Knife making

A Cutler is a craftsman who has specialized in the manufacture of knives and small blade tools. The profession of cutler was widespread in the Middle Ages, but is now one of the dying crafts.

Germany

Today, the art of knife cutting is often exercised more as a hobby or for reasons of tradition maintenance. In Germany, the traditional professional title Cutler was replaced in the late 1980s by the name of cutlery mechanic. The profession today includes the manufacture of knives and other cutting tools, either as individual pieces using traditional methods or industrially in series as well as the sharpening and maintenance of industrial cutting machines and selling cutlery and cutlery. The least cutting tool mechanic can actually exercise in their professional life nor the learned and presented to the master's examination demonstrated skills: the design and manufacture of complete knife.

Solingen is considered Germany's traditional " capital" of the cutlers, there is also the German Blade Museum. About 80 knife makers - not necessarily forge - have organized themselves in 1986 the newly founded German Knifemakers Guild (DMG ), based in Stuttgart.

Bayerischer Rundfunk has documented in a documentary about dying crafts with the film about the " cutler from Görlitz " the demise of this craft. ( The film is available for loan - see links. )

The workshop of a cutler is shown in folklore and open-air museum Roscheider court in Konz. A traditional cutler can, for example, in Herrnstein (Hunsrück ) at work watch (lock - forge).

Austria

In Trattenbach (municipality Tern Hill) the whole place will be involved in an open-air museum to cutlery. For centuries, the Trattenbacher Zauckerl there is produced.

Switzerland

The Swiss cutler Karl Elsener founded in 1884 the Swiss cutler Association ( see also Victorinox ). Since 1891, the Cutlers are organized in the Association of Swiss Master Cutlers.