortable as I’d have hoped. The rubber transfers a bit of shock when batoning. The shape and material gives me a bit of fatigue when carving and the shape of the grip doesn’t really allow for much comfort in different holds. It’s not hand filling at all.The grip is my biggest gripe! The Mora garberg’s handle is almost perfect in my opinion and is the best over molded handle I’ve ever felt. Handles are always a personal thing. But I feel like the majority of people will share my opinion. It’s better than pracord and the handle works... but it doesn’t feel like a handshake. Close your eyes with this knife in hand and you may think you’re holding a 10.00 knife from a flea market.

    Full tang:???? Maybe-maybe not
    Kinda depends what your definition is. If you look at a falkniven as a full tang then sure this is full tang. The tang thins out from the blade. (About half the width) and runs through the handle and terminates as a pommel ring/ lanyard hole protruding from the rubber. I won’t definitively call it a full tang or hidden tang... I’m not going fishing so I’ll let someone else open that can of worms hahaha

    Sharpness: 6/10
    ... uneven grind, secondary bevel and... it was still pretty sharp. However as my username is STAYINSHARP... I don’t accept pretty sharp. I like scary sharp. This was doable to my liking in about 40 min. Now it can slice a paper towel.

    Steel: 7/10 (for now)
    The steel used is 80crV2 hardened to a 59 on the Rockwell. As the blade grind was uneven, I took this to a stone to even it out. Started on an 800 stone, 1000, 6000 and then stropped with red and green compound on a hard strop. I managed to work the steel to a very near mirror polish. (Some minor scratches are present but this is meat to be a hard woods user- not a safe queen) the result was a razor sharp scandi with a very very slight vex. Hair popping sharp. It sharpened much like O1. It has held an edge better than 1095. But a little less than O1. All I’ve done to bring it back to a stone fresh sharpness is strop it. Also, it hasn’t stained... like at all. I haven’t used it much in wet conditions. But I have used it with wet wood. Pine included. While batoning it through some knotty wet oak, it flexed (not too much because it’s pretty thick) but then bounced right back to true as soon as I got through the log. I did get a slight (very small) roll near the tip from going into a knot that I should have avoided. The thing was petrified. That’s my fault. I hit the spot with a ceramic rod and then stropped it for about 2 min. I can’t find the spot anymore. Testing so far has proven the heat treat is spot on and the type of steel seems to surpass my expectation. Time will tell after a few more hard use outings.

    Overall Design: 6/10
    This knife is exactly what it’s meant to be and nothing it’s not. No nonsense. “No fancy bullshit, the Jääkäri is a proper no-nonsense puukko knife for real use, not for sitting on a shelf for decoration” -taken directly from the varusteleka site. I agree. It’s not pretty. But that makes it cool. It’s not delicate and precise. But that makes it tough. It’s not a collectors piece. But that lets you use it without worry. And it’s not expensive. And that makes it worth it. It’s a Finnish puukko design. These people have had similar designs for hundreds of years and use these types of knives for everything from woods tasks, fire prep, hunting, skinning, and food prep. The design is still around. Why? Because it works. That’s it. This particular example is nothing beautiful... but that’s what makes it... BEAUTIFUL!!! I am not the biggest fan of the handle but I do like it a lot more than the knife I bought this to replace.(I will get into that in my conclusion). The blade is thicker than my typical bushcraft knife and because of this I find myself deploying this as my hard use blade and typically bring a mora 511 along for the ride... though the edge I’ve put on this is so sharp that I’ve hardly used it. The spine works for firesteel ms. But it takes a few strokes to get used to.

    Blade design: 8/10
    It’s great. Not executed perfectly. But I see what the design was meant to be and it is GREAT. It’s like a longer tops bob without the crappy jimping. The 140mm blade is a bit over 5 inches, about an inch wide and about 4.2 mm thick. The balance is good and the geometry of the scandi is amazing at about 23*. It’s high enough that it allows this thick blade to remain slicey.

    Handle design: 4/10 (yes I know I did handle comfort already)
    It’s a handle. It’s grippy. It’s... uncomfortable. This is just my opinion. But if you’ve spoiled yourself with blades from LTWK or other midtechs then you will prob feel the same way. The LTWK GNS feels like a handshake. This feels like a cheap rubber coated adjustable wrench that comes with your first tool kit when you’re 12... that’s jmho.

    Options: 6/10
    You can buy either the 110 or 140. Leather sheath or just a plastic guard and make your own. Those four options are also available in stainless I think a 12C27 sandvick
    That makes a total of 8 options for this design.
    I would like to see orange rubber grips or a dark brown available. Maybe one day.

    Conclusion: 6/10.
    In use this knife has done everything I’ve asked of it and more. I’ve found that it does have a bit of chop to it all though I do not chop with a knife of this size (only did it to tell you how it fairs). I’m likely about to trigger a ton of people here in 3...2....1...
    I bought this knife to replace the Esee 6hm. I had a regular 6. Sold it. Missed it. Saw the HM... thought hey- that’s basically a plsk scout FFG with the Esee 1095 and warranty at half the price of the BHK... so I bought two. I f*ed up. I hated that handle for my hands. The knife was everything I had hoped and it just didn’t work with my anatomy. Long story short. Sold both 6HMs and bought this to take their place as a mid sized do it all and guess what. I like this better than the 6HM and have received better results in my usage. There I said it. I know I know. The Esee 6 is the standard for a mid size survival knife. And I agree. But this knife is a great alternative. And short of Esee’s unbeatable warranty I think this knife has everything you’d realistically want from a 6 in a slightly smaller, cheaper, high value package. I won’t tell you to buy one. But I would say it’s worth the money. The site is easy to deal with and shipping from Europe was cheap and fast

    I’ve had this knife out on numerous outings. However I don’t believe that one should base their opinion of a knife simply on about 20 hours of use. I plan to check back in with an update in a month or so. Check back if you’d like. If you have one, please share you experience as well in order to help our community.
    Pics will be posted this weekend once I can clear my phone.
    Thanks for reading

    E
     
  2. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    Pics tomorrow
     
  3. Switchblade

    Switchblade Member

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    I got one, just like yours, but I did not have the opportunity to test or work with it too much yet.
    The grind is symmetrical on mine, but yours is not the first I have read about being uneven.
    Regarding the secondary bevel.. it says in the description on their website that there's a secondary bevel on the blade.
    The Mora Garberg (like other Moras) also has a secondary micro bevel, although smaller than the one you described on your puukko.

    In any case, I'm looking forward to your pictures and further experiences and hopefully I can chip in with my own, soon.
     
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  4. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    I did know about the secondary bevel going into this knife... I don’t knock a knife immediately for a secondary bevel. So many people believe that a secondary on a scandi is a horrible thing. I personally believe they can be very useful in keeping the edge if done correctly. I typically always take anything with a secondary v bevel and use a hard leather strop with some wet dry on top in order to change it to a polished convex secondary. Give me a scandi vex which I find stays sharper longer and is easier to maintain.
     

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  5. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    Here’s the pics. We got the first snow of the season so I decided to take a few knives out in the “wilderness” for some testing. I used the Puukko and the Garberg the most.
    My field report of the Puukko from today’s hike:
    The blade stayed sharp... after a bit of chopping, a lot of slicing and after cutting a bunch of jute twine (which kills my 1095 blades)
    The handle was comfortable enough.... stayed warmish through the bitter cold. It was snowing, less than 30*, and windy as hell. (I know 30* isn’t cold. But with no gloves in those condition... the warmth and grippieness of the rubber was welcomed.
    The sheath dropped the knife below my jacket line. Held the knife. Comfortable to wear. Nuff said.
    The blade battened very well
    The spine is... ok. Not great. But I’m spoiled. I have LtwK’s and a garberg.
    I like the knife.... In fact. I freaking love the knife. It’s absolutely what I wanted. An Esee 6 replacement. Will I carve a spoon with it. Prob no. Did I ever do that with a 6... nope. How many times have I carved a spoon... twice. What happened to them when I was done... firewood.
    Tried to upload more pics from the hike with the knife in use. But they’re acting funky. Srry
    I still haven’t done a try stick with this. But I plan to.
    I love the scandivex I put in this. If you have one of these and want the same edge, message me. I’ll help ya out.
    E
     

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  6. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    Check out my update bud, added pics. They’re post hike in the snow. That shows how well it holds up in rough use in tough conditions
     
  7. Slade

    Slade Member

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    Appreciate the write up! My agreement on the scandivex. Their price seems a bit high to me compared to what they sell the much larger skruma? for.

    Edit to say that I suppose the sheath makes that price a wild card. Sounds great, but something you jut have to experience I suppose. The handle works on their larger knife, but I think they should have done more than just shrink and shorten it for this one.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2017
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  8. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    I thought that too. Figured they caught the bushcraft marketing bug... the Skrama is an awesome TOOL. Nothing more nothing less. Yeah, it’s ugly. But the sucker works. On the other hand, the knife looks bushcrafty. The size is bushcrafty. And they will sell a ton of them no matter what the price just because of that. Unfortunately thatS the reality for us guys that love stuff with and without the bushcraft name. Anything bushcraft realated will fetch a higher penny. I though 65 shipped was a bit high for this...Until I got it in hand and realized the price is mostly in the sheath lol. Such an amazing sheath! Great knife too brother. I recommend the 140 over the 110 simply because a mora companion will do everything a 110 can do while the extra length of the 140 will give you the chance to make use of this overbuilt tank
     
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  9. Slade

    Slade Member

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    You kind of went there briefly in comparing the garberg to this, but then it turned into a real review. I have a garberg, got it just to see what was up. Paid $60 from amazon because I caught it during a great sale. Have been too busy to use it. I’m not sure that it’s for me, but I’m not willing to release it just yet. You paid the same for both. I think it sounds like you find the jaakaripuukko more capable because of size and carry options despite the handle. So, is the Garberg obsolete for you?
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2017
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  10. FortyTwoBlades

    FortyTwoBlades Moderator Staff Member

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    I reground one of those for a customer to convert it to a zero grind. Wasn't really impressed by what I saw. If it was 2/3 the price, it'd be a real value, but the grind was stupid-thick. Without it being hyperbole I can say that it was very nearly a knife-shaped cold chisel. The primary grind angles were the same as the cheeks of one, just with a thinner (but not by much) apex. In stock that thick that makes it a real wedge. The handle material was nice, though--had some good cushion to it without being at all tacky like most rubbers are. Tacky rubber feels good for less than 60 minutes of work, but causes bad hot spots in extended use. I imagine that any hot spots on that knife would be caused by the handle shape rather than the material.
     
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  11. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    Funny you should bring that up brother. I’m about halfway through a review with the Garberg... spoiler alert. No way. The Garberg is def not obsolete. In fact, I believe its the better of the two. The Puukko does have more reach and is monster thick. But it feels very much like a cheap flea market knife. (Even if it does perform decently- I go into the woods for enjoyment). To me if these two were head to head and if I had bought the 110 Puukko and compared them, the Garberg would win EVERY time.
     
  12. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    I 100% agree. That’s why I gave price an 8/10. Mainly because 64.00 is to much to spen on a good knife. But for THIS knife I’d be happier spending 45 or 50 shipped. The handle material is decent. Though I did feel a bit of shock when batoning. The positive for me was that the sharpening process wasn’t agonizing. Though I didn’t take my knife to a zero as you can see in the photos
    Thanks for the reply
    E
     
  13. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    Also brother I wanted to add that I didn’t go TOO far into the comparison because I plan to do a head to head review once I get done my mora review. Who knows. Through the extended testing I may change my mind and gravitate towards the Puukko.
     
  14. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    I will say the scandi vex in this allows for some nice curls given the thickness of the bladestock
     

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  15. Switchblade

    Switchblade Member

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    You got a nice edge on that blade.
    I'll keep mine original for now, mind you mine wasn't uneven to start with. Perhaps in the future I'll change it as well.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  16. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    That’s looking pretty good brotha. I think Yours came much more polished than mine did with a much smoother transition to the secondary. Again. I’m not knocking the fact that it has a secondary. I actually support it. But my knifes grind and secondary were off a bit. Still very sharp though. But as my username suggests, I figured I could help it meet my sharpness expectations. Not many knives do straight from the factory. Especially not many under 150.00
     
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  17. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    It’d be almost perfect if theyd given it some thickness. It’s a bit slim to effectively and comfortable control the length of the blade as well as caparitively shorter blades
     
  18. theJman

    theJman Member

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    I have the 140mm and feel almost the exact same way about it you do. I kept it mostly to myself though as it seemed to be knife du jour (which I didn't feel it really warranted). We also feel the same about the Landi knives, so I guess the first round is on me... :)

    To me the 140 is a Norwegian BK2; their version of a sharpened crowbar, crude but effective. I like the knife for the most part - and really like the leather sheath - but I'm a bit lost by the hype. It's good, but not exceptional. I was also part of a Skrama pass around, which is essentially a very large 140. That proved to be a rudimentary tool, primitive in its workings. I can see a use for it, but not for the type of things I do. Think blunt force trauma.
     
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  19. Stayinsharp

    Stayinsharp Member

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    Thanks for the reply brother. Up next is an extensive Garberg review. Which I do believe warrants the hype. If you have one I’d really appreciate your feedback on that once I post it. If not, prime has them for really REALLY cheap right now :D
     
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  20. theJman

    theJman Member

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    I bought a Garberg over a year ago, so I have some experience with it. I'll wait until you post your eval to see if we align yet again. ;)
     

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