Camille Denoziere, a former employee of Albin Michel, one of the largest independent publishing houses in France, has reinvented herself as a cutler forging unique knives in the rural town of Fleurance in the southwestern Gers region.
Denoziere changed careers after returning from maternity leave to find that artificial intelligence had taken over her work. She noted that her former colleagues working as translators were encountering similar difficulties in the publishing industry.
She said her relationship with the Paris region was not exactly a love story and described herself as being more suited to the countryside.
Discovering the craft
Denoziere discovered her passion for knife making almost by chance while taking walks after relocating. She came across the cutlery workshop of a colleague named Sebastien in the nearby village of Lavardens, which sparked her interest.
She followed this by completing an internship with Cecile at the Les Frappantes workshop in Vic-Fezensac. Denoziere said the experience convinced her to embrace the profession.
Today, she works alone in a workshop consisting of three cinderblock walls and a roof. She said she enjoys working in the open air, even though it leaves her dependent on the elements.
Reclaimed materials
Denoziere said she never makes the same knife twice and never uses the same wood twice. All of the wood she uses is recovered, ranging from local timber to exotic varieties found at flea markets. She is currently searching for horn to use for new knife handles.
In her workspace, drying boxwood logs sit alongside a gas cylinder that she has transformed into a forge. Denoziere said she is passionate about steel and insists on working with the greatest precision, noting that she truly discovered her material when she began working with metal.
The fabrication process follows a precise ritual. She uses a 2.5 kilogram blacksmith hammer that she named Patience, noting that all blacksmith hammers are given names. She can spend eight hours working with the tool, an experience she said she prefers over being in an office.
Heating and tempering
Denoziere, who shares her work on Instagram and Facebook, heats the steel in her forge until it reaches a cherry red colour. This indicates the metal is ready for quenching, followed by a two hour baking process known as tempering.
She said the goal of tempering is to give the metal a certain elasticity. While the steel bakes, she shapes the knife handles using carefully selected wood.
Some of her orders carry personal history. She recently completed a set of 19 knives made from the wooden door of a client's grandmother.
Growing demand
Her creations are sold directly to customers, as well as at artisan shops, the La Maneta boutique in Auch, and the Fleurance summer fair. Denoziere noted a strong demand for her knives, with her most significant pieces selling out very quickly. She said she is now known for her work.
Denoziere described knife making as a passion rather than just a professional activity, saying she had completely found herself in the craft.
She said her philosophy is that she does not make decorations, but rather highly useful objects that serve a purpose for everyone while also having the potential to be truly beautiful.
