We met the Filipino knifemaker on a mission to preserve the rich blademaking tradition of the Philippines.
The Philippines has a long history of blademaking, due to its history of fighting colonization and its agricultural-based economy. However, many of these bladesmiths are aging and the younger generation are reluctant to carry on the tradition. One self-taught knife-maker, Sean Alonzo, is bucking that trend.
So I thought of upgrading Filipino knives. And I did for a time but then I didn't So when I made them it was actually more to test myself artistically. All the materials I would use would be scrap. So I'd melt bullet shells and use the brass from that to make the pieces and I'd use leaf spring or bearing or an old file to make the blade.
It was only around half a year into Balete Blades when I dropped everything else and focused on culinary tools because that seemed to be where the interest was at.
I was looking for a way to make my work stand out. So I was looking at all these Filipino motifs and I wanted to include it in my work. I wanted it to have the essence of Filipino culture but not necessarily a specific Filipino culture. So I designed my motifs based on motifs that I saw and I mixed and mashed them.