BLADESMITH VS. KNIFE MAKER

What's the difference between a bladesmith and a knife maker? Well, it’s all in the name, brace yourself, here is your history lesson for the day. The name smith came from an old English word smio or smip, it meant someone that worked in metal it is derived from another old English word smitan or to smite, which means to hit something, a smithy is a location where such a person would work. In old times craftsman that worked in gold were called goldsmiths, silver were silversmiths, weapons makers were swordsmiths, those that made tools were iron smiths or blacksmiths, coppersmiths worked with copper. All these professions used hammers of various sizes and types, usually made by the blacksmith or ironsmith, to change the shape of their material into its final shape. That influence continues today, a bladesmith is one that uses a hammer to forge their material into its final or close to its final shape. A knife maker assembles existing material, removing and shaping with abrasives, until they have reached their desired end result. So, the difference is the path that is taken to reach the final shape, a knife maker removes material to get to the final shape, a bladesmith manipulates the material with heat and hammer until it reaches its desired shape.