Australian Knifemakers Guild | Organisation

Australian Knifemakers Guild

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Organisation

25.01.2022 NEW ADMINISTRATION MANAGER Robyn Lewis The Australian Knifemakers Guild has always been a community organization run by its members. As the years go by, finding volunteers who have hours to spend every week working for the organization has become more difficult verging on impossible. At our last AGM the majority of members present voted to suffer significant increases in membership fees in the 2021 year to use the money raised to hire a part time office manager to take care o...f all organizational requirements that the guild has. Robyn has extensive experience providing administration support for organizations such as ours and in she was also a Sergeant in the Australian Army. Please join us in Welcoming Robyn to the guild! Robyn can be contacted by email: [email protected]

24.01.2022 Join the Guild! With a range of scholarships and free stuff on offer there has never been a better time to join the guild! Making three knives for guild assessment can be seam a little daunting however it is not as hard as it sounds. Join our special presentation hosted by Australian Mastersmith Shawn McIntyre on the 15th October to hear how you can increase your chances of success! https://www.facebook.com/events/681387219440737?active_tab=about

23.01.2022 The new Guild Test. Just a bit of humour in this strange old world of ours.

23.01.2022 Meet The Team Newsletter Editor Christian Mathieson. You know that youthful confidence (arrogance) that makes you think you can do anything? Well, Christian had that in spades so much so that when he first saw a Chris Reeve Sebenza, arguably the greatest folding knife ever made, he thought I really want one of them but there’s no way I can justify paying $700 for a pocket knife, I’ll make one instead" it can’t be that hard It was the Dunning-Kruger Effect personified....Continue reading

23.01.2022 There are many steps that go into the manufacture of a custom knife. Here are a few work in progress shots from Sydney Knifemaker Ian Ronald. If you have any questions about the process, please ask in the comments below. Ian is probably best known for his knives made for and used by celebrity chef "Fast Ed" Ed Halmagyi. https://www.facebook.com/RonaldKnivesAU/posts/2500907396703323 It is absolutely fantastic to see Aussie celebrity chefs supporting Australian knifemakers and seeing the value in the amazing products our members produce. Have you ever used a custom knife? Tell us your stories! Show us your favourite knives in the comments below!

22.01.2022 AMAZING WORKMANSHIP We know we have posted this knife before, but not these amazing pictures taken by Michael Masion the Editor of the Australian Knife Magazine. The "Dragon Knife" was made by @Peter Del Raso, ground from 3/8" 440C and measures 9 1/2" with a 5" flat ground blade and an equally masterful sheathe featuring ostrich skin inlay. The main attraction of course is the art engraving by @Marcello Pedini. Both sides of the handle feature deep carved hand engraving with insert "panels" using bulino method. But this is more than just an engraving, it presents an enchanted story to capture the imagination. If you want to see more like this be sure to like and follow our page!

22.01.2022 YOUR TYPICAL RABBIT HOLE A story by Warrick Edmonds Back in January, I was with a mate in his back yard here in Adelaide, and we were both in our cups. One of those warm, summer evenings when the crickets are chirping under the grass and the cicadas are buzzing somewhere up in the leaves. ...Continue reading

21.01.2022 MEMBER PROFILE Barney Lund of Lundcraft Barney is well known for his roll forming the Northern Rivers Knifemakers and Blacksmiths Group on Facebook. He started his knifemaking Journey in 2013 and joined the guild as a probationary member in 2017. Like most people 2020 has effected Barney and even more so with a new baby and house and shed renovations in full swing. ... Barney's big influences within the guild are Karim Haddad and Paul-Emmanuel Arestan, having done lessons with both of them. He also recognizes the encouragement of Pierre Mefflin, a fellow bushcraft knife lover. Barney loves ,making knives for Bushcraft, camping and utility. He also makes the odd kitchen knife. He works with 1084, the most notable of carbon knifemaking steels and O1, a high grade carbon tool steel. Barney is actively working towards his full membership of the guild and hopes to achieve it in 2020! Show Barney your support and follow him on his Facebook and Instagram pages "Lundcraft" See more

21.01.2022 STORY TIME Healing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with CUSTOM KNIVES Tony joined the Australian Army in January 1993 as an apprentice Fitter/Turner/Armourer. He was just 17 years old. Initially he had wanted to join the infantry but as he was under age his parents had to sign him over and they would only do so if he did a trade. Tony spent the next two years in Army trade school at Bonegilla (just outside Albury/Wodonga). This included the Tafe components as well as armourer ...Continue reading

20.01.2022 Townsville Hammer In So today I held the first of what I can only assume will be many Hammer Ins here in Townsville. Everyone (19 people including 2 lovely ladi...es) seemed to have a ball and probably walked away more confused about Knifemaking than when they started (lots of the guys now realise how much is done behind the scenes in FIF). Thanks to Corin Urquhart, Tim and Cole from Gameco as everyone went away wearing a nice new shirt and had a knife blank to play around with at home. Thanks to Denise Axelson for doing a Blacksmith demo, making some hooks and scrolls. All in all it was a good day and everyone went home with fingers intact.

19.01.2022 Well Done Jay Cross!!!!

19.01.2022 Special LIVE Stream featuring Mastersmith Shawn McIntyre. When: 8:30pm AEDT, Thursday 15th October Where: Live Streamed on the Australian Knifemakers Guild page, on the Australian Blacksmiths and Knifemakers Group and on the Knifemaking Downunder Podcast Groups and pages. What is it: Making Knives for Guild Assessment. In this exclusive presentation one of Australia's very best knifemakers will give advice, tips and tricks on what the guild state representatives look for when... they assess knives. Shawn will go through the process of making knives that will give you the very best chance of success. Joining the Australian Knifemakers Guild is a great way to improve your skills and push your knifemaking to the next level and this presentation will give you the head start you need to ensure success! Comment below if you will be attending! Share this event with your friends! See more

19.01.2022 Some people ask "why a custom knife?" Here is an example of one reason why. Can your knife do this?

19.01.2022 Good morning team, This morning I woke to some messages from another Pakimascus maker but this time on the Guild Page. If you come across this crap on our pages please let us admins know so that we can remove them. I also advised another fellow yesterday about getting what you pay for when he found a Pakimascus Filleting Knife for $123.... Again folks let’s keep Australian Knifemaking to a quality standard and hopefully we can educate other against these poor quality players ripping people off. Cheers Tony

19.01.2022 One thing you always hear knifemakers talking about is how much they miss the social aspect of knifemaking. This is the knifemakers dinner at the Melbourne Knife show in 2017. Our thoughts go out to all our knifemaking family in Covid lockdown in Melbourne right now! What are you up to? We are here for you if you want to reach out!

17.01.2022 A bit of light reading. Thanks to Corin and the Gameco lads for organising the bulk buy. https://www.facebook.com/pg/tonysbladesmithing/about/

17.01.2022 MEET THE TEAM AKG President, Terri Parker Please show your support! Terri Parker is a long time contributor to the Australian Knifemaking Industry with a history of service to the guild. We are honored to have her back on the committee this year and this time as President! Terri's knife making journey started after the 2002 Melbourne Knife Show. At the show she held a sword made by Mr Paul Maffi (pictured) and decided then and there to start making.... Drawn to the show by her love of all things sharp Terri soon realized her passion for making her own edged tools. Terri's participation in the industry began shortly after this when she volunteered to run the guilds knife show committee and she was soon responsible for the running of the Melbourne Show every year. Around 2009 Terri became a probationary member and she followed that up with full membership of the guild passing her final assessment in 2013. In over a decade of guild membership Terri has held the positions of newsletter editor, secretary, treasurer and of course Melbourne Knife show organizer. at some points she occupied all of these positions at the same time! Terri's contributions to the knifemaking industry do not stop with her service to the guild, she and her husband Adam also run a successful knifemaking business offering classes at Mount Mercer about 30 minutes from Ballarat in Victoria. They have in fact just built a magnificent new workshop for teaching and knifemaking meet ups and we are looking forward to seeing it get into full swing as soon as the Covid situation allows. Terri has attributed her key knifemaking inspiration to Adam Parker (Now her husband), Peter Del Raso, Maurie McCarthy, Shawn McIntyre, Paul Maffi and Julie Warenski-Erickson. You can meet Terri every year at the Melbourne knife show where she exhibits her work and occasionally at other shows around Australia. There are few people in our industry that contribute as much as Terri has over so many years and we are proud to have her as our President! You can follow Terri on Instagram and Facebook @Terri Parker

13.01.2022 There are still 6 weeks left to join the guild or upgrade from probationary to full membership and claim your $50 gift voucher from Gameco Artisan Supplies. Gameco are also offering 9 membership scholarships for outstanding performance in the assessment for joining and full membership and also for the three most helpful guild members on social media! How are your assessment knives coming along? Be sure to get in touch if you need any help! https://www.akg.org.au/about-us/join-the-guild

13.01.2022 MEET THE TEAM! AKG Committee Member, Master Smith Shawn McIntyre. Shawn McIntyre has always been abnormally lovable, however his lovability factor went through the roof when he started making knives in 1993. It all started when he read the Gun Digest Book of Knives back when he lived in Pennsylvania USA. He attended three classes with the American Bladesmith Society in 1993 and 1994 before moving to Australia in 1999 and setting up out here. He joined the Guild in 2000 and a...ttended his first knife show the same year at The Guild show in Melbourne attaining full membership of the guild in 2001. Peter Del Raso was a very important and generous mentor early in his knifemaking. He is still a close friend and knifemaking sounding board to this day. Steve Filicitti was another big early influence when he started making knives in Australia. Steve taught Shawn the foundations of making mosaic Damascus. Shawn specializes in hunting knives, utility knives, Bowies, slip joint folding knives, and recently he has been indulging in an interest in carving tools. Shawn’s favourite standard alloy steel alloy is W2. W2 was originally designed as a water quench, shallow hardening steel that gives excellent surface hardness combined with internal toughness, however in the hands of a master bladesmith, W2 can be used to create amazing hardness lines called Hamon. These lines show the transition from the hard edge to the soft spine of the knife and are an artwork in their own right. Shawn’s true love however is making Damascus pattern welded steels. HE is famous for his intricate mosaic patterns. Shawn is a full time knife maker and forges his blades almost exclusively as close as he can to the final finished dimensions. He is currently working to improve his skills in the manufacture of Damascus slip joint folders. You can follow Shawn on Instagram @mcintyreknives or on his website: http://www.mcintyreknives.com/

13.01.2022 NEXT LEVEL KNIFEMAKING Joining the guild or upgrading your membership is your opportunity to level up your knifemaking. Don't miss our special LIVE presentation on the 15th October. Mastersmith Shawn McIntyre will be presenting on what is required from a guild assesment knife and how you can give yourself the best possible chance of success! Details on our event page! Make sure to let us know you are coming. https://www.facebook.com/events/681387219440737?active_tab=about

11.01.2022 Have you booked your place to attend yet?

11.01.2022 MEMBER PROFILE Jason Gwillam Based in Newcastle in NSW Jason has now been making knives for about 5 years. He joined the guild as a probationary member in 2018 and is working hard towards his full membership. ... Jason is best known for his wood carving knives. He makes a great range of products for wood carving and whittling including spoon and hook knives. He does not limit himself however and over the years he has made a wide range of products, building a good name for himself making bushcraft knives also. Jason likes to work in stainless steels like Sandviks 14C28N. A martensitic stainless steel that can be hardened and holds a super fine edge. he also loves the carbon tool steel A2. A2 is a high Carbon high chromium high manganese tool steel that hardens with an air quench. Jason general makes his knives by stock removal methods. You can follow Jason on his Facebook page "Hillbilly Forge"

10.01.2022 SUPER SHARP LOCKDOWN CREATIONS Tobias Bockholt of Metal Monkey Kniveshas been hard at work this lock-down. Check out his amazing creations! Tobias is based in Torquay in Victoria. Tobias is a probationary member of the guild and it is certainly time for him to go for full membership! The quality of work is outstanding. Show him your support and share his work with your friends!

08.01.2022 KNIFEMAKER SKILLS Knifemakers cannot get by just knowing how to work steel into blades. Knifemakers have some of the most diverse skill sets of any maker. not only do we forge and precision grind steel, we also work all manner of materials including, wood, bone, horn, stone, carbon fiber and composite materials, plastics and non ferrous metals, often all into a single piece of art. In this example Peter Del Raso is making a leather sheath for his "Dragon Slayer" integral knife with engraved handle. Ostrich skin front panel with a few shinny studs for a bit of bling. It looks so easy doesn't it!

07.01.2022 Ian Stewart Tutorial #8 Guard Shaping and pinning Part 1 Saturday morning guard fit up. Time to get this hunter finished and ready for Melbourne Knife Show. Guard fitup can be real finicky, but if you take your time and follow a few simple steps, you can end up with a very pleasing outcome. This is "how I do it" and not necessarily the easiest, but it works for me. Picture 1: So the guard fits, the next step is to finish the knife to final grit, along with the front of the g...uard and then pin the two together. Best not to hurry anything from here on, the fit and finish is vital from here on, all the rough work is done. Picture 2: Finish shaping the finger notch on the bottom of the guard is done with a couple of round files and the different grit papers. I like to finish the guard to the same grit as the blade. 600 grit in this case. Picture 3: A piece of hickory drum stick is my preferred tool to finish the finger notch. You simply wrap some paper around it and it fits the curve real nice. Only takes a couple of minutes with each grit. Picture 4: Curved tool in curved notch makes for a great finish on each grit. Here it is at 320. I will go to 600, once I have the scales fitted and shaped to match the back of the guard. Picture 5: Next, it's time to taper the pin hole, done simply with my home made tapered drill bit. That's another story. Picture 6: The tapered bit works real well and there is plenty of clearance around the pin if done right. Picture 7: Don't forget to polish the little bit at the bottom of the ricasso, to finish grit. Have forgotten to do this on a few knives and it's real hard to do once the knife is finished, in fact it's nearly impossible. Picture 8: Now we give the front of the guard some attention. Working to 600 grit as well, all the grind lines need to come out. Picture 9: I like to wrap some paper around a flat file then simply push the guard back and forth along the paper till all the grind lines are gone. Try to keep it parallel, you don't want to be looking at sloping lines on the front of your guard. Picture 10: Here is how it looks at a perfect 600 grit finish.

07.01.2022 Hey team I have 53 Blade and Knives Illustrated magazines free to give away if anyone wants them. I will post them but I live in Townsville and estimate the postage would be $20 as there is quite a bit of weight in them. Let me know, Cheers Tony

06.01.2022 GAMECO ARTISAN SUPPLIES COMMUNITY SUPPORT Australian Knifemakers Guild Scholarships and GIVEAWAY! Please help spread the word! With Covid restrictions still in place across Australia and many people making knives at home, and the Australian Knifemakers Guild being hamstrung by the inability to run their fantastic knifemaking events, Gameco Artisan Supplies are offering the following to anyone who wishes to join the guild, upgrade their membership, or to guild members that giv...e their time to help on Social Media. The Australian Knifemakers Guild as it is the peak industry body for Australian Knifemakers and one of the not for profit associations within The Australian Knifemaking Industry. Gameco would like to acknowledge the work that the Guild does in promoting and developing the skills of knifemakers. We will offer 9 Scholarships of payment of the $150 membership fee to the Guild for the 2021 financial year broken down as follows: Three scholarships for the best three new members to achieve Probationary Membership as judged by the guilds state reps. Entrants must have followed official guild membership application rules and the assessment knives must be in the hands of the state representatives by the 31st December 2020. Three scholarships for the best three members who upgrade from probationary to full membership, as judged by the guild state reps. Entrants must have followed official guild membership application rules and the assessment knives must be in the hands of the state representatives by the 31st December 2020. Three Scholarships for the three most helpful guild members on social media as nominated and judged by their peers on a vote held on the guild’s members only group in January 2021. Additionally, Gameco will offer approximately 70 x $50 Gameco gift vouchers for the first people to successfully gain probationary or upgrade to full membership between 30/10/2020 and 31/12/2020. To be eligible all applicants must post about their application and work in progress photos in social media and mention the guild. Gameco trusts that these prizes will offer strong incentive for new members to join and probationary members to upgrade to full membership. We thnk the guild for the opportunity to support the Australian knifemaking community and we look forward to playing a part in advancing the quality of Australian Knives and knifemaking. Gameco will provide the scholarships as payments to the guild. Gameco will provide the gift vouchers directly to the recipient. The guild must nominate and judge all scholarships and provide a list of the recipients of gift vouchers. Stay tuned for more details and comment below if you would like more information. Stay tuned also for a special Knifemaking Down Under/Gameco sponsored presentation from Mastersmith Shawn McIntyre on how guild knives are judged and what to consider when you make your assessment knives. See more

06.01.2022 MEET THE TEAM AKG Committee member, Corin Urquhart Corin started his knifemaking Journey in 2002 and has worked with some of the best knife makers in Australia and attributes everything he knows to the many hours spent in the workshops of guys like Keith Fludder, Shawn McIntyre, Ian Stewart, Alistair Bastian, Karim Haddad and many many more. Corin has held many positions contributing to the Australian Knife Industry including Treasurer of the Australian Knifemakers Guild, pa...rticipating on the social media and knife show sub committees and founding member, treasurer, former secretary and public officer of the Knife Art Association. Always working toward building our industry and gaining recognition for the amazing talent of Australian Knifemakers. In 2014 Corin founded the Facebook group "Australian Blacksmiths and Knifemakers" Which now has over 22,000 members. Always a fan of scandinavian knives, these days Corin is best known for his Swedish style Barrel knives. Barrel knives are now quite uncommon however in the late 1800s and early 1900s many firms in Eskilstuna Sweden were making this style. Thomas Gerner and the late Maurie McCarthy were both instrumental in teaching Corin the art of the barrel knife. Corin's Barrel knives are made by hand from materials such as sterling silver, bronzes and Damasteel as well as hand forged damascus. Corin can be followed on instagram @corin_at_gameco but expect to see a lot of random posts as he makes all kinds of things from Hammers to random machining projects. He is also reasonably active on Youtube under the channel "corinkayaker" Corin is also a regular presenter on the Knife Making Down Under Podcast and attends almost all knife shows in Australia with the Gameco Artisan Supplies show truck.

05.01.2022 COVID CREATIONS Nicholas Tanner With the kids at home more and the Melbourne Knife Show Canceled Nick's Knifemaking has had a few hiccups in 2020. Regardless he currently has 4 Pukkos, 2 camp knives and six small full tang blades all in the works. As the show was cancelled he still has some stock for sale, all utility and hunting knives. Nick is planning to go for full guild membership soon and is working on the three knives he hopes will show the quality and consistency o...f his workmanship that are required to complete the process. Nick is looking forward to going out to dinner again and getting to the guilds "Knife Camp" as soon as it can run again. Show Nick your support and like comment and share this post and follow him on Instagram @nick_w_tanner See more

05.01.2022 If you want a great Knifemaking Grinder give Gameco a call. I have two of the older models and they are awesome. Cheers Tony

03.01.2022 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN WELD? Barry Kennedy ABS Journeyman Bladesmith's Covid Creations. Barry Kennedy has been using his Covid lockdown to play with new and exciting ways to weld steels together to give amazing patterns in a Blade. To the untrained eye the patterns in these steel blades may appear to be on the surface of the steel, but they are in fact THE steel. It is normally made by forge welding together two distinct steel alloys, On containing Nickel, which remains shin...y and one the normally contains manganese and goes black when etched. The welding process involves heating a stack of alternating layers to near melting heat and sticking them together using precise blows of the hammer or the mechanical power of a forging press. That will get you straight lines. Spare a thought for how the patterns in these blades were created. Due to the nature and location of Barry's permanent employment, he has been forced to stay home without income for the last 5 months and it is really great to see he has been investing his time in his knifemaking and improving his skills! Currently "on the bench" Barry has 8 Damascus hunting knives and Bowie Knives with matching Damascus fittings, 3 Damascus blades with integral bolsters n 2 liner lock folders and several Damascus pattern welded steel billets ready to be forged into blades. Additionally he also has a few stainless steel chef and boning knives! If you are interested in a knife from Barry do get in touch, he has a lot of blades completed and in stock, including the magnificent folding knives pictured. Barry is looking forward to returning to a stable income and being able to travel again to attend all the great knife shows and knife events in Australia! Show your support and follow Barry's work on Instagram @barry_kennedy_knives See more

03.01.2022 THE GOOD WOOD FOR LOCKDOWN Mark Sinclair Mark Sinclair is known for being one of the best suppliers of stabilized timbers in Australia, and he is also an accomplished knife maker and full member of the Australian Knifemakers Guild. During his lockdown he has been working on improving his wood stabilizing setup, which allows him to use vacuum and pressure to soak his wood blocks in resins. This process makes the timber resistant to oils, moisture, and bending, cracking and wa...rping. He has also been making some custom knife orders including Damascus pattern welded steel fillet, chef and hunting knives. Mark is looking forward to the knife community getting together again at shows and events, and I guess we all share that wish! Please show mark your support by liking and sharing this post and checking out his work at www.sinclairknives.com, On Facebook and Instagram Sinclair's Stabilised Timber and Sinclair Knives Australia See more