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TOPS Tanimboca a Fresh Take on the Scandinavian Puukko

July 13, 2017

TOPS Knives is bringing a new kind of cutting tool into their increasingly diverse lineup with the Tanimboca Puukko. Designed by Goran Mihajlovic, a Serbian knife maker working out of a forge in the Amazon jungle, the Tanimboca Puukko offers a different take on the classic Scandinavian knife.

With a full tang blade and Micarta scales, Mihajlovic’s puukko is a departure from the usual stick tang and barrel-style handle seen on traditional versions. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a traditional puukko with a full-tang and handle scales. Maybe they’re out there, but I haven’t seen them,” TOPS Knives’ Craig Powell tells us.

TOPS Knives Tanimboca Puukko

Still, with a modified scandi-ground blade and neutral handle shape, Mihajlovic didn’t stray too far from the Scandinavian inspiration. TOPS settled on a blade length of 3.6 inches – the ‘ideal’ puukko size according to Mihajlovic. The blade sports TOPS’ tumble finished 1095 steel instead of the Columbian leaf spring steel found on Mihajlovic’s custom pieces.

“This is a no-frills design that does what it’s made for very well,” Powell says.“Sometimes you’ve just got to keep it simple.” The Tanimboca Puukko features a 90-degree spine for scraping and comes with an attractive leather sheath that can be worn on the belt or even around the neck for those undaunted by a 7.6 oz. neck knife.

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The vast TOPS catalog covers a lot of ground with over 250 active products, but 2017 sees the company moving into uncharted territory with several of their releases including their first collectible – the pre-production Fieldcraft Folder. “In a way, there’s not much branching out left to do,” Powell tells us. “On the other hand, we don’t have a lot of folding knives in our line, no multi-tools, and no high carbon blades with a 90-degree spine, so there are avenues we haven’t explored yet that we know we can.”

The Tanimboca Puukko is available now at an MSRP of $150.

Knife featured in image: TOPS Knives Tanimboca Puukko

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