Robert Łaziński, born in 1962, on the Internet forum you can usually find me as „Karud”. The member of Deutsche Messermacher Gilde (http://www.deutsche-messermacher-gilde.de) and The Polish Association of Knives and White Weapon creators (http://www.pstnibb.pl).
Since I was I child, I was fascinated with the beauty of white weapons. From the early 90’s, more or less regularly I hand-made knives, though during that time I also made numerous pieces of white weapons (such as: sabers, axes, elements of protective equipment) mainly modeled on Polish copies from the 16th-18th centuries and Persian and Turkish armaments.
A knife is above all else a more or less specialized tool, but only that? In my opinion, a knife can also be just a beautiful object, sometimes even an object of utilitarian art - it is an ideal that I try to achieve in my works ... of course while maintaining the full utility of the knife.
In my works I most often favor a calm, ‘classical’ form with applying the best available materials. I’m mainly inspired by historical knives and broadly defined Scandinavian Knives, which in my opinion are one of the best knives for everyday use. I primarily make my knives by grinding them from the ready flat bars, and then they are heat treated by the skilled professionals.
On more than one occasion I also use ready blades made by recognized craftsmen. While making the remaining parts of the knife, I usually use natural materials of my own, such as: wood with an interesting grain pattern, antlers, horn, mammoth fangs, leather, etc. I use modern materials such as micarta, G10 or other plastics in much less frequent manner (except for stabilized wood, which I use on regular basis), because although I can appreciate their advantages in my personal opinion they lack ‘the soul’.
All of my knives are hand-made in single copies and although there may be ones that are similar in terms of form or applied ornamentation, each of them are unique.