Coat of Arms knife has been a knife with Coat of Arms on the handle. In our case it has always been the Finnish Coat of Arms, a golden lion with a sword on a red base but it could also be the Coat of Arms of nobile family or another country.
In our production base for Coat of Arms knife has usually been a Kauhava Horsehead knife with a Finnish Coat of Arms on the handle. This model started in 1915 when Finland was an autonomous part of the Russian empire, The Coat of Arms had a crown over the lion, it was the emperor's crown.
However, the first Coat of Arms was made already in 1894, The emperor's knives for newly crowned Nikolai II and empress Alexandra. These knives had intarsia figures on the handle, Finnish lion, crown and text Suomi, meaning Finland in finnish.
Finland got independence in 1917 but for some unknown reason, the crown was removed from knife handles later, 1922 onwards. First Coat of Arms knives were usually black ebonite handle models with nickel silver fittings. In 1930´s main material was changed to birch bark handle and brass fittings. The Coat of Arms was made by hand engraving and also intarsia. Late 1930´s a decal was introduced, it was placed after the first layer of varnish and covered with multiple layers more. Same decal was also used in our wartime products. This model was removed from our standard production in the 1950´s.
The Coat of Arms knife has always been a tribute for independent Finland and it has patriotic origin, but it has never been involved with any organisation, party or any kind of ideological movement.
Now we have returned to a production 1930´s model Kauhava Horsehead knife with birch bark handle, Coat of Arms decal below the varnish and brass fittings. The sheath has metal fittings with a traditional tip and normally black leather. Natural light brown sheath is an option.
The blade is 10 cm long polished carbon steel, all fittings are made from brass. The horsehead is casted, other parts are pressed. These, like all our parts, are made in our factory in Kauhava. The handle is made from 60 layers of Finnish birch bark. The leather is local cowhide, which is vegetable oil tanned in a nearby factory. All decorative figures in the knife and sheath are hand engraved with traditional tools.
Knife in the sheath length: 25 cm
Knife length: 21 cm
Blade length: 10 cm
