Tony Painter

Tony’s interest in carving was sparked as a result of living in New Zealand in the late 1970’s but it wasn’t until nearly twenty years later that he started to actually carve. Wood and bone were the early mediums of choice, followed later by mammoth ivory and fossil walrus ivory, the former being found in the Yukon by the placer gold miners.

Tony’s designs are influenced by traditional Maori carving and his love of uncluttered, flowing shapes that are easy on the eye and feel good in the hand. Tony will also carve free standing pieces and netsuke. Everyone of Tony’s pieces is unique given the varied depth and colour of fossil ivory and his work can be found in select galleries in the Yukon and Alaska.

His interest in knife making started as a result of making his own carving knives. He now hand-makes all his knives using the stock removal method, working with a variety of different steels such as O1, ATS 34, S30V, D2 and when he is lucky enough to get some, Brian Lyttle damascus. Tony will hollow, flat or convex grind depending on the knife design. He finishes all his knives with hand sanding and does all his own heat treating, resulting in a knife that is started and finished without leaving his studio.

A variety of exotic and stabilized woods are used for handle material aswell as horn, antler, fossil bone and ivory, micarta, G10 and carbon fiber. Each knife comes with its own custom fit, vegetable tanned, leather sheath that Tony makes with the same high standard as his knives. Tony is a full-time carver and knife maker but when not in the studio he can be found outside, back-country or cross-country skiing during the long Yukon winter, running and cycling in the summer or exploring the vast, empty wilderness of the Yukon with his family.

Tony Painter's Work in the Gallery

Some of the work Tony Painter has in the Gallery is featured below. Please contact us if you have questions about any of the pieces or other works we may have.