Kauhavan Puukkopaja is a Finnish family business founded in 1995. They make puukko knives and sell them all over the world. Kauhavan Puukkopaja knives are made primarily for craft, work, wilderness and hobby use. Their goal is to manufacture high-quality knives with a good finish. The knife handles are made of curly birch, reindeer antler and leather. They also use a small amount of birch bark and willow knots. Some knife handles are turned with a cutter and others are made completely by hand. Curly birch handles are oiled as is, or stained brown or red and then oiled. They design the covers themselves and make them by hand with vegetable-tanned cow leather. Color options include natural leather, dyed dark brown or black. The mouth of the sheath has been thinned and turned inward so that the opening is clean, to prevent stretching during use and so that the knife fits well in the sheath. The covers are individually printed and have a plastic coating inside that protects the blade and gives shape to the cover. Generally, the color of the cover is chosen based on the color of the handle. Their knife blades are made of high-quality carbon steel, which has a carbon content of 0.8% and a hardness of 59-60 HRC. The blades stay sharp for a long time and are easy to re-sharpen. After factory polishing, the carbon steel blade is ground to a concave shape. This considerably improves the carving and sharpening properties of the blade. Chrome steel is used in some models, for example in filleting knives. Chrome steel blades have a hardness of approximately 57-58 HRC.
