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As objects we use every day, it would be easy to think of knives as purely functional. But Patrick Brennan, founder of Patrick Joseph knives, sees them as so much more.
“I see knives as functional art. They have to be high performance, but I also want my knives to be beautiful, something that people want to keep and pass down.”
With around 40 hours of work going into each knife, Patrick works with a care and precision that ensures that each knife he makes balances both of these needs perfectly. But it might be surprising to learn that this is not always what he did.
Practice was key because, as Patrick explains, the whole process “is very high precision. Everything has to be precise, there’s no leeway.”
It’s simultaneously a creative process, as most of the knives Patrick makes are bespoke commissions, requiring him to balance the needs of the customer for each specific knife with his own creative input in the design.
And with the materials he uses, from steel sourced from Japan, Sweden and the United States, to materials for handles including mammoth ivory and bog oak, there are almost infinite combinations.
He forges between four and ten blades at a time, and then finishes them one by one, meaning that he doesn’t have a typical day – depending on what stage he’s at with a knife there’s a variety of tasks he could be doing. He also meets with customers at his design studio in Castle Yard, Kilkenny, to get a strong sense of what they want from their knives before designing.
“In order to make the best knife I possibly can, I need to get a real feel of what they want from the knife, as well as their taste and preferences.”
His favourite knife to date is a hunting knife he made as part of the entry requirements into the Knifemakers’ Guild, a group of around 300 of the world’s top bladesmiths. In order to progress his skills in preparation, he completed a degree in Jewellery and Goldsmithing with the Design & Crafts Council Ireland. These skills were evident in the finished knife: a 6,000-year-old bog yew handle was finished in gold firework and set with diamonds.
At the moment he has it on display in his shop. “I don’t want to sell it, because it was made for my guild exam. It’s very special to me.”
Based in Kilkenny, he says he is grateful for the strong creative community there. “There are so many different crafts in Kilkenny, from glassblowing, to jewellery, to pottery. You can go there and pick up so many different things that are bespoke and special, and meet the people who make them. I don’t think there are many places in the world where you can do that with so many different crafts.”
“Meet the Makers” is brought to you in partnership with Champion Green. Champion Green is the biggest #SupportLocal movement in a generation, encouraging the people of Ireland to seek local where possible and shop consciously online to keep our towns and communities vibrant for years to come. Champion Green is supported by Kilkenny Design and Visa, in association with Retail Excellence, Small Firms Association, Chambers Ireland, Maxol and AIB Merchant Services. Learn more at championgreen.ie.