The story of our company, and of ourselves as hereditary artisans, had its roots in the distant past. Our grandfather and great-grandfather, as well as their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, were blacksmiths and leather craftsmen, first in the province of Nizhny Novgorod and then in Saint Petersburg. In those far-off times, blacksmiths and leather craftsmen produced a great number of routinely used household goods. Nowadays, we have almost zero requirement for either of these professions. The products of such skilled craftsmen are far more likely to serve as decorative rather than essential objects. Knives and scissors, nails and needles, axes and saws - blacksmiths used to make all of these things that are now made by industrial means.
Among blacksmiths, as with any profession, there existed a number of specialties: while some could make precision tools, others made simpler products. Our great-great grandfather's workshop, in addition to making other products, was well known in Nizhny Novgorod for making firesteels or, as they were more often called back then, steel strikers.
The firesteels they made always gave a good spark, and were durable, elegant and frequently made to order.
The firesteel, or steel striker if you prefer, is one of the few tools which industrial methods have never mass produced. Moreover, there are very few blacksmiths, who make wonderful knives today, who can be asked to make a real, working firesteel. Actually, at one point, though it is hard to believe today, firesteels were the most widespread and most commonly used tools. This is because fires were made a couple of times a day and everyone could do it, regardless of their age.
Nowadays, few people even know how a firesteel looks, let alone know how to use one.
This method of making a real fire from just sparks is uncommonly effective and beautiful, and it's so simple that even children can easily master it.
We have preserved the old tradition of making wrought iron firesteels, and our project is dedicated to resurrecting this now forgotten method of fire making.