The double knife consists of two knives in the same sheath. It combines a larger knife with a 10 cm blade alongside a smaller knife with a 6 cm blade. The larger knife can be used for woodworking and cutting tasks such as slicing a leg of lamb, while the smaller one is ideal for precision work, carving, and even cleaning a pipe.
The term “Kauhava knife” refers to knives with lacquered birch bark handles. The older version of the Kauhava knife is called the Ball Pommel, while the better-known one is the Horsehead Knife. As the name suggests, the upper bolster of the Hevospää knife is a horse's head cast in brass.
The Kauhava knife was developed together by Iisakki Järvenpää and his cousin Juho Kustaa Lammi, and it became one of the first Kauhava knife models. The Hevospää was introduced into the collection as early as 1882 and was produced under both of their names.
As for where the horse’s head on the knife originated, there are many stories, but the most credible one came from the mouth of Iisakki Järvenpää himself: J.K. Lammi, while serving in the Dragoon Regiment in Vaasa, saw a riding crop with a horse's head cast on the end and got the idea to apply the same concept to a knife handle. Together with Iisakki Järvenpää, they refined this idea, learned the casting process, and eventually made horse-headed knives for their customers. According to local lore, in some larger orders, there might have been identical knives bearing the names of both knife smiths.
The Horse Head Knife has always been produced at a large scale at Iisakki Järvenpää. Over the years it has been constructed with many varying handle materials, including birch bark, wood, galalith, ebonite, and bone. Today, the horse head's shape remains the same and the handle is still made from lacquered birch bark. The engravings on the lower bolster of the knife and the sheath are done by hand, using a process called "tikkelöinti."
The Horsehead Knife is available in three sizes: the traditional model with a 10 cm polished carbon steel blade, the longer-bladed Vallesmanni, and the smaller Women’s Knife. The original model together with the Women’s Knife are combined into the Horse Head Double Knife, which features the same design with 10 cm and 6 cm blades. The sheath of the Kaksineuvoinen knife is available in light or black leather, with a decorative brass tip and traditional hand-pressed patterns on the leather.
Total length: 26 cm, knife length: 21 cm/12 cm, blade length: 10 cm/6 cm
Weight: 140 grams
Handle material: Birch bark, brass
Blade material: Polished carbon steel
