The Tidewater Forge
Christopher Price, Bladesmith
​Alexandria Virginia
past work
I often get asked to make a knife as a special order, which I try to accommodate as my schedule allows. Chef's knives and camp knives seem to be the most popular contemporary designs people want.
When a customer wants something, my first question is "What will it be used for?" I ask this because all knives should be capable of being used for a purpose, even if the owner will never touch the edge to something. From there, we discuss materials, size, general style, and of course budget. I don't have a standard pricing formula, but my knives generally start out at $150 for the most simple but still lovingly hand-crafted tools, making sure they're properly made, finished, and of heirloom quality.
I select from an array of high-quality cutlery steel for my blades, balancing the different properties available to the task the customer wants the blade to perform. Whether it's a single steel or a compex damascus blade, the chemistry and heat-treatment are of paramount importance and I do not compromise by using recycled material or "found steel" in my work. If pressed, I may agree to this for a novelty, but quality is never sacrificed for the sake of giving the knife some kind of story.
Historical Studies
Sometimes, you just have to do something different.
Carving ancient dragons out of a piece of bone and giving it to a sweetheart.
Making carving tools with a pseudo-Japanese style of blade and wrap.
Taking a 5,000 year old piece of meteorite, and melting it down with other steel to make a puck of crucible steel with surface textures and colors never seen before by the experts.
Forging a blade from a 1-inch ball bearing.
There's no one right way to be a craftsman, and I think that's what makes this hobby of mine so fun!
My main focus is the research and reproduction of historical artifacts. I am mesmerized by the degree of control, the height of skill, and the depth of art many ancient bladesmiths were able to achieve. I aspire not only to develop my own skill, but understand theirs. To do this requires following in their footsteps.
Sometimes good photographs are enough to work with, one can make measurements of different parts with a good straight-on picture, and a little math. Other times, though, you need to hold an original to understand how mass gets distributed, how different pieces of metal are joined up to make the whole.
Having tried many methods, I'm convinced history has lost more knowledge than we possess today, and there will never be a day I feel I've learned all there is to know about how iron and steel were formed to make the tools, weapons, and other artifacts that define our history today.
For the last 5 years, I've focused on historical blacksmithing, Japanese cutlery, "blacksmith knives," and occasional special orders.
From the Blacksmith shop, I have a selection of fire irons, tripods that feature decorative twists and can also be arranged over a fire with s-hooks to support multiple pots. I have made hand-forged frying pans, ladles, forks, and steak-flippers.
For the kitchen, I am fond of making Japanese style blades, either of modern Damascus, or San-Mai construction featuring high performance edge steel with decorative cladding of wrought iron or Damascus. Handles are often made with burl wood and black cow horn, in a hybrid Wa-style secured and sealed with epoxy to prevent rusting along the tang.
I've recently been making Higonokami friction folders, experimenting with Aogami (Hitachi Blue Paper #2) steel with wrought iron cladding for blades, and various copper or alloy grips.