Hello all

[emtor]

I'm a newbie on this forum. I just wanted to show you all an example on how knives are made here in Norway. Although I've made a few knives myself, they're nowhere close to this one.


Copyrighted image removed and a link placed into the text.

[Steve Sells]

welcome, and since my Mothers parents immigrated from Norway, you are not alone :D

[emtor]

Thanks Steve. It's nice to see that the art of knifemaking is a popular activity across the pond too.

[Robert Mayo]

Welcome to the forum! I have seen many totaly fantastic examples of these fine knives.

Bob

[MRobb]

Very nice! Wonderful details!

[emtor]

Knifemaking has a long and old tradition here as almost all small farms of old had a blacksmithing forge. People had to do this out of pure necessity as farms were often isolated in remote mountain valleys and had to fend for themselves as best they could. The knife in the picture is a Lappish knife from the far north and is a true piece of art. These knives come in different sizes and the largest ones can be as long as 30 inches. The edge of the large ones are ground sharp on the tip and more like an ax further towards the handle so that it acts as a multifunctional tool. In this way it can be used for skinning a reindeer, gutting fish or for cutting down smaller birch trees when setting up a tee-pee. This kind of knife has also become standard equipment in the Norwegian army.
The Lappish knife is often forged from a single piece of spring-steel from cars or trucks while knives in the south are often laminated with a core of carbon-steel inside a jacket of mild steel. The knife was regarded as being of such an importance in the viking ages that even the slaves were entitled by law to own a knife.