Finally a formal introduction

Hi everyone ,
I have been on forums about 5 years now and I have to say I fell into the very deep hole with knives .Lot deeper than most of you can imagine :biggrin:
My name is Mert Tansu and I am the chef of a big winery in Hunter Valley , NSW , Australia . I got interested in better knives to perform better at my job and further i researched further I got sucked in . I finally took a dive almost 3 years ago and visited a local knifemaker Keith Fludder and made my first knife
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/16559-Blacksmith-shop-visit

And I caught the knife bug ... I have started buying simple tools and spending my days off in my shed trying to make knives

almost year later I have visited Keith again to learn how to forge knives and I have start getting few request for custom knives and my knifemaking journey officially began , bought more tools ... more materilas , more trial and errors .. Fast forward after 40 or so knives later Last year I have decided to visit Bill Burke in Boise , Idaho to learn more about how to make kitchen knives and san mai .



It was a great experience and learned a lot from him and still bug him every now and then with quesions :wink:

from that point on things kept rolling and I pushed the limits of "hobbyist knifemaker" along with running a kitchen

In november 2015 We have moved into our new house which has a seperate workshop and knifemaking became a part time job rather than being a hobby.
I have purchased second grinder and started focusing more on my heat treatment , fit and finish and grinds .
Well , a powerhammer was needed too right ? :spiteful::spiteful:
Recently i have attended my first knife show , managed to catch up with few people I met over the forums and met lots of people who follow me on social media . Didn't
sell many knives was but i went home happy at least


I will be sharing lots of knife pics , have few years worth of stuff to catch up and lots food pictures and food videos .

Happy to finally join as a pro craftsman , will post some knife stuff soon , let me know if you have any questions

Mert

Mert, I've handled several of your knives. What surprised me most was the way the cut, very high performers. I regret having to jump off your custom list. Someday I intend to pick up a nice simple middle weight gyuto from you. Would be awesome if you came to the ECG someday.

Also, truth be told, When i placed the custom order, Mert asked me for a $100 deposit to get in line. We decided on profile, steel and handle pretty quickly as I fell in love with a Guyto he made for Cheeks/Sam's (52100 SS San Mai). After a few months, I realized I bit off a little more than I could chew, knife wise and $$ wise. So I asked to be taken off the list. Mert understood, without question and refunded my $100 that same day. Ethical, talented and makes phenomenal kitchen knives.

Mucho Bocho said:

Mert, I've handled several of your knives. What surprised me most was the way the cut, very high performers. I regret having to jump off your custom list. Someday I intend to pick up a nice simple middle weight gyuto from you. Would be awesome if you came to the ECG someday.

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Dennis , it's all good about the custom order , i am glad you liked the ones you used so far, I want them to cut , and cut first before looking pretty. I am planning a trip in 2017 September , I have been planning on visiting Randy again , who had hosted me last year with the mini hammer in , it was a blast .

some of the best cutting knives I've ever used. Insane.

turbochef422 said:

some of the best cutting knives I've ever used. Insane.

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Yep. It's kind of bittersweet that you are a vendor here. I really wanted to keep your knives a secret and hord them for myself. :biggrin: Congratulations on becoming a vendor!

Great to see you here, mate![emoji16]

turbochef422 said:

some of the best cutting knives I've ever used. Insane.

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Thanks Nick

Cheeks1989 said:

Yep. It's kind of bittersweet that you are a vendor here. I really wanted to keep your knives a secret and hord them for myself. :biggrin: Congratulations on becoming a vendor!

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Thanks for the support Sam

V1P said:

Great to see you here, mate![emoji16]

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Thanks Ferry

Welcome Mert, it's great to have you here as an official vendor, no stopping you now!

Dave Martell said:

Welcome Mert, it's great to have you here as an official vendor, no stopping you now!

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Thanks Dave , lack of sleep still seems to stop me easier than anything lol