Piotr Jędras

Kłosy

Knife maker

©Grzegorz Broniatowski

©Radek Zawadzki Kłosy

©Radek Zawadzki

At the sharp end of craftsmanship

The name Kłosy comes from the village of Złotokłos where Piotr was born
His first knife was a reconstruction of an excavated medieval knife
He created a coworking workshop with other artisans in Warsaw

Piotr Jędras was a teenager when he came across a historical reconstruction association. In an attempt to recreate a medieval craft, he made his first knives. “They were all reconstructions of excavated knifes. I spent a lot of time on the research,” he says. He came back to knives at the end of his architectural studies, when he made a kitchen knife for a friend. It became a hobby, mostly as a form of a distraction from his everyday work in the architecture studio, but a year later he had to take time off from his day job to catch up with orders. “It happened by itself, involuntarily. And now we are a team of three and make 250 knives a year.” Used in the kitchens of the best chefs in Europe, Kłosy knives combine handmade design with functionality.

Interview

©Nozownik

©Radek Zawadzki Kłosy

How did you learn knife making?: There is no guild or school for knife craftsmen in Poland. I am practically self-taught. I like to ‘wander’, make mistakes and find my way. I have a friend who is a very experienced knife maker in Poland with whom I still do some projects. Certainly, I have learned a few tricks from him.
Do you strive to innovate?: I am constantly thinking about how to improve my knives a little more. Together with my team and a group of material engineering students, we test different steels to create a better blade. We also have a project to perfect the coating on the knife surface.
What is the hardest part of knife making?: Freehand grinding (giving a shape to the blade). To feel at ease with this technique you need to spend a lot of time training. We do not use additional tools for that in the workshop. It is an important part of my philosophy to be able to make everything by hand.
What's the secret to a long-lasting knife?: Each knife, no matter the material, will get blunt over time. You must sharpen it. My goal is to create knives that people will like and therefore take care of. I would like to pass on some of my knowledge, and so each knife comes with a booklet that describes how to take care of them.

Piotr Jędras is a master artisan: he began his career in 2013 and he started teaching in 2018