Artist Bio
John Sanford has lived over half his life in the beautiful North Georgia mountains. From a young age he was engaged in artistic endeavors, sketching and creating cartoons and comics. Following his dreams he attended the Art Institute of Atlanta and earned a degree in graphic design and animation. However, life would lead him into manufacturing, where he would begin a 25-year career in metal fabrication and engineering. Still creating, just more practical than fantastical.
John has always had a deep appreciation and curiosity for "the old ways" of doing things, which would eventually lead him to blacksmithing. This would allow him to mix his knowledge of working steel and his love of design to create art again. He began to study and learn everything he could about forging and bladesmithing and has been honing his skills for the last 6 years.
John has continued to craft his knives at his home forge in his driveway, hammer and anvil just like the old days. His favorite style is "Brut de forge" (French for "rough from the forge") which is a style of knife making where the blade is primarily shaped by forging, with minimal subsequent grinding or polishing. Each blade is hand forged from various high-carbon steels. The handles are shaped from a variety of different materials. The leather for the sheaths are hand stitched. All this combines to make heirlooms that will last generations.
