My wife and I made the decision to emigrate to the UK a long time ago. She moved over in September 2021 during lock down while I remained in South Africa to sell our house and complete all outstanding orders. That took another year to achieve, and in October 2022 I was finally able to join my wife in the UK.
So now I am no longer a South African knifemaker. Its the end of an era.
Will I continue making knives?... is the question on everyone's lips. Well, I have made arrangements to bring my equipment over and when I eventually set up shop again the plan is to resume my steel shaping adventures, but with some slight modifications:
Firstly - my business model is changing - I will no longer be taking orders for knives. I will instead build whatever I feel like building and make it available for sale on the website.
Secondly - I won't be making knives full time anymore either - it will once again become a part-time passion. So the volume of knives I build each month will be much lower.
Thirldy - the plan is to focus on higher end knives - exotic steels and handles, where I will have the luxury of being able to take my time with them. I will also be building more chef's knives and I want to start building straight razors.
So that's it.
Meanwhile my search for full time work as a graphic designer continues.
It may be some time before I am ble to set up a workshop again. My equipment will only arrive in 3 months and then there is still the issue of finding suitable space to set up. But I'm in no rush. I think taking a break from knifemaking will be good for me. I kinda lost my love of it towards the end. So perhaps a few months of no grinding will bring back the yearning to get dusty and dirty and once again bring blades to life.