Forging knives like our ancestors, secrets of the Yakutia blades

Alexander Gogolev, 41, spoke as he forged his latest creations, deploying methods handed down through time. Pictures here and below: Vera Salnitskaya

In Yakutia, they call these knives the 'third arm' of local herders and hunters. They're used to kill bears, cut wood - and shave - based on a technology that has been tried and tests through many centuries. 

Alexander Gogolev, 41, spoke as he forged his latest creations, deploying methods handed down through time. 

'Our knives are manufactured in line with old traditions, we forge the blades in such a way that no one can copy its shape,' he said. 'People understand why this shape of blade is good but cannot figure out how we make it.'

He explained: 'Our knives are made in the old tradition. They are forged. Previously, there were no machine-tools, so everything was hand-forged with small hammers.

'Our knives are made in the old tradition. They are forged.'

'And then when the machine-tools appeared, everyone began to use it. You get a straight blade, and that's all. But my teacher Stanislav Balitsky began to forge like the old masters, and his knives had an astounding success. We brought about 30 knives to an exhibition, and sold them all in two hours.'

Speaking at his forge in Yakutsk, he said: 'We work with steel which doesn't stain, and leather for the sheath from Moscow region. We make wooden sheath and cover it with oxtail.

'The Yakutian butcher's knife, used for cutting meat or fish has an excellent sharpening angle, it's like a razor. A knife sharpened properly is enough to butcher entire elk. Of course, if it is a big one, it's necessary to sharpen the knife a bit after the butchering. There is skin, stiff hair.

'People understand why this shape of blade is good but cannot figure out how we make it.'

'I have two knives. One is in my backpack, the other one is on my belt. Things happen, you can drop it, drown it. I use my own knives only, I don't trust other knives. Your knife feels different in your hand.'

Some local knives have been made with the bones of woolly mammoths, but he says this is not ideal. 'I don't make knives with mammoth bone, because in a month or two it will crack because of temperature changes. Then you'd bring such a knife to me and complain: 'What nonsense'. Such a knife using mammoth bone is made for decoration, but I'd rather make working knives.

'The fact is that a knife needs to be used, it is a helper, a third arm. If you are to choose between a gun and a knife when in the forest, go for the knife. What can you do with a gun? Nothing. But if you have a knife, you can make a bonfire, make something to eat.

'If you are to choose between a gun and a knife when in the forest, go for the knife.'

'A knife is used for skinning, to cut the meat, to do something with wood. My main customers are hunters and herders. All the technologies are based on the needs of people who deal with knives on a daily basis.'

This includes making allowances for the extreme winter cold in Yakutia, officially known as the Sakha Republic, the largest and coldest constituent region of the Russian Federation.

'At minus 50C, the blade stays resilient and doesn't crash when cutting bones - that's different from other solid steels,' he said. 'Of course, I wouldn't recommend to nail with it, there is a hammer and a chisel for that. Though, if there is no choice, you can use it. 

'The ogival shape of the blade - resembling a lancet - has a very limited touch area and can be used along almost its entire length. It looks as if the meat is not cut but just bursts.

'A knife sharpened properly is enough to butcher entire elk.'

'You can also have custom-made handle. If you have no special preferences, we simply use birch and birch burl. The handle can also be made of mountain walnut. 

'I have a customer who is a truck driver, and whenever he comes here, he rushes to me and asks for a couple of knives. He needs a massive handle and a wide long blade. I can make as many as two knives a day if I start early in the morning. The price of a knife starts at 6,900 roubles ($97).'

The blade of the traditional Yakutian knife is sharp, razor-sharp on one edge, and a straight or almost straight back, features noted from excavations of ancient sites. Another feature is asymmetric sharpening of the blade, it was noticed by the very first researchers of the Yakut lifestyle. 

'The ogival shape of the blade - resembling a lancet - has a very limited touch area and can be used along almost its entire length.'

On one side, it is flat, and the opposite - left - side of the blade is curved. This helps to prevent the knife getting stuck. Knives for left and right handers are different. 

They come in different sizes but also have differing functions. The tundra knife has a narrow blade, and is mostly used for cutting or drilling. The taiga knife has a wider blade, and is used for cutting meat and carving wood. The blade is made of soft steel so that it's possible to sharpen it on a rock or stone.