New year, new me… Cliche’s aside, this really is a whole new chapter of life for me. 2025 was one of the most difficult year’s of my life for a full range of reasons, but especially for my work. I’m still recovering, but now there’s a bit of hope.
Not only did my wife and I welcome a baby into the world at the very end of 2025, but we also moved out of Cape Town, out of the hustle of the big city, into a quiet country homestead about 3 hours away. I am already feeling better for it. It’s peaceful, mornings are ushered in with the sounds of roosters crowing, birds tweeting and sheep bleating. Not the usually cacophony of car horns, screeching tires, shouting and occasional gunshot we are used to.
It does come with work. We bought a half hectare homestead and a house with it which needs a ton of work. Our budget restraints mean a lot of the work will be done by me, and work has already begun.
Aside from a house remodel, my plans for a workshop haven’t quite gone as originally intended. The plan was to convert one of the horse stables on our property to the workshop, but this is no longer a realistic long term option. Instead, we have realised a new workshop needs to be built from the ground up – again, mostly by me.
The stable will serve as a temporary workshop for now, but I will need something much more weather and rat proof by winter.
This has also presented the opportunity to do something better. Not only will I get a nice, newer and bigger workshop, but I’m also building an office and showroom on it which will serve as a place for visitors to see my work displayed with my personal collection. And of course, I will be building this structure with a Japanese flair.
Since my banishment from Instagram last year, I’ve actually not missed it at all. I will however be reviving my YouTube channel soon, and documenting what I do there, including projects like the workshop build. So head over to YouTube and subscribe if you haven’t already.
Last but not least, I have a consignment of knives going up on Arizona Custom Knives website soon. These are pieces that are already in the USA and have already been though tariffs duties. The price you see there is the price they are, so keep your eyes on their site for when they go live.
God willing this will all work out, and I’ll be back making blades very soon.
