Tomislav Sokač

Tomislav Sokač grew up inside metalwork. The family business in Croatia — based around Koprivnica — gave him an early grounding in machining, forging, and welding, and from a young age he was working alongside his father and developing the skills that would later define Radiona Breg. His first fascination with bladesmithing came from the Japanese katana, but it was a career in cinematography and lighting that took up his early working life. When his father began moving toward retirement, the prospect of taking over the family forge brought him back to metal, this time on his own terms.

A love of cooking gave the new direction its focus. Fittingly, Sokač is the Hungarian word for cook or chef, and the name sits naturally alongside a practice built around the kitchen knife. Radiona Breg blades are rooted in traditional metalworking discipline and shaped by a deep fascination with Japanese bladesmiths, but the resulting knives are not imitations. Profiles, finishes, and details carry a rustic, classic character that is recognisably Croatian — a result of generations of family craft meeting a more contemporary, performance-led brief. Fit and finish reflect a lifetime spent working with metal, and the cutting performance lives up to the visual confidence of the work.

The character of Radiona Breg is in that meeting of inheritances. Family forge, machinist precision, cinematographic eye, and Japanese influence all sit inside the same workshop, and the knives carry traces of each. The work is unmistakably Tomislav's, but it also carries the weight of the generations behind it. We are pleased to present Tomislav Sokač within the Modern Cooking Collectors Selection, where Radiona Breg's blend of family craft, controlled geometry, and quietly Japanese-influenced design adds a distinctive Croatian voice to the lineup.