View “Kramer’s Tools: A Photo Essay”

Photography by The Editors of Craftsmanship Quarterly
Written by The Editors of Craftsmanship Quarterly

Kramer made this hydraulic press himself–an inexpensive early alternative to his power hammer. While visiting bladesmiths in Japan, some let him try their old power hammers, typically operated with a foot pedal. The pedal delays the strike of the hammer by a second or two, which was just enough to make Kramer look like an amateur at their machines. The mistakes produced some good laughs, and some cross-cultural respect.

One of the modernized forms of Damascus bladesmithing is to fold layers of soft, decorative steel around a core of hard steel that will run along the edge. (American smiths call this “cladding” — the Japanese term for it is “san mai.”) Either way, the amalgam can get out of control during the process of melting and hammering, squishing the different steels in different directions. This can leave the steel core running along the edge line only intermittently–a serious imperfection. To avoid this, Kramer uses this rolling mill, much like what steel mills use but in miniature.

Edge geometry is half of what makes a quality knife, and every bladesmith has his signature approach. Kramer aims for a blend between a standard V, for stability, and a graduated curve (called a “clambshell” edge), which allows for a smoother cut. The key is how abruptly and consistently this curve develops from the spine of the knife to its edge. That’s when a pair of calipers can make the difference.

Kramer’s belt grinder, getting a little tune-up.

A 75-pound lump of Thuya burl, which Kramer uses for his knife handles. Thuya is a costly, exotic wood–a little 5-inch chunk can sell for up to $40. Kramer lucked out on this lump, however– a reject from a veneer factory because it was too small for industrial production. So he picked it up for $150–roughly 5% of its potential value.

When Kramer wants to adorn a knife with special decorations, he sometimes engraves metal inlays, which are held stable with this ball vice.

Fancier engraving is done with a vintage Guillochet machine. Invented in the 1700s, these machines were famously used by Peter Carl Fabergè at the turn of the century, to make his legendary eggs, as well as pens, cigarette cases and photo frames. Kramer’s Guillochet was made in 1929, by Leinhard of Shaux de Fonds, of Switzerland. It cost him $5,000.

The advance wheel of Kramer’s 1929 Guillochet machine.

The Editors of Craftsmanship Quarterly launched this online magazine in 2015, and have since developed it into a multimedia publication with more than 120,000 readers.

© 2023 The Editors of Craftsmanship Quarterly. All rights reserved. Under exclusive license to Craftsmanship, LLC. Unauthorized copying or republication of any part of this article is prohibited by law.

previous post: View “How a Japanese Factory Makes a Knife”
next post: View “The Detectives’ Lab”