AS A TOOL

My knives are firstly designed to be functional, without fancy shapes and complicated solutions, The reasoning is really very simple, knives are a tool, a tool that has one purpose, and that is to be used.  This is also true of decorative knives, which are designed to be carried on the bunad (Norwegian national costume) these knives are also functional but have a higher degree of finesse and are decorated with silver on both the knife and the sheath.

A NEW ERA OF COLOURING

In my designs the use of colour is also thought out carefully, it has always been, and, probably always will be traditional to have a shaft in brown and a sheath of either black or a darker shade of brown.  In the early 1980's I began to experiment with other colours, yellow, blue and red to name but a few, and in time I developed this into a technique that I have named the " multi colour technique." I create life in the wood with a spectrum of colour, which not only brings out the woods natural pattern; but also suits the colour selected for the accompanying leather sheath.  
This has become my trademark and is combined with a special form of oil treatment and finishing.  This means that fungus or mould never mark my shafts. THIS I CAN GUARANTEE!

THE NORRØN

The story of this particular knife started with an idea. The thoughts around what the knife will be used for always start life on a piece of paper.

In 1990 I had just restored some old knives from some master knife makers. It was here that I saw likenesses between these knives known as totens and other knives. These are as follows: -

· A round shaft which gives freedom to hold the knife in relation to the task being performed.
· Long end plates (known as a holks), which provides excellent possibilities for decoration.
· A thin blade that is designed to carry out pretty much any task.

With this as a starting point, I carefully chose materials. I decided to use ebony for the shaft, because this was the finest piece of wood that was used by the earlier makers.

In olden times bronze was used as decoration.  I decided to use silver instead.

Silver was, and still is a splendid metal for Norwegians, so in the end I chose a solution, based on Old Norwegian tradition, and just a touch of finesse.

Our medieval style church, which was built in the twelfth c
entury, determined the choice of pattern I used on the silver work.   I purposely moved the deep carved pattern from wood to silver, which proved to be both an exciting and very successful method.

The knife was given the name of Norrøn and was awarded prizes in both Sweden and Norway.  This has proved to be my token knife.

"THE PATTERN"

In olden times bronze was used as decoration.  I decided to use silver instead.
Silver was, and still is a splendid metal for Norwegians, so in the end I chose a solution, based on Old Norwegian tradition, and just a touch of finesse.
Our medieval style church, which was built in the twelfth century, determined the choice of pattern I used on the silver work.   I purposely moved the deep carved pattern from wood to silver, which proved to be both an exciting and very successful method.
The knife was given the name of Norrøn and was awarded prizes in both Sweden and Norway.  This has proved to be my token knife.

The "Bergmannskniv"

Have you forgotten the past, only to rediscover it at a much later date?  This is exactly what happened in this particular case.  In 1992 the Norwegian Bergmanns museum gave out invitations to recreate the "Bergmannskniv".  The museum knew that the knife was widely used in mines for many tasks, but had no knives of that type within its collection.  Now, for me it is important to see a connection between the past and the craftsmanship of the time.  It is far too easy to let ones imagination to run free and give a product that does no depict the original piece in a fair light.  For this reason I went to Hartz in Germany, and found a museum and a university library.  The fact that Norwegian mines were originally set up by German mining engineers was confirmed, and in the end I managed to find a private collector who had some remains of the older type of knives.

From German mining history and knowledge of Norwegian knife tradition I could picture how the Norwegian" Bergmannskniv " would have looked.

I entered the competition and won.


The picture shows 4 knives I entered into the competition, all received prizes. The Parade knife came first second and third, and the everyday knife was also awarded first prize.

DECORATIVE KNIVES

Decorative knives are primarily worn on the Norwegian national costume (bunad).  In themselves the knives are not fancy and have simple lines, but I try to bring out a special form of life to the wood and ensure that the knife is correct for the area of the country that it comes from.  To do this it is important to collect information from local museums and contact people in the actual area.  I also try to obtain sample of material and embroidered patterns so that the design fits naturally in with the actual costume.
Much depends on the information that I obtain, and on the cooperativeness of those that I speak to.  Please believe me when I say that this can take an extremely long time in some cases.

With the information gathered and " digested" it is time to start work.  Firstly drawing, considering, changing and eventually choosing a design.  When, and only when this is done to my satisfaction is the practical side of the knife, its size, shape are considered not to mention the decoration that will be made on the shaft plates and those that will eventually add a touch of class to the leather sheath.

In the end an original is completed. The knife is a carrier of Norwegian knife culture and traditional craftsmanship.

Of these knives I admit, that I am very proud.