I am Juha S. Perttula, a scientist and knife maker from Finland. I forged my first knife from a six-inch iron nail when I was five years old, and two decades later, I earned a doctor’s degree in metallurgy. Then my professor allowed me study knife steels in his laboratory. I found that outperforming the cutting ability of quite simple carbon steels was extremely difficult, particularly when hardened to exceptionally high hardness levels. Therefore, I am fascinated by super-hard carbon steels and sharp blades. However, hard steel is often brittle. That is why I have studied for thirty years how to make hard steel that is also tough. I have developed carburizing steels for engine gears and high-strength steels for bolts, but I have always worked with knife steels. In addition to knife making, my goal is to complete my book explaining how to make extremely hard and tough carbon steels blades. This topic still holds many secrets.