Meet Your Maker
My Story
My name is Ferenc Petho, a Hungarian born Australia Cutler. I am the owner and creative mind behind Paprika Knives and Woodlands Cut n Carve, in short The Paprika Factory. All of my knives are handcrafted in my factory/showroom located in Port Macquarie on the beautiful mid north cost of NSW, Australia.
From a young age I've had loads of ideas of what I would like to do when I grow up. The main thing was to design something and to be able to create it with my hands.
Around 1999, while i was admiring a knife that I could not afford at a show in Sydney, I had a brilliant idea "I could make one of those!!! I have an engineering trade, I can work with steel, How hard can it be? It's only a knife afterall."
My unintentional arrogance did bite me hard indeed. For a while I was creating my own scrap metal industry with all the things that didn't quite work out to my "how hard can it be" plan.
After loads of research and practice and much more practice, things started getting better and better and finally I was creating functional cutting tools. All this knowledge that I was gaining led to more and more things i wanted to know. The different arts and crafts that can be incorporated with a piece of "boring old steel".
I started dabbling in silver and copper smithing, various styles of woodworking, metal clay, acid etching, enameling, leatherwork...... The learning prospects are endless and that what drives me the most.
My Philosophy
Knives always fascinated me. The versatility, functionality of one of mankind's oldest tool is enormous. Show me another tool that exists in so many different forms, unique to each geographic region, task at hand and lends itself to so much artistic input from the artisan.
I hand make all my knives with "one at a time" attention.
Old fashioned craftmanship and lasting quality in my approach, with aesthetic, simplicity, form and function in mind.
I just love to use and study traditional Scandinavian, Japanese and some tribal edged tools for that very reason. I've always gravitated towards creative activities inspired by the natural beauty of our world. The patient and skillful creation, the guided harmony of the Zen garden just sums it up for me.
I strive to design and create the best unique and individual knives i can. Knives that my customers are proud to own and use.