Johan van Zanten has been practicing the art of bladesmithing in his workshop in Amersfoort since 2010. By trial and error he has mastered the tricks of the trade and is now able to forge damascus of very high quality. In addition to practice, he has studied the theoretical aspect of mechanical engineering and obtained his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2015 at the Hogeschool Utrecht. During the study Johan specialized in materials science and participated in the minor “Reducing grain size in pattern welded damascus steel”. During this minor, the damascus steel was put under the microscope in the materials science lab in Delft and the behavior of damascus steel under the influence of temperature was investigated. Johan is now able to get his knives harder than glass. The discipline required for knife making and the correct meticulous working method were taught to him by knifemaker John M. Clausen in Strasbourg.

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