From builder in Birmingham to blade-smith in Kilkenny

When Patrick Brennan was living and working as a builder and gas engineer in Birmingham, he couldn't have imagined that in ten years he would be living in rural Ireland, a craftsman, making award-winning kitchen knives for chefs.

Born in the UK to Irish parents – his mother is from Galway and his father Kilkenny – the 46-year-old had a busy, active life when in 2010 he was involved in a serious collision which left him all but paralysed.

“I had a crash on my motorbike which broke my back in five places and although I thankfully survived, I was in a body brace for two years,” he says.

“I couldn’t move at all and spent all of that time pretty much in bed as I also had a traumatic brain injury. Then once the bones in my back had healed, I began a programme of physiotherapy to try and help me get back on my feet.

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“It had been a very difficult time as, apart from anything else, my life had been really busy and my work very physical, so it was a huge shock to not be able to work or even move around.”

He pushed himself hard, taking on demanding exercises.

“I also had chronic fatigue and depression, which made everything a lot worse – mind you, I think a lot of that was down to the medication I had to take.”

Once he regained some movement he began attending a brain rehabilitation centre where staff suggested he got involved in something creative, for therapeutic reasons and also as a means of pain relief because working with his hands was soothing.

“This is when everything changed for me as I realised that making beautiful items was very satisfying and the act of creating something took my mind off my injuries, so I was able to leave the drugs behind – it also really helped with my cognitive rehabilitation.”

Brennan, who now lives in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny with his wife and two daughters, says once he eased off the medication, he began to get a real taste for crafting and decided he'd like to pursue it as a hobby.

“Initially in therapy, I was doing little basic things like cooking, crafting and other simple things. Then I started working with leather and really got a taste for it, so I tried to teach myself some more of the skills involved. It was very difficult, but I had plenty of time for cutting, sewing, and making small pieces like wallets and belts. I did it purely for pleasure and it helped to take my mind off the pain.”

Irish heritage

In 2014, he came off the medication completely and was back to himself, but could no longer handle the busy life of the city.

“I needed somewhere calm and peaceful and because of my heritage, I decided Ireland would be the place and, as my father was from Kilkenny, this is where we moved to and have been happy here ever since.”

After establishing a new life in Ireland, the father-of-two continued crafting, and having great success with leather, turned his attention to knives.

“I had always been fascinated by the way they were made using traditional blacksmithing so I tried to make some myself at home, with the help of books and You Tube videos. But they really weren’t very good, and I knew I would need professional help to improve.”

He got in touch with US-based Gil Hibben, “a knife-making legend”.

“He has been doing it for 60 years and has done a lot of work for the film industry, including making knives for the Sylvester Stallone movies and Star Trek, so he is very well known. He very kindly invited me to Kentucky to spend a few weeks with him so, in 2016, that’s what I did.”

Having spent time with Hibben, he went on to learn Japanese blade-smithing from Murray Carter, based in Oregon, and known for making Japanese chef knives.

"Then I went down to Arkansas to meet someone called Lin Rhea, who taught me all about traditional blade-smithing and how to make hunting knives. The trip was a fabulous experience, and I was in America for over three months altogether."

Blades and handles

When he returned to Ireland, the craftsman decided to put his new-found knowledge to work and opened up his own workshop, initially just as a place where he could practice, but it wasn’t long before people began to show an interest in his creations and the orders began to flow in. Everything is hand-made by Brennan in his studio and while some are ready to buy, most are custom made to order.

“There is quite a bit of work involved in each piece,” he says. “I start off with the design and usually liaise with an executive chef before I start, so that the knife will work well with the skill needed in the kitchen. Then after creating the design, I move on to the steel, which I will fabricate to the specifications drawn up and handcraft with specialist equipment.

“Then once I am happy with all of this, I will go on to make the handles, most of which are made from renewable native Irish timber such as bog oak, but some are made with exotic woods.”

Once the handle has been made, Brennan puts the knife together.

“Each piece is completely hand-made and takes up to 40 hours to completion. The same process is used for hunting knives, and I also make leather sheaths for these to go into – so there is a lot of work involved.”

His efforts were recognised recently when he won the Damasteel Chef Knife Best in Show award.

“It was such a fantastic achievement after all the hard work I’ve put in over the years and I was totally overwhelmed to win,” he says.

“The award was for a large chef knife I made, which was a very complicated piece of work. It was 16 inches in length with an 11-inch blade with a lot of detail. It was very ornate and had over 4oz of silver in the handle, which was made with exotic wood. I was very proud of the work, and it was really fantastic to have won a competition which featured chef knife makers from all over the world.”

He’s come a long way since his accident in 2010.

“Not only have I set up a business doing something I love but being creative has brought me back to a functioning member of society.”

[ brennanknives.com ]