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Finn-Anders Andersson 1870 to 1920

(This image was digitally repaired and enhanced)


Finn-Anders Andersson (1848 - 1930) is one of the first knifemakers of Mora knives and the first to
make a large-scale knife production business. He is a prime example of the entrepreneurial spirit in that
region at the time.


Finn Anders was born in 1848 in the village of Östnor, from a family of clockmakers. He was originally called Krång Anders, however, there were so many Krångs in Östnor that he decided to change to the farm’s name Finn.

At the age of 18, Finn Anders began working at Mora Mekaniska Fabriks in Östnor with a paycheck of 12 öre per hour. 

He began forging knives at home for sale while working at Mora Mekaniska Fabriks. His first knife was made in 1868. 


Mora  Mekaniska  Fabriks  AB, 27 September  1872. 
Finn-Anders Andersson is second on the right on the middle row

He gained experience in industrial engineering and product manufacturing at the sewing factory. Later, when he would start mass producing knives, he would utilize this knowledge.

FA Anderssons Täljknivsfabrik, was founded in 1870. 

The factory closed in 1877, and he worked there until then. Upon closing the factory, he started working full-time on making knives, becoming the first person to make it a business. 

Note: 1870 is normally referred to as the year when he started the production but I found a reference in
the FM Mattsson web page that indicates 1865 was the start year for FAAnderssons.  https://www.fmm-
references that the Finn-Anders Andersson established his "Smidesverkstad" (forging shop) in the 1860s.




The workshop and forge were located in Bogghedsvägen. The timber used in the construction was sourced by himself from the Hemulsberget mountains, west of Österdalalven. His daughter Maria would drive him back home, with a horse and sled. This was around the 1890s.

Two examples of Finns Anders knives. The one on the bottom is the oldest, probably from 1870-1890 

In this picture you can see the way the blade was secured to the handle by simply bending the tang to one side on the older version. 

At the beginning, he sharpened the knives in the small shed, where his children had to manually move the grindstone.

Finn Anders also owned a farm with a few cows. It was very common during this time period to own a small farm. It was his wife Lars Anna Larsdotter who managed the small family farm. Farm life and knife making will remain constants throughout his life. 

Blade stamps AAS with the tang bended to the side and the traditional  Fäbod sheath or hooded sheath.


In Sweden during the shieling time, (circa, the 15th and mid 20th century) people like Finn Anders buffered his cows to his shieling, a place not far from their home during the winter. Also kept at the shieling was the cattle’s food that was grown earlier in the spring.

Finn Anders arrived at his shieling at the end of May. His shieling was called Säs (approx 9 minutes by car from Östnor).

In the initial years, he would walk 8km, from Östnor to Säs, so he could grind the knife blanks on a grindstone powered by a water wheel. When he was asked on one occasion whether it might be time to get a bicycle for his journeys, he cleverly replied, “I can’t be bothered to carry that, too.”


Find Anders on his way to Säs. Date unknown



Find Anders basket showed on the picture above

Carl Ström from (from Ströms Knivslidsfabrik) at Spetjen in Säs. The grindstone on the left was also used by Finn Anders. Date: unknown

Picture "Here is an old grindstone located on the slope where the water wheel was in Säs. We believe that it may be the stone Finn-Anders used when sharpening his knife blanks." Ref

Around 1875 -1880 there was a disastrous harvest in Östnor. Finn Anders and a couple of other men quickly realised they had to find another place to be able to feed both the animals and the people. They found Bäckdalen. In Bäckdalen (approx. 1 hour by car from Stnor), Finn Anders and his men buffered the animals at the beginning of July after harvesting the vegetable harvest in Säs. When they had harvested what they could in Bäckdalen they returned back to Östnor, at the end of August or the beginning of September, depending on the weather.

Among the helpers in the company were Tyttu-Jerk, a poor but strong boy, Sol Nils Nilsson / Olsson, and Kånå-Jerk, sometimes assisted by Manne. 

Gunnar Bälter, grand son of Finn-Anders said in the arcticle Knivmakaren 2006 nr 3
"He remembers especially when grandfather's helpers hardened the knife in the ashes. When the blade had a special red hue, it was ready to harden. The blade was then allowed to cool in a bucket of water"

Sol-Nils Olsson, considered to be the first person to start making knives for sale in the well-known Mora style, joined as a farmhand and a valued helper, with all the know-how he had for knife making. More info on Sol-Nils Olsson here.

From the book Med Dalälven från källorna till havet, Mora 
"Now came the time for knife and metal workshops. Knives had previously been forged for household needs in each yard, with short broad straight blades and usually hood burl handle and leather sheath; Sol Nils Olsson in Kråkberg was the first to make such for sale. He is now a farmhand with Finn Anders Andersson in Bogghed, 'the last knife maker who runs the profession as a handicraft; these are fine and splendid sheath knives he makes. Here the Eskilstuna knives are considered inferior and less valuable, for they are made entirely of steel and fall off abruptly if you strike them with a hammer; here the blade is made of iron, and a narrow steel strip is inserted by hand as an edge. The prize judges at an exhibition in Gäfle tried the knives by sticking the blade in a crack in a log and breaking; if it went off, it was made of steel and therefore good in their opinion, but if it bent without running off, it was bad."  Google translator 

Kånå-Jerk Erik Jönsson will later found E Jönsson / Bröderna Jönsson Company

In the 1923 article "En knivmedernas föregångama" it is said, that he had help up until around 1920, but duo to increase demand, he will have to get help again. 

With the knowledge he obtained in the sewing machine factory, the production was structured in different series and operations. Large-scale industrial knife production was born.

The sales reached as far as the American market.

In 1897, Finn Anders Andersson was present at a Stockholm exhibition.


Photos of the knife display used at the 1897 exhibition. 
In the third picture "Mora's first knife blacksmith Finn Anders Andersson, Östnor, with his son Jannes. The photo was taken in 1897 at the Stockholm Exhibition, by John Selling. Gunnar Mattsson owns the photo."

From a price list of 1917, we know that for 12x N.0, cost 3:50 and for a 12x sheath of N.1 1, the price was 3:00



For a period, all sheaths were made by Ström slidfabrik (Ström made all the sheaths for all knife makers during that time).

Some day, when the question of who was the first manufacturer of the Finn-Anders claimed it was him. If you had employees, Finn-Anders said, then you were the manufacturer. Source 1992 N.5 Antik Auktion manazine

Finn-Anders Andersson was not known for delivering the orders on time. In this letter from 1917, Sol-Nils Olsson (that at this moment had left the business) commented, that the ordered  knife sheaths have still not arrived




Above: Invoice from the KJE to F.A. Andersson 1920s. FAA was buying supplies from KJ

Knivstål = knife steel, dussin = dozen, duss = short for dozen, Skaftämnen = handle blanks, Skaft = handle, Skaft färdiga = Handles that are completely finished, skaft med holk = handle with ferrule, Skaftfernissa = varnish for the handles, Mahognyfärnissa = Dyed/colored varnish to immitate mahogny, Nitbrickor = washers for riveting, Holkar = ferulles, Smergel = the abrahesive sand glued on wheels to make grinding wheels (can be seen in the film), kvitteras/kvitterad = "signed for" or acknowledged (accepting the receipt);

In the 1900-1920 period, to face the increasing demand, he bought a press and spring hammers, grinders and other machinery, for the blade bladesmith and other indispensable tools. Electric powered machines were also introduced. 

Several of this style of knives haver appeared in the auction sites. It was made by Carl Erik Westling from Älvdale, a town north of Mora, with FAA blanks. My guess 1900-1920s. 

Finns Anders was a well respected neighbor in the community, and is sometimes called the "authority" on fences and boundaries (he remembers changes in the land throughout the years, who owned it, etc.). He would inspect the fences before the cattle are let out in the spring, even when he was 75 years old. 

His spirit of joy, jovialness, and playful humor is well known. 

Even at 75, he is energetic and youthful, even physically. He moves easily and freely like a youngster, despite the fact that he suffered a serious broken leg a couple of years ago

Once a neighbor told him "You would have become a millionaire, you Anders, if you had made a big industry out of them, when you started making knives and invented your own methods." Between laughs, Finns responde"I don't't want to be a millionaire either. You see how they go with millionaires."

FA Anderssons Täljknivsfabrik closed in the 1920s. Finn Anders had then reached retirement age. He had originally thought that his son Anders, would take over the business eventually, but he died of lung disease at the age of 24. The forge was inherited by his son Jannes. He had, however, moved from Östnor in 1928. Attempts to get others in the family circle to take over the business were made by Böl Jannes Andersson, but also failed. In 1942 Finn Jannes sold the blacksmith forge to Rumbo Karl Persson. It exists remains today but in another place Åjtå gerde.

Finn Anders was honored with the Silver Medal by the "Kopparbergs Läns Hushållningssällskap" association (The household society in Dalarna)


In 2023 Morakniv launche the Ashwood collection. In the collection on of the models was in honor to Finn Anders https://morakniv.se/en/product/finn-blackblade-s-ash-wood/

The "Finn" in front of Finn Anders old log cabin "Finnsmedjan" built in 1870. By Ingmar Kånåls

The living house  Google Maps

Finnsmedjan 1903

 
Finn Anders farm on Bogghedsvägen in Östnor village in Mora


Finn Anders farm, date: 2020



 

 

Photos of the interior. the old homemade lathe with which he turned the knife shafts is marked 1869

Säs Google Maps

Finn Anders house in Säs


Factory Google Maps

 
Find Anders' workshop, factory 

Bäckdalen   Google Maps



three photos of the Find Anders larder. Data: 2020


Bäckdalen 1947

Bäckdalen 2020



Evocative plate in Bäckdalen in honor of Finn-Andres Andersson 




Stamps

A.A.S


AAS MORA 



F.A.ANDERSSON MORA


 




Some examples of FA Anderssons knives found on the web (ref. below)







An early Finn Anders knife at the top and a Sol Nils knife at the bottom. This knife bellongs to the collection at Bröderna Jönsson Photo Anders Noren 2009

Some knives by Finn Anders. Family collection. An interesting detail of this picture, is the turning iron (n.4 from the top left) is also stamped FA Andersson. Maybe a tools for internal use for turning the wood handles.

Family







Photos of Finn-Anders with his wife Hwit-Anna. In the last photo, at age 80.

Finn Anders's family grave. 

In the grave lies: Finn Anders and Hwit Anna; Finn Maria (daughter to Finn Anders)
and her husband Anders Bälter;  Gösta Andersson son to my Finn Kristina (daughter
to Finn Anders). 
Gösta died at a very hung age. After Finn Anders death, the little boy was moved
together with his grandfather.

Special thanks

  • Nyhuus Anders Bälter, great-grandson of Finn-Anders (his grandmother was Maria Andersdotter daughter of Finn-Anders ) for all the awesome info and details he kindly shared 
  • Thomas Morakniv for all the support, patience and help pointing me in the right direction
  • Gal Jones for the proofread

Sources





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