Karl Broch Jacobsen

Karl Broch Jacobsen

With a family deeply invested in the arts, Karl Brock Jacobsen was exposed to handcrafts from a very young age. At the age of 8 he began taking an interest in the blacksmithing and, with the help of his father, built a small coal forge and forged a small twisted picture hook. Karl continued to take an interest in metal arts and at the age of 13 he took over the family garage and built a forge. Over time he has added more equipment, like belt grinders and a power hammer.

Culinary knives have become Karl’s focus and now at the ripe old age of 18 he is a full time bladesmith. Performance focused design, inspired by Japanese technique is the bedrock of Karl’s philosophy. He works with mostly premium carbon steels like 135Cr3, and Apex Ultra, often forged SanMai with various cladding materials like Damascus and wrought iron. Karl enjoys using locally sourced European materials and you will often find Oak, Bog Oak and Masur Birch used for his handles and saya.

Karl is a very talented smith and the examples of his work that we have seen are exceptional. With plans to travel and train with European and Japanese masters in the coming years we are very excited to see how this young artisan develops, but for now his work is already exceptional, a welcome addition to the Collectors Selection.