About the Bladesmith and Our Handmade Custom-KnivesThank you for your interest in North River Custom-Knives. My name is Stephen Osborne and I am the Master Bladesmith at the North River Forge. I first started blacksmithing back in 1986 when I needed a pair of strap hinges for a small rustic log cabin that I just built high in the mountains. Because I could not find the historic look that I wanted, I forged a pair myself.
From forging architectural hardware, I discovered my passion. I later acquired the essential skills for working with high carbon tool steels in order to forge hand made knives and fine woodworking tools. I later discovered that there were people wanting to purchase my hand-forged knives and bowies, so what began as a hobby became a part time job and eventually a full time occupation. A dream became a reality.
Being a history buff, my work is heavily influenced by our colonial past when beautiful knives were forged by skilled craftsmen, one at a time with great pride in their work. All of the operations in the making of a handcrafted knife - from the initial hammer blow to the finished period knife - are done by myself at The North River Forge.
I offer historically accurate hand-forged replicas of the knives that are representative of the period 1650-1865 from the height of the fur trade to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in North America. I also forge, from time to time, modern hunting knives and bowies using both forging and stock removal methods.
The North River Forge is located in the Lower Laurentian Mountains, near the beautiful village of Ste-Sophie in Quebec, Canada. 
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