Despite the fame of his sharp and durable knives in Russia and abroad, one can often hear questions: when and where did Viktor Kuznetsov come into the world? The biography of the blacksmith is simple and intricate at the same time. Viktor Vasilyevich Kuznetsov was born in 1947. Its small homeland is Eastern Siberia. To blacksmithing went a long time.
No fuss
School, army, university (faculty of oriental studies, department of Chinese language), life in a huge, noisy city ... As it turned out, all these and other steps of human existence led the Siberian to the main thing - the blacksmith forge in a small village near Mtsensk. It was there, far from the hustle and bustle of the people, without a TV, with limited access to the Internet that Viktor Kuznetsov, one of the best Russian hand forging specialists, has been living and working for over forty years. It happens that she comes to Moscow to visit her daughter, checks the mail.
Self-development for him is reading up to hundreds of historical and philosophical books annually. Shares the teachings of Lao Tzu. At the very beginning, it contains advice to those who want to truly open their hearts to people: “Leave the city, settle down closer to the earth ...” Wise teaching does not consider religion, but the philosophy of life.
Cleanliness is the god of metal
People's interest in solid patterned steel for blades - damask steel - has existed for many centuries. Voluntary hermit Viktor Kuznetsov carried away by the ancient craft in the 70s.
The first information about elastic steel with an unusual internal texture (“pattern”) was obtained from the book by P. P. Anosov “On Bulat”. Kuznetsov once and for all learned an important postulate of mining engineer, metallurgical scientist Pavel Anosov - to produce bulat, pure iron is needed, it is the most malleable. Cleanliness is the god of metal.
Blacksmithing is primarily a practice. Viktor Vasilievich began working with metal in 1985. He was pushed to action by a simple chisel - a tool for woodwork. Kuznetsov needed it, and he went to the railway forge (FC).
A blacksmith worker could not make a chisel, but showed Victor how heating, forging, and hardening of metal are made. In the future, Kuznetsov became an excellent master in the manufacture of a variety of chisels, including for creating miniatures and netsuke.
Go to the bath
The first chisels Kuznetsov warmed in a bath stove, forged on a rail stump. He later had an anvil and ticks. This blacksmith's tool lived out its life in an abandoned collective farm forge, but, installed on the compound of Kuznetsov, found a “second wind”. The gas horn was located under a canopy, which did not allow its use in winter.
Then the blacksmith built a small forge with an area of 12.5 square meters and installed a small coal furnace in it. Viktor Vasilyevich claims that he works only on charcoal burned with his own hands. This natural biofuel was used by our ancestors.
Once a blacksmith rushed to the difficult goal - to make excellent steel, the best in the world. He believes that he is close to achieving the goal. Swung too high? Kuznetsov never recognized the low bar. He says that transcendence stimulates a person to action more, only it contributes to true professional (and personal) growth. The Siberian works selflessly, does not make days off: if not in the forge, then at the Vernissage.
Perfect simplicity
Experience is the son of difficult mistakes. Step by step, Viktor Kuznetsov gained skill. There were fewer defective chisels, then there were none at all. Blacksmithing has become familiar (and at the same time always new). The next fifteen years, Kuznetsov learned to make knives: sharp, durable, uncomplicated in shape.
Art forging did not appeal to him. Although the blacksmith went to the heights of craftsmanship through decorativeness, to which he quickly cooled. Simplicity, as you know, is the ultimate limit of experience. Any line distorted at least by a micron is striking. Viktor Kuznetsov’s knives are elegant, often too ingenuous, but they cut perfectly.
Kuznetsov made the first smelting of damask steel in 2004, having twenty years of blacksmithing experience. By the beginning of 2013, he had made 830 swimming trunks, analyzing each in detail. Viktor Vasilyevich wrote almost 30 articles on blacksmithing, conducts seminars, has students. He took the laurels of the winner of the championship and the Russian championship in rope cutting. He developed his own system for testing knives ("adult").
Adult Knife Test
The testing of melee weapons for strength has existed since the time of Peter I, there are test standards in the forensic center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (for hardness, deflection, etc.). Kuznetsov has developed his own standards for cutting properties (a kind of OTC). He considers the strength test to be the most important.
The main buyers of Kuznetsov’s knives are hunters. The product is in demand among foreigners. All consumers highly value the work of the unique “technical control department”. It is effective, there is practically no return. Most reviews indicate that the Moscow-Mtsensky blacksmith Viktor Kuznetsov makes damask steel of decent quality.