Forged in Snow: Finnish Small Arms 1917-2025

Headstamp Publishing is excited to announce its 18th publication, Forged in Snow: Finnish Small Arms, 1917 – 2025, authored by Ian McCollum. We are offering several beautiful editions, as well as Kickstarter-exclusive rewards. We will also be giving backers exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content, and we have set several stretch goals which will help us to make quality and content improvements to the book.

With your help, we can build on the success of our prior six (6) campaigns which have raised a combined amount in excess of 4.6 million U.S. Dollars. Ian McCollum’s prior publication launched via Kickstarter, Pistols of the Warlords: Chinese Domestic Handguns, 1911–1949, raised in excess of $1.5 million, Kickstarter’s seventh-highest funded publishing category Kickstarter to date (of 70,000+ total publishing category releases). Your support has been vital in the success of our books, and we will  continue to bring you further best-in-class publications. As we further our work toward establishing a new gold standard for firearms reference books, we invite you join us on the journey once more.

Book Specs

• Hardcover
• Smyth-type, section sewn binding permitting the book to lay flat when open
• Dimensions: 7.75 × 10.25 inches (20 × 26 cm)(same approximate dimensions as our Chassepot to FAMAS, Thorneycroft to SA80, and Rifles on the Danube books, for example)
• Page count: TBD

Book Summary

Forged in Snow: Finnish Small Arms, 1917 – 2025 is a reference guide to military firearms manufactured and modified in Finland. Intended for collectors and historians alike, it covers the full scope of Finland’s small arms from pistols to anti-tank rifles and from independence in 1917 to the present day. This book is the first English-language work to comprehensively cover the subject, and includes all major models:

• Pistols: Ahlberg, Luger, Lahti, and more,
• Mosin-Nagants: Standard, Cavalry, Trainers, Snipers, and more,
• Anti-tank Rifles,
• Kalashnikov Variants: from rk/58 trials through the rk/95 and Modernized rk/62,
• Submachine Guns: Lindelof, Suomi, M44, and Jatimatic,
• Light Machine Guns: LS26 and KvKK/62, and
• Bayonets.

Chapters include a history of each weapon’s development and intended use, along with information concerning known variants, production numbers, markings, mechanical operation, and a history of deployment and combat use.

Finland’s path of military development after its independence, followed by two wars with its eastern neighbor and then a delicate balancing act between East and West through the Cold War, created a fascinating and unique history of small arms development. Many of Finland’s early small arms are now in the United States, and this book is a must-have for anyone wishing to collect Mosin-Nagants, Lugers, and Lahti pistols from Finland, as well as those who are interested in the military history of this fiercely independent Nordic nation.

Ian McCollum is the founder, editor, and presenter of Forgotten Weapons, a decade-old web site and video archive dedicated to preserving firearms history. As a Subject Matter Expert with Headstamp Publishing, he helps to ensure the factual accuracy of firearms information contained within our publications. In addition to being an avid practical shooting competitor, Mr. McCollum studies the history of firearms development as well as their practical use, with a particular interest in the developmental stages of manually repeating and self-loading arms.

Ian holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Purdue University, a NIMS Level 1 CNC operator’s certificate, and has worked in firearms manufacturing as well as having lectured for the Association of Firearm and Toolmark Examiners (AFTE). His work with firearms includes a particular speciality in French arms which has led him to a deep interest in collecting these weapons. His book on this topic, Chassepot to FAMAS: French Military Rifles, 1866 – 2016, was released by Headstamp Publishing in 2019.

We are pleased to offer Forged in Snow in three beautiful exclusive First Editions for this Kickstarter campaign: a Kickstarter Edition; Signed Kickstarter Edition; and Collector’s Limited Edition – each with an exclusive white (“frozen”) cover design which will only be available during the campaign (any unsold copies may be offered on our website or future Kickstarter campaigns). We are also offering a Retail Edition of the book with a blue cover. See the Retail Edition section below. All books ordered during the Kickstarter will be First Editions, and will be marked as such.

Backers at all levels will be given access to Kickstarter updates which include exclusive behind-the-scenes content from our team, and we hope to offer additional content directly from the author, Ian McCollum.

Kickstarter Edition Book

Printed on premium quality paper and lavishly illustrated throughout, our Kickstarter Edition book features a unique white “frozen” cover designed especially for this campaign. We are particularly excited about this new frozen style, as it gives us an opportunity to take a break from our standard gold foil designs and dive into a new world of silver foils!

With opportunities to improve the quality and content of this edition through stretch goals, we hope you will join us in making this extraordinary reference book even better!

Kickstarter Exclusive Price: $98 (a savings of $10 off the anticipated post-Kickstarter unsigned book price of $108)

Signed Kickstarter Edition Book

Our Signed Kickstarter Edition Book is a Kickstarter Edition which has been hand signed by the author, Ian McCollum. We find that an author’s signature significantly increases the collectability and distinction of a book. Certainly, knowing that your Signature Edition Book contains the author’s personal touch will add prestige.

Kickstarter Exclusive Price: $118 (a savings of $20 off the anticipated post-Kickstarter signed book price of $138)

Collector’s Limited Edition Book

Our Collector’s Limited Edition is ideal for backers who want a presentation-grade addition to their reference library of fine books. At home in your study or den, Collector’s Limited Editions are ensconced in a beautiful clamshell presentation case.

Each copy is hand-signed by the author. The book’s unique clamshell will keep it safe for years to come.

Price: $250

* Please note that all designs are subject to change and revision based on final production requirements and preferences.

Retail Edition

Our Retail Edition cover follows Headstamp Publishing’s established design cues, and is intended to fit into a library shelf with other Headstamp editions. This classicly clean and sophisticated design showcases Finnish iconography and a selection of firearms in gold foil silhouette.

We are also offering a Retail Edition of the book with a blue cover and gold foil design elements. This blue cover version will be the version offered on our website after the Kickstarter ends. The contents of both versions are the same; only the covers (and potentially page gilding, if unlocked as a stretch goal) differ between the two.

If you are struggling to decide which color you prefer, perhaps the only proper way to deal with the white “frozen” cover vs. blue cover dilemma is to get both! See our unsigned and signed “Double Bundle” pledge levels!

Kickstarter Exclusive Price: $98 (a savings of $10 off the anticipated post-Kickstarter unsigned book price of $108)

Ordering a Retail Edition will not delay the delivery of your Kickstarter Standard or Collector’s Edition books.

All books ordered during the Kickstarter will be First Editions and will be marked as such.

In order to help clarify some of the differences bet