Randolph man is cut out for bladesmithing hobby
RANDOLPH — Kurt Focken doesn’t consider himself an artist.
He doesn’t consider himself exactly a bladesmith.
But he’s able to combine the two to create both beautiful and functional knives in his garage shop at his Randolph home.
It’s a hobby and stress reliever, Focken said, even though it can be a meticulous, slow, multi-faceted and sometimes exasperating process.
He said he’s always been fascinated with knives especially the ones made by his former grandfather-in-law, George Blesh.
He was always on the hunt for a good knife during his stint in the Army from 2004-12, going through knives with the newest better than the last but never quite satisfied.
“The best knife I had in the military was my KA-BAR that I had to buy privately,” he said. “The handle broke on it so I remounted it onto a bone and then one of my dogs got a hold of the bone and so I remounted it onto a piece of wood.”
It’s just been in the last three years he’s been diligent about bladesmithing in his free time.
“My first projects were not very good,” Focken said, adding that he’s still learning. “The first knife I made . . . the best advice I got was to throw it away and start on something new.”
Nowadays, the self-taught bladesmith looks for design ideas and knowledge of the craft from others who are also self-taught - checking out Facebook pages dedicated to the craft and just asking questions.
“There’s a lot of fantastic people on there that do fantastic blades,” he said but not everyone wants to part with their trade secrets.
Part of Focken’s learning curve included what materials were best to use for blades as well as handles, and what tools work best to achieve a finished product he can be proud of.
There’s plenty more he wants to learn when it comes to bladesmithing and new designs he wants to try. His next challenge will be to make a Damascus knife which combines two types of steel in a layered, custom design. He also wants to learn how to put a streak of sharp color across a blade.
Many of his knives are Viking-style - also known as a seax or short sword, one-handed, single-edged - and he likes to use sections of antler bone for handles although he’s made his fair share of wooden handles, too - or stacked handles including both leather and wood. Sheathes are also custom made and fashioned out of leather.
From start to finish a knife might take about eight hours or could take much longer, depending on the project.
Focken has given many of his custom creations away as gifts to family or friends. Word of his hobby has spread and others in the Randolph community have requested knives. In return, Focken only asks for reimbursement for the cost of materials - not wanting to turn his hobby into a business just yet.
“I don’t have all the time that I want. I can’t be putting knives out all the time,” Focken said who works full-time as a utilities employee for the City of Randolph. “It would take my stress-relieving hobby and make it stressful.”
