Swing Set Done Right

Even though I know at least three kids within a one block radius who could (and would) foil the safety engineering (such as it is) on this thing, it is still a wonderful design.


From Paris architect Didier Faustino. [via Make:]


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Leuku Knife - Redux

I first heard about this project several years ago whilst I was traveling near where Studio Simo Heikkilä was holding a workshop. Missed the workshop and was never in the right place at the right time to see any of the exhibitions.

In case you are not familiar with this knife, here is a brief description from Wikipedia:

The Sami knife (Leuku in Finnish, stuorniibi ("big knife") in Sami), is a large knife traditionally used by the Sami people.

The Sami knife has a long, wide, and strong blade that suited for light chopping and shelter. It is used instead of an axe for firewood, wood clearing, bone-breaking, and other works. Typical Sami knives have a blade length ranging from 200 to 450 mm^[1]. The largest knives can be considered as machetes^[2] or short swords.

The handle is invariably made from birch for better grip when used in snowy conditions. The tang runs through the handle. The handle has no crossguard. Traditional material for the sheath is reindeer leather.

The blade is always in scandinavian (or scandi) grind. The blade should be strong enough to split (reindeer) bones, and it is typically not made of stainless steel since it can break in very cold temperatures. Some Sami knives have fullers. The knives are excellent outdoor tools for bushcrafting.

The Sami people normally use two knives; the smaller one can be called a buiku, puukko or unna niibaš (small knife), while the larger "Sami knife" is called stuorra niibi (big knife).

When I started doing some research the other day into the next Leuku that I will be buying for myself, I ran across several good articles on the project, as well as some great images.

Here's a New York Times Magazine article that gives an overview of the project and recent exhibition.

Here is Studio Simo Heikkilä's page about the project (in english)

This page gives a beautiful photographic reference to some of the knives from the recent exhibition.

The knife pictured above was designed and fabricated by Petteri Laiti. Interestingly, I ran into a guy many years ago up near Saarijärvi that had a Leuku very similar to this one.  Stunning.

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