Do your knives rust?
The answer would be yes,my knives are subject to rust,anyway almost no stainless steel can be blacksmithed and fewer yet stainless steels are really sharp.considering this point the steels I work (xc75 ; 100 C6 and files) have a good resistance to water and acids,xc75 does stain a little with time , which is less the case with suspension springs and lesser with files.drying the blade with a simple cloth will prevent all these bad things to happen to your knife.
Are your knives robust?
This one also is one of my favourites,and will make the people i encoutered laught.The answer i uasually give is : i take a knife ,a hammer and an 20 mm oak piece ,and hammer it until all the surrounding people wonder what is happening.Result : never broke a knife,started my second oak piece.
What kind of woods do you use?
Most of the time , i use wood i chop down myself (buxus,Juniperus communis)when i run out of stock i sometimes use Mahogany.less often when i find some i use red reed ankles.
01
02
03
Are your knives sharp?
I swear i m often asked this one...Answers do never vary, yes my knives are sharp and for long due to the prorieties of the steels i use,they are also easy to sharpen and re-sharpen.Xc 75 steel has a good , durable edge , files are a little bit more tricky to sharpen.I should collect all the hair people leave on my table testing the sharpness of my knives on their arms(?!)
04
How to sharpen my knife?
I ll make a small tutorial with pictures soon,so best is to use a fine grain oil sharpening stone,applying the knife with a 20° angle , gently rotating on the stone , then to break this sharpening a bit with a piece of leather , always with the same angle.
05
Here is a list of questions i am frequently asked:
06
Can i blacksmith my knife by myself?
This answer shall be a bit elusive but yes you could: heat the steel , hammer it , shape it temper it , polish and here we go you have a knife.May theory look quite simple,practicing takes time, LOTS of time. If you are interrested in making your own knife , contact me and come to my workshop we ll see what we can do to share this passion !
07
What is this black stuff on the blade?
I kinda like this one, this is calamine a thin layer of carbon created durint the tempering of the blade,which protects it from rusting.If you don' tike it , wash it away with a special sponge.
08
What is this thing on the back of the blade?
Well i did not find the proper term in english so this is it, french word is guillochage, you mill marks on the back of the blade for esthetic purpose or a better grip if you put your thumb on it (choose the answer you prefer)
09
What are this suspicious bottles on your table?
For the ones who saw me on markets or events , and saw these strange looking bottles,here is further explanation::
-Wallnut stain : extract from a part of the wall nut , stains leather and fingers alike when used
-Neatsfoot oil: a yellow oil rendered and purified from the shin bones and feet (but not the hooves) of cattle. "Neat" in the oil's name comes from an old name for cattle. Neatsfoot oil is used as a conditioning, softening and preservative agent for leather. In the 18th century (wikipedia)
I use only natural products , to enhance the lifespan of your leather to a longer period.and to prevent chemicals to further invade your life.
All my blades are tempered using vegetal oil (rapeseed and sunflower) , which prevents calamine from containing lead and other awful stuff you could fine in engine oil...