My name is Gabriel Berthélémy, I was born in 1990. When I was young, I loved taking things apart, seeing how they worked, how the pieces fit together, how they were organized. I always want to probe inside, to touch and see in order to understand.
I studied architecture because I loved drawing and designing. But during my studies, I discovered that I needed to work with materials with my hands. After retraining in metalworking, I met Flo Baroud—my master blacksmith—who passed on his love of blacksmithing to me and introduced me to cutlery. Then Flo introduced me to the cutler David Lespect, who trained me in liner lock and passed on his expertise.
I forge some of my knife blades from Damascus steel. On other knives, I make them using stock removal. Forging is sensory. The eye detects the right temperature, the sound on the anvil tells me if I’ve struck the right spot, and my hands know the right angle to bend the piece in the right direction. The pursuit of mechanical precision is also very important to me; being able to move from raw material to very precise adjustments to achieve the right mechanical balance is always satisfying.
I’ve always had a taste for drawing. I love graphic arts and photography, which helps me explore new lines and suggest combinations of materials, colors, and textures. The knife allows for a constant search between ergonomics and original volume.
There are graphic balances in everything around us; it’s up to us to find them, highlight them, and appreciate their infinity.
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