If I remember it right I started making knives in 1998. I didn't go to school for it, just bought a blade and got started. Then, after that I did a course in making leather sheaths.

What got me started in knifemaking first of all, was I think, the challenge. I had to know if I was able to make a knife and the only way to find out, was to try. I like to work with my hands and of course with my eyes."
Another reason is that deep inside I'm still a little boy, remembering the thrill of holding a nice razor sharp knife in his little hand, that is an unforgettable memory. Of course I also remember my first cut in the finger :-).
I am married, and have two lovely kids, a boy of 8 years who has already made his first knife. He maybe the next knifemaker in the Karlsson family. Also I have a daughter of 11, I gave her a blade but she hasn't started on it yet.

Tony is a man who is driven to do things for himself. Once he had a real job, but now he works for himself, restoring antique furniture. He also restored his own house. Making things, working with his hands is the motive force of Tony's life. One day some years ago he decided he'd make a knife for himself and that day his whole world changed for ever. Finally he found a challenge that will keep on testing him for the rest of his days.
The progress he has made is surprising but perhaps with his background in handwork of all kinds he is well placed to progress rapidly in the art.
In the genre he works in, his knives would be characterised as a little innovative as he has a tendancy to stray outside the lines of the classic Swedish hunter and carry knife. He has a long background in woodworking and knows the requirements for a good cutting tool. His afinity for wood and his control of this material, is readily apparent and enables him to make shapes and combine handle materials in unusual ways.
So here is Tony Karlsson, the man and his knives. Another hopeless enthusiast !

Karlsson Knives Aghunaryd Sweden