Jean-Pierre Potvin
Québec, Canada
I live in Saint-Sauveur, in the Laurentides region of Quebec, north of Montreal. I am 60 years old.
I have always been passionate about arts and creativity. I started making knives in 1989. My mentor, who guided me in my early days, was the well-known Jacques Jobin. With his help and inspiration from knife magazines, I managed to create some pretty good knives—though they were still far from perfect.
My inspiration comes to me naturally, without any need to search for it. It arrives unexpectedly, and I put the ideas into practice right away. I almost never make drawings before starting a project. I prefer to let my imagination run free and simply follow what flows into me.
I am self-employed in home renovation. I make knives as a passion alongside my renovation projects, and when I retire, I plan to dedicate myself exclusively to knife making.
I produce between 10 and 15 knives a year. I mostly use carbon steel to create my Damascus steel, and for the handles, I work with mother-of-pearl, mammoth ivory, and carbon fiber.
As a hobby, I really enjoy moose and deer hunting and fishing at my cottage in the Gaspésie Peninsula. I also love riding ATVs, and I am very interested in drones, CNC machines, and 3D printers.
I have a small collection of knives made by cutlers I admire.
In 2016, I traveled to Corsica to visit the talented Alexandre Musso and learn new forging techniques, which really helped me improve. In 2018, I made another trip, this time to Argentina, to meet Mauricio Daletsky, a specialist in Damascus feather patterns. I spent two weeks with him learning Damascus steel forging techniques. Mauricio has since become a good friend, and we have met several times at knife shows in the USA. I’m planning to visit him again soon to learn more techniques.
I also took a folding knife course with Tony Baker in Oklahoma in 2024, and an engraving course with Carlo Cavedon in Italy in 2025.
After all I’ve learned over the years, I have moved on to more serious and ambitious projects. I now participate in prestigious shows such as the Paris SICAC, the Blade Show, the Nashville Show, Arts in Metal in New York, Solvang in California, the Art Knife Invitational in Las Vegas, Blade Show Texas.
