It would almost require a rhomboid, as when edge forged, the tip is forced up, thinning the spine pushes it back down, or visa versa. And many old ones had sharp tips, for piercing hide, making snares/traps. Sharp point or tip is a relative term, Pasi states leuku do not have a sharp point, but his idea of a sharp point is relative to standard puukko or even dagger.

Whether you hammer edge or spine first, one compensates for the other. Note blade drooped where edge not yet hammered in. This also why many older and some newer have a slight drop to tip or even hump in back, as the edge is not hammered out near so much, nor parallel to spine out front.


This is a knife used across a vast area by nomads, and there would be marked regional differences, such as thinner knives where trees sparse and spindly, while further south in forests with larger trees and denser woods, more strength would be required.

A leuku could be counted upon to be only knife at times, and for butchering or hunting, it would need features for those tasks. A true multipurpose butchering/shelter-building/hunting/trapping/rough-carver/etc knife, and I had read of one Suomi carving a right nice spoon with his, simply to show it could be done.

But also keep in mind that for over 100yrs, factories and shops in that part of the world have been busy corrupting and selling the romance of the leuku for buyers, the same as happened to the bowie knife in the west. And nomads in near arctic wastes did not set up forges, they traveled south to buy/trade, and specify what was wanted. But as smithies faded and factory/shop knives bloomed, one took what one could get, while tourists and city folk bought anything called a leuku.

These are comments by smiths who talked to folk who used the leuku traditionally. You might find this man's comments and photographed leuku he made to his traditional specifications of interest, him living the traditional Sami lifestyle for half of life. Very much same profile as Pasi uses. Have read of others calling the blade cross section "cat's cheeks" when talking old style, and lamenting many new ones lack them, and even worse, cheap stainless tourista leuku.
https://nordiskaknivar.wordpress.com/2012/10/14/leuku-part-one/