Okay so some of you might remember my experience with Grohmann. Well that's water under the bridge but to get over that loss I ordered a Jarvenpaa Puukko & Leuku combo from Ben at bensbackwoods.com (no affiliation, etc, etc, blah, blah).

I picked it up today at the post office today and felt like sharing my first impressions...I'll also post a review here once I've had a chance to use it a bit.

When I first pulled it out of the box, I thought the set looked even better than the pictures on the internet. The sheath is simple but well put together and holds both knives very snugly. The belt loop is a straight loop so wearing it around the neck is a possibility.

When I picked it up I was surprised at the heft. Heavy for it's size over all...which isn't a bad thing.

Both are in Carbon steel and unpolished. Both have the traditional curly birch handle. I've never owned a scandi like these but so far I was impressed.

The handle on the Puukko is about the right size for my hand and the blade is just long enough. The handle is hand shaped and it shows. It's not perfect but that's fine by me. Neither is the blade. It's hand ground, slightly uneven from one side to the other and has a rough secondary bevel. This surprised me a bit. I was expecting the single bevel scandi grind but based on my readings considered it a possibility. I'll very likely sharpen off the secondary bevel as is recommended at Ragweed Forge. The knife wasn't terribly sharp out of the box but for a hand crafted knife I wasn't expecting perfection. The spine is rough and the fit and finish is what can only be expected as 'rough around the edges'. This knife is much more function than form but makes up for lack of fit and finish with the nice handle and the shiny hammer pommel. The final touch which some might find ugly but I like is the hand engraving on the side of the blade. I can only assume that it's the name of the guy who made the knife.

The Leuku is pretty much identical only bigger. To me it feels like the missing link between knife and machete. I definitely think it will serve as a machete just fine. The handle on the Leuku feels especially good. It's very thick and feels very secure in my hand. The unpolished wood is going to feel great come winter.

Sorry no pictures yet...soon though.

I'm open to any advice on care of the birch handles or sharpening. I've never had to remove a secondary bevel before.