Australian Custom knife Maker

Karim of Tharwa Valley Forge has been holding regular knifemaking meets in Canberra for well over a year. In discussion with him, he convinced us that it would be worth trying Sydney Knifemakers and Blacksmiths Meet Up.

The concept is simple. Provide a venue where knifemakers can get together, talk shop, share ideas and get to know each other face to face. Something that is not so commonly done in the digital age.

Sydney Knifemakers and Blacksmiths Meet Ups are social in nature, running for 2 hours on a Tuesday night monthly. Knifemakers bring their completed, and works in progress and can discuss any issues or successes they may be having. Gameco Artisan Supplies hosted our first meet was in May 2015 in our Sydney store and for 2016 we meet every last Tuesday of the month.

The meets are regularly attended by between 35 and 50 knifemakers and bladesmiths, but not all are from the Sydney region. We have had people attend from up to 4 hours drive away. Places including the Hunter Valley, Huskisson, Nowra and Canberra. This was something that was not expected.

Many local association members attend these events. You will find members of the NSW Artist Blacksmiths Association, Australian Knifemakers Guild, The Knife Art Association, American Bladesmith Society and Traditional Tool Group.

The meets are promoted on many forums, but the key place to get information, is the

Facebook group “Australian Blacksmiths, Bladesmiths and Knifemakers Network”. This group has over 8500 members, mostly comprised of new, or people interested in becoming, knife makers.

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