A passion turned into a craft
In Puilaurens, in the Upper Aude Valley, I shape knives by hand in the shadow of a Cathar fortress. Here is where this adventure comes from, and the spirit in which it continues.
From passion to craft
My name is Baptiste. What began as a hobby over ten years ago is now my craft. Through files, steels and long hours at the bench, knife-making became an obvious path: to make useful, beautiful, lasting objects entirely by hand.
Every knife that leaves the workshop is one of a kind. I don't make batches: I answer a commission, a use, a hand. From forging the blade to fitting the handle and stitching the sheath, everything is done here, one piece at a time.
At the foot of Puilaurens castle
The workshop sits in Puilaurens, on the Boulzane road, in the heart of Cathar Country. Above it, clinging to its rocky spur at nearly 700 metres, watches the fortress of Puilaurens, one of the 'Five Sons of Carcassonne', the last refuge of the persecuted Cathars in the 13th century.
It isn't a backdrop: it's a way of working. Here, the stone still remembers those who stood their ground. I forge in the same spirit: honest, patient blades made to last and to be passed on.
Steel, wood, leather
My blades are cut from carbon steels: 90CrV8, C130, 80CrV2, XC100, XC75, sandwich steel. These steels take a patina, tell the story of their use and hold an edge like no stainless. It's a demanding choice, that of knife makers and purists. I also work stainless steels (14C28N, 12C27, RWL34) and damascus, for a blade that needs less care or simply for the beauty of the pattern.
The handles come from chosen materials: stabilised local and exotic woods, coloured resins, stag antler, mammoth molar, roe-deer wood. Finally, each knife receives its vegetable-tanned leather sheath, cut and stitched by hand, to accompany it for life.
« A well-made knife isn't just one more object. It's a companion you keep, sharpen, and pass on. »
Baptiste
Knife maker in Puilaurens
- Location
- Puilaurens (11), Upper Aude Valley
- Since
- Over 10 years of knife-making
- Steels
- Carbon, stainless and damascus
- Making
- Entirely by hand, made to order
- Sheaths
- Vegetable-tanned leather, hand-stitched
- Workshops
- Beginner & advanced, at the atelier
Visit the workshop, or tell me about your project
The workshop-shop is open from March to December, Monday to Saturday. The rest of the year, by appointment. And wherever you are, we can imagine your knife together.