The concept for the Ulize began with a German policeman nicknamed "Sony." A long-time fan of Spyderco knives and particularly the Police model, he thought there was merit in the idea of a folding knife designed specifically for the German police. Based on this concept, Sony approached German custom knifemaker Ulrich Hennicke with the hope of getting him interested in the project.

Hennicke, a master craftsman known for his hand-forged Damascus blades, began his career in knifemaking in 1996. After visiting the Mainz artist's market, he became fascinated with custom knives and ultimately apprenticed under Hermann Gradinger. His first knives were made by stock removal and he quickly graduated to forged blades and began making knives full time.

With Sony's input, Hennicke set about designing a knife that retained the qualities of the original Police model, while incorporating his own design flair. The result is the Ulize, which takes its name from Ulrich's nickname "Uli" and the German word for "police"- Polizei. Spyderco came onboard to manufacture it.

The Ulize is a slim, folding knife designed for both performance and ease of carry. Its blade is hollow ground from VG-10 stainless steel and features a dynamic recurved profile. This blade shape combines a well-centered point, a curved "belly," and a subtly recurved edge to maximize the cutting performance of all areas of the blade. Strategically placed jimping on the blade's thumb ramp provides a positive index for the user's thumb and ensures superior control during all cutting tasks.

The handle of the Ulize is built on a framework of skeletonized full stainless steel liners and a stainless back spacer. This construction style supports the knife's mid-positioned back lock mechanism and provides extreme strength while minimizing weight. Textured G-10 scales encase the handle along its entire length and are bead blasted to enhance its grip. A four-position hourglass clip offers deep-pocket, tip-up or tip-down, carry on the left and right sides. These carry options, along with the knife's back lock mechanism and Trademark Round Hole™, make the Ulize completely symmetrical and fully ambidextrous.

In the open position, the Ulize manifests a continuous flowing curve from the butt of the handle to the tip of the blade. This curve and the handle's exceptional ergonomics not only make the Ulize comfortable in the hand, they also create a slight negative angle of the blade that increases the pressure of the edge during cutting, enhancing cutting performance. The blade's negative angle also shortens its arc during opening, guaranteeing swift, positive one-handed blade opening.

A puukko is the traditional belt knife of Finnish people. In its classic form, it features a relatively short, single-edged blade with a curved cutting edge and a straight spine. Puukko handles are typically wood and feature concealed-tang construction and a teardrop-shaped cross section that helps the user orient the edge and provides enhanced control. Puukko knives do not have true guards, but include a metal bolster at the junction of the handle and the blade. Their blade grinds usually extend all the way to this bolster with no ricasso (the flat, unsharpened portion of the blade nearest the handle found on most knives). This style of grind maximizes the length of the cutting edge and allows the user to cut with great power by focusing the force of the cut closest to the hand. The Spyderco Puukko is based on a design by renowned Finnish knifemaker Pekka Tuominen and is based on one of Tuominen's signature designs and faithfully represents this classic knife.

Mr. Pekka Tuominen is a Finnish knifemaker and has collaborated with Spyderco in creating a traditional Puukko Fixed Blade with a bit of Spyderco style.

Pekka was born in 1970 in Lieto, a small village near Turku, in southern Finland. In his youth he studied to be a youth-worker and a wilderness guide. This lifestyle path was ideal for Pekka who has been a Boy Scout and an outdoor man all his life. At 15 the thought occurred to him "what is the most important and perfect thing for outdoor living and outdoor safety/survival"? Without thought or question, his answer was a knife. Being Finnish, naturally it was a puukko-knife. Here began his knife obsession.

His knife preoccupation started early. Pekka's grandpa was a part-time blacksmith and his father, a retired carpenter. They presented him his first knife before he was 5-years old. He soaked-up every bit of information he could find on traditional Finnish puukkos. By 18 he was studying in Inari (Northern Lappland) to be a wilderness guide, hunting and making 2-week hiking treks, living in lean-tos with only a Puukko and a backpack. The school also taught the basics of puukko-knife making.

After Inari he served Finland in the Sissi-Unit (guerilla tactical unit) based in the forest where knives were a necessity for fire, food, shelter. He was part of a Guerilla unit as his regular military service and later served in a Finnish Battalion in Lebanon 1992-93, Bosnia 1996 and Kosovo 1999. In daily life for a soldier, the knife is first a tool and only temporarily, a weapon. He was still learning more about knives as tools and started to enjoy the aspect of adding art and beauty to a useful utensil.

By 1999 he married his wife Pirkko and moved to her family's farm and started a small organic cattle operation. Here he settled into knifemaking: 90% of his time was spent making knives with the remaining 10% of time farming.

Pekka's skill spread beyond simply forging and grinding, he started using different materials and techniques and prides himself on making his knives from start-to-finish. His specialty is traditional puukko-style knives but he also makes the occasional hunter, leuku, folder and dagger. For his blades, he forges steel and Damascus steel and does all his own grinding and heat treat. His handles are usually curly birch or Micarta and he hand-stitches all of his own plant-tanned leather sheaths.

Pekka's knives convey the simple but elegant style of traditional Finnish puukko-knives (such as Tommi, Pekanpaa or Kokemaen-Puukko models) and has led Pekka all over the world sharing his knowledge and selling his knives. "My goal is to be a better knifemaker. A handcrafter is never fully educated so I try to keep my eyes open and find things which I can improve in everything I make." This credo, combined with his innate talent, has earned him several Finnish Knife Championships titles and an honored place as one of only seven Puukkoseppamestari- or Master Bladesmiths in Finland.

Master Bladesmith status in Finland falls under the Ministry of Education. The Ministry tests a craftsman's work extensively before awarding the title of "Master" to any craftsman. It is a craftsman's highest accomplishment. Pekka is also a member of the Scandinavian Knifemakers Guild, an organizer of Guild's Helsinki Knife Show and a member of the Finnish Knife Association.