The MTBlades story
MTBlades : Who, what, how and why ... :
Who ? : MTBlades, it's only one people : me, the one talking to you, Benjamin Thuillier.
Designer, knifemaker, communication manager, stock and purchase manager, customer service agent, accountant, and also photographer, webdesigner, CHO... those are only a few of the many caps I wear turn by turn.
Click here to discover more about me.
What ? : Easy question : Knives. Handmade high end folding knives !
Click here if you aven't yet seen the collection !
How ? : By hand! in my workshop ! With one sentence in mind that became the moto of MTBlades : "Unique knives for unique people" -
Every steps of knifemaking are done in my workshop by myself. starting from a piece of flat steel stock, often high end damascus steel, some high grade titanium, and some of the nicest, most beautiful or difficult to find material...
I'm proud of doing all the grinds by free hand, with no jig or grinding guide, so to give that unique one-of touch to my blades and keep the expression of the craftmanship at its best.
Finally, each knife is delivered in its MTBlades luxury case, with its leather pouch made in France by a leathercrafter, and its certification of authenticity, in a physical or dematerialised form,
Regarding my ethical approach of knifemaking, I try as much as possible to use tropical woods supplied from non-forest-destructive and eco-respectful sources. And as much as possible from fair trade sources respectful of people and local craftmanship trade, on a human scale.
Learn more about this by clicking here.
Why? : Because since I'm a kid, I've been eating with the knives made by my great-grand-father Marius Thuillier, owner and handcrafter of the 'Thuillier knifemaking house' and stamped with the MT logo... ! Sometimes, dreams becoming reality are growing from long ago planted seeds...
The MTBlades logo you can see on top of this page has been drawn by my great-grand-father around 1917, and it stand for his initials.
When I started from scratch to make knives, I of course decided to use this logo that was left as a legacy from him and I added the word Blades to it, so that those 'initials' now are MTB, for Marius Thuillier Benjamin
Maybe it is about time for you to discover more about this family history that bounds me with knifemaking, and admire some of the knives my family still own from back in time. (click here).
Meet Ben :
Hi!
My name is Ben and I'm the knifemaker behind MTBlades.
I made my first knife in February 2015. Since then, carried by this passion, I trained myself as a self-taught knifemaker and after so much reading, and a lot of trial and error, I could make it my full time job.
Before being a knifemaker, I used to be light manager and light designer for theater and live show. It's been also over 12 years that I'm doing stencil painting, creating and cutting intricates stencils. I used to paint in Paris' steets when I was still living there.
As a knifemaker, I like much better the "stock removal" technic over forging and I love folders with their delicate and precise mecchanism.
MTBlades' story : The Thuillier knives
For the Thuillier's, blades are a family affair! My great-great-grand-father was working in a knife shop and family size factory. He took over from the boss around 1916, and his son after him a few years later, in 1920. He ran it for 32 years, designing his blades as well as working wood, ivory, turtle scale, nacre... for the handles, and taking orders from the most luxurious French knife brands.
According to my grand-father, it seems that around 1930 the business was doing good as he found pictures of the family on holidays on the French sea cost, on tour by car (which was very rare at this time!)
The MTBlades' logo has actually been designed by my great-grand-father Marius Thuillier, and represents the initials of his name. Hoping that they would take over the family business, he named his children Michel, Micheline, and Maxime, so the logo could fit with the first letters of their name. None of them actually did and the business went exctinct for many years ...
Marius Thuillier (1912)
Until one of the great-grand-sons of Marius, Benjamin Thuillier, decided in 2015 to bring back the brand MT to life. It's me, writing these lines for you ...
Growing up with the Thuillier's knives in hand at every meal since I was very young seems to have planted the seed of a dream in my head... And it's a logical continuation for me, who's loved knives and various kind of blades for a long time, to now take my turn at making them. And of course, with the brand's name and logo of my ancestor ...
Marius Thuillier (on the left, with black trousers) with soldiers mates (1914-1917)
Some of the old models produced by my great-grand-father, and still owned by my family.
MTBlades' approach and ethical
The good thing about creating something is that you can make it into whatever you want !
In the process of making MTBlades alive, I've been very careful to bring into that company ethical values, not only in the production process but also in the material I select :
_ Entirely handmade knives, made by myself : In an ever more industrialized world, where know-hows tend to get lost, I decided to regain this knowledge by experience. As a self taught maker,
_ French made, and as local as possible
_ Using as much as I can clean product for the environnement.. ( tropical woods from controled sources etc...)
I also want to highlight a very important thing for me : Convinced that our world is already too full of violence, add up some more of this violence can not be a viable solution, Fear, communication difficulties and misunderstanding. and sometimes stupidity, are the things creating the most violence.
That's why I'm asking people who buy MTBlades to not use them for any violent action, whichever justification or reason you may have to pursue it. Thank you for your understanding.