Cutting-edge craftsmen

Two craftsmen in West Sussex are creating knives three times sharper than a surgical scalpel. They're the ultimate sporting tools, writes Tony Jackson

The distinguishing mark of the true craftsman is passion, and nowhere will you find this better exemplified than in a modest workshop on the outskirts of Chichester in West Sussex. Here, two ex-servicemen are creating and building knives that are surely the ultimate in terms of sporting tools.

As a lifelong deer-stalker, I found a competent knife to be an essential tool, along with my rifle, but it was only when I discovered Emberleaf knives and the team behind them that I came to appreciate the inadequacy of my own knife.

Dean Boyd and Joel Andreas served in the Royal Engineers. Dean did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and specialised in jungle warfare, including in Belize and South America. He also learned the work of a blacksmith and welder, while Joel worked as an electrician. Both, however, enjoyed a passion for bushcraft and, on leaving the Army, they worked together for a year teaching survival skills in Oxfordshire.

Knives, essential to survival in the bush, had always been a passion for both men, and they decided to branch out and make their own. Dean smiled as he explained that they began with simple knife-making kits but, with enthusiasm and application, gradually began to produce reasonable knives — which, in the early stages, they simply gave away.

"Five years ago, we spent our life savings on more machinery and kit, developing a hobby into a business," said Dean. "By the end of 2010, our workshop was ready and we took the plunge and went ahead. We became an incorporated business at the end of 2012, by which time we'd made hundreds of knives."

It was not too difficult to find potential customers in bushcraft circles, as well as collectors, many of whom could be contacted through trade shows. Suddenly Dean and Joel began attending [a number of] shows a year, plus weekend events. The knives they built began to evolve because of the people they met, including stalkers. Realising there was a gap in the market, they began to create the top-quality knives that they produce today.

"There are two different schools of thought in knife-making — blade-smiths and knife-makers," said Dean. "We can do both, but we are mainly knife-makers. A blade-smith will forge a blade, while a knife-maker cuts from steel that is specifically designed for knives. Though there are about 70 different types of steel that can be used for knives, we largely…"

Captions: "Joel Andreas sharpens one of the Emberleaf knives" · "Emberleaf knives are distinguished by both their sharp blades and exquisite handles"