This picture displays 3 knives, that clearly indicates the span in the crafts of Jan Eriksen. These knives were part of the knife exhibition arranged by Holstebrogruppen at Holstebro Museum in the autumn 1996. Furthest left you can see a knife, that by appearance seems to be quite traditional, but it is provided with a blade made from fine ceramics, which definitely is not usual among Norwegian knife makers. In the middle you can see the best known of Jan Eriksens knives, the handle made from several layers of strongly coloured acrylic. It takes guts and a very fine sense of colour to get away with a project like this, but obviously Jan Eriksen had these qualities. In the top of the handle you can find a small toothpick made from whale tooth, and it can be unscrewed when you need to use it. Furthest right you can see a more traditional knife, that clearly displays Jan Eriksens very high level in craftsmanship.
When it comes to knives, Norwegians are a very traditional people. This is partly changed today, and it’s all due to a line of innovative and trend setting knife makers. Among the best known of these we find Jan Eriksen, who was one of the first that dared to break radically with the strong and proud Norwegian knife traditions.
Jan Eriksen mastered all styles, and he has made totally traditional knives, but he is best known as a ground breaker and revolutionary, both in form and material. Unfortunately Jan Eriksen died much to young.