Cutler Verona Laurent – Winning in a Man’s World

Verona Laurent became one of the most accomplished MS Smith in the world as she battled prejudice in her native Belgium.

 

Verona Laurent

 

I’m from Texas where cutlers probably wear boots and cowboy hats instead of suits. In many parts of the world, it is widely believed that knife makers are male.

 

In March of this year, I met Verona Laurent, a MS-level master of the American Knifemakers Association, at the Fort Worth Texas Knife Show in Cowtown, USA. She doesn’t have boots, she doesn’t have a cowboy hat, and she doesn’t have a “Southern” accent, but she’s a real cutler.

 

Verona is from Brussels, Belgium, where French is spoken. Now, I don’t speak French, so out of respect, I asked her how a non-French speaker should pronounce her name.

 

Here, she answers the anglicized name Verona Laurent, but the correct answer is more like Vehr-o-NIK-eh Law-ron, with an R in the middle of every word. In Belgium, people use the last name first, so she’s usually called “Lauren” Now you can mentally pronounce her name with a beautiful French accent, and let’s get to the fun part of the story.

 

Verona’s first job was as a clerk for a Belgian television station. She smiths metal as a hobby. While vacationing in France in 2004, she participated in a knife-making and blacksmithing event similar to the American “forge in fire”. She later took a one-day knifemaking class with the Belgian Knifemakers Association and never looked back.

 

She joined the society and learned more about knife making from its members. The group eventually disbanded, but not before Verona got her way.

 

In 2010, still in France, she participated in an industry event that included ABS Master Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Famers Joe Kesla and Jay Hendrickson. In Belgium and France, women are generally not considered cutlers. So Veronica was delighted and surprised by Joe and Jay’s hospitality, especially their respect for her as a craftsman.

 

Because while female knifemakers are a bit rare in the United States, women are naturally revered on the American Knifemaking Tour. In Europe, however, the situation is completely different. Despite her technological advancements, Veronica is still struggling to sell knives in Europe.

 

“When a man came to my desk and picked up a knife, he would ask me who made it,” she recalls. “When I said I did it, he would ask the person next to me who made the knife. Once he knew I was a knife maker, he would put the knife down and walk away. In Europe, they don’t want to buy a knife from a woman.” She made it her goal to become a full-time knifemaker, so her network in the United States became even more important.

 

Become ABS MS Smith

 

Lauren speaks during the BLADE Show ’22 Blade University Women’s Blade makers panel as her panelists (from right) Lora, Horne Lyons listen.

 

After meeting Keeslar, she participated in the 2013 Knife Show and was certified ABS Journeyman Smithing. She then began a correspondence with ABS guru John White, who encouraged her to learn how to make a one-piece demolition knife.

 

“In 2015, I made my first demolition knife, and that week, I got an email from ABS that John White had passed away,” she recalls. “In honor of my master, I made all of his test knives.”

 

Verona stunned the audience at the 2015 Blade Show and received MS certification. After the exhibition, she and ABS master Jean-Louis Regal from France spent three weeks in Brazil learning advanced Damascus technology from ABS master Rodrigo.

 

“When I became a Master Smith, I started to have a ‘presence’ in Europe,” she said. “Shortly after that, I became a full-time knifemaker.” Even with America’s prestige and credibility, he faced challenges as the headwinds of prejudice blew in her home country. “People were rude and it made me think ‘I’ll prove it to you!’ Their bad attitude became my motivation,” she said.

 

She started collaborating more and more with Jean-Louis (who also got her MS in 2015). Because of prejudice, people usually think he works for her, he makes Damascus for her or she only works in his shop. But in fact, it’s not.

 

While it would make sense to Americans that the two French-speaking master smiths must have been connected, the real story is that both Verona and Jean-Louis had their own stores in their hometown. Their stores are about 375 miles apart, with Veronique in Belgium and Jean-Louis in France. The journey between them takes about eight hours.

 

Even in Texas, where we measure trips in hours, not miles, an eight-hour trip is a “long haul” or a “long stretch.” Although the distance is far, according to the workflow, they go about once a month. Verona said her shop had better grinding and polishing tools, while Louis had a larger shop with better Damascus-making equipment.

 

Verona and Louise participated in the 2018 International Custom Cutlery Expo (now The Texas Blade Show) in Fort Worth and each received several awards.

 

“In all my trips to America, there was only one time when someone dropped my knife as rudely as they did in Europe,” she said. On that trip, they also joined the Bladesmiths Guild and spent a week learning knife making from ABS master Rick Dunkley.

 

Covid has hampered travel plans, so Verona and Louise couldn’t return to the US until this year’s Texas Blade Show. As an American, I don’t go to France very often to sell knives, so I’m curious why Verona keeps coming back. She explained, “Europe doesn’t like big knives. It’s very complicated and expensive. Sometimes you can sell a small letter opener or something, but it’s hard.”

 

Rather than battling restrictions in Belgium, it’s easier to come here and sell her work where demand is high. Another thing she does is make a “mini version” of each major piece. If she made a dagger, she’d make another smaller one. If she made a big bowie, she made a similar hunting knife. These smaller works tend to sell better in Europe than larger ones.

 

Veronique Laurent’s Knife

Musso Bowie, Veronique’s big boy Bowie won Best Tactical Knife at the Texas Blade Show.

 

Verona showcased a variety of knives at the Texas Blade Show, showcasing her skill and versatility: a large brass-back bowie, several elegant hunting knives and a Fold the dagger.

 

“It’s an honor to be asked to be a big boy,” she said. “It’s a man’s knife and it took years for men to believe I could make a big boy.”

 

While she doesn’t make knives “to order,” she does maintain a list of customers looking for a specific type of knife. “I don’t take orders. I want to be free!” she explained. She was asked to make a big boi to show her skills, so she made the big boy bio, which immediately won Fort Worth Best Tactical Knife honors.

 

The big boy has a prominent feathered Damascus blade, forged using O2 and 45NCD16 tool steel, and a riveted brass back. Gauntlets are also O2. The handguard is partly mirror-polished, partly dotted, and partly engraved.

 

“O2 steel is great because you can finish it in a variety of ways, and it’s great for carving,” Verona explains.

 

The handle is ancient walrus ivory. She also has an exquisite Damascus folding dagger on her desk, which won the show’s Best Custom Folding Knife award. All accessories, engravings, jewelry settings and presentation boxes are designed by Verona.

 

So where do you go next when you’re already famous all over the world?

 

“I wanted to focus on carving and making back flowers,” she said. “I’m also learning how to make an automatic jackknife from Rick Dunkley.”

 

Verona is a strong woman who is good at a man’s game. She does not take orders but produces several major pieces each year in several categories. She prefers to communicate by e-mail, because it is difficult to understand on the phone, and translation is required – which makes the words less expressive. She’ll be at the main fairs, but you’d better get there early because her work is in high demand.

 

 

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