In November of 2020, Shawn Tremblay found himself with an extended amount of free time. His wife Janet, was undergoing treatment for breast cancer and he came down with COVID.
“I wasn’t going in the house, so I had her put a bunch of clothes out there,” he said. “After about two house I decided I was bored and needed something to do.”
Instead, the Tescott resident spent the next 14 days in his shop.
That’s when Tremblay made his first knife.
“By the time my 14 days was up I was done polishing and sanding,” he said. Having finished the project with a handheld grinder along with two other knives.
“I didn’t know what I was doing I just winged it,” he said of the ulu, a style of knife that can be used in a rolling motion from its handle. Tremblay said he has experience in fabricating and welding, which prompted him to use an old buzzsaw blade that had broken in half for the project.”
His adult daughter promptly stole the ulu, he said, which was a good excuse to make another. And another.
“She uses it almost every day, they’re a good knife to keep in the kitchen.”
Next, he purchased a forge and began making more and more knives. Almost every weekend is spent working on the project. While he and Janet travel to craft shows to sell their wares – his knives and her crochet items. During the week he’s traveling for his full-time job: a reliability specialist with Pepper Maintenance Systems where he tests electrical panels with infrared equipment, searching for issues.
North Central Knives, however, remains his weekend passion.
“Now I have a shop full of equipment; it’s a labor of love; my little 14-day test run has turned into quite a passion. I’ve upgraded equipment tremendously.”
Everything from shaping the blade, to sanding and attaching a custom-made handle, to stitching the leather sheath.
“I stitch every piece of leather that comes out of the shop,” he said, having taught himself to sew and work with leather.
One of his favorite parts, however, is creating knife handles, which includes cholla cactus from New Mexico, to antler, to pinecones, to unique types of lumber, he shapes each handle by hand, often adding resin to enhance the look of the handle.
“I make some really unique handles,” he said. “There’s a stabilization process then I bake it; when it’s done it’s dang near indestructible. I’ve done some really cool handles. I try to think of something that nobody else is doing.”
Meanwhile, he said working with leather has been the biggest learning curve. That and being his harshest critic.
“If I don’t like how it looks or there’s something that I’m knit picking, I won’t sell it; I’ll give it to a family member,” he said. “No one in my family – even extended family – is hurting for a knife because if I’m not happy with how it turns out, somebody gets it.”
He also has sold the knives locally in Clay Center at the Rusty Trigger, he said. Both he and Janet have ties to the area – he previously lived here and met Janet before the start of their 39-year marriage. His mother-in-law still lives off the Broughton Road.
Tremblay said half of the fun is creating new styles of knives, whether for cooking of hunting.
“I’m an outdoorsman, so I lean toward kitchen cutlery for outdoors cooking or hunting knives. But I also make kitchen cutlery; if I can get if figured out, you’ll have your knife.”
There’s also a guarantee it will be sharp. Tremblay even has a warning on his booth for anyone wanting to touch a knife. He sharpens them to incredible precision.
Each knife comes engraved with his name and maker’s mark, as well as the business name and number. In early March he completed his 147th handcrafted blade.
He makes all varieties of cooking knives, but leans toward Serbian chef knives – stating most everyone in the family has one.
“Ulus are my favorite; they’ve been around since seventh century in Alaska; I just absolutely love them,” he said. “My wife uses hers to cut pizza.”
North Central Knives can be found on Facebook and Instagram.
