Samuel Lurquin - A Belgian bladesmith you're going to want to know about.

RogerP

RogerP

Joined
Feb 28, 2002
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13,348
Greetings all,

One of the things I really love about the custom knife field is its global nature. There is talent to be found in every corner of the globe - and with the advent of the internet, that talent is so much easier to find.

I have to thank Lin Rhea for tuning me into the work of Belgian bladesmith Samuel Lurkin. This guy is seriously passionate about knives. He will be testing for JS next year at Blade. I will seriously be checking out his wares. ;)

You can see a lot of influence of some terrific bladesmiths - Jason Knight, Adam DesRosiers and Dan Farr come to mind. Which goes a long way to explaining why I am excited about his work.

Have a peek:

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Love the chunky lines on this one:

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And this guardless model really appeals:

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But I saved my personal favourite for last:

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This is but one of the many examples of why it can be rewarding to explore the work of the so-called "lesser known makers".

Hope you enjoyed the look.

Roger
 
Roger....

Thank you for the pictures, and I must say I really like the blade design..
 
Roger,

A good find on Lin and your parts. You can certainly see the influence of the three makers you mentioned, and the "chunky" pieces are a neat addition.

I'd like to see a combination of the last blade with the "guardless" handle...

good pick.

John
 
Roger I can see why you are intrigued fantastic work and some cool as hell leather to boot does he do his own sheath work

PS I love the Baldric or as P long calls it purse style carry set up:D
 
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Correctamundo Nick - gidgee. Joe - I'm not sure if the leather is his - I'll try to find out - but I agree it's cool as hell.

Roger
 
Wow, I really like the looks of these knives. I'm gonna have to brush up on my belch and say hello to him in Atlanta next year!
 
Those are ALL nice, but the last one is beyond just nice! VERY cool line-up of knives.

Do you own that last one Roger? If so CONGRATS!

Peter
 
Hi Peter - no I don't, but I'd be happy to. I also like John's idea of that blade in a guardless version.

Roger
 
Wulf said:
Wow, I really like the looks of these knives. I'm gonna have to brush up on my belch and say hello to him in Atlanta next year!
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Wulf, I sure hope you speak French or a little bit of Dutch because those are the languages spoken in Belgium (and a little bit of German in a very small part of the country);):D But I'm sure Samuel is master of the English language.

The style of his knives isn't mine, but the quality is great. His fellow Belgian knifemakers speak highly of him. One of his teachers was Alex Salsi (also a very talented Belgian maker:cool::thumbup:), from whom I will get a knife by the end of the year.

I guess one of the best guys to tell you more about the Belgian makers is Jos. I'm sure he will respond to this thread any time soon.

Marcel
 
The Belgian and Dutch smiths that I know do a goodly amount of work that the typical American forged knife collector would find right up their alley. You see a number of them showing a fair amount of inspiration from some of our favorite smiths from this side of the pond combined with their own Old World sensibilities. The one thing that you see with European maker is more of a tendency to have a buffed finish as opposed to hand rubbed one on a number of straight carbon steel blades. I'm not sure if I have met Mr. Lurquin, ( I probably did at Gembloux) but I do know Alex Salsi and aside from being a complete madman (in a good way) he is incredibly talented so this young man has been taught well.:thumbup: Marcel is right. If you want a primer on Belgian makers, take a look at Jos' collection. As for the language barrier, the vast majority of the Belgian and Dutch makers that I have met have a command of English somewhere between pretty good and damn near native speaker. Ed De Pauw wqs over this year for the cutting comp and I think that we are going to see a few more of them coming over to Blade in the next few years to test. For those of you who like things like multi-bar damascus, there are a number of these guys you should take a look at.
 
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Sam is the best unknown maker anywhere. He knows where to put his curves. I expect to see great great work from him. If you want a knife from him get in line.
 
RogerP said:
This is but one of the many examples of why it can be rewarding to explore the work of the so-called "lesser known makers".
Click to expand...

He sure isn't "lesser known" where I come from! ;) He makes very nice knives indeed!

Marcel54 said:
I guess one of the best guys to tell you more about the Belgian makers is Jos. I'm sure he will respond to this thread any time soon.
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If you guys have any questions about Belgian or Dutch knifemakers, I'll be very happy to answer them, and if I don't know the answer, I will contact them.

jdm61 said:
... but I do know Alex Salsi and aside from being a complete madman (in a good way) he is incredibly talented so this young man has been taught well.:thumbup: Marcel is right. If you want a primer on Belgian makers, take a look at Jos' collection. As for the language barrier, the vast majority of the Belgian and Dutch makers that I have met have a command of English somewhere between pretty good and damn near native speaker. Ed De Pauw wqs over this year for the cutting comp and I think that we are going to see a few more of them coming over to Blade in the next few years to test. For those of you who like things like multi-bar damascus, there are a number of these guys you should take a look at.
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Yeah. Alex is crazy... but he's going to make me a Viking Sword soon, so he can be as crazy as he wants!;)

I'm not so much interested in the big forged bowie type of knife, but there's plenty European makers making that kind of knife. When we're talking damascus or multibar damascus, then I'm very interested. My main "big blade" makers are Gudy Van Poppel, Alex Salsi, Erik Markman and Toni Oostendorp. And Gert Van Den Elsen, though I tend to buy more of his smaller blades.

As for the "language barrier", most Belgian, Dutch & other European makers have at least a basic command of English, usually better than basic, as Joe can testify. He's been a welcome guest to our Belgian knifeshow in Gembloux for the last two years, the only American with a table! (Well I guess Kevin Wilkins is also American, but he didn't have a table last year).

It's good to see some interest from "overseas" for our European knifemakers!

Kind regards,

Jos
 
Glad to learn of his work. Very impressive! I am a big fan of that last piece, also. Anixous to learn more about him and see more of his work. :thumbup:

- Joe
 
Jos said:
He sure isn't "lesser known" where I come from! ;) He makes very nice knives indeed!



If you guys have any questions about Belgian or Dutch knifemakers, I'll be very happy to answer them, and if I don't know the answer, I will contact them.



Yeah. Alex is crazy... but he's going to make me a Viking Sword soon, so he can be as crazy as he wants!;)

I'm not so much interested in the big forged bowie type of knife, but there's plenty European makers making that kind of knife. When we're talking damascus or multibar damascus, then I'm very interested. My main "big blade" makers are Gudy Van Poppel, Alex Salsi, Erik Markman and Toni Oostendorp. And Gert Van Den Elsen, though I tend to buy more of his smaller blades.

As for the "language barrier", most Belgian, Dutch & other European makers have at least a basic command of English, usually better than basic, as Joe can testify. He's been a welcome guest to our Belgian knifeshow in Gembloux for the last two years, the only American with a table! (Well I guess Kevin Wilkins is also American, but he didn't have a table last year).

It's good to see some interest from "overseas" for our European knifemakers!

Kind regards,

Jos
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And I actually sold knives while I waqs therre. LOL. Kevin has been over there for so long we don't know what he is for sure. Think fluent German with a Texas redneck accent.:D Jos, what did that Roger Bergh damascus axe go for at Gembloux last year? I heard rumors of 20,000 Euros (about $27-28,000 at the time) Gembloux still has the feel of a little local show, but there are some VERY serious makers who show up there. If any of you Krazy Kollectors are planning to make a trip to the Milan show anytime in future, I would recommend starting your 2 week European vacation with the Gembloux show and ending it at Milan. You will be broke, but happy, I'm sure.;)
 
Hi Guys

I discovered the work of Sam in 2009, and the character has me at once more.

He made me discover the big knives I who liked especially the folding knives.

Since we became friends, I made him and offered his site (it's not my job) and I manage to order him small knives....

Sorry Sam I know that you prefer the big knives.;)

The last presented knife is mine, it is at Gustaff for the realization of a " sleath bag "

The small with its 12 cms of blade is a damas 600 coats and a handle in chestnut tree



Saddened for my English, As Sam I am not endowed for the foreign languages, and I am helped by an on-line translator
 
RogerP said:
Correctamundo Nick - gidgee. Joe - I'm not sure if the leather is his - I'll try to find out - but I agree it's cool as hell.

Roger
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You are right, Sam draws them, and Gustaaf his friend makes them..

An example on a ancient knife:



Two friends



Sam & Gustaaf...
 
Thanks for the info and pics Berno. I love that small damscus piece - the wood is just gorgeous.

Roger
 
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