About Me
My name is Francois Labuschagne and I am a hobbyist Bladesmith living in Pretoria, South Africa.
Bladesmithing is the art of making knives, swords, daggers and other blades using a forge, hammer, anvil, and other smithing tools. Bladesmiths employ a variety of metalworking techniques similar to those used by blacksmiths, as well as woodworking for knife and sword handles, and often leatherworking for sheaths. For more info please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bladesmith
Me at the forge:
As far back as I care to remember, blades of any form or shape has fascinated me. From an early age, I tried fashioning knives from scrap wood, metal plate and mild-steel I could find. The results were blades of poor quality, not holding an edge and as you can imagine, not very beautifully either, but heck it was fun!
There was just something cool about making a blade and chopping up my parents’ garden. Well that was what I though…my parents…not so much.
The passion and fires were dowsed when girls started becoming pretty during puberty. Other factors like high school, university, my social life as a student and a job made sure it was far from my mind for many years.
In 2006 the desire to make them was rekindled after finding some remnants of the blades I made way back when…and thus my quest began. I started reading up on bladesmithing and making knives, buying books, and joining bladesmithing forums on the internet.
In Sep 2006, I started making the tools I needed for making knives and started producing some blades…and I have not stopped since. Now I have my own bladesmithing workshop and I am a member of the Southern African Bladesmiths Association.
