thiswhatido
thiswhatido

Designer: thiswhatido

  • Gifts
  • Home
  • Clare

I am an award winning bladesmith; I create knives as contemporary tools to be used in the professional kitchen and the home to prepare meals, to be enjoyed for their creativity as well as their purpose.

About thiswhatido

The craft of bladesmithing includes metalworking techniques similar to those used by blacksmiths, woodworking for handles and sheathes and leatherworking for rolls or cases. The process is elemental – earth for the ore, air to fuel the forge, fire to heat the steel and water to quench the blade; being able to work at such a base understanding in the modern age is inspiring in itself I grew up working with wood and metal alongside my dad. This has inspired me to seek out a journey through craft and materials and a long-term desire to pass on skills to others by opening Irelands first bladesmithing school. My knives have sold internationally - to Michelin starred chefs, TV stars, aspiring home cooks and many a restaurant. I won the 2021 RDS CRafts Award, A DCCI Future Makers Award in 2020 and was profiled in Image Interiors, The Irish Times, The Irish Independent and more.

Discover more about thiswhatido

I am motivated by materials and the story they hold – giving new life to found and recycled steels and incorporating them into my work using centuries old forge-welding techniques to blend and twist them together. High carbon steels sandwiched between found gems; wrought iron cart wheel rims, whiskey barrel straps, ships anchor chains, storm damaged limbs from century old orchards or 300 year old wind-felled oak trees from Irish estate houses