My Philosophy

My name is Tom Regula. I am a time served bladesmith, hand forging bespoke and specialty knives, and a lifelong fly fisherman skilled in creating unique split cane fly rods. For the uniqueness and artistic value of my products, the British Heritage Crafts Association listed me in the "Red List of Endangered Crafts" in two categories, and Michelangelo Foundation of Geneva, Switzerland, classified me as Master Artisan in their "Homo Faber Guide".

My philosophy as a maker is to make pieces that are made to the highest standard, that fit the requirements of each client down to the smallest detail, creating knives and rods that become a highly personalised item giving emotional value to its owner.

The passion for forging metal was grafted in me by my uncle, at whose forge I used to work the bellows at the age of 7. From these early beginnings my dislike for mass-produced products was also born. At the age of 8, I decided to rebuild my old fishing rod to suit my taste and needs. This is how my journey began over 40 years ago.

Mass-produced goods replicated in the millions have never been good enough for me. Objects have a story to tell, just like humans. The things we surround ourselves with are more than objects, they are vessels for breathing and living memories that joined together become our past and can often reflect who we are today.

I am a massive admirer of ancient technologies and use these in the creation of my products. My rods are hand planed as they would have been hundreds of years ago and my blades are entirely hand forged from recycled and re-purposed metals. For my split cane rods I do not use machine milled bamboo sections, and for my forging, I do not use power hammers or presses.

Making things by hand is a very long and physically hard process, but it allows me to create highly personalized, one of a kind,  quality products that I can then proudly carve my sigil on.