No steam, no smoke, no noise. It is quiet in the Werkerei Schwamendingen. In the former main seat of a Car wholesaler, a few tram stops from the Zurich main station, are staying in the country for intermediate use in addition to various Start-ups and also some craftsmen. One of them is the young bladesmith, Marco Guldimann. However, the stove in the small, with equipment crowded the Studio today. Not every day is heated steel, that it can change its structure and processed. And Who are forging the Knife in the High-End Version as a simple banging with the Hammer and the anvil presents, has no idea of what makes Guldimann is everything, and what he’s up to.
“starts The creation of a knife, always with a personal meeting with the Customer,” says the 32-Year-old. No matter of form, the order forms to be checked, but an important part of the manufacturing process. Just come and buy is impossible. Many questions of the boss. Used for the purpose for which the knife should be. What are the experiences and expectations of the customer. If he wants to take it home, especially to the heart’s own or as a professional daily hours of cutting. Vegetables, Meat, Fish? “A sketch of my so-called recipe,” says Guldimann, who can empathize, therefore, in the needs of the main – and in addition to professional cooks, because he is one. He learned the Job in Switzerland in the classical way, while he acquired the skills of a Cutler on the unconventional way.
As a chef, he realized how important that piece was, with whom he worked for hours and hours. But even the best to purchase knives are comparatively clunky in the Hand. What may not be for everyday use, where you cut a onion and bunch of parsley, of importance, for professionals, a difference like day and night. Alone, the burden, the weight, reported Guldimann. A lot of power can be saved when the custom knife lies perfectly in the Hand, thanks to the nature of the steel, low weight, glides sharpness almost without resistance through the material to be cut.
Guldimann is self-taught. After he made himself familiar with the technique, experimented, built a furnace, forged, las, and contacted experts. Many colleagues, he has in Europe, the authentic meticulous knife Smiths are a dying breed. As he practiced the craft, it will not be taught. “My knives are niche products, also it is needed for the production of particularly a lot of dedication and bite, in order to stay on track and be even better,” says Guldimann. Like the tailored suit, the only a few tailors cut and sew. Of work and prices are comparable to 20 to 60 hours he needs for the production of a knife, says the blacksmith, the cook, as before, professionally, from 9.30 am to 14 PM in the “Hotel Neufeld” in Zurich, where he prepared every afternoon a fresh menu. Boiled beef with fresh horseradish-Apple cream, for example.
in the Afternoon, he dedicates himself to his other passion: the kitchen knives. Those who are attuned to the Hand of the principal, so that nothing pinches, no Finger bumps, no bruises. 1000 to 6000 Swiss francs (around 900 to 5300 Euro) will have to pay the customers for their unique, something more than 3000 of the average. “The more complex and larger the knife, the higher the price.”
Vary the steel tool is on 1001. Long and narrow, it may be that the ordered piece, full of energy, and for meats or for Breakfast. “I forged bread knife of course has a scalloped edge, but how it is mounted and how big the knife is, decide what type of bread and size, it is suitable.”
Rebecca Clopath, the young, dynamic chef, which was organized in Grisons your Esswahrnehmungen, works naturally with Guldimann-knives, Two-star colleague Stefan Heilemann of “Ecco” in Zurich no longer wants to miss out on his.
the Design Is reasonably clear, that things really get going: The right steel. In retrospect, the biggest challenge seen. The biggest craze maybe. As the custom tailor would pick and choose the sheep that supply the wool for pants and jacket! “The search for a suitable foundry, which is to forge my own steel with certain elements and the maximum of purity special, long and difficult,” sighs Guldimann.
Equal to 80 tons, as steel producers normally offer, he did not want to buy. Unviable, for a Start-up. And where should I store it? Luckily, he got to know the person in charge of the chair for foundry engineering of the RWTH Aachen, is now taking in small amounts of steel in high-purity, titanium and tungsten, so that it gives the customer a sense. The external appearance, the patterning of the steel, the number of layers: It is a lot of Details, with the result that a knife looks like the other.
Marco Guldimann takes careful, some pieces are ready for pick-up. Elegant, delicate treasures, – and yet for daily use. The Maßmesser is well maintained, it keeps almost forever. An incredibly exciting process was the production, he says. A knife will come alive, if it would fulfill its function with flying colors, if the user merge, his Arm extend. And because between the Hand and the steel of the handle is seated, is dedicated to Guldimann also a attention, which seems only right anachronistic. Looking for the best wood, manufactures, handles made of walnut and Hirschhorn, working for hours on the scabbard is made of ebony, more recently, for a project that is experimenting with high-density wood, as it is for the construction of musical instruments is required.
Until may of the next year, he is booked. However, one makes the knife wrought from Schwamendingen. The building in which he rents his workshop, will be demolished in September 2024. Guldimann has to take off, looking for a new location. “I am every grateful.”
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