Cold Steel Finn Bear

Like the taste of Marmite, some people will love Cold Steel products while others will hate them. I fall somewhere in between, although I tend to like many of their knives, while not appreciating some of their larger weapon replicas – battle axe, war clubs, baseball bats etc…

Although they make some very good original knives, what Cold Steel is probably does best is to take a traditional knife design and then manufacture it using modern steels and handle materials. This is the case with the Finn Bear, which takes the basic design features of the traditional Finnish puuko hunting knife but replaces the usual flat grind carbon steel blade with a hollow ground 4116 Krupp Stainless blade, and the traditional beech handle with a synthetic grip. The stainless blade is hardened to Rockwell C56-57, so it should hold a good edge over a long period of time and will be relatively easy to re-sharpen.

The sharp point and long cutting edge of the puuko have served generations of Finns well for gutting, skinning and preparing both meat and fish, so it was a natural target for the Cold Steel treatment. This is also true of the Finn Bear’s 4” utility profile blade (a straight spine and long shallow curved edge) which is the ideal shape for general purpose work, and would be suitable for hunting, fishing and cutting duties around camp.

The Finn Bear’s polypropylene handle is straight with a fine ribbed finish – almost with the look and texture of whipping – for an increased grip. The ‘cam’ shaped profile of the handle – like a rounded off triangle with its widest point at the spine – also helps to give a good grip. Personally I don’t like the fact that there’s no guard on the Finn Bear, but then there’s no guard on the traditional puuko either.

The knife is supplied with a Cordura sheath which is unusual in the fact that although it carries the Finn Bear in the traditional deep seated style of the original puuko, it is not shaped to take the handle, as an original leather puuko sheath would be. Instead the sheath is made to accommodate the handle, but tightly, so you have to really jam the knife in – at least there’s no danger of it falling out. A 2” loop on the back of the sheath will allow it to be worn on most belts or webbing. At under 3oz the Finn Bear is lighter than many folding pocket knives, yet the stainless steel blade and synthetic handle will take a lot of hard use and abuse –  probably far more than an original puuko.

Basically this knife will do everything you want from a camp/utility knife, and although some traditionalists may prefer a real puuko, it has to be said that the Finn Bear is a good attempt at replication with modern materials, and perhaps most importantly, it’s available for the unbelievably cheap price of just £14.95.

PRICE: £14.95