American Craft Forums
American Craft Forums are a dynamic series of programs, presented in conjunction with American Craft magazine, that brings together the past, present, and future of craft through artist spotlights, deep dives into creative practices, archival explorations, and timely conversations that connect contemporary issues with the handmade world.
Knives Out: Craft of the Bladesmith
This Craft Forum occurred on Thursday, July 18, 2024
Presented in conjunction with the Summer 2024 issue of American Craft.
Watch this Forum below or visit our Youtube channel.
Knives are one of the earliest tools in human history, appearing more than two million years ago and used for hunting and defense. These days, knives arguably play their most prominent role in the kitchen as an invaluable tool for preparing food. How many times have you picked up a knife in your own home without realizing the history and craft behind the blade? For bladesmiths Bob Kramer, Vu Nguyen, and Everett Noel, the considerations of tradition, technique, and use are foremost as they craft handmade knives that are coveted as much for their beauty as for their function.
Join our speakers in conversation, guided by James Beard Award finalist Chef Yia Vang of Union Hmong Kitchen (Minneapolis, Minnesota)—and Iron Chef fame—for a deep dive into the art of bladesmithing and all things knives. We’ll explore history and use, various making techniques—often ancient and honed over centuries—the thinking that goes into choosing design and materials, and how those materials and techniques come together to produce a tool to be used at home, as well as some of the world’s greatest restaurant kitchens.
Participants
Yia Vang
Moderator
Yia Vang is a TV personality and highly decorated chef who currently is the owner/chef of the James Beard-nominated restaurant Union Hmong Kitchen located in Graze Food Hall in North Loop Minneapolis specializing in Hmong cuisine and a 2nd location in the Uptown area in Minneapolis. The stateless, nomadic community’s history reveals itself in its spicy, smoky, mouth-walloping cuisine, marrying influences from Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Southern China. Union Hmong Kitchen started out years ago as a pop-up but its popularity led him to relocate in a food trailer and eventually a location at Graze Food Hall.
Bob Kramer
Speaker
Bob Kramer has been making knives full time since 1992. He earned his Master Smith rating from the American Bladesmith Society in 1997 and won the American Craft Council Rare Craft Fellowship, presented in conjunction with The Balvenie, in 2015. He lives in Bellingham, Washington.
Everett Noel
Speaker
Everett Noel has been making knives for over 12 years. Focusing on kitchen knives, folding knives, and belt knives, he sources the wood from fallen trees and sculpts blades from solid pieces of steel. He believes that his whole life is part of the process—cooking, time with family and friends, seeing art, surfing, and the knives become infused with all of it. Noel lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas in Northern California.
Vu Nguyen
Speaker
Vu Nguyen (Crozet, Virginia) came to this craft later in life after an ambitious yet ill-fated stint as a chef and restaurateur. His metalworking education began when he joined Blanc Creatives in his forties, starting with no experience, to help create forged carbon steel cookware. Much of his knowledge comes from YouTube and interacting with other knife makers. While he wishes he could say his journey from the kitchen to the workshop has been driven purely by a passion for enhancing the cooking experience with well-crafted, functional tools, the truth is simpler: he enjoys putting a shine on people’s days.
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