Grace Kang
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Nick Anderson discovered bladesmithing while living in Thailand and has been in love with the craft ever since. After moving back to Northern California, he found a rich manufacturing community that helped him continue to sharpen his skills. His intricately patterns knives require a blend of 3D printing, traditional handwork, and steel manipulation. How did he find himself in this field of work?
Shop Talk is an Autodesk Fusion podcast by that hosts designers and makers from all over the world. We’re excited to give our listeners candid conversations with talented folks who pour their hearts and soul into their craft. Here’s a small snippet from Jonathon Odom, our host, and Nick Anderson’s conversation below!
You started your business [in Thailand], right? How did that work? Were you renting a shop or was it a co-op situation?
Yes, I was involved in a maker space out there. It didn’t have anything to do with the knife portion, though. I did a lot of laser cutting for packaging, some Arduino programming to build a heat control device and other projects that factored into how my making journey flourished.
However, I had a massive interest in knife making and no way to buy tools. There just isn’t steady access to tools over there like you might see in the U.S. Before I even made my first knife, I had to learn to build 2×72 Belt Grinder, a forge, and eventually a heat treatment. My house had a 300 sq ft space that I converted into a shot. I had to learn a bunch of stuff about welding and some machining. I knew nothing about any of this stuff back then, so it’s hilarious to think about. My first grinder is still here in my home garage, and it’s funky, but it works. It made all my first knives. My forge worked great as well.
So, I built out all my machines and tools first. Then it was time to gather my resources. I met this guy, Ben, who was also getting into knife making. We hit it off pretty quickly, and spent countless days riding around on motorbikes to various shops to get bearings, aluminum round stock, or anything else we needed. Different shops sell different things. One shop will sell your steel whereas another will have nuts and bolts.
It was just a scavenger hunt day after day after day. I look back on those days remembering how aggravating is was, but they turned into very fond memories. We’d be riding around on our little motorbikes with eight feet of steel strapped to the back.
Watch more episodes of Shop Talk on our YouTube Channel.
