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My name is Jonny Walker Nilsson and I was born on May 24, 1956, in the town of Arvidsjaur in Swedish Lapland, close to the Arctic Circle. I am married and have seven children.
I have been a knife maker since 1988 and have competed since 1993. Knife making is popular in Scandinavia with thousands of artisans and many collectors. I compete in the horn class with high-end collector knives made in engraved reindeer horn and Arctic hardwoods. My engravings are inspired by the ten thousand year old Sami culture in Lapland, but some of my patterns and styles are uniquely my own. The design and style is the Sami all-purpose knife hanging from the belt, used for thousands of years and still today for hunting, fishing, and everything else. The bend at the tip on the sheath allows the knife to slide easily on the chair as you sit down, and is typical of the southern style Sami knife.
Knife making is my full time job and I enjoy fishing and hunting in my spare time. During the past 8 years I have taught knife making classes. Since 1996, I have won 38 contests in Scandinavia, most importantly the Swedish Championship and the Nordic (Scandinavian) Championship a number of years. In Scandinavia and Germany I am well-known among collectors, and I have been featured in a number of Swedish publications and in Swedish television. Even the Swedish Royal Family owns my knives.
I have attended several exhibits and collector knife shows in the US with great success. In the last two years my knives have been shown in Boston, Orlando, Minneapolis, New York and Seattle. I preferably take the horns from reindeer antlers that are fully grown and shed in order to get the best density. The horns are dried for up to one year and come from male reindeer that shed their antlers yearly. I choose the pieces for my knives according to shape, density and coloring. Color and density vary through the different growth-stages. The shafts on my knives have decorative inlays of thin bark and horn plates.
Engraving is my specialty, and in order to keep my precision up I engrave about four hours every day. I use a quick-steel tool for the freehand engraving, sometimes using a three times magnifying glass. Judges in Scandinavia measure the angles of the cuts with a ruler and a magnifier. Each engraving cut is made twice to form a "v" into which bark powder is rubbed with a wet finger. I use powder from Arctic birch, alder or pine, depending on color preference. To obtain a flawless and beautiful finish, the horn is sanded repeatedly with fine grain paper, and finally polished. It takes several hundred hours to finish a full horn knife.
I buy my blades from the best Scandinavian bladesmiths like Conny Persson, Kaj Embretsen, Gunnar Bergstrom and Petter Ytrebø. In addition, I have started collaborating with American collegues like Steve Schwarzer.
Awards:
- 1999 Nordic Championship First Price Fullhorn Class
- 1999 Nordic Championship First Price Halfhorn Class
- 1999 Nordic Championship Second Price Halfhorn Class
- 1998 Nordic Championship Public´s Award Most Beautiful Knife
- 1999 Knife of the Year
- 1999 Soderhamns Championship First Price Fullhorn Class
- 1999 Soderhamns Championship First Price Halfhorn Class
- 1999 Soderhamns Championship Third Price Jewelry Knife
- 1998 Soderhamns Championship First Price Fullhorn Class
- 1998 Soderhamns Championship Judges´ Award Knife of the Year
- 1998 Soderhamns Championship Public´s Award Most Beautiful Knife
- 1998 Soderhamns Championship Second Price Jewelry Knife
- 1997 Nordic Championship First Price Jewelry Knife
- 1997 Elverum, Norway Norway Judges´ Award Knife of the Year
- 1997 Soderhamns Championship First Price Fullhorn Class
- 1997 Soderhamns Championship Judges´ Award Knife of the Year
- 1997 Soderhamns Championship First Price Jewelry Knife 1997 Soderhamns Challenge Cup Winner 3 years "Knife of the Year" Knife of the Year
- 1996 Elverum, Norway Norway Judges´ Award
- 1996 Elverum, Norway Norway Public´s Award Most Beautiful Knife
- 1996 Nordic Championship First Price Fullhorn Class
- 1996 Nordic Championship Public´s Award Most Beautiful Knife
- 1996 Soderhamns Championship First Price Fullhorn Class
- 1996 Soderhamns Championship Judges´ Award Knife of the Year
- 1996 Soderhamns Championship First Price Jewelry Knife
- 1996 Jattendals Championship First Price Fullhorn Class
- 1995 Nordic Championship Second Price Fullhorn Class
- 1995 Soderhamns Championship First Price Fullhorn Class
- 1995 Soderhamns Championship Judges´ Award Knife of the Year
- 1995 Soderhamns Championship First Price Jewelry Knife
- 1995 Ostersunds Jakt & Fritidsmassa First Price Fullhorn Class
- 1995 Jattendals Championship First Price Fullhorn Class
- 1995 Jattendals Championship Public´s Award Most Beautiful Knife
- 1995 Norrbotten Open Championship First Price Fullhorn Class
- 1995 Norrbotten Open Championship Third Price Fullhorn Class
- 1995 Norrbotten Open Championship First Price Halfhorn Class
- 1994 Nordic Championship Second Price Fullhorn Class
- 1992 Nordic Championship Third Price Fullhorn Class
