After attending five classes at Joensuu Lyseo, Ikonen worked from 1906 to 1912 as an electrician for the State Railways in Viipuri and Varkausi.
He was fired because of his political activities; according to some reports the final reason was participation in the May Day March of the Social Democrats.
As the strike continued, Ikonen went to inquire about conditions in Viipuri, from where he returned on the same train with an armed gang led by Heikki Kaljunen.
In January 1918, the whites occupied Hiitola and Ikonen was captured a day before the Finnish Civil War started.
In the years 1922-1924, Ikonen worked as a traveling speaker and lecturer and was a member of the party's district committee of the eastern constituency of Vaasa Province.
After the Supreme Court of Finland reduced the sentence to 1 year and 3 months, Ikonen was released on parole from the Tammisaari prison camp in August 1926.
Ikonen initially worked at the Petroskoi post office and as the manager of the information transmission unit of the Kalevalsky District.
After his dismissal, Ikonen worked as a mixed laborer at the Onega factory in Petrozavodsk until he was arrested in February 1938 on charges of counter-revolutionary activities.