Pinewood Forge Sloyd Knife
A Beautiful, Handmade Scandinavian Style Craft Knife
There is perhaps no tool as simple, and yet varied, as a knife. A knife is arguably the most important tool a person can own, a fact which is evidenced by the many styles of knives that have been developed for every conceivable vocation and operation. From the fine filleting knives we use to process fish, to the heavy cleavers used to cut through meat and bone, to the precision marking knives with which we score our woodworking projects, to the ubiquitous pocket knife that so many men of a certain generation carry with them daily, knives come in every shape and size.
I believe that a knife is the most important thing a man can carry. The work a knife can do cannot be done as well (or at all) by any other tool, and so, I often find myself making unconscious judgements regarding a person’s reliability and capability by the knife they carry, or lack thereof. If we consider important virtues of manhood to include capability and helpfulness, we must see that a good knife is the extension of those virtues in the hands of the capable and helpful man.
All that to say: it seems fitting that we begin this blog about tools, a subject about which I have strong and passionate opinions, with a knife, a tool about which my opinions are particularly strong and passionate. The knife we’re looking at today may not be a knife that many in North America are familiar with. The first tool we showcase for our blog is the Pinewood Forge Sloyd Knife (2-1/4’).
What is sloyd?
Sloyd is a Scandinavian word that means craft, or handicraft. It encompasses a number of skills that include weaving, spinning, embroidery, knitting, and fashioning useful objects from wood. Sloyd was formalized as an educational subject for Scandinavian school children in Finland in 1865, by Uno Cygnaeus. The principle resource for information about formal sloyd teaching, that I know of at least, is the 1891 textbook “The Teacher’s Handbook of Slöjd,” by Otto Salomon. This book gives us a very unique window into the some of the very practical skills that were taught to Scandinavian school children at the turn of the 20th century. I was able to obtain a wonderful reprint of this book from Toolemera Press, some years ago, and have read the text with fascination. The tradition of teaching practical handicrafts to students in this part of Europe continues to this very day, as sloyd is still a compulsory subject in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
What is a sloyd knife?
A sloyd knife is a work knife with a rather short blade and a thick, rounded handle that is quite comfortable to use for extended periods. It does not have a hilt, making it easy to hold very near the blade where you can generate great power. They are generally sharpened with a scandi grind, which is a very wide single bevel on either side of the blade. This grind type is very durable and easy to maintain. Even a novice sharpener can reproduce the bevel angle, although with a scandi grind you do have to remove a relatively greater amount of steel than with edge types featuring a secondary bevel. For that reason, it’s advisable to protect the edge of a sloyd knife from nicks and chips. Sloyd knives have been standard issue for students in vocational schools in Scandinavia since the 1800’s.
My introduction to Pinewood Forge
I first stumbled across Pinewood Forge in the early part of the 2010’s. At that time, there was a great resurgence in hand tool woodworking, and I was in the thick of it, collecting and refurbishing old tools, and devouring hand tool content on social media. During part of that journey, I discovered spoon carving, and was immediately fascinated by the different spoon designs people were showcasing. As a complete tool nerd, my eyes were irresistibly drawn to the unfamiliar looking knives the carvers were using. As I researched these knives someone in an online chat mentioned Pinewood Forge. I checked out their website and it had a phone number listed, so I called it.
At the other end, a lovely woman answered with a simple hello, and the casualness of our ensuing conversation left me with the distinct impression that she had answered the phone on the kitchen wall, like my own mom had done a thousand times as I was growing up.
I asked her about the products listed on their website, in particular the larger sloyd knife. She introduced herself as Celine, and explained that her husband, Del Stubbs, made the knives in their home shop. I was immediately captivated by how down to earth the entire experience was, and decided then and there that I was a customer.
The Pinewood Forge 2-14” Sloyd Knife
All of this is to set the stage for this particular knife, the Pinewood Forge Sloyd Knife. Pinewood Forge makes two sizes of sloyd knives; this is the larger of the two.
All of the handmade knives at Pinewood Forge come with a custom moulded plastic sheath. Ive had my sloyd knife for 10 years and the sheath still fits like the day I bought it. The sheath hugs the knife securely and keeps the blade (and your body) protected at all times, and yet is easy to slip off when you’re ready to carve. The sheath has never slipped off accidentally, in more than a decade. The knife returns to the sheath with a reassuring stiffness and it’s impossible to remove the sheath accidentally even if you hold it upside down and shake vigourously.
The first thing you notice when you remove the knife from its sheath is that the handle is thick and comfortable. Mine came with a lovely burl walnut handle which fits my hand so nicely that my delight begins the moment it settles into my palm. Handle material is chosen randomly for each knife and so it was such a fun surprise to open the box the first time.
As you examine the blade, you realize how much care has gone into the manufacture of this tool. The blade is insanely sharp out of the box. I mean sharp! You need to be very careful not to cut yourself, I’m not kidding! The grind is scandi style, but very slightly hollow ground. One of my favourite details about this beautiful knife is the spine: it is rounded and polished, so that you can quite literally bring all of your thumb strength to bear on the blade as you carve, and it remains comfortable for hours. This is such a wonderful detail; I’ve used a number of other sloyd knives from other companies and the corners of the blade at the spine become quite uncomfortable after a short time.
The quality of the steel used to make the knife is extremely high. Del used O1 steel from Austria, with a hardness of RC62. The edge has handled everything I’ve ever tried to push it through, from green poplar to hard maple. While I’m not a metallurgist, and I don’t really understand Del’s explanation of digitally controlled salt baths, austenizing, marquenching, and temperizing, the fact that in over a decade I’ve only ever had to lightly strop the edge is testament to whatever technical wizardry those terms represent.
A Tool of Great Worth
This knife is a masterpiece, a perfect iteration of a classic work knife. It has been a pleasure to use every time it’s come out of its sheath. I’ve used it for everything from carving spoons that get used daily in my kitchen, to shaping wooden parts while making my canoe, to most recently carving a pair of magic wands for my children who wanted to have a spell battle on our annual camping trip. The attention to detail is simply magnificent. This knife exemplifies what I love about quality tools. From the moment I made that first phone call I could feel the care put into its manufacture by a group of true artisans. From Celine’s patient phone manner and the quality packaging to protect the knife during shipping, to Scott Paavola’s perfect handle that is the interface between my hand and the blade, to Del’s blade, a work of art in its own rite, this is an heirloom quality tool at a price so reasonable that you have to pinch yourself when you see it.
Check out Pinewood Forge
Check out Toolemera Press
I love tools too :-)
Very happy to have found your 'stack. Looking forward to reading more.
And these are very apposite words for all the 'lost boys' of our time:
"If we consider important virtues of manhood to include capability and helpfulness, we must see that a good knife is the extension of those virtues in the hands of the capable and helpful man."