About me

I am László Német, owner of the Sámán workshop and maker of Sámán knives. I have been studying, designing and making knives for more than twenty years. I read everything I could find on the subject in Hungarian and foreign literature, on the Internet, on various forums, and in popular blogs. I asked many people about the subject: makers, collectors, knife users, to find out what a good working knife looks like and what it needs to know. Then, of course, I tried to apply the collected information in practice by making more and more knives.

Over the past twenty years, I have slowly gathered the basic knowledge that I was able to work with, but the learning process will last me my whole life. It soon became clear to me that the best forms had been in use for several centuries. Often in almost unchanged form. Or that these pieces are often very simple, or seem simple, but maybe that’s why they’re perfectly functional. I used these ancient types of knives, the Finnish puuk, leuku, the American French trade knife, or the traditional Japanese knives as a basis for creating my own models, which of course are constantly being polished and developed. So my main profile is the work knife. I make camp knives with which you can easily build a forest camp. Bushcraft knives for practicing bushcraft, with which you can carve, light a fire and prepare food in nomadic conditions.

I am very interested in EDC, every day carry, that is, knives that can be carried every day, which can be with us all the time due to their small size, and almost all knife tasks can be solved with them. In addition to these, I make hunting knives, and I intend to make reliable tools for soldiers as well. There is always a new challenge, there is always something new to learn, because the knife as a topic is inexhaustible. In knife making, the motivation for me is to make easy-to-use tools for people who like to do some kind of outdoor, nature-related, practical activity.

The connection with nature is important to me. I am convinced that one should approach it with great respect and spend as much time as possible outside, naturally striving for as much harmony as possible. Let’s exist in nature, but don’t harm anything! Tours, bushcraft activities, camping are very useful activities for us, since people have been doing them for thousands of years. For people living in today’s urban environment, they offer the opportunity to practice the ancient way of life. And a good knife will be our all-in-one tool on our journey to prepare shelter, food, and light a fire when it’s time to rest.

Shaman knives are made with cutting processes from high-quality tool steels such as Rigor, Sleipner cold work steels, and Böhler manufactured N690 stainless steel. My blades are robust, 5-6mm thick, and are usually made with a saber edge, which consists of a straight cutting edge and a convex cutting edge. The edge of Nordic-style knives differs minimally from this, because they are made with a Scandinavian-style edge with a narrow convex cutting edge strip, I call this a scandivex edge. I also grind each blade by hand, this work phase provides the surface quality with which I am already satisfied. The grips are made of several types of wood, such as wenge, bubinga, walnut, and I often use laminated industrial plastics, FR4, and mikartas. For each knife, I make a durable leather wallet case. I can’t claim that these are the most beautiful cases that can be made, but they are functionally fine. With the purchased Shaman knife, you can immediately go out into nature, as I make them to help their owners in forest camps, tours, expeditions, and hunting.

Use my knives with health and satisfaction!

Sincerely:

Németh Laci “Shaman”