Meet Artisan Market Artist Nick Smolen!

I am an artist/blacksmith specializing in handmade knives and ornamental ironwork.
In the mid-1980s, I began creating forged Damascus steel billets and knife blanks for custom knife makers around the United States, as well as overseas. I combine traditional forging techniques with modern manufacturing processes to produce unique artistic pieces. I gradually progressed into making my own knives, as well as functional hand-forged ornamental ironwork. This includes candle holders, wall sconces, tables, and sculptural pieces.

Over the years, as my pile of knife making cut-offs grew larger, I turned to creating jewelry items such as pendants and bracelets. Now, I have included Mokume Gane (Japanese wood-grained metal) as part of my repertoire. While I use it primarily for knife fittings, it is also used in personal adornment, and fountain pen bodies. I make my own Mokume by layering copper and nickel silver, then fusing it in a gas forge. It is then patterned and forged to the required thickness. I live in rural Westby, Wisconsin. I am also a welder, machinist, and journeyman tool and die maker.

Nick’s Process:

Cast Damascus steel is produced by melting pieces of iron and steel with charcoal in a reducing atmosphere (lacking oxygen). During the process, the metals absorb carbon from the charcoal and the resulting alloy is cooled at a very slow rate. This produces a material with a visible crystalline structure of varying carbide contents. Forging the material into a desired shape alters the crystalline structure into the familiar wave-like pattern that Damascus steel is known for. This technique is extremely work intensive and requires a high degree of skill to keep the necessary temperatures constant throughout the process.