Within that trade, the making of patterned steel – called, somewhat erroneously, ‘Damascus’ steel, is a skill that requires not only years of practise but also a scientific prowess and a keen sense of timing.

Adam Parker is president of the Australian Knifemakers Guild and has been making knives for more than 25 years.

“I've got a background as a farmer; I grew up on the family farm.

“I read a three-page chapter in a book on how to make a knife, so I made one out of an old circular saw blade to start with. It came up pretty well and a neighbour was impressed with it, and he said, ‘can you make me one?’

“I was hooked. It became a real passion.”

There are a number of processes that can be pursued in making a knife, but Mr Parker is intrigued by the ancient method of layering carbon-rich steel blanks into a block (known as a ‘billet’) and forging them into a single piece of metal.

The process involves folding and hammering the red-hot softened metal back into itself hundreds of times to create extraordinary patterns of carbon within the material.

Differences in the make-up of the steel layers produces patterns that can resemble sunbursts, woodgrains and raindrops.

“The sheer heat that we are generating in my forge, up around 2,000 degrees Celsius, is going to help the steel weld together, but to reduce oxygen, which inhibits welding, we flux (coat) it with borax, which is a household laundry product,” says Mr Parker.

“We heat it again until it’s a bright lemon colour, and then when we hit it with the hammer on the anvil, it’ll fuse into one piece.”

Mr Parker stresses that careful preparation and choosing the best materials are the keys to success in making patterned steel – a process first discovered in southern India perhaps thousands of years ago.

“If you’ve got a tin can and you fold it a thousand times, you’ve still got a tin can.

“It’s an art-form that is completely limitless. You can make a basic tool fairly easily, or you can go right into the embellishments of it.”