Meet The Maker #6: Riley Burns

Meet The Maker: Riley Burns

My name is Riley Burns and I run Burns Bespoke Crafts, Bespoke Crafts Photography and with the help of Jamie “Sausageman” Bishop and Toby “Fire and Steel” Murrill the Hunter Valley Hammer-In. You may have also seen me in the blue shirt behind a table at a show working for Creative Man.

Riley at Iron Fest 2019, here helping a bloke who had come all the way from Canberra with some tips on how to get into knife making.

I’ve also been lucky enough to attend, teach at and help run three symposiums and at the time of the publication of this article I am the secretary of the Knife Art Association which runs Sydney Knife Show, Queensland Knife Show, Perth Knife Show and the Symposium.

I got into blacksmithing in 2015 after being gifted a class with Wayne Saunders of Ironlord Forge for my birthday. I’d been talking about doing one for years after had even spoken with Wayne many times at Ironfest about it but as no surprise to anyone who knows me, I had about a thousand things on and kept putting going on the backburner. I enjoyed it a lot, and decided I had to learn more.

I got into knifemaking a year and a half later when I was trying to smith up some sets of Knives, Forks and Spoons and my knives were pretty average. I’d done the forge building class at Eveleigh Works and saw on their mailing list that the Australian Blade Symposium was going to be held there and I went along to learn more.

Fortunately or unfortunately in the year or so after that I got so involved in the industry that I haven’t had a lot of time to make knives. I think not including the mountain of Creative Man kits I’ve done, I’ve completed about six knives in total from scratch.

I’ve been inspired by the work of people like Kevin Slattery, Paul-Emmanuel Arestan and the traditional makers of Scandinavia. The knives I like to make for the most part fall fairly squarely into the “Medieval Eating Knife” and Pukko camps though I am working slowly on some competition BBQ Knives.

Having done a lot more timber work than steel in my life before knife making, I find the blade grinding the most challenging part of knifemaking but it’s also, I think the most rewarding. When you finish the knife blade and it cuts efficiently that's awesome.

I started out as many of us do on recycled steel, leaf and coil spring for the most part. Over time I have found as I think many people do, that simple carbon steels like 1084 are readily available and much nicer on the elbows to forge than leaf spring.

I’ve got a particular penchant for curly birch handle material partially because of the styles of knives I make, and partially because I want to continue to be employed…

(editor’s note: I am not sure what Riley is referring to, but like the curly birch reference. Remember to edit out before publishing)

I’ve waxed lyrical at a number of symposiums and knife shows in Australia now about my feeling that making things with your hands might be the most soothing activity you can engage in, particularly slowly with hand tools and I think it’s something everyone should get into.

Riley's Top 3 Tips:

If I had three tips for new makers starting out they would be this;

1.Start with a kit. If you don’t enjoy putting a handle on a knife, you are unlikely to enjoy making one from scratch.

2.Where you can, start with simple materials and make a lot of mistakes. I see a lot of makers jump immediately to complex expensive steels and handle material for their first knife and meet with disappointment.

3.Get a File Guide. You’ll use it for everything and never look back.

Bespoke Crafts Photography:

Riley is specialising in taking high-level photos of knifes and other craft/art items. The below are showing some of his work. As makers we often give away or even sell the work we do, and a good photo is both a way to remember the result, and a way to display your style and level of skill to both other makers and customers.

Contact Riley on https://www.facebook.com/bespokecraftsphoto/ for some memories of your work.

Note added by Bjorn:

Riley showed up to the St. Ives Medieval Fayre a couple of years ago. He just naturally somehow ended up behind the table, and turned out to be very good at it.  Riley is excellent at showing people who had maybe not thought of knife making as a craft they would be able to do, where to start and how to get involved. It would not be Iron Fest or Medieval Fayre now without Riley there. One of my best friends, Riley is always happy to help. He even brews beer. What more can I say :)