At one of the medieval markets (in May 2019), I saw a knife from Authentic Blades for the first time. The rustic construction allows it to be used in medieval cuisine as well. They have a nicely thin blade and are easy to sharpen. And above all, they are affordable.
If they get lost or break, it's not a big deal, you can simply get new ones for a small amount of money...
Since I also enjoyed working with the knives in my everyday life, I wanted to get more of them at the next opportunity.
I even packed a flyer here.
The flyer states that the corresponding families and the region are supported through trade.
I think the idea is good and worth supporting.
But whether it's really true, I couldn't check.
When we packed our bags in December, the flyer caught my attention again, and I remembered that the knives are manufactured in Vietnam.
So I quickly decided, "I'll take a closer look at that."
Packed the flyer and hoped that I wouldn't forget it when we're in Vietnam.
Now we've been in Vietnam for a while, and I did some more research (looked at the website more closely).
They talked about a region that is being helped... However, the region where these knives are manufactured is Hanoi. The capital and largest city of the country.
And since we happened to be in Hanoi, I went there.
They probably refer more to the district. It is slightly outside and not very touristy, but it is also not a region deeply affected by poverty.
I took the bus to the border of the district and walked into the district. I wanted to see if I could recognize when I entered the district of the blades.
And what can I say...
After a while, I see a few shops where you can buy everything that is produced in the area (knives, scissors, shovels, sickles of various shapes... basically anything that has a blade).
The further I went, the more I could hear the sounds of work.
Not everyone was okay with having pictures taken, so I can't show much, but there are a few pictures.
📷 You can find more great pictures in the photo album.
From various directions, you could hear sheets being cut on large machines. Wooden handles are often found lying on the sidewalks to dry. You can hear the grinding machines where the blades are sharpened. And sometimes you can even hear a few hammer blows.
The basic principle (here, as well as in other specialized villages) is division of labor.
There are families that cut the sheets for the blades.
There are families that carve handles.
There are families that roughly grind the blades.
There are families that connect the handle and the roughly ground blade together and oil them to make them more durable.
There are families that then insert aluminum rivets.
And finally, there are families that sharpen the blades.
They then go to various merchants.
The blades I saw here correspond to what I like to use in my own kitchen.
It was very exciting to see where the knives come from, and I'm already considering whether I can follow other products more closely.
And what can I say in the end about Authentic Blades?
As of now (17.05.2023), I don't see anything incorrect on the website. I haven't kept track of which families work with Authentic Blades, nor have I tried to find out how much money ends up with them.
I saw some people with injuries that are typical for this kind of work, as the safety standards are very low. But it didn't seem to bother the people too much.
If we ever come here as regular tourists and not as backpackers, or if we can bring back more luggage for other reasons, I will take another look at everything and also buy some knives.
📷 You can find more great pictures in the photo album.
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