John Drewes has been a long time customer. Sending us photos of his custom knives every now and then, we have started to urge him to let us sell some. We often display his work on our Social Media Pages. After asking a number of time, he is ready to sell some of these beautiful pieces. Quite the creative craftsman with just beautiful hand finished work.
This is a Hattutuppipuukko (hat sheath knife). It is Johns version of a knife type especially known in Finland and Sweden, and its origin goes back into antiquity. A lot of the old Hattutuppipuukko seem to have been made in Ilmajoki, Finland during the 19th century, but the true origin goes back much further in history.
The handle is spalted Tamarind wood and Raita root with black Micarta and G10 spacers. The bolster is stone washed nickel silver, and the blade is Laurie 95 with hammered finish.
The two-part sheath is tooled, veg. tanned steer hide and is hand stitched. He braided four strands of kangaroo leather thong around a hemp core to make the belt attachment cord. It is anchored to the main body of the sheath with Turk's head knots. This can be attached to a belt in various ways, but it is not a neck sheath. There is a wood core inside the lower part of the sheath. The knife is totally enclose in the sheath.
To remove knife from sheath, pull both cords out carefully as shown in the photo to remove the "hat", and then carefully draw the knife out of the sheath. Keep the cords supple with a leather dressing. A little Chap Stick works surprisingly well for this!
Just a beautiful hand crafted piece, We truly love his work.
