A while back, I met a knife maker out of Idaho named Adam Weller. He was doing some very special handles on his blades that really made me go "Wow". His interest and inspiration comes from the Saami people of northern Scandinavia and Siberia. These are the indigenous people who are often called Lapps or Laplanders. They raise reindeer primarily, and use the antlers for their tool handles and a variety of other objects, like jewelry or utensils. The carvings are glorious (at least to me) and they often depict a story or event that the artist wishes to record in images. The Saami people play a special role in the Viking age and the chronicles of the Viking age known as the Sagas. Renowned for their mystical practices, the Vikings often traded and cooperated with the Saami tribes and sought their assistance on journeys and campaigns.

I talked with Adam about doing a collaboration with a story behind it. Sort of, what would a knife look like if it melded Viking styles of blades with Saami style handle art. The Saami also made knives and their blade shapes are fairly straight forward. A straight spine, with a upward curved tip. No ricasso, and the distal taper is minimal.

Here is the story of this blade. A Saami shaman ventured eastward to the land of the Norsemen and spent some time with the people he met. Offering his services to the clan chieftain, he went on many a raid and trading trip. Eventually, he acquired a blade made by the clan smith and some exotic wood that he had never seen before. He set about making a handle and documenting some of his adventures.

The blade is a 3-bar construction: wrought iron spine, wrought/HC twist, and W1 edge bar. The handle is Koa and reindeer antler with nickel-silver hardware.

The sheath is also reindeer antler and Koa with some half-tan leather (also traditional Saami material).

Some closer-up pics of the carving Adam does.

The hammered buttcap.

The blade and sheath together.