Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.
View more articles by Gareth BranwynOne of the many cool things that often happens to makers online is the collaborations between them. Alex the French Cooking Guy has been exploring knives and knife sharpening in his YouTube videos recently.

To create an electronic knife angle detector for giving dynamic feedback on proper angles as you sharpen, Alex teamed up with Becky Stern. Then, after a comment in one of his knife videos, he connected with Robin Gagachian, a knife maker in Nantes, France, who offered to help him forge his own chef’s knife.
We’ve talked frequently here on Make: about the existential pleasures of using tools made by your own hand. I can’t imagine how wonderful it would be to work every day using a knife that you forged yourself.
Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.
View more articles by Gareth Branwyn