My name is Paweł Michalski, I am a 34-year-old knifemaker from Poland.
Currently I live and make my knives in Koziebrody, a small village in the central part of Poland. Here I have my own workshop in which I spend most of my day.
I have been manufacturing knives since 2015, however knives as a tool for everyday use were in my life from the early years of my youth, when I always had a little folding knife in my pocket, a Polish production knife by Gerlach company.
Currently I am a full-time knifemaker, I run a business and I try to make a living making knives. Since the beginning of my activity as a knifemaker I made different types of knives inspired by the traditional knives of the different regions of the world.
However, knives in the Scandinavian style, and mainly Finnish puukko knives turned out to be what have fascinated me the most. I like to make traditional puukko, but considering that I’m not from Finland, and I’m just inspired by the style of this region of the world, I decided to look for my way, for my style in this field.
I have used many different materials on handles of my puukko: antlers, curly birch,
stabilized wood, birch bark, but also the G10 and Micarta. I use modern types of steel like for an example: D2, N690, Elmax. I make my blades mostly by the grinding method. Forging blades from high carbon steel is still in the future, and it requires adding a small forge.
One of my favorite ideas is to make a small puukko with a blade length of 70mm and 90mm handles as a kind of EDC, with scabbard to carry at the belt or at the neck, as a neck knife.This idea inspired my colleague who asked me to make a special puukko knife, to be small and maximally colored. That’s how my production of small EDC puukko neck started. I’m still trying to do more and more interesting knives, keep trying new ones, try not to close on one type of blade.
Not long ago at the request one of my clients, I started making big leuku, and also leuku and puukko in one double scabbard. Of course, I make all my scabbards as well by myself, in modern and the traditional style, always from best quality natural leather.
I publish all my works on many internet forums and social media, such as Facebook or Instagram. Every year I also exhibit at CEKE, the annual event bringing together all the knife makers from the Poland.
- Paweł Michalski
nordiska knivar 